108-545: John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor , television producer , director , and screenwriter , most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet franchise , which he created. He was also the founder of his own production company, Mark VII Limited . Webb started his career in the 1940s as a radio personality , starring in several radio shows and dramas —including Dragnet , which he created in 1949—before entering television in
216-681: A Dragnet revival before he died. Webb's production style aimed for significant levels of detail and accuracy. Many of his works focused on law enforcement and emergency services in the Los Angeles area, most prominently the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), which directly supported the production of Dragnet and Adam-12 . Webb was born in Santa Monica, California , on April 2, 1920, son of Samuel Chester Webb and Margaret (née Smith) Webb. He grew up in
324-429: A speakeasy run by George Lupo, often mentioned but never heard. Kelly, narrating the series, described Lupo as a "fat, friendly little guy." The plots typically centered on Kelly's reluctant involvement with gangsters, gun molls, FBI agents, and people trying to save their own skins. The endings were often downbeat. The supporting cast was minimal; apart from the off-mike character Lupo and occasional speaking parts by
432-440: A "c" or "cl" sound at the beginning. Both Webb and Carson tried desperately not to lose composure, but both did, near the end of the sketch. In 1970, Webb decided to bring an end to Dragnet and cease acting to focus on expanding Mark VII Limited's production profile. In 1971, Webb entered the world of district attorneys and federal government work with two series. The first, The D.A. , starred Robert Conrad and Harry Morgan as
540-432: A 1955 film version of Pete Kelly's Blues , in which Jack Webb produced, directed and starred. It used many of the same musicians, including Cathcart, and Ella Fitzgerald was cast as Maggie Jackson. A lesser-known television version , still produced and directed by Webb but with William Reynolds in the lead, aired in 1959, using scripts originally written for the radio version. After the film, two albums were released,
648-700: A Christian burial. In the Early Middle Ages , churches in Europe began staging dramatized versions of biblical events. By the middle of the 11th century, liturgical drama had spread from Russia to Scandinavia to Italy. The Feast of Fools encouraged the development of comedy. In the Late Middle Ages , plays were produced in 127 towns. These vernacular Mystery plays often contained comedy , with actors playing devils , villains , and clowns . The majority of actors in these plays were drawn from
756-418: A circuit-riding lawyer and the youngest son of Sam Houston . Despite Webb and Hunter's high profiles, however, it ended after its 26-week run. In a 1965 interview with The Milwaukee Journal , Hunter described the situation: In the first place, we had no time to prepare for [the series]. I was notified on July 17 to be ready to start August 7 for an October air date. When we reached the screen we did not have
864-545: A distribution deal with Worldvision Enterprises , and set up offices in the Samuel Goldwyn Studios . Despite his string of short-lived series in the late 1970s, Webb still kept trying to recapture his previous success and decided to bring Dragnet back to television for a third series in 1983. Five scripts had been produced and Kent McCord , one of the stars of Adam-12, was cast as Joe Friday's new partner. In 1987, Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks starred in
972-409: A heart attack in 1951, after filming only two episodes, and Barney Phillips (Sgt. Ed Jacobs) and Herbert Ellis (Officer Frank Smith) temporarily stepped in as partners. Veteran radio and film actor Ben Alexander took over the role of jovial, burly Officer Frank Smith. Alexander was popular and remained a cast member until the show's cancellation in 1959. In 1954, a full-length feature-film adaptation of
1080-514: A movie parody (and homage) to Webb, titled Dragnet , along with Harry Morgan, who reprised his role from the television series as Bill Gannon, who had by now become a captain of detectives. The comedy film was written and directed by Tom Mankiewicz , in his directorial debut. Aykroyd played the role of Joe Friday, described as the namesake nephew of the original series lead, while Hanks co-starred as Detective Officer Pep Streebeck, Friday's new smart-alecky and streetwise partner. Webb's personal life
1188-462: A news story from the previous week. By 1949, Webb had abandoned comedy for drama, and starred in Pat Novak, for Hire , a radio show originating from KFRC about a man who worked as an unlicensed private detective. The program co-starred Raymond Burr . Pat Novak was notable for writing that imitated the hardboiled style of such writers as Raymond Chandler , with lines such as: "She drifted into
SECTION 10
#17327940276241296-443: A pair of LAPD officers, and followed their escapades while on patrol. Running until 1975 for a total of seven seasons, Adam-12 was Webb's second-longest running television series, with the eight seasons recorded by the original Dragnet being the longest. Also in 1968, Webb and Johnny Carson performed a sketch on The Tonight Show that has since become known as the "Copper Clapper Caper" sketch. Webb, in character as Joe Friday,
1404-478: A pair of Los Angeles County ADAs, with Conrad playing a junior ADA and Morgan his superior. The second, O'Hara, United States Treasury , was a co-production of Webb and David Janssen , the former star of The Fugitive and future star of Harry O , for CBS (a rare non-NBC Mark VII effort) and featured Janssen as a Nebraska county sheriff-turned- United States Treasury Department agent. Neither series lasted very long, as The D.A., Webb's last 30-minute series,
1512-458: A series. A co-star role is a small speaking role that usually only appears in one episode. A guest star is a larger role than a co-star role, and the character is often the central focus of the episode or integral to the plot. Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance , broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help
1620-585: A shift in acting techniques between 1913 and 1921, influenced by techniques found in German silent film. This is mainly attributed to the influx of emigrants from the Weimar Republic , "including film directors, producers, cameramen, lighting and stage technicians, as well as actors and actresses". Film actors have to learn to get used to and be comfortable with a camera being in front of them. Film actors need to learn to find and stay on their "mark". This
1728-442: A short-lived radio series, Pete Kelly's Blues , in an attempt to bring the music he loved to a broader audience. That show became the basis for a 1955 film of the same name . In 1959, a television version was made. Neither was very successful. The character of Pete Kelly was a cornet player who supplemented his income from playing in a nightclub band by working as a private investigator. From September 1962 through May 1963, Webb
1836-463: A single segment ready. It was done so fast the writers never got a chance to know what it was all about. We all wanted to follow the line indicated by the pilot film, which we thought would make a charming series. NBC, however, favored making it serious. Webb's role with Warner ended in December 1963. Shortly after leaving his position at Warner Bros., he first attempted to produce an adaptation of
1944-539: A small minority of them were given speaking parts. The commedia dell'arte of Italy, however, allowed professional women to perform early on; Lucrezia Di Siena , whose name is on a contract of actors from 10 October 1564, has been referred to as the first Italian actress known by name, with Vincenza Armani and Barbara Flaminia as the first primadonnas and the first well-documented actresses in Italy (and in Europe). After
2052-553: A two-season component of the NBC Mystery Movie wheel series that featured former Have Gun – Will Travel star Richard Boone as a pioneering forensic scientist in the Old West, and Project UFO , an anthology based on the investigations into UFOs as compiled by Project Bluebook that also ran for two seasons beginning in 1978. In 1977, he quit Universal Studios, and set up Mark VII Limited independently, signing
2160-498: A vicious card sharp and Harry Morgan a punch-drunk ex-fighter, in contrast to the pair's straight-arrow image in the later Dragnet . Also in 1950, Webb appeared in The Men , Marlon Brando's debut film. Both actors played paraplegics undergoing rehabilitation at a veterans' hospital. In a subplot, Webb's character, a cynical intellectual, is fleeced of his life savings by a woman who feigns romantic interest. In 1951, Webb introduced
2268-592: A woman. Occasionally, the issue is further complicated, for example, by a woman playing a woman acting as a man—who then pretends to be a woman, such as Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria , or Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love . In It's Pat: The Movie , film-watchers never learn the gender of the androgynous main characters Pat and Chris (played by Julia Sweeney and Dave Foley ). Similarly, in
SECTION 20
#17327940276242376-422: Is a position on the floor marked with tape. This position is where the lights and camera focus are optimized. Film actors also need to learn how to prepare well and perform well on- screen tests . Screen tests are a filmed audition of part of the script. Unlike theater actors, who develop characters for repeat performances, film actors lack continuity, forcing them to come to all scenes (sometimes shot in reverse of
2484-485: Is experiencing a revival. Pete Kelly%27s Blues (radio series) Pete Kelly's Blues was an American crime-musical radio drama which aired over NBC as an unsponsored summer replacement series on Wednesday nights at 8 pm (et) from July 4 through September 19, 1951. The series starred Jack Webb as Pete Kelly and was created by writer Richard L. Breen , who had previously worked with Webb on Pat Novak for Hire ; James Moser and Jo Eisinger wrote most of
2592-548: Is no evidence that they produced anything but crude scenes. Traditionally, actors were not of high status; therefore, in the Early Middle Ages , traveling acting troupes were often viewed with distrust. Early Middle Ages actors were denounced by the Church during the Dark Ages , as they were viewed as dangerous, immoral, and pagan . In many parts of Europe, traditional beliefs of the region and time meant actors could not receive
2700-460: Is particularly common in presentations of older plays, such as Shakespearean works with large numbers of male characters in roles where gender is inconsequential. Having an actor dress as the opposite sex for comic effect is also a long-standing tradition in comic theatre and film. Most of Shakespeare's comedies include instances of overt cross-dressing , such as Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream . The movie A Funny Thing Happened on
2808-505: Is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent." A second announcer, Hal Gibney , usually gave dates when and specific courtrooms where trials were held for the suspects, announcing the trial verdicts after commercial breaks. Many suspects shown to have been found guilty at the end were also shown as having been confined at San Quentin State Prison . Webb frequently recreated entire floors of buildings on sound stages, such as
2916-450: The ABC /Warner Bros. detective series 77 Sunset Strip retaining only Efrem Zimbalist Jr. , in the role of private detective Stuart Bailey. The result was a disaster, and critics accused Webb of being out of touch with the younger generation of viewers. That same year, Webb sold Temple Houston to NBC . The show, starring Jeffrey Hunter , followed the exploits of Temple Lea Houston ,
3024-745: The BBC produces and broadcasts hundreds of new radio plays each year on Radio 3 , Radio 4 , and Radio 4 Extra . Podcasting has also offered the means of creating new radio dramas, in addition to the distribution of vintage programs. The terms "audio drama" or "audio theatre" are sometimes used synonymously with "radio drama" with one possible distinction: audio drama or audio theatre may not necessarily be intended specifically for broadcast on radio. Audio drama, whether newly produced or OTR classics, can be found on CDs , cassette tapes , podcasts , webcasts , and conventional broadcast radio. Thanks to advances in digital recording and Internet distribution, radio drama
3132-575: The Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles. His father left home before Webb was born, and Webb never knew him. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Webb lived in the parish of Our Lady of Loretto Catholic Church and attended Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School in Echo Park , where he served as an altar boy. He then attended Belmont High School , near downtown Los Angeles, where he was elected student body president. He wrote to Belmont's student body in
3240-1112: The Edo period ; this convention continues. In some forms of Chinese drama such as Beijing opera , men traditionally performed all the roles, including female roles, while in Shaoxing opera women often play all roles, including male ones. In modern times, women occasionally played the roles of boys or young men. For example, the stage role of Peter Pan is traditionally played by a woman, as are most principal boys in British pantomime . Opera has several " breeches roles " traditionally sung by women, usually mezzo-sopranos . Examples are Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel , Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier . Women playing male roles are uncommon in film, with notable exceptions. In 1982, Stina Ekblad played
3348-584: The English Restoration of 1660, women began to appear onstage in England. In modern times, particularly in pantomime and some operas, women occasionally play the roles of boys or young men. The first recorded case of a performing actor occurred in 534 BC (though the changes in the calendar over the years make it hard to determine exactly) when the Greek performer Thespis stepped onto the stage at
Jack Webb - Misplaced Pages Continue
3456-593: The Hollywood Walk of Fame , one for radio (at 7040 Hollywood Boulevard) and the other for television (at 6728 Hollywood Boulevard). In 1992, Webb was posthumously inducted into the Television Hall of Fame . † Webb also starred in the GE True two-part episode "Code Name: Christopher" Actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in
3564-538: The OED , the first occurrence of the term actress was in 1608 and is ascribed to Middleton . In the 19th century, many viewed women in acting negatively, as actresses were often courtesans and associated with promiscuity. Despite these prejudices, the 19th century also saw the first female acting "stars", most notably Sarah Bernhardt . In Japan, onnagata , or men taking on female roles, were used in kabuki theatre when women were banned from performing on stage during
3672-540: The Selena Mead books by Patricia McGerr for CBS, then Webb teamed with Universal Television to begin work on a new Dragnet series. A pilot television film, based on the Harvey Glatman serial killings, was produced in 1966 for NBC, with Webb's Sgt. Joe Friday joined by Harry Morgan as Officer Bill Gannon. Webb had tried to get Ben Alexander to reprise his role as Frank Smith, but Alexander would not leave
3780-465: The Theatre Dionysus to become the first known person to speak words as a character in a play or story. Before Thespis' act, Grecian stories were only expressed in song , dance, and in third person narrative. In honor of Thespis, actors are commonly called Thespians . The exclusively male actors in the theatre of ancient Greece performed in three types of drama : tragedy , comedy , and
3888-440: The actor-managers , who formed their own companies and controlled the actors, the productions, and the financing. When successful, they built up a permanent clientele that flocked to their productions. They could enlarge their audience by going on tour across the country, performing a repertoire of well-known plays, such as those by Shakespeare. The newspapers, private clubs, pubs, and coffee shops rang with lively debates evaluating
3996-479: The film noir Dark City , he co-starred with Harry Morgan , his future partner on the second Dragnet series. Webb's most famous motion-picture role was as the combat-hardened Marine Corps drill instructor at Parris Island in the 1957 film The D.I. , with Don Dubbins as a callow Marine private . Webb's hard-nosed approach to this role, that of Drill Instructor Technical Sergeant James Moore, would be reflected in much of his later acting, but The D.I.
4104-689: The medieval world , it was considered disgraceful for a woman to go on stage; nevertheless, women did perform in Ancient Rome, and again entered the stage in the Commedia dell'arte in Italy in the 16th century; Lucrezia Di Siena became the perhaps first professional actress since Ancient Rome. France and Spain, too, also had female actors in the 16th century. In William Shakespeare's England, however, women's roles were generally played by men or boys. When an eighteen-year Puritan prohibition of drama
4212-529: The satyr play . This developed and expanded considerably under the Romans . The theatre of ancient Rome was a thriving and diverse art form, ranging from festival performances of street theatre , nude dancing, and acrobatics, to the staging of situation comedies , to high-style , verbally elaborate tragedies . As the Western Roman Empire fell into decay through the 4th and 5th centuries,
4320-504: The "...men on Forbes' list of top-paid actors for that year made 2 + 1 / 2 times as much money as the top-paid actresses. That means that Hollywood's best-compensated actresses made just 40 cents for every dollar that the best-compensated men made." Actors working in theatre , film , television , and radio have to learn specific skills. Techniques that work well in one type of acting may not work well in another type of acting. To act on stage, actors need to learn
4428-496: The 100 top-grossing films of 2014 featured a female lead or co-lead, while only 28.1 percent of characters in 100 top-grossing films were female...". "In the U.S., there is an "industry-wide [gap] in salaries of all scales. On average, white women earn 78 cents to every dollar a white man makes, while Hispanic women earn 56 cents to a white male's dollar, black women 64 cents and Native American women just 59 cents to that." Forbes' analysis of US acting salaries in 2013 determined that
Jack Webb - Misplaced Pages Continue
4536-502: The 13th century. At the end of the Late Middle Ages , professional actors began to appear in England and Europe. Richard III and Henry VII both maintained small companies of professional actors. Beginning in the mid-16th century, Commedia dell'arte troupes performed lively improvisational playlets across Europe for centuries. Commedia dell'arte was an actor-centred theatre, requiring little scenery and very few props. Plays were loose frameworks that provided situations, complications, and
4644-483: The 1938 edition of its yearbook, Campanile , "You who showed me the magnificent warmth of friendship which I know, and you know, I will carry with me forever." Webb attended St. John's University, Minnesota , where he studied art. During World War II , Webb enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps , but he "washed out" of flight training. He later received a hardship discharge because he
4752-479: The 1950s, creating the television adaptation of Dragnet for NBC as well as other series. Throughout the 1960s, Webb worked in both acting and television production, creating Adam-12 in 1968, and in 1970, Webb retired from acting to focus on producing, creating Emergency! in 1972. Webb continued to make television series, and although many of them were less successful and short-lived, he wished to rekindle his prior successes, and had plans to return to acting in
4860-465: The ABC series Felony Squad . The new Dragnet premiered as a midseason replacement series on January 12, 1967, and aired until April 16, 1970. To distinguish it from the original series, the year of production was added to the title ( Dragnet 1967, Dragnet 1968, etc.). The revival emphasized crime prevention and outreach to the public. Its attempts to address the contemporary youth-drug culture (such as
4968-811: The United States , the gender-neutral term "player" was common in film in the silent film era and the early days of the Motion Picture Production Code , but in the 2000s in a film context, it is generally deemed archaic . However, "player" remains in use in the theatre , often incorporated into the name of a theatre group or company, such as the American Players , the East West Players , etc. Also, actors in improvisational theatre may be referred to as "players". In 2015, Forbes reported that "...just 21 of
5076-540: The United States recognized the different limitations and freedoms of the mediums of stage and screen by the early 1910s. Silent films became less vaudevillian in the mid-1910s, as the differences between stage and screen became apparent. Due to the work of directors such as D W Griffith , cinematography became less stage-like, and the then-revolutionary close-up shot allowed subtle and naturalistic acting. In America, D.W. Griffith's company Biograph Studios , became known for its innovative direction and acting, conducted to suit
5184-507: The United States. Webb cast his ex-wife, Julie London , as well as her second husband and Dragnet ensemble player Bobby Troup , as head nurse Dixie McCall and Dr. Joe Early, respectively, with Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe playing paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto and Robert Fuller playing Dr. Kelly Brackett, Rampart's Chief of Emergency Medicine. Emergency! ran as part of NBC's Saturday-night lineup for six entire seasons, and it
5292-789: The Way to the Forum stars Jack Gilford dressing as a young bride. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon famously posed as women to escape gangsters in the Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot . Cross-dressing for comic effect was a frequently used device in most of the Carry On films . Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams have each appeared in a hit comedy film ( Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire , respectively) in which they played most scenes dressed as
5400-492: The aforementioned example of The Marriage of Figaro , there is a scene in which Cherubino (a male character portrayed by a woman) dresses up and acts like a woman; the other characters in the scene are aware of a single level of gender role obfuscation, while the audience is aware of two levels. A few modern roles are played by a member of the opposite sex to emphasize the gender fluidity of the role. Edna Turnblad in Hairspray
5508-476: The audio archives of collectors and museums, as well as several online sites such as Internet Archive . As of 2011 , radio drama has a minimal presence on terrestrial radio in the United States. Much of American radio drama is restricted to rebroadcasts or podcasts of programs from previous decades. However, other nations still have thriving traditions of radio drama. In the United Kingdom, for example,
SECTION 50
#17327940276245616-500: The band members (notably Red the bass player, played by Jack Kruschen ), the only other regular role of note was Maggie Jackson, the torch singer at another club (Fat Annie's, "across the river on the Kansas side"), played by blues singer Meredith Howard. In one episode, Bessie Smith is mentioned as the singer at Fat Annie's instead of Maggie Jackson. Boozy ex-bootlegger Barney Ricketts would show up occasionally, an informant not unlike
5724-452: The character Jocko Madigan on Webb and Breen's Pat Novak for Hire . The episodic roles were filled by William Conrad (as various mob bosses), Vic Perrin , and Roy Glenn , among others. The music dominated the series. In addition to one song by Maggie Jackson, each episode boasted two jazz numbers by the "Big Seven." The group was actually led by Dick Cathcart , the cornet player who was Pete Kelly's musical stand-in . The other members of
5832-500: The cinema rather than the stage. Griffith realized that theatrical acting did not look good on film and required his actors and actresses to go through weeks of film acting training. Lillian Gish has been called film's "first true actress" for her work in the period, as she pioneered new film performing techniques, recognizing the crucial differences between stage and screen acting. Directors such as Albert Capellani and Maurice Tourneur began to insist on naturalism in their films. By
5940-439: The concept of "frame". "The term frame refers to the area that the camera's lens is capturing." Within the acting industry, there are four types of television roles one could land on a show. Each type varies in prominence, frequency of appearance, and pay. The first is known as a series regular —the main actors on the show as part of the permanent cast. Actors in recurring roles are under contract to appear in multiple episodes of
6048-526: The elaborate masques frequently presented at court, also contributed to the shaping of public theatre. Since before the reign of Elizabeth I, companies of players were attached to the households of leading aristocrats and performed seasonally in various locations. These became the foundation for the professional players that performed on the Elizabethan stage . The development of the theatre and opportunities for acting ceased when Puritan opposition to
6156-489: The episode. The radio series had a similar opening, though Webb, as Friday, did not give a unique Los Angeles-themed opening. Webb then set the plot by describing a typical day and then led into the story. "It was Wednesday, March 19th. It was cool in Los Angeles. I was at headquarters, working narcotics ..." At the end of each show, Fenneman repeated his opening narration, revised to read: "The story you have just seen
6264-492: The eyebrow to create a believable character." Some theatre stars "...have made the theater-to-cinema transition quite successfully ( Laurence Olivier , Glenn Close , and Julie Andrews , for instance), others have not..." "On a television set, there are typically several cameras angled at the set. Actors who are new to on-screen acting can get confused about which camera to look into." TV actors need to learn to use lav mics ( Lavaliere microphones ). TV actors need to understand
6372-512: The first time to appear on the English stage, exclusively in female roles. This period saw the introduction of the first professional actresses and the rise of the first celebrity actors. In the 19th century, the negative reputation of actors was largely reversed, and acting became an honored, popular profession and art. The rise of the actor as celebrity provided the transition, as audiences flocked to their favorite "stars". A new role emerged for
6480-399: The flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film , radio , and television . The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής ( hupokritḗs ), literally "one who answers". The actor's interpretation of a role—the art of acting —pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character. This can also be considered an "actor's role", which
6588-409: The group, all well known jazz musicians, included Matty Matlock on clarinet, Moe Schneider on trombone, piano player Ray Sherman , bass player Morty Corb , guitarist Bill Newman , and drummer Nick Fatool . The show's announcer was another frequent Webb collaborator, George Fenneman , who would open each show with "This one's about Pete Kelly." The series lasted only three months, but inspired
SECTION 60
#17327940276246696-431: The late 1920s, movies were silent films . Silent film actors emphasized body language and facial expression , so that the audience could better understand what an actor was feeling and portraying on screen. Much silent film acting is apt to strike modern-day audiences as simplistic or campy . The melodramatic acting style was in some cases a habit actors transferred from their former stage experience. Vaudeville theatre
6804-546: The listener imagine the characters and story: "It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension." Radio drama achieved widespread popularity within a decade of its initial development in the 1920s. By the 1940s, it was a leading international popular entertainment. With the advent of television in the 1950s, however, radio drama lost some of its popularity, and in some countries has never regained large audiences. However, recordings of OTR ( old-time radio ) survive today in
6912-522: The local population. Amateur performers in England were exclusively male, but other countries had female performers. There were several secular plays staged in the Middle Ages, the earliest of which is The Play of the Greenwood by Adam de la Halle in 1276. It contains satirical scenes and folk material such as faeries and other supernatural occurrences. Farces also rose in popularity after
7020-469: The mid-1920s many American silent films had adopted a more naturalistic acting style, though not all actors and directors accepted naturalistic, low-key acting straight away; as late as 1927, films featuring expressionistic acting styles, such as Metropolis , were still being released. According to Anton Kaes, a silent film scholar from the University of Wisconsin, American silent cinema began to see
7128-609: The mysterious Ismael Retzinsky in Fanny and Alexander , and Linda Hunt received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously . In 2007, Cate Blanchett was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Jude Quinn, a fictionalized representation of Bob Dylan in the 1960s, in I'm Not There . In the 2000s, women playing men in live theatre
7236-428: The neutral term dates to the post-war period of the 1950s and '60s, when the contributions of women to cultural life in general were being reviewed. When The Observer and The Guardian published their new joint style guide in 2010, it stated "Use ['actor'] for both male and female actors; do not use actress except when in name of award, e.g. Oscar for best actress". The guide's authors stated that "actress comes into
7344-423: The order in which they ultimately appear) with a fully developed character already. "Since film captures even the smallest gesture and magnifies it..., cinema demands a less flamboyant and stylized bodily performance from the actor than does the theater." "The performance of emotion is the most difficult aspect of film acting to master: ...the film actor must rely on subtle facial ticks, quivers, and tiny lifts of
7452-517: The other scripts. Set in Kansas City, Missouri , in the early 1920s, the series was a crime drama with a strong musical atmosphere (Webb was a noted Dixieland jazz enthusiast). Kansas City in this era was a hotbed of jazz, as well as of organized crime and political corruption, all of which influenced the series. Pete Kelly was a musician, a cornet player who headed his own jazz combo, "Pete Kelly's Big Seven." They worked at 417 Cherry Street,
7560-498: The outcome of the action, around which the actors improvised. The plays used stock characters . A troupe typically consisted of 13 to 14 members. Most actors were paid a share of the play's profits roughly equivalent to the sizes of their roles. Renaissance theatre derived from several medieval theatre traditions, such as the mystery plays , " morality plays ", and the "university drama" that attempted to recreate Athenian tragedy. The Italian tradition of Commedia dell'arte , as well as
7668-420: The paramedics Gage and DeSoto assisted by four youngsters and their three pets. The franchise was also credited in performing a social good in easing acceptance of the emergency medical service and encouraging communities to establish the service locally. Emergency! was Webb's last sustained success. Of the remaining series his company produced, the only two that lasted longer than one season were Hec Ramsey ,
7776-526: The police headquarters at Los Angeles City Hall and a floor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner . During Dragnet ' s early days, Webb continued to appear in movies, notably as Artie Green, the best friend of William Holden 's character in the 1950 Billy Wilder film Sunset Boulevard . The character Green was an assistant director and fiancé to script reader Betty Schaefer (played by Nancy Olson). In Dark City , Webb played
7884-493: The power of star actors and celebrated roles to attract enthusiastic audiences. His knighthood in 1895 indicated full acceptance into the higher circles of British society. By the early 20th century, the economics of large-scale productions displaced the actor-manager model. It was too hard to find people who combined a genius at acting as well as management, so specialization divided the roles as stage managers and later theatre directors emerged. Financially, much larger capital
7992-405: The primary authors. It was published in 1999. Stacy did not live to see the publication of the book, having been killed in a collision with a California Highway Patrol vehicle three years earlier. Webb died of an apparent heart attack in the early morning hours of December 23, 1982, at age 62. He is interred at Sheltering Hills Plot 1999, Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, and
8100-403: The reign of Charles II in part because he enjoyed watching actresses on stage. Specifically, Charles II issued letters patent to Thomas Killigrew and William Davenant , granting them the monopoly right to form two London theatre companies to perform "serious" drama, and the letters patent were reissued in 1662 with revisions allowing actresses to perform for the first time. According to
8208-406: The relative merits of the stars and the productions. Henry Irving (1838–1905) was the most successful of the British actor-managers. Irving was renowned for his Shakespearean roles, and for such innovations as turning out the house lights so that attention could focus more on the stage and less on the audience. His company toured across Britain, as well as Europe and the United States, demonstrating
8316-595: The revival's first episode, " The LSD Story ", guest-starring Michael Burns as Benjamin John "Blue Boy" Carver, voted 85th-best TV episode of all time by TV Guide and TV Land ) have led certain episodes on the topic to achieve cult status due to their strained attempts to be "with-it", such as Joe Friday grilling "Blue Boy" by asking him, "You're pretty high and far out, aren't you? What kind of kick are you on, son?" Don Dubbins , who had acted alongside Webb in The D.I. in 1957,
8424-488: The room like 98 pounds of warm smoke. Her voice was hot and sticky — like a furnace full of marshmallows." Early in 1949, Webb served as the main antagonist of Alan Ladd 's protagonist character Dan Holliday in "The Better Man" episode of the radio series Box 13 , which aired on January 2, 1949. Webb's radio shows included Johnny Madero, Pier 23 ; Jeff Regan, Investigator ; Murder and Mr. Malone ; Pete Kelly's Blues ; and One Out of Seven. Webb provided all of
8532-414: The same category as authoress, comedienne, manageress, 'lady doctor', 'male nurse' and similar obsolete terms that date from a time when professions were largely the preserve of one sex (usually men)." (See male as norm .) "As Whoopi Goldberg put it in an interview with the paper: 'An actress can only play a woman. I'm an actor – I can play anything. ' " The UK performers' union Equity has no policy on
8640-426: The seat of Roman power was moved eastward to Constantinople . Records show that mime , pantomime , scenes or recitations from tragedies and comedies , dances , and other entertainments were very popular. From the 5th century, Western Europe was plunged into a period of general disorder. Small nomadic bands of actors traveled around Europe throughout the period, performing wherever they could find an audience; there
8748-524: The second half of the 17th century, they did appear in Italy, Spain and France from the late 16th-century onward. Lucrezia Di Siena , whose name is on an acting contract in Rome from 10 October 1564, has been referred to as the first Italian actress known by name, with Vincenza Armani and Barbara Flaminia as the first primadonnas and the first well-documented actresses in Italy (and Europe). After 1660 in England, when women first started to appear on stage,
8856-438: The series was released, starring Webb, Alexander, and Richard Boone . The television version of Dragnet began with this narration by George Fenneman : "Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent." Webb would intone, "This is the city: Los Angeles, California." He would then make a historical or topical point, describe his duties, his partner, and superior on
8964-527: The stage banned the performance of all plays within London. Puritans viewed the theatre as immoral. The re-opening of the theatres in 1660 signalled a renaissance of English drama. English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710 are collectively called "Restoration comedy". Restoration comedy is notorious for its sexual explicitness. At this point, women were allowed for
9072-413: The stage directions that appear in the script, such as "Stage Left" and "Stage Right". These directions are based on the actor's point of view as they stand on the stage facing the audience. Actors also have to learn the meaning of the stage directions "Upstage" (away from the audience) and "Downstage" (towards the audience). Theatre actors need to learn blocking, which is "...where and how an actor moves on
9180-454: The stage during a play". Most scripts specify some blocking. The Director also gives instructions on blocking, such as crossing the stage or picking up and using a prop. Some theater actors need to learn stage combat , which is simulated fighting on stage. Actors may have to simulate hand-to-hand fighting or sword-fighting. Actors are coached by fight directors , who help them learn the choreographed sequence of fight actions. From 1894 to
9288-462: The terms actor or actress were initially used interchangeably for female performers, but later, influenced by the French actrice , actress became the commonly used term for women in theater and film. The etymology is a simple derivation from actor with -ess added. When referring to groups of performers of both sexes, actors is preferred. Within the profession, the re-adoption of
9396-468: The use of "actor" or "actress". An Equity spokesperson said that the union does not believe that there is a consensus on the matter and stated that the "...subject divides the profession". In 2009, the Los Angeles Times stated that "Actress" remains the common term used in major acting awards given to female recipients (e.g., Academy Award for Best Actress ). With regard to the cinema of
9504-462: The voices on One Out of Seven, often vigorously attacking racial prejudice. In 1950, Webb appeared in three films that would become cult classics. In Sunset Boulevard , he is the fiancé of William Holden 's love interest Nancy Olson (his performance is very animated and jovial, unlike his later deadpan style). He played a war veteran in Marlon Brando 's first feature, The Men . And in
9612-580: Was a box office failure. Webb was approached to play the role of Vernon Wormer, dean of Faber College, in National Lampoon's Animal House , but he refused, saying "the movie didn't make any damn sense"; John Vernon ultimately played the role. Webb had a featured role as a crime-lab technician in the 1948 film He Walked by Night , based on the real-life murder of California Highway Patrolman Loren Cornwell Roosevelt, by Erwin Walker . The film
9720-514: Was a hugely popular series, sometimes winning its time slot against CBS's popular Saturday-night comedy block, which included All in the Family . The series came to an end in 1977, but it spawned a series of telefilms that ran until 1979. Webb's company and Universal also contracted with animator Fred Calvert to produce a spin-off Saturday-morning cartoon show for NBC titled Emergency +4 , which ran for three seasons (the last in reruns) and featured
9828-483: Was a minority of actresses in Rome employed in speaking roles, and also those who achieved wealth, fame and recognition for their art, such as Eucharis , Dionysia , Galeria Copiola and Fabia Arete , and they also formed their own acting guild, the Sociae Mimae , which was evidently quite wealthy. The profession seemingly died out in late antiquity. While women did not begin to perform onstage in England until
9936-459: Was also picked up as a television series by NBC , which aired episodes each season from 1952 to 1959. Webb played Sgt. Joe Friday and Barton Yarborough co-starred as Sgt. Ben Romero. After Yarborough's death, Ben Alexander joined the cast. Webb was a stickler for attention to detail. He believed viewers wanted " realism " and tried to give it to them. Webb had tremendous respect for those in law enforcement. He often said, in interviews, that he
10044-440: Was among those whose experiences were so noted. In announcing his vision of Dragnet, Webb said he intended to perform a service for the police by showing them as low-key working-class heroes. Dragnet moved away from earlier portrayals of the police in shows such as Jeff Regan and Pat Novak, which had often shown them as brutal and even corrupt. Dragnet became a successful television show in 1952. Barton Yarborough died of
10152-571: Was an especially popular origin for many American silent film actors. The pervading presence of stage actors in film was the cause of this outburst from director Marshall Neilan in 1917: "The sooner the stage people who have come into pictures get out, the better for the pictures". In other cases, directors such as John Griffith Wray required their actors to deliver larger-than-life expressions for emphasis. As early as 1914, American viewers had begun to make known their preference for greater naturalness on screen. Pioneering film directors in Europe and
10260-628: Was angry about the "ridiculous amount" of abuse to which police were subjected by the press and the public. Webb was also impressed by the long hours, the low pay, and the high injury rate among police investigators of the day, particularly in the LAPD, which had by then acquired a notorious reputation for jettisoning officers who had become ill or injured in the line of duty; in Webb's book, The Badge , one of Erwin Walker's victims, LAPD detective Lt. Colin Forbes,
10368-452: Was better defined by his love of jazz than his interest in police work. He had a collection of more than 6,000 jazz recordings. Webb's own recordings reached cult status, including his deadpan delivery of " Try A Little Tenderness ". His lifelong interest in the cornet allowed him to move easily in the jazz culture, where he met singer and actress Julie London . They married in 1947 and had daughters Stacy and Lisa. They divorced in 1954. He
10476-436: Was called this due to scrolls being used in the theaters. Interpretation occurs even when the actor is "playing themselves", as in some forms of experimental performance art . Formerly, in ancient Greece and the medieval world , and in England at the time of William Shakespeare , only men could become actors, and women's roles were generally played by men or boys. While Ancient Rome did allow female stage performers, only
10584-405: Was cancelled after 15 episodes and O'Hara ended after 22. Later in the 1971–72 season, Webb and Cinader launched Emergency! , which focused on the fictional Station 51 Rescue Squad of the L.A. County Fire Department , and its work in coordination with the emergency department staff of the fictional Rampart General Hospital. LACoFD's paramedic program was among the first paramedic services in
10692-649: Was featured in the second Dragnet 1967 episode, "The Big Explosion," and was another featured actor in Mark VII Limited programs beginning in the 1960s. Other Webb-affiliated actors featured in the revived series many times in different roles were Virginia Gregg , Peggy Webber , Clark Howat , Olan Soule , Bobby Troup , Tim Donnelly , and Marco Lopez . In 1968, Webb and his production partner R.A. Cinader launched Adam-12 on NBC. A spinoff of Dragnet, Adam-12 starred Martin Milner and Kent McCord as
10800-459: Was given a funeral with full Los Angeles police honors. On Webb's death, Chief Daryl Gates announced that badge number 714, which was used by Joe Friday in Dragnet, would be retired. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley ordered all flags lowered to half staff in Webb's honor for a day, and Webb was buried with a replica LAPD badge bearing the rank of sergeant and the number 714. Webb has two stars on
10908-478: Was lifted after the English Restoration of 1660, women began to appear on stage in England. Margaret Hughes is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage. Previously, Angelica Martinelli , a member of a visiting Italian Commedia dell'arte company, did perform in England as early as 1578, but such foreign guest appearances had been rare exceptions and there had been no professional English actresses in England. This prohibition ended during
11016-501: Was married three more times after that, to Dorothy Towne for two years beginning in 1955, to former Miss USA Jackie Loughery for six years beginning in 1958, and to his longtime associate, Opal Wright, for the last two years of his life. Stacy Webb authorized and collaborated on a book, Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Authorized Biography of Jack Webb, Creator of Dragnet, Adam-12, and Emergency!, of which Daniel Moyer and Eugene Alvarez were
11124-516: Was played by Divine in the 1988 original film , Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway musical , and John Travolta in the 2007 movie musical . Eddie Redmayne was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Lili Elbe (a trans woman ) in 2015's The Danish Girl . In contrast to Ancient Greek theatre, Ancient Roman theatre did allow female performers. While the majority of them were seldom employed in speaking roles but rather for dancing, there
11232-680: Was produced in semidocumentary style with technical assistance provided by Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn of the Los Angeles Police Department. He Walked By Night's thinly veiled fictionalized recounting of the 1946 Walker crime spree 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. With much assistance from Wynn and legendary LAPD chief William H. Parker , Dragnet premiered on NBC Radio in 1949 and ran until 1957. It
11340-554: Was required to operate out of a major city. The solution was corporate ownership of chains of theatres, such as by the Theatrical Syndicate , Edward Laurillard , and especially The Shubert Organization . By catering to tourists, theaters in large cities increasingly favored long runs of highly popular plays, especially musicals. Big name stars became even more essential. Formerly, in some societies, only men could become actors. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome and
11448-472: Was the executive producer of GE True , an anthology series that ran for 33 episodes, each of which Webb acted as host-narrator for while also directing and acting in some episodes. At the beginning of June 1963, it was reported that GE True would not continue. In February 1963, Webb succeeded William T. Orr as executive in charge of Warner Bros. Television , with Orr moving to the motion picture part of Warner Bros. Webb brought about wholesale changes to
11556-424: Was the primary financial support for both his mother and grandmother. Following his discharge, Webb moved to San Francisco , where a wartime shortage of announcers led to a temporary appointment to his own radio show on ABC 's KGO Radio . The Jack Webb Show was a half-hour comedy that had a limited run on ABC radio in 1946. Prior to that, he had a one-man program, One Out of Seven, on KGO in which he dramatized
11664-410: Was working on the case of a robbery at a school-bell factory. Carson played the owner of the factory and victim of the theft, which consisted of each bell being relieved of its clapper (the device that makes the bell ring). The sketch's dialogue consisted of Webb and Carson discussing the situation in deadpan style and using alliteration and tongue twisters to describe the incident, each word having either
#623376