Car 54, Where Are You? Explained

Alt Name:Car 54
Genre:Sitcom
police comedy
Creator:Nat Hiken
Director:Al De Caprio
Nat Hiken
Stanley Prager
Starring:Joe E. Ross
Fred Gwynne
Theme Music Composer:Nat Hiken
John Strauss
Opentheme:"Car 54, Where Are You?"
Composer:John Strauss
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:2
Num Episodes:60
List Episodes:List of Car 54, Where Are You? episodes
Producer:Nat Hiken
Billy Friedberg
Cinematography:J. Burgi Contner
George Stoetzel
Camera:Single-camera
Runtime:30 minutes
Company:Eupolis Productions
Channel:NBC

Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City police officers who patrol the fictional 53rd precinct in The Bronx. Car 54 was their patrol car.

The series had a rotating group of directors, including Al De Caprio, Stanley Prager, and series creator Nat Hiken. Filming was done both on location[1] and at Biograph Studios in the Bronx.[2]

Synopsis

The series follows the adventures of New York City Police Department officers Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross), badge #1432, and Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne), badge #723 and #1987 in early episodes, assigned to Patrol Car 54. Toody is short, stocky, nosy, and not very bright, and he lives with his loud, domineering wife Lucille (Beatrice Pons). College-educated Muldoon is very tall, quiet, and more intellectual. A shy bachelor, he lives with his mother and two younger sisters. He is reluctant to get married.

Much of the series is set in the station house, with commanding officer Captain Block (Paul Reed) ordering his men to answer neighborhood police calls or investigate baffling cases that have stymied the force at large. Toody and Muldoon often blunder into these cases, encountering the criminals accidentally and proceeding on a wrong assumption. By sheer perseverance, inadvertence, and luck, Toody and Muldoon bring each case to a successful conclusion.

Cast

Episode list

See main article: List of Car 54, Where Are You? episodes.

Production

Many of the scripts were written by Nat Hiken, who won an "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy" Emmy Award for his work on the series.

Hiken had previously produced The Phil Silvers Show in New York; it was a military comedy with Silvers (as Sgt. Bilko) and his gang of comical soldiers. Hiken recruited many of the Bilko alumni for this new series. Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne had featured roles on the Bilko show, and Beatrice Pons was hired to reprise her old role of Ross's wife. Other veterans from the Bilko show were Paul Reed, Al Lewis, Charlotte Rae, Jimmy Little, Jack Healy, Frederick O'Neal, Martha Greenhouse, Bob Hastings, Billy Sands, and Gerald Hiken.

Some supporting players on Car 54 were so well received that they were brought back for additional episodes. Molly Picon played Mrs. Bronson, an enterprising matron who made life miserable for city authorities but always adhered strictly to the law, forcing her whims to be accommodated. Larry Storch played a gypsy husband, and Charlie, the town drunk, whose constant scrapes with the police compelled Toody and Muldoon to rehabilitate him. Gene Baylos was the hapless Benny the Bookie, whose attempts at swearing off gambling always involved Toody and Muldoon. Carl Ballantine appeared as Al, Toody's imperious brother-in-law, who commanded instant obedience from his wife, Rose (Martha Greenhouse).

Interiors were filmed at Biograph Studios, Inc. at 807 East 175th Street, in The Bronx, New York City, New York.[3] Precinct exteriors is of Biograph Studios building,[4] within the territory of New York's 48th Precinct.[5]

Cars

So that they would not be mistaken for actual police cars during location filming, the cars used for the series were painted dark[5] red and white, which appeared as the proper shade of gray on Orthochromatic black-and-white film to replicate NYPD cars of that era, which were black and green, with a white roof and trunk.[6]

Three cars were used as the title vehicle during the series: a 1961 Plymouth Belvedere during most of the first season, followed by a 1962, and later a 1963, Plymouth Savoy.

Theme song

The theme song's lyrics were written by series creator, writer, and occasional director, Nat Hiken, with music by John Strauss.[7]

There's a holdup in the Bronx,Brooklyn's broken out in fights;There's a traffic jam in HarlemThat's backed up to Jackson Heights;There's a Scout troop short a child,Khrushchev's due at Idlewild;Car 54, Where Are You?

The line "Khrushchev's due at Idlewild" refers to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. In September 1960, a year before the series began, Khrushchev flew to New York's Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

Broadcast history

Car 54, Where Are You? originally aired Sunday evenings, 8:30–9:00 p.m. on NBC, following Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and preceding Bonanza. The network run of Car 54 was sponsored by Procter & Gamble.

Guest stars

Several New York-based celebrities, including Hugh Downs, Mitch Miller, Jan Murray, and Sugar Ray Robinson, appeared as themselves. Among others cast in various episodes are:

Primetime Emmy Awards

Car 54, Where Are You? was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards, earning one.

1961–1962 (presented May 22, 1962)
1962–1963 (presented May 26, 1963)

Syndication

Car 54, Where Are You? first entered into syndication in January 1964. It began airing on the cable channel Nick at Nite in 1987 and ran on the network until 1990. It was seen for less than one year on the short-lived Ha! Channel in 1990–1991 and also aired on another Viacom-owned cable channel, Comedy Central, in the early 1990s. In 2016, the show aired early Sunday mornings on MeTV,[8] and currently airs Monday through Friday on its sister network Decades.

1994 film

Car 54, Where Are You? was made into a 1994 film, shot mainly in Toronto, starring John C. McGinley as Muldoon, David Johansen as Toody, and Rosie O'Donnell as Toody's wife Lucille. Though made in 1990, it was not released until 1994 due to the bankruptcy of Orion Pictures.[9] Original cast members Al Lewis and Nipsey Russell appeared in the film, which underperformed both critically and commercially upon release.

Home media

In the early 1990s, Republic Pictures Home Video released some episodes on VHS. Shanachie Entertainment announced in late 2010 it was releasing season one on DVD Region 1 on February 22, 2011.[10] The second and final season was released on April 24, 2012.[11]

In popular culture

The show's theme song is parodied as “Mario, Where Are You?” in an Atari commercial for Mario Bros.[12]

In the 1966 film Munster, Go Home! Herman Munster (also played by Fred Gwynne) starts calling for police agencies, eventually yelling, “Car 54, where are you?”

Further reading

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture: Car 54, Where Are You?. Coletta. Charles. St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050819041011/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100210. August 19, 2005. 2002.
  2. News: Fifty Years Later, Car 54 Shows Up . April 12, 2011 . . News Corporation. Bruce . Bennett . September 5, 2013 . May 15, 2011 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110515093103/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704662604576257151479293320.html .
  3. End Credits, third card.
  4. Web site: Bronx Chamber of Commerce . Gold Medal Studios at 807 East 175th St & Marion Ave. This building was originally used by Biograph Studios . New York Heritage Digital Collections nyheritage.org . 16 July 2024 . October 15, 1957.
  5. Web site: A Tribute to Nat Hiken's 'Car 54 Where Are You?' - 53rd Precinct . Car 54 . homesteadcloud.com . 16 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181112230153/https://car54.homesteadcloud.com/ . 12 November 2018.
  6. News: Krauss . Clifford . New Color Scheme, Mostly White, to Reduce the Cost of Painting Police Cars . 16 July 2024 . The New York Times . 25 June 1996 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091010220117/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/25/nyregion/new-color-scheme-mostly-white-to-reduce-the-cost-of-painting-police-cars.html . 10 October 2009.
  7. News: Amadeus music editor and composer John Strauss dies . . February 18, 2011 . February 24, 2011.
  8. Web site: MeTV Staff . 9 things you might not know about 'Car 54, Where Are You?' . MeTV . April 20, 2016 . December 31, 2019.
  9. News: Financing may be hard to find for bankrupt Orion. Glover. Kara. 1991. Los Angeles Business Journal.
  10. Car 54 Where Are You? The Complete First Season . November 29, 2010 . . . September 5, 2013 . October 17, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121017032717/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Car-54-Season-1-Press-Release/14743 . dead .
  11. Web site: Car 54, Where Are You? - 'The Complete 2nd Season DVD: Date, Cost, Package, Extras! . David . Lambert . January 11, 2012 . TVShowsOnDVD.com . March 19, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120319162955/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Car-54-Season-2/16398 .
  12. Web site: Mario Bros. Atari 2600 & 5200 1983 Commercial. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/AnU-2HRJNO4 . December 22, 2021 . live. February 7, 2012. YouTube. October 10, 2019.