Car 54, Where Are You?

Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963, and was about two New York police officers based at the fictional 53rd precinct in The Bronx. Car 54 was their patrol car. The show was filmed only in black-and-white. Episodes had different directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most filming was on location in the New York City borough of The Bronx, and at Gold Medal Studios in The Bronx.

Synopsis

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

Cast

Guest stars

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

Gene Baylos
Sorrell Booke
Tom Bosley
Heywood Hale Broun
Wally Cox
Dana Elcar
Dan Frazer
Alice Ghostley
Arlene Golonka
Bruce Gordon
Margaret Hamilton
Bob Hastings
Don Keefer
Jake LaMotta
Shari Lewis
Hal Linden
Judith Lowry
Simon Oakland
Molly Picon
B.S. Pully
Charles Nelson Reilly
Billy Sands
Maureen Stapleton
Larry Storch

Production

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, which featured Joe E. Ross and Beatrice Pons as a married couple.

The series was originally sponsored by Procter & Gamble.

Cars

The TV show's police cars on location shots were actually bright red and white, which 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. Two Plymouth Savoys were used as the title vehicle during the series&mcash;a 1961 Savoy during the first season and a 1963 Savoy during the second.

Theme song

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

There's a holdup in the Bronx,

Brooklyn's broken out in fights;