''21st Precinct'' (aka ''Twenty-First Precinct'' and ''Twenty First Precinct'') was a police drama broadcast on CBS radio from July 7, 1953, to July 26, 1956. It was initially a summer replacement for ''
My Friend Irma
''My Friend Irma'' is a media franchise that was spawned by a top-rated, long-running radio situation comedy created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard. The radio show was so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated the films, ...
''.
The program was produced in cooperation with the
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) is the largest police union representing police officers of the New York City Police Department. It represents about 24,000 of the department's 36,000 officers.
The PBA was origin ...
[Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd Edition''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 709.] and presented "adaptations from true criminal records in New York...from the policeman's point of view."
[ Historically, the 21st Pecinct had been located near ]Gramercy Park
Gramercy ParkSometimes misspelled as Grammercy () is the name of both a small, fenced-in private park and the surrounding neighborhood that is referred to also as Gramercy, in the New York City borough of Manhattan in New York, United States.
T ...
in Manhattan but in 1929 the department reorganized the precinct numbering, and the 21st designation was dropped from use.["Precinct History," NYPD Angels. http://nypdangels.com/a_bit_of_history/index.php] No such precinct existed during the show's run, nor does a 21st exist today. However, the fictional precinct's territory corresponds closely to that of the Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
's 23rd Precinct as it has existed since 1929.
Stanley Niss was the producer[Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 341.] writer-director. The role of precinct Captain Frank Kennelly was played by Everett Sloane
Everett H. Sloane (October 1, 1909 – August 6, 1965) was an American character actor who worked in radio, theatre, films, and television.
Early life
Sloane was born in Manhattan on October 1, 1909, to Nathaniel I. Sloane and Rose (Gers ...
[ (for the first 109 episodes and briefly in episode 135). During episode 109 Captain Frank Kennelly was promoted to Deputy Inspector and reassigned out of the 21st Precinct. He was replaced by Captain Cronin (played by James Gregory, 1955–56) and then Captain Keough (]Les Damon
Lester Joseph Damon (March 31, 1908 – July 21, 1962) was an American character actor best known for his nearly 30 years performing on radio. Out of all his appearances on radio, Damon was best remembered for his roles as Nick Charles on ' ...
, 1956).
Other cast regulars were Ken Lynch
Kenneth E. Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been bes ...
(as Lt. Matt King), Harold Stone (as Sgt. Waters), Jack Orrison
Jack Orrison (October 12, 1909 – June 3, 1986) was an actor and script writer who worked in radio, television and films. He is best known for his acting roles in ''The Plainclothesman'' and ''I Married a Monster from Outer Space''. Orrison was ...
(as Sgt. Collins),[ and Santos Ortega (as Lt. Gorman).
The program's announcer began the program's opening each week:
:21st Precinct. It's just lines on a map of the city of New York. Most of the 173,000 people wedged into the nine-tenths of a square mile between Fifth Avenue and the East River wouldn't know, if you asked them, that they lived or worked in the 21st. Whether they know it or not, the security of their persons, their homes, and their property is the job of the men of the 21st.
At that point the lead actor would complete the introduction:
:The 21st Precinct. 160 patrolmen, 11 sergeants and four lieutenants of whom I'm the boss. My name is Kennelly. Frank Kennelly. I'm Captain in command of the 21st.
Art Hannes, Bob Hill,][ and Hugh Holder were the program's announcers. The series was produced by John Ives;][ it was usually directed and written by Stanley Niss. (Another source lists Niss as producer.)][
]
References
{{reflist
Listen to
Internet Archive: ''21st Preciinct''
External links
Old Time Radio Logs: ''21st Precinct''
American radio dramas
1950s American radio programs
CBS Radio programs