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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.  

Known For

8.1

Sgt. Joe Friday (archive footage)

O.J.: Made in America

2016

0.0

Joe Friday (archive footage)

Greenboy: Prescription for Death

2013

7.6

Sergeant Joe Friday in Dragnet (archive footage)

Los Angeles Plays Itself

2004

🎬

5.0

The Partners

1971

10.0

Narrator

O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra

1971

🎬

0.0

Self (archive footage)

The Selling of the Pentagon

1971

🎬

5.0

Joe Friday

Dragnet

1969

6.0

Security Man

Star Spangled Salesman

1968

0.0

Narrator

Greyhounds of the Sea

1967

6.9

Sergeant Joe Friday

Dragnet

1967

Credits

O.J.: Made in America

as Sgt. Joe Friday (archive footage)

2016

8.1

Greenboy: Prescription for Death

as Joe Friday (archive footage)

2013

0.0

Los Angeles Plays Itself

as Sergeant Joe Friday in Dragnet (archive footage)

2004

7.6

🎬

The Partners

1971

5.0

O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra

as Narrator

1971

10.0

🎬

The Selling of the Pentagon

as Self (archive footage)

1971

0.0

🎬

Dragnet

as Joe Friday

1969

5.0

Star Spangled Salesman

as Security Man

1968

6.0

Greyhounds of the Sea

as Narrator

1967

0.0

Dragnet

as Sergeant Joe Friday

1967

6.9

A Day in Vietnam

as Narrator

1967

0.0

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as Self

1962

7.5

General Electric True

as Self - host

1962

0.0

Red Nightmare

as On-Camera Narrator

1962

6.0

The John Glenn Story

as Narrator

1962

5.7

The Last Time I Saw Archie

as William 'Bill' Bowers

1961

5.7

🎬

A Force in Readiness

1961

6.3

-30-

as Sam Gatlin

1959

5.7

🎬

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

as Self

1957

7.0

The D.I.

as Gunnery Sgt. Jim Moore

1957

7.1

24 Hour Alert

as Himself

1955

6.0

Pete Kelly's Blues

as Pete Kelly

1955

6.1

Dragnet

as Sergeant Joe Friday

1954

6.1

The Oscars

as Self

1953

7.0

This Is Your Life

as Self

1952

6.4

Dragnet

as Joe Friday

1951

6.4

You're in the Navy Now

as Ens. Anthony 'Tony' Barbo

1951

4.4

Halls of Montezuma

as Correspondent Dickerman

1951

5.9

The Jack Benny Program

as Jack Webb

1950

7.8

Dark City

as Augie

1950

6.5

The Colgate Comedy Hour

as Self

1950

6.8

The Men

as Norm

1950

7.0

Sunset Boulevard

as Artie Green

1950

8.3

Appointment with Danger

as Joe Regas

1950

5.5

He Walked by Night

as Lee Whitey

1949

6.7

Hollow Triumph

as Bullseye (uncredited)

1948

6.6

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self

1948

6.8

Three on a Match

as Boy in Schoolyard (uncredited)

1932

6.2