![Car54WhereNo2Jun1962A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Car54WhereNo2Jun1962A.png)
''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
that aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred
Joe E. Ross
Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooo! Ooo!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and '' C ...
as Gunther Toody and
Fred Gwynne
Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' as Francis Muldoon and as Herman Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...
as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
police officers who patrol the fictional 53rd precinct in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. Car 54 was their
patrol car
A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, area car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol) is a ground vehicle used by police and law enforcement for transportation during patrols a ...
.
The series had a rotating group of directors, including Al De Caprio,
Stanley Prager
Stanley Prager (January 8, 1917 – January 18, 1972) was an American actor and a television and theatre director.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Prager began his career as the stage manager for the Broadway production ''The Skin of O ...
, and series creator
Nat Hiken
Nathan Hiken (June 23, 1914 – December 7, 1968) was an American radio and television writer, producer, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1950s.
Early years
Hiken was born on June 23, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Jewish p ...
. Filming was done both on location and at
Biograph Studios
Biograph Studios was an early film studio and laboratory complex, built in 1912 by the Biograph Company at 807 East 175th Street, in The Bronx, New York City, New York.
History
Early years
The first studio of the Biograph Company, formerly ...
in the Bronx.
Synopsis
The series follows the adventures of
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
officers Gunther Toody (badge #1432) (
Joe E. Ross
Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooo! Ooo!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and '' C ...
) and Francis Muldoon (badge #723) (
Fred Gwynne
Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' as Francis Muldoon and as Herman Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...
), assigned to
Patrol Car
A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, area car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol) is a ground vehicle used by police and law enforcement for transportation during patrols a ...
54. Toody is short, stocky, nosy, and not very bright, and he lives with his loud, domineering wife Lucille (
Beatrice Pons). College-educated Muldoon is very tall, quiet, and more intellectual. A shy bachelor, he lives with his mother and two younger sisters. He is reluctant to get married.
Much of the series is set in the station house, with commanding officer Captain Block (
Paul Reed) ordering his men to answer neighborhood police calls or investigate baffling cases that have stymied the force at large. Toody and Muldoon often blunder into these cases, encountering the criminals accidentally and proceeding on a wrong assumption. By sheer perseverance, inadvertence, and luck, Toody and Muldoon bring each case to a successful conclusion.
Cast
*
Joe E. Ross
Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooo! Ooo!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and '' C ...
as Officer Gunther Toody
*
Fred Gwynne
Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' as Francis Muldoon and as Herman Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...
as Officer Francis Muldoon
*
Beatrice Pons as Lucille Toody
*
Al Lewis as Officer Leo Schnauser
*
Charlotte Rae
Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned six decades.
Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-off, '' ...
as Sylvia Schnauser
*
Hank Garrett
Hank Garrett (born Henry Greenberg Cohen Sandler Weinblatt, October 26, 1931) is an American actor, comedian, author, speaker, teacher, mixed martial artist and retired professional wrestler best known for the television role of Officer Nicholson ...
as Officer Ed Nicholson
*
Paul Reed as Capt. Paul Block
*
Bruce Kirby as Officer Kissel
*Jimmy Little as Sgt. Jim McBride
*Joe Warren as Officer Steinmetz
*
Nipsey Russell
Julius "Nipsey" Russell (September 15, 1918 – October 2, 2005)Nipsey J. Russell, born September 15, 1918, died October 2, 2005. Social Security Administration. ''Social Security Death Index'' ( Death Master File).U.S. Census, January 1, 1920, ...
as Officer Anderson
*
Ossie Davis
Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...
as Officer Omar Anderson
*
Frederick O'Neal
Frederick O'Neal (August 27, 1905 – August 25, 1992) was an American actor, theater producer and television director. He founded the American Negro Theater, the British Negro Theatre, and was the first African-American president of the Actors ...
as Officer Wallace
*Jim Gormley as Officer Nelson
*
Albert Henderson as Officer Dennis O'Hara
*Ruth Masters as Mrs. Muldoon, Francis's mother
*Patricia Bright as Mrs. Claire Block
*
Martha Greenhouse as Rose, Lucille's sister
*Nathaniel Frey as Sergeant Abrams
*
Jerome Guardino
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
as Officer Antonnucci
Episode list
Production
Many of the scripts were written by Nat Hiken, who won an "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy"
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for his work on the series.
Hiken had previously produced ''
The Phil Silvers Show
''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...
'' in New York; it was a military comedy with Silvers (as Sgt. Bilko) and his gang of comical soldiers. Hiken recruited many of the Bilko alumni for this new series. Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne had featured roles on the Bilko show, and Beatrice Pons was hired to reprise her old role of Ross's wife. Other veterans from the Bilko show were Paul Reed, Al Lewis, Charlotte Rae, Jimmy Little, Jack Healy, Frederick O'Neal, Martha Greenhouse,
Bob Hastings,
Billy Sands
Billy Sands (January 6, 1911 – August 27, 1984) was an American character actor who appeared as a regular on ''The Phil Silvers Show'' (''Sgt Bilko'') as Pvt. Dino Papparelli and was a regular on ''McHale's Navy'' as Harrison "Tinker" Bell. He ...
, and
Gerald Hiken
Gerald Hiken (May 27, 1927 – January 6, 2021) was an American actor.
Career
A native of Milwaukee, he studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. Hiken was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1980 for his performance in ...
.
Some supporting players on ''Car 54'' were so well received that they were brought back for additional episodes.
Molly Picon
Molly Picon ( yi, מאָלי פּיקאָן; born Malka Opiekun; February 28, 1898 – April 5, 1992) was an American actress of stage, screen, radio and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller.
She began her career in Yidd ...
played Mrs. Bronson, an enterprising matron who made life miserable for city authorities but always adhered strictly to the law, forcing her whims to be accommodated.
Larry Storch
Lawrence Samuel Storch (January 8, 1923 – July 8, 2022) was an American actor and comedian best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for cartoon shows such as Mr. Whoopee on ''Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'' and hi ...
played Charlie, the town drunk, whose constant scrapes with the police compelled Toody and Muldoon to rehabilitate him.
Gene Baylos was the hapless Benny the Bookie, whose attempts at swearing off gambling always involved Toody and Muldoon.
Carl Ballantine
Carl Ballantine (September 28, 1917 – November 4, 2009) was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style come ...
appeared as Al, Toody's imperious brother-in-law, who commanded instant obedience from his wife, Rose (Martha Greenhouse).
Cars
So that they would not be mistaken for actual police cars during location filming, the cars used for the series were painted red and white, which appeared as the proper shade of gray on black-and-white film to replicate NYPD cars of that era, which were black and green, with a white roof and trunk.
Three cars were used as the title vehicle during the series: a 1961
Plymouth Belvedere
Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970.
The Belvedere name was first used for a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line for the 1951 model year. In 1954 the Belvedere re ...
during most of the first season, followed by a 1962, and later a 1963,
Plymouth Savoy
The Plymouth Savoy is an automobile model produced from the 1954 through 1964 model years by Plymouth.
Early history
Plymouth used the name Savoy on several automobiles. From 1951-1953, the Savoy name was used on a station wagon, upgrading th ...
.
Theme song
The theme song's lyrics were written by series creator, writer, and occasional director, Nat Hiken, with music by
John Strauss
John Leonard Strauss (April 28, 1920 – February 14, 2011) was an American television and film composer and music editor. Strauss co-wrote the theme song for the NBC television series, ''Car 54, Where Are You?'', with Nat Hiken. He also won a Gr ...
.
There's a holdup
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
in the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
's broken out in fights;
There's a traffic jam
Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
in Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
That's backed up to Jackson Heights;
There's a Scout troop
A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted inf ...
short a child,
Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and Premier of the Soviet Union, chairm ...
's due at Idlewild;
Car 54, Where Are You?
The line "Khrushchev's due at Idlewild" refers to
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
leader
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
. In September 1960, a year before the series began, Khrushchev flew to New York's
Idlewild Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...
(now
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...
) to attend the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
.
Broadcast history
''Car 54, Where Are You?'' originally aired Sunday evenings, 8:30–9:00 p.m. on NBC, following
''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'' and preceding ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
''. The network run of ''Car 54'' was sponsored by
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
.
Guest stars
![Molly picon car 54 1962](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Molly_picon_car_54_1962.JPG)
Several New York-based celebrities, including
Hugh Downs
Hugh Malcolm Downs (February 14, 1921July 1, 2020) was an American radio and television broadcaster, announcer and programmer; television host; news anchor; TV producer; author; game show host; talk show sidekick; and music composer. A regular t ...
,
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...
,
Jan Murray
Jan Murray (born Murray Janofsky; October 4, 1916 – July 2, 2006) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game-show host who originally made his name on the Borscht Belt and later was known for his frequent television appearances over s ...
, and
Sugar Ray Robinson
Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded ...
, appeared as themselves. Among others cast in various episodes are:
*
Carl Ballantine
Carl Ballantine (September 28, 1917 – November 4, 2009) was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style come ...
*
Gene Baylos
*
Sorrell Booke
Sorrell Booke (January 4, 1930 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor who performed on stage, screen, and television. He acted in more than 100 plays and 150 television shows, and is best known for his role as corrupt politician Jefferson ...
*
Tom Bosley
*
Heywood Hale Broun
Heywood Hale Broun (; March 10, 1918 – September 5, 2001) was an American author, sportswriter, commentator and actor. He was born and reared in New York City, the son of writer and activist Ruth Hale and newspaper columnist Heywood Broun.
...
*
Wally Cox
Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and then became the title character of the popular early U.S. television series ''Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 19 ...
*
Dana Elcar
Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...
*
Dan Frazer
Daniel Thomas Frazer (November 20, 1921 – December 16, 2011) was an American actor, born in a West Side neighborhood (formerly known as Hell's Kitchen) of Manhattan in New York City. He was probably best known for his role as Captain Frank McN ...
*
Alice Ghostley
Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007) was a Tony Award-winning American actress and singer on stage, film and television. She was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–70; 1972) on '' Bewitched' ...
*
Arlene Golonka
Arlene Leanore Golonka (January 23, 1936 – May 31, 2021) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Millie Hutchins on the television comedy ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and Millie Swanson on ''Mayberry R.F.D.'', and often ...
*
Bruce Gordon
*
Margaret Hamilton
*
Bob Hastings
*
Katherine Helmond
Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American actress. Over her five decades of television acting, she was known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as ...
*
Don Keefer
Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...
*
Jake LaMotta
*
Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody-winning American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, and symphonic conductor. She wa ...
*
Hal Linden
Hal Linden (born Harold Lipshitz, March 20, 1931) is an American stage and screen actor, television director and musician.
Linden began his career as a big band musician and singer in the 1950s. After a stint in the United States Army, he began ...
*
Judith Lowry
Judith Carter Lowry (née Ives; July 27, 1890 – November 29, 1976) was an American actress. She had nearly 30 film and television roles and appeared on stage, most notably in the Off-Broadway production of ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in ...
*
Simon Oakland
Simon Oakland (August 28, 1915 – August 29, 1983) was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.
During his career, Oakland performed primarily on television, appearing in over 130 series and made-for-television movies between ...
*
Molly Picon
Molly Picon ( yi, מאָלי פּיקאָן; born Malka Opiekun; February 28, 1898 – April 5, 1992) was an American actress of stage, screen, radio and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller.
She began her career in Yidd ...
*
B.S. Pully
B.S. Pully (born Murray Lerman; May 14, 1910 – January 6, 1972) was a New York nightclub comedian and stage actor who created the role of "Big Jule" in the musical ''Guys and Dolls''. He was noted for his blue humor and thick, gravelly voice.
...
*
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
*
Jane Rose
Jane Prim Rose (February 7, 1913 – June 29, 1979) was an American character actress, perhaps best remembered as Audrey Dexter, the gently befuddled mother-in-law of Phyllis Lindstrom on the CBS sitcom ''Phyllis'' (1975–1977).
Early life
Jane ...
*
Billy Sands
Billy Sands (January 6, 1911 – August 27, 1984) was an American character actor who appeared as a regular on ''The Phil Silvers Show'' (''Sgt Bilko'') as Pvt. Dino Papparelli and was a regular on ''McHale's Navy'' as Harrison "Tinker" Bell. He ...
*
Jean Stapleton
Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013) was an American character actor, character actress of stage, television and film.
Stapleton was best known for playing Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and dev ...
*
Maureen Stapleton
Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...
*
Larry Storch
Lawrence Samuel Storch (January 8, 1923 – July 8, 2022) was an American actor and comedian best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for cartoon shows such as Mr. Whoopee on ''Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'' and hi ...
Primetime Emmy Awards
''Car 54, Where Are You?'' was nominated for four
Primetime Emmy Awards
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
, earning one.
; 1961–1962 (presented May 22, 1962)
* Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy: Nat HikenWon
* Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of HumorNominated (Winner: ''
The Bob Newhart Show
''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psy ...
'')
* Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy: Nat Hiken, Tony Webster, Terry RyanNominated (Winner:
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...
for ''
The Dick Van Dyke Show
''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Product ...
'')
; 1962–1963 (presented May 26, 1963)
* Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy: Nat HikenNominated (Winner: Carl Reiner for ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'')
Syndication
''Car 54, Where Are You?'' first entered into syndication in January 1964. It began airing on the cable channel
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET/Pac ...
in 1987 and ran on the network until 1990. It was seen for less than one year on the short-lived ''
Ha!'' Channel in 1990–91 and also aired on another
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
-owned cable channel,
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
, in the early 1990s. In 2016, the show aired early Sunday mornings on
MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
, and currently airs Monday through Friday on its sister network
Decades
A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years.
Usage
Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...
.
1994 film
''Car 54, Where Are You?'' was made into a
1994 film, shot mainly in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, starring
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor. His best known roles include Perry Cox in '' Scrubs'', Bob Slydell in ''Office Space'', Captain Hendrix in '' The Rock'', Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's ''Platoon,'' ...
as Muldoon,
David Johansen
David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...
as Toody, and
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' ...
as Toody's wife Lucille. Though made in 1990, it was not released until 1994 due to the bankruptcy of
Orion Pictures. Original cast members Al Lewis and Nipsey Russell appeared in the film, which underperformed both critically and commercially upon release.
Home media
In the early 1990s,
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
Home Video released some episodes on
VHS.
Shanachie Entertainment announced in late 2010 it was releasing season one on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
Region 1 on February 22, 2011. The second and final season was released on April 24, 2012.
In popular culture
The show's theme song is parodied as “Mario, Where Are You?” in an
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
commercial for ''
Mario Bros.
is a 1983 arcade game developed and published for arcades by Nintendo. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo's chief engineer. Italian twin brother plumbers Mario and Luigi exterminate creatures emerging from the ...
''
In the 1966 film ''
Munster, Go Home!'' Herman Munster (also played by Fred Gwynne) starts calling for police agencies, eventually yelling, “Car 54, where are you?”
See also
*
List of television shows filmed in New York City
This page provides a partial list of television shows shooting in New York City.
In 2011, 23 TV shows were shot in New York while only nine shows were a decade before.
Shows filmed primarily on location and/or using studio facilities in the Five ...
References
Notes
Further reading
* ''Car 54, Where Are You?'', by Martin Grams, Jr. (2009). Albany: BearManor Media. .
External links
*
A Tribute to Nat Hiken's Car 54 Where Are You?
{{WritersGuildofAmericaComedyVarietyAnyLength
1961 American television series debuts
1963 American television series endings
1960s American sitcoms
Black-and-white American television shows
English-language television shows
Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department
NBC original programming
1960s American police comedy television series
Television shows adapted into films
Television series by CBS Studios
Television shows set in the Bronx
Television shows filmed in New York City