NBC Memories 1942 - 1964
by Bill Roddy
Future stars who began at Radio City San Francisco.
Jack Webb; Ben Alexander; John Robinson (Dragnet) NBC Memories 1942 - 1964 Future stars who began at Radio City San Francisco.
Jack Webb; Ben Alexander; John Robinson (Dragnet)
Jack Webb
Jack was not destined to remain an announcer for long. He
produced his first radio drama in San Francisco and soon was off to Hollywood
and Dragnet. Ben Alexander, Jackie Robinson and producer Dick Breen joined
him. Ben was Officer Frank Smith, Jackie, the show's writer, and Dick, the
producer.
Footnote: Jack and I once spent the weekend at the Crane House
in San Juan Bautista. Went to a Mexican dance and had a lot of fun.
Ben Alexander
Ben's wife Leslie usually sat in with us. She was a wonderful
person, very beautiful and I have to admit now some sixty years later, I had a
serious crush on her.
John Robinson
He was later
promoted to the Sound Department. Here is Jackie at work.
But Jackie was a writer and Jack Webb knew it. Jackie went to
Hollywood and if you ever listen to Dragnet on old time radio you will hear,
"written by John Robinson." Why are the sound effects on Dragnet
so realistic?
Here is
Art Linkletter, Dave Brubeck, Cal
Tjader, Jack Kirkwood
Art Linkletter">
by Bill Roddy
Art Linkletter, Dave Brubeck, Cal Tjader, Jack Kirkwood (next page)
In 1948 my mother and aunt bought an old Victorian house
at 915 Fulton Street and rented out rooms; it was their only income. I was 26
years old and lived in one of them. (I had not yet left the roost.) We had a lot
of great parties there with Radio City friends.
KGO was in the same building at Taylor and O'Farrell with KNBC and one day I
met one of their new announcers, Jack Webb.
Jack mentioned he was looking for a place to live and I told him about
Fulton Street. He came out with me one day and met my mother and rented the
tower room. Julie London came up from Hollywood often to stay with Jack
for the weekend.
We opened our stations at 6 a.m. and usually left the house at 5. We took
turns driving and always stopped at Foster's Cafeteria for breakfast. My
favorite was minced ham and scrambled eggs with an English muffin. No
bakery since has ever made a better muffin.
Ben had a morning show on KNBC and I was the announcer. Don't remember too
much about it, more a less a commentary on things. The show was in Studio G, the
fanciest studio KNBC had. It was fitted out like a living room with carpet and
couches and easy chairs. It was originally used for guests who were afraid of
radio and sterile studios. The living room atmosphere was supposed to put them
at ease, but it rarely did. Eventually the studio was used as often as the others when there was no
need for an orchestra.
When I first knew Jackie, he was an NBC page, as I was. His father owned a
steam bath on Turk Street. Once I had a terrible cold and Jackie said he would
fix me up. He gave me a note to the steam bath which said, "Give this twerp the
works." (funny I should remember that line.) They did, and my cold evaporated in
clouds of steam.
His boss was Lloyd Creekmore, another great friend, who had the perfect name for
a sound engineer.
The clump clump of shoes down the hall.
Because the writer was a soundman,