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Car 54, Where Are You?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Car 54, Where Are You? | |
|---|---|
 Opening title sequence for Car 54, Where Are You? |
|
| Format | Situation Comedy |
| Created by | Nat Hiken |
| Starring | Joe E. Ross Fred Gwynne |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 60 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | September 17, 1961 – September 8, 1963 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Car 54, Where Are You? was an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Filming was done mainly in The Bronx.[1]
Contents |
The series followed the madcap adventures of NYPD officers Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross) and Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne) in the fictional 53rd precinct in the The Bronx.
- Joe E. Ross as Officer Gunther Toody
- Fred Gwynne as Officer Francis 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 Lucile Toody
- Charlotte Rae as Sylvia Schnauser
- Paul Reed as Capt. Paul Block
- Joe Warren as Officer Steinmetz
- Nipsey Russell as Officer Anderson
Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis would later appear together again in The Munsters (1964-1966). Much of the script was written by Nat Hiken. Joe E. Ross and Beatrice Pons were teamed once more as husband and wife (Ross played the part of the witless Rupert Ritzik in Sergeant Bilko, Pons his wife Emma). Silvia Schnauser (Charlotte Rae) also appeared in Bilko as "The Twitch", and Gwynne made an appearance as a prodigious eater.
- The TV show's police cars used on location shots were actually bright red but on black and white film would appear dark, similar to that of real NYPD RMP units of that era (black and green with a white roof and trunk). Hence filmmakers achieved a realistic appearance without alarming bystanders during production.[2]
The lyrics to the show's theme song:
- There's a holdup in the Bronx!
- Brooklyn's broken out in fights!
- There's a traffic jam in Harlem
- That's backed up to Jackson Heights!
- There's a scout troop short a child!
- Khrushchev's due at Idlewild!
- Car 54, where are you?!
A parody of the song was used in the ad campaign for the Mario Bros. game for the Atari 2600. The lyrics go as so:
- Something's gumming up the plumbing,
- Poor Luigi's in a bind!
- Giant turtles out to get him,
- Creepy crabs are right behind!
- Fighter Flies, jeepers cripes!
- They're all coming up the pipes!
- Maaaaario, where aaaare yooooou?!
There is also a mondegreen of the theme lyrics. One line has been misheard as "Khrushchev's nude and I go wild!"
Car 54, Where Are You? was made into a 1994 movie, filmed mainly in Toronto, starring David Johansen.
- ^ Coletta, Charles. "St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture: Car 54, Where Are You?".
- ^ Tv.com Summary of Car 54