Joe Friday
Encyclopedia
Detective
Sergeant
Joe Friday is a fictional detective
of the LAPD
.
actor
, television producer
, and writer Jack Webb
(1920–1982) on Dragnet
. The series ran on radio (1949–1956) and television (1951–1959 and 1967–1970), and there was also a theatrical film (1954) and a TV-movie (1969).
Over the earlier run of the series, Friday was partnered with Sgt. Ben Romero (played by Barton Yarborough
), Sgt. Ed Jacobs (played by Barney Phillips), Officer Frank Smith (played first by Herbert Ellis
and then by Ben Alexander), and finally his last partner Bill Gannon (played by Harry Morgan
).
During the 1958–1959 season Friday was promoted to lieutenant. However, when the show returned in 1967 he was back to the sergeant rank without any on-screen explanation. (Webb later explained that in reality the lieutenant
rank was more of a supervisory position and involved less investigatory time in the field, which would change the structure of the show.)
Friday made famous the line "My name is Friday—I'm a cop," (the latter part later changed to "I carry a badge") said in the introductory narration of every TV episode. Supposedly, he also made the line, "Just the facts, ma'am," famous. In fact, what Friday actually said in an early episode is "All we want are the facts." Friday, as portrayed by Webb, never actually said the oft-repeated phrase. Indeed, it was more Stan Freberg
's parodies of the Dragnet series that popularized the phrase.
wanted badge 714 because he was a big fan of Babe Ruth
, who slugged 714 home run
s in his career; however, this is an urban legend
. In My Name's Friday, the book-length history of Dragnet by TV commentator Micharl J. Hayde, it was asserted that Friday originally wanted the badge number to be "777," tripling the lucky number 7, but decided instead to add the last two digits together to get "14," thus making the badge number "714."
The 714 badge that Friday carried as a lieutenant during the final season of the 1951-59 series was ultimately used in real life by LAPD officer Dan Cooke. As a sergeant, Cooke had been assigned to be the LAPD's liaison with Webb during the production of the 1967-70 series. Just before filming started on the TV-movie that became the pilot for the revived series, Cooke found the badge that the LAPD had lent to Webb in 1958-59 season. However, Webb informed Cooke that he wanted Friday to be a sergeant in the revived series, and, consequently, would not need the lieutenant's badge from the original show. Cooke put the unused badge in a desk drawer and forgot about it. Years later, after being promoted to lieutenant himself, Cooke found the badge and asked for permission to use it.
When Webb died in 1982, LAPD Chief Darryl Gates officially retired shield number 714. (Webb was also buried with full police honours, a rarity for a non-policeman.)
Dragnet and spinoff Adam-12
were the only television shows to use real LAPD badges.
In the show's heyday, people (either whimsically or seriously) would regularly visit the LAPD asking to speak to Sgt. Friday. The official response given by the front desk was "Sorry, it's Joe's day off".
In the FX Network hit show "The Shield
," about an LAPD anti-gang unit, one of the officers, Shane, lost his badge in season 2 and it was revealed to be badge number 714.
starred as Joe Friday, the original Joe Friday's nephew, in the comedy film Dragnet
while Harry Morgan reprised his television role as Bill Gannon, now Captain.
starred as Joe Friday in Wolf Films
' 2003 revival of Dragnet
. Since LAPD had discontinued the rank of Detective Sergeant, replacing it with the rank of Detective Three, or D-3, the rank banner on Friday's badge now said "Detective" instead of "Sergeant," and Friday was referred to as "Detective Friday" instead of "Sergeant Friday." During the first season of the series, Friday's partner was named "Frank Smith," but unlike the character played by Alexander and Ellis on the original series, this Frank Smith, as played by Ethan Embry
, was not an experienced, veteran officer, but a young detective being mentored by Friday. On one episode of this show, Friday actually spoke the phrase, "Just the facts."
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Joe Friday is a fictional detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
of the LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
.
Original Series
The Joe Friday character was created and played by AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, and writer Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym 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...
(1920–1982) on Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
. The series ran on radio (1949–1956) and television (1951–1959 and 1967–1970), and there was also a theatrical film (1954) and a TV-movie (1969).
Over the earlier run of the series, Friday was partnered with Sgt. Ben Romero (played by Barton Yarborough
Barton Yarborough
William Barton Yarborough was an American actor who worked extensively in radio drama.As a youth, Yarborough ran away from home, attracted by the vaudeville stages, and he first worked in radio during the 1920s...
), Sgt. Ed Jacobs (played by Barney Phillips), Officer Frank Smith (played first by Herbert Ellis
Herbert Ellis
Lieutenant Herbert Edward Oscar Ellis, MC, was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. On 4 May 1917, after running out of machine gun ammunition, he scored his third victory of the day with pistol fire.Ellis scored four victories during Bloody April, 1917, on the 13th,...
and then by Ben Alexander), and finally his last partner Bill Gannon (played by Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
).
During the 1958–1959 season Friday was promoted to lieutenant. However, when the show returned in 1967 he was back to the sergeant rank without any on-screen explanation. (Webb later explained that in reality the lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
rank was more of a supervisory position and involved less investigatory time in the field, which would change the structure of the show.)
Friday made famous the line "My name is Friday—I'm a cop," (the latter part later changed to "I carry a badge") said in the introductory narration of every TV episode. Supposedly, he also made the line, "Just the facts, ma'am," famous. In fact, what Friday actually said in an early episode is "All we want are the facts." Friday, as portrayed by Webb, never actually said the oft-repeated phrase. Indeed, it was more Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
's parodies of the Dragnet series that popularized the phrase.
Badge 714
Dragnet used Joe Friday's police badge, with the iconic numbers "714", as its title logo. It has been suggested that Jack WebbJack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym 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...
wanted badge 714 because he was a big fan of Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, who slugged 714 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in his career; however, this is an urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
. In My Name's Friday, the book-length history of Dragnet by TV commentator Micharl J. Hayde, it was asserted that Friday originally wanted the badge number to be "777," tripling the lucky number 7, but decided instead to add the last two digits together to get "14," thus making the badge number "714."
The 714 badge that Friday carried as a lieutenant during the final season of the 1951-59 series was ultimately used in real life by LAPD officer Dan Cooke. As a sergeant, Cooke had been assigned to be the LAPD's liaison with Webb during the production of the 1967-70 series. Just before filming started on the TV-movie that became the pilot for the revived series, Cooke found the badge that the LAPD had lent to Webb in 1958-59 season. However, Webb informed Cooke that he wanted Friday to be a sergeant in the revived series, and, consequently, would not need the lieutenant's badge from the original show. Cooke put the unused badge in a desk drawer and forgot about it. Years later, after being promoted to lieutenant himself, Cooke found the badge and asked for permission to use it.
When Webb died in 1982, LAPD Chief Darryl Gates officially retired shield number 714. (Webb was also buried with full police honours, a rarity for a non-policeman.)
Dragnet and spinoff Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
were the only television shows to use real LAPD badges.
In the show's heyday, people (either whimsically or seriously) would regularly visit the LAPD asking to speak to Sgt. Friday. The official response given by the front desk was "Sorry, it's Joe's day off".
In the FX Network hit show "The Shield
The Shield
The Shield is an American television drama series starring Michael Chiklis which premiered on March 12, 2002 on FX in the United States and concluded on November 25, 2008 after seven seasons...
," about an LAPD anti-gang unit, one of the officers, Shane, lost his badge in season 2 and it was revealed to be badge number 714.
1987 film
In 1987, actor Dan AykroydDan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
starred as Joe Friday, the original Joe Friday's nephew, in the comedy film Dragnet
Dragnet (1987 film)
Dragnet is a 1987 film comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks, directed by Tom Mankiewicz, based on the television crime drama of the same name starring Jack Webb. The screenplay is written by Aykroyd, Alan Zweibel and Mankiewicz. The original music score is by Ira Newborn...
while Harry Morgan reprised his television role as Bill Gannon, now Captain.
2003 series
Ed O'NeillEd O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
starred as Joe Friday in Wolf Films
Dick Wolf
Richard Anthony "Dick" Wolf is an American producer, specializing in crime dramas such as Miami Vice and the Law & Order franchise. Throughout his career he has won several awards including an Emmy Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Early life:Wolf was born in New York City, the son...
' 2003 revival of Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
. Since LAPD had discontinued the rank of Detective Sergeant, replacing it with the rank of Detective Three, or D-3, the rank banner on Friday's badge now said "Detective" instead of "Sergeant," and Friday was referred to as "Detective Friday" instead of "Sergeant Friday." During the first season of the series, Friday's partner was named "Frank Smith," but unlike the character played by Alexander and Ellis on the original series, this Frank Smith, as played by Ethan Embry
Ethan Embry
Ethan Philan Randall , although he is known and usually credited as Ethan Embry, is an American film and television actor. He is known for his role as Declan Giggs on the Showtime television series Brotherhood.-Personal life:...
, was not an experienced, veteran officer, but a young detective being mentored by Friday. On one episode of this show, Friday actually spoke the phrase, "Just the facts."