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person_profile-Jack Webb

Jack Webb Died at age: 62

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Jack Webb

Date of Birth:

Apr 02, 1920

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Dec 23, 1982

Biography of

Jack Webb

    John Randolph 'Jack' Webb, also known by the pen name John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet. He was also the founder of his own production company, Mark VII Limited.

    Born in Santa Monica, California, Webb grew up in the Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles as the child of a single mother after his father left home before he was born.

    During World War II, Webb enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces, but he "washed out" of flight training and was granted a hardship discharge to care for his family. Following his discharge, he moved to San Francisco, where a wartime shortage of announcers led to a temporary appointment to his own half-hour comedy radio show on ABC's KGO Radio in 1946. By 1949 he had abandoned comedy for drama, and starred in numerous radio shows until finding success in film and television in the late 1950s.

    Webb had a featured role as a crime lab technician in the 1948 film He Walked by Night, a thinly-fictionalized recounting of the 1946 Walker crime spree. This experience gave Webb the idea for Dragnet: a recurring series based on real cases from LAPD police files, featuring authentic depictions of the modern police detective, including methods, mannerisms, and technical language. Following the success of Dragnet, Webb appeared in numerous television shows and specials, including the well-known 1972 series Emergency!

    During his work on a revival of Dragnet in 1982, Webb suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 62. His funeral was given full police honors, and then LAPD Chief Daryl Gates retired the badge number 714 used by Webb's Joe Friday of Dragnet fame.  

Photos of

Jack Webb

Photos ( 3 Photos

Filmography of

Jack Webb

Found 18 Movies in total

Los Angeles Plays Itself

Sergeant Joe Friday in Dragnet (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2004

... 1971

The Selling of the Pentagon

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1971

Dragnet

Joe Friday ( Actor )

Director

... 1969

The Last Time I Saw Archie

William 'Bill' Bowers ( Actor )

Director

... 1961

-30-

Sam Gatlin ( Actor )

Director

... 1959

The D.I.

Gunnery Sgt. Jim Moore ( Actor )

Director

... 1957

Pete Kelly's Blues

Pete Kelly ( Actor )

Director

... 1955

Dragnet

Sergeant Joe Friday ( Actor )

Director

... 1954

You're in the Navy Now

Ens. Anthony 'Tony' Barbo ( Actor )

... 1951

Halls of Montezuma

Correspondent Dickerman ( Actor )

... 1951

Dark City

Augie ( Actor )

... 1950

The Men

Norm ( Actor )

... 1950

Sunset Boulevard

Artie Green ( Actor )

... 1950

Appointment with Danger

Joe Regas ( Actor )

... 1950

He Walked by Night

Lee Whitey ( Actor )

... 1949

Hollow Triumph

Bullseye (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1948

Three on a Match

Boy in Schoolyard (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932