Car 54, Where Are You?

Car 54, Where Are You?
	; Opening title sequence
Also known as	Car 54
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Nat Hiken
Directed by	Al De Caprio; Nat Hiken; Stanley Prager
Starring	Joe E. Ross; Fred Gwynne
Theme music composer	Nat Hiken; John Strauss
Opening theme	"Car 54, Where Are You?"
Composer(s)	John Strauss
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	60 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Nat Hiken; Billy Friedberg
Cinematography	J. Burgi Contner; George Stoetzel
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Eupolis Productions
Distributor	NBC Films (1963–1972); National Telefilm Associates (1973–1984); Republic Pictures (1984); Worldvision Enterprises (1997–1999); Paramount Domestic Television (1999-2006); CBS Paramount Domestic Television (2006-2007)
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Picture format	Black-and-white
Audio format	Monaural
Original run	September 17, 1961 – September 8, 1963

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For ther 1994 film, see Car 54, Where Are You? (film).

Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx,^[1] and at Biograph Studios.

[edit] Synopsis

The series follows the adventures of NYPD officers Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross) and Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne) in the fictional 53rd precinct in Bronx, assigned to Patrol Car 54. Toody was short, stocky, nosy, not very bright, and lived with his loud, domineering wife Lucille. Muldoon, an Irish American, was very tall, quiet, and more intelligent. He was a shy bachelor who lived with his mother and two younger sisters.

Other cast members included Beatrice Pons, Al Lewis, Charlotte Rae, Nipsey Russell, Ossie Davis, Paul Reed, Larry Storch, and Hank Garrett. Mel Stewart, probably best known as Henry Jefferson in All in the Family, appeared as an uncredited dispatcher beginning in the fall of 1962. He appeared in more than one episode, and also appears in a cast photo.

Car 54 was one of the first sitcoms that regularly featured characters from multiple ethnicities.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cast

Joe E. Ross as Officer Gunther Toody
Fred Gwynne as Officer Francis Muldoon
Ruth Masters as Mrs. Muldoon
Hank Garrett as Officer Ed Nicholson
Jim Gormley as Officer Nelson
Albert Henderson as Officer Dennis O'Hara
Bruce Kirby as Officer Kissel
Al Lewis as Officer Leo Schnauser (1961–1963)
Beatrice Pons as Lucille Toody
Charlotte Rae as Sylvia Schnauser
Paul Reed as Capt. Martin Block
Joe Warren as Officer Steinmetz
Nipsey Russell as Officer Anderson
Ossie Davis as Officer Omar Anderson
Frederick O'Neal as Officer Wallace
Patricia Bright as Mrs. Claire Block

[edit] Production notes

Many of the scripts were written by Nat Hiken. In 1962, Hiken won an Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Emmy Award for his work on the series. Hiken had previously produced The Phil Silvers Show that featured Joe E. Ross and Beatrice Pons as a married couple.

The series was originally sponsored by Procter & Gamble.

[edit] Cars

The TV show's police cars on location shots were actually bright red and white, but appeared as the proper shade of gray for an NYPD car on black-and-white film. NYPD cars of that era were black and green with a white roof and trunk. Thus, the filmmakers achieved a realistic appearance without alarming or confusing bystanders during production.^[2]

[edit] Theme song

The theme song's lyrics were written by series creator, writer, and director Nat Hiken, with music by John Strauss.^[3]

There's a holdup in the Bronx,

Brooklyn's broken out in fights;