Car 54, Where Are You?

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

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
Original 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	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Eupolis Productions
Distributor	NBC Films (1963–1973) National Telefilm Associates (1973–1986) Republic Pictures (1986-1997) Worldvision Enterprises (1997–1999) Paramount Domestic Television (1999-2006) CBS Paramount Domestic Television (2006-2007) CBS Television Distribution (2007-present)
Release
Original network	NBC
Picture format	Black-and-white
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 17, 1961 (1961-09-17) – April 14, 1963 (1963-04-14)

Toody and Muldoon

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 and Stanley Prager. Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Filming was on location,^[1] and at Biograph Studios in The Bronx.^[2]

Synopsis

The series follows the adventures of New York Police Department officers Gunther Toody (badge #1432) (Joe E. Ross) and Francis Muldoon (badge #723) (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, who often eschewed the notion of being married. Beatrice Pons and Joe E. Ross also starred as husband and wife in Sgt. Bilko.

Comedic themes were often drawn from the pair's incurable warm-heartedness, and their futile attempts to subjugate this and "get tough", as seemed to be required in order to execute their police assignments. The story would resolve with a passive solution which left all parties happy. Other themes focused on Toody's simpleness combined with much enthusiasm and sometimes stubbornness which created comedic conflict.

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. Paul 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

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:

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.^[3] Two Plymouth Savoys were used as the title vehicle during the series – 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.^[4]

There's a holdup in the Bronx,

Brooklyn's broken out in fights;