Customer Reviews

My Name's Friday : The Unauthorized but True Story of Dragnet and the Films of Jack Webb

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The subtitle succinctly describes this book: a biography of Jack Webb with the emphasis on "Dragnet" in its various forms and on his long neglected feature films. Most readers, like myself, will probably get the book for its coverage of "Dragnet" in its successive permutations: radio series (1949-55), the original TV series (1951-59), theatrical film (1954), TV movie (1966), and the second TV series (1967-70). Hayde shows that in all three media, Webb was an innovator, using new and existing technologies to enhance realism and impact and speed up production. He was a stickler for realism in everything from doorknobs to nomenclature. When "Dragnet" moved to TV, Webb kept the radio series' actors, despite the network's fears that they weren't glamorous enough for TV; besides being famously loyal, Webb wanted actors who looked like real people, not movie stars. Hayde also shows that "Dragnet" was more than just reenactment, but showed the human side of police work and the effects of crime.

Some years ago, Leonard Malton wrote that Webb's theatrical films demanded reappraisal. Hayde does here, perhaps giving them their first detailed examinations since their premieres. Webb had seen radio and TV as stepping stones to film, but his features are often considered less successful than his TV shows. If so, this book shows that any shortcomings were due to writing, not acting or technique.

Hayde describes the success Webb enjoyed. The "Dragnet" dum-de-dum-dum theme is one of the most recognized in the world. The two "Dragnet" TV series were huge hits in both prime time and syndication and Webb also enjoyed success with "Adam-12" and "Emergency." He realized about $2.5 million from the sale of the syndication rights to the first "Dragnet" TV series, a huge sum for the day. But as Hayde shows, Webb paid a high price, too. Three of his four marriages ended in divorce, casaulties of his workaholism. His daily regimen of 18 hours of work, three packs of cigarettes, and up to three hard drinks ruined his health and lead to an early and fatal heart attack at age 62 in December 1982.

A huge amount of research obviously went into this book, including interviews with surviving associates of Webb. The writing is excellent. The book is profusely illustrated, with an especially evocative cover shot. It also contains some fascinating and useful appendices, including episode guides.

But this book is more than just a history of Webb's productions. Hayde provides some very incisive analyses, giving praise and criticism when due. He does an excellent job in placing "Dragnet" in context. It may seem too cut and dry today, but "Dragnet" was a breath of fresh air at a time when most crime dramas were wildly inaccurate and consisted of screams, gunshots, sirens, and wisecracks. Hayde points out that the huge success of the original TV series in syndication showed the lucrative possibilities of that market and thus doomed live TV. Hayde also points out that the second series' drug episodes, now considered campy, reflected the horror and bewilderment that broke out when drugs hit the middle class in the 1960's.

In summary, this is one of the best non-fiction books I've read. I recommend it highly, not only to Webb fans, but to any serious student of radio, TV, or film.

"My Name's Friday" tells the story of producer-director-actor-writer Jack Webb. Fans of "Dragnet" will be surprised by the sheer volume of Webb's work in radio, television, and motion pictures. The scope of Michael Hayde's engrossing book goes beyond "Dragnet" and discusses all things Webb, with plenty of color and numerous "exhibits": first-person recollections by those involved in production, radio and TV episode guides, dozens of photos, transcripts of Webb's most memorable on-air speeches, even samples of "Dragnet" merchandise from the 1950s. The author takes pains to show the various facets of Webb's personality: intense workaholic, perceptive critic, enthusiastic jazz aficionado, loyal friend. Best of all for curious readers, the author has done a terrific research job, admirably placing the "Dragnet" phenomenon in its proper historical context. A fine book: Sgt. Friday would salute this one.

Greatly superior in organization and analysis to _Just the Facts, Ma'am_, this book does well both discussing Jack Webb and Dragnet, and the love-hate relationship they had with each other. With lots of examples from the various scripts Webb wrote or oversaw, the book provides a solid guide to the man and his works, and is a must-read for anyone who is interested in either.

It's too bad that Jack Webb is better-remembered for inspiring the 1987 Ackroyd/Hanks spoof of *Dragnet* than he is for the original series, because Webb was possibly television's most influential creator. In fact, he is perhaps the closest thing TV ever came to producing what French film scholars call and *auteur*.

*Dragnet* was extraordinarily influential, not only on TV, but on literature as well. Writers of cop novels like Ed MacBain and J.J. Marric cheerfully acknowledged the influence of *Dragnet* on their work. Indeed, when the term "police procedural" was first coined by mystery critic Anthony Boucher to describe crime fiction that tried to accurately portray law enforcement, it was *Dragnet* he pointed to as the best exemplar of the form.

Hayde carefully traces the development of *Dragnet*, from the germ of an idea that came to Webb while he was playing a small supporting role in a 1948 cop movie, to its beginnings as a radio drama, through its debut as the most popular dramatic series on television, its release as one of the highest-grossing movie attractions of the '50s, finally to its revival in the oft-repeated 1967-70 series. He also gives deatiled accounts of Webb's other work, movies like *Pete Kelly's Blues* and *The DI*, TV shows like *Adam-12* and *O'Hara - US Treasury*, his book-length thank you note to the LAPD *The Badge*, and even his ill-advised turn as a romantic crooner in the LP *You're My Girl*.

It's not only the definitive book about *Dragnet*, it's one of the very best books about a television series ever published.

I wish I could say that I wrote it, but I can't. I'm sure glad Mr. Hayde did.

This is a must if you are collecting the radio shows, original TV series, or the '67-'70 version. A lot of the 50's series is on DVD, but they are scattered on all sorts of compilations. This book helps keep track of what you've got. I particularly enjoyed hearing from the extras that Webb used religiously.

But beyond Dragnet, there's a lot of interesting stuff here, how Webb was a jazz nut, including his foray into recording with his spoken-word "You're My Girl" album.

I think it's very interesting how he worked with ex-wife and her husband on Emergency! Many paramedics credit Emergency! with inspiring them to join this service. He obviously loved police and emergency services and his hometown. It makes you wonder, if Webb had lived, what his creative reaction to say the LA riots and the OJ trial would have been.

WOW! What a treat to read! This is THE book about DRAGNET that I was waiting for! If you're a fan of either the radio or TV version you MUST get this book!! It's not a biography of Jack Webb, but has enough background on his formative years to understand where he came from, so to speak. It goes into much detail about the DRAGNET industry that Webb created. Michael, it was well worth the long wait....an EXCELLENT job! Thanks!

I bought this book expecting fluff based on the reviews. I am a big fan of Dragnet the radio show but did not think the book would cover much of it in depth. I was wrong. Although it spends more time discussing the television series and movies, I was happy with the information on the radio show.

This book details the Dragnet radio show, both Dragnet television shows, and Mark VII movies. It does this through the central person in all of these productions, Jack Webb. However, the reader also learns about the regulars on the shows, and we get to know a bit about them as well.

"My Name's Friday" does not claim to be a biography on Webb and if that is what you are looking for, this is the wrong book for you. If you are looking for a bio of Jack Webb, there are many other books that you would probably enjoy more. However, If you are interested in the multiple incarnations of Dragnet and Pete Kelly's Blues, this is the book for you.

In addition to the main text, the appendixes include titles and brief descriptions of each Dragnet radio and television show in addition to police terms used in the shows and movies.

I just put down my copy of this book and I can say after reading it and "Just the Facts Ma'am" - this is the book to read. The author, Michael Hayde, has really done his homework on this nice retrospective on Jack Webb and all the works he did before he died in 1982. While both books are good, the attention to detail is outstanding, making this Jack Webb book, in my opinion, the best ever written to date. This book covers Mr. Webb's associations, detailed history and traditions in the creation and production of Dragnet from its inception, to Adam-12 (1968-1975), Emergency!, Hec Ramsey, and many other Jack Webb related projects. Jack Webb's historic contributions to television production and filming is detailed nicely, outlining many aspects that have not been widely known. I couldn't put it down, and neither will you. Mr. Hayde's years of research really stands out, and there is also a section dedicated the terminology of the LAPD in that era as well. If your a fan of Jack Webb, the Los Angeles Police Department, and vintage cop shows, this book will make an outstanding addition to your collection.

While any television buff would enjoy MY NAME'S FRIDAY, it is a MUST read for Dragnet or Jack Webb fans. This book documents exactly how Jack Webb came up with the idea for Dragnet and how it evolved from that moment on covering scripts, writers, stock players, and every aspect of the show. It gives us an idea of what kind of man Jack Webb was and what it was like to work with and for him. It is not, however, dry reading, but a fast moving, interesting, colorful and smoothly written account of what happened. I found the book definitely hard to put down and give it a five-star rating.

I have known Mike since the beginning of this undertaking and cannot begin to express the amount of time and care he has put into this book. It is truly a labor of love. Even if the subject of Golden Age television does not appeal to you, Mike's easy writing style, attention to detail and intense passion for this aspect of radio/television history will draw you in and not let you put this book down.