Car 54 Where Are You?

Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from September 17, 1961 to September 8,1963, airing 60 episodes. Most of its filming was on location in the The Bronx and at Biograph Studios.

The series follows the adventures of NYPD officers Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross) and Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne) in the fictional 53rd precinct in the Bronx, assigned to Patrol Car 54. Toody was short, stocky, nosy, not very bright, and lived with his loud, domineering wife Lucille. Muldoon, an Irish American, was very tall, quiet, and more intelligent. He was a shy bachelor who lived with his mother and two younger sisters.

Other cast members included Beatrice Pons, Al Lewis, Charlotte Rae, Nipsey Russell, Ossie Davis, Paul Reed, Larry Storch, and Hank Garrett. Mel Stewart, probably best known as Henry Jefferson in All in the Family, appeared as an uncredited dispatcher beginning in the fall of 1962. He appeared in more than one episode, and also appears in a cast photo.

Car 54 was one of the first sitcoms that regularly featured characters from multiple ethnicities. I also found this to be interesting.  The TV show's police cars on location shots were actually bright red and white, but 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. Thus, the filmmakers achieved a realistic appearance without alarming or confusing bystanders during production.

Car 54, Where Are You? was made into a 1994 film, filmed mainly in Toronto, starring John C. McGinley as Muldoon, David Johansen as Toody, and Rosie O'Donnell. The film was made in 1990 but not released until 1994 due to the bankruptcy of Orion Pictures. It was a box office bomb when it was first released and was panned by critics.

Original cast members Lewis and Russell appeared in the film.