Who Was Who?: US TV Cops Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jack Webb

Det. Sgt. Joe Friday was played by Jack Webb in the TV series "Dragnet", which originally ran for 276 episodes from 1951 to 1959.

Jack Webb was born John Randolph Webb in Santa Monica, California, USA, in 1920. During WWII he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps but he failed flight training and later received a hardship discharge, he was the primary financial support for both his mother and grandmother. At the age of 12, he appeared uncredited in the movie "Three On A Match" (1932), starring Joan Blondel, Bette Davis and an early performance by Humphrey Bogart. His first credited movie role was as Lee Whitey in "He Walked By Night" (1948), starring Richard Baseheart and Scott Brady. He had a number of radio shows in the 1940s, which included "Dragnet", that he produced and starred in. When it transferred to TV, Jack Webb wanted veteran Hollywood actor Lloyd Nolan to play the part of Det. Sgt. Friday but the sponsors insisted that Jack Webb continue in the role.

Jack Webb died of a heart attack in West Hollywood, California, USA, in 1982 aged 62.

Answer: Lee Marvin

Lt. Frank Ballinger was played by Lee Marvin in the TV series "M Squad", which ran for 117 episodes from 1957 to 1960.

Lee Marvin was born in New York, New York, USA, in 1924. Aged 18 in 1942, during WWII, he joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve. At the Battle of Saipan in 1944, he was hit by machine-gun fire and his sciatic nerve was severed. He was also shot in the foot by a sniper and spent over a year in naval hospitals. He went to Hollywood in 1950 and made his movie debut in "You're in the Navy Now" (1951). Following this, he appeared in many supporting roles getting bigger as time went on. "The Big Heat" (1953), starring Glen Ford, "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955), starring Spencer Tracy, and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962), starring John Wayne. He won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual role as Kid Shelleen/Tim Strawn in the Western "Cat Ballou", starring Jane Fonda. In the 20th century, he was the only person to have won the Best Actor Oscar, and have a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart with "Wand'rin' Star", which spent three weeks at the top in 1970. He will also be remembered for starring as Maj. John Reisman in "The Dirty Dozen" (1967).

Lee Marvin died of a heart attack in Tucson, Arizona, USA, in 1987 aged 63.

Answer: Paul Burke

Det. Adam Flint was played by Paul Burke in the TV series "Naked City", which ran for 138 episodes from 1958 to 1963.

Paul Raymond Burke was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in 1926. He moved to Hollywood in the '40s where he studied at the Pasadena Playhouse for a few years. He got his first break when Lloyd Bacon, a director friend of his father, gave him an uncredited part in the Betty Grable musical "Call Me Mister" (1951). He appeared uncredited in other movies in the '50s but made a lot of TV appearances in various shows from the '50s to the '90s. Two of his most memorable movie appearances were in the '60s. He played Lyon Burke in "Valley Of The Dolls" (1967), starring Susan Heyward, Barbara Parkins and Patty Duke. He played Lt. Eddy Malone in "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968), starring Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and Jack Weston. Paul Burke (grandfather of actress Alia Shawkat) retired from acting in the early '90s.

Paul Burke suffered from leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and died in Palm Springs, California, USA, in 2009 aged 83.

Answer: James MacArthur

Det. Sgt. Danny Williams was played by James MacArthur in the TV series "Hawaii Five-0", which originally ran for 279 episodes from 1968 to 1980.

James Gordon MacArthur was born in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1937. He was adopted by the playwright Charles MacArthur and his wife, actress Helen Hayes. He grew up in Nyack, New York, USA. He attended the Allen-Stevenson School in New York, and later the Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, where he played baseball, basketball and football. He also found time to be president of his class, the student government and the Drama Club. He also rewrote the school's constitution and edited the school paper, "The Scribe". He played Harold Ditmar in the 1957 movie "The Young Stranger", for which he was nominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the 1958 BAFTA awards. He appeared in many movies and TV shows before and after "Hawaii Five-0", which he left in the penultimate season because he was bored with it.

James McArthur died of cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, in 2010 aged 72.

Answer: Michael Douglas

Inspector Steve Keller was played by Michael Douglas in the TV series "The Streets of San Francisco". It ran for 121 episodes between 1972 and 1977 but Douglas left at the start of its final season and was replaced by Richard Hatch.

Michael Kirk Douglas was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, in 1944. He is the eldest son of the late great movie star Kirk Douglas. He got off to a fine start in 1969, with his debut movie "Hail, Hero!", for which he received the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. Also in 1969, he formed his own production company, Bigstick Productions. On TV, he is most famous for playing Inspector Steve Keller opposite Karl Malden, who played Lt. Michael Stone. In 1975, he produced "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher. In 1979, he produced and acted in "The China Syndrome", starring Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon. He continued his success in the '80s with "Romancing the Stone" and "The Jewel of the Nile". In the '90s he starred in "Fatal Attraction", "Wall Street", (for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor) and "Falling Down".

Answer: Kevin Dobson

Det. Bobby Crocker was played by Kevin Dobson in the TV series "Kojak", which ran for 118 episodes from 1973 to 1978.

Kevin Patrick Dobson was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, New York, USA, in 1943. Before his acting career, he worked for the Long Island Rail Road and as a waiter. He was also an MP in the Army. In 1971 he made an appearance in the movie "Klute" and had similar small roles on TV series such as "Cannon", "Emergency" and "The Mod Squad". He is best known for his portrayal of Det. Bobby Crocker, opposite Telly Savalas as Lt. Kojak. They reunited in the same roles for the 1990 TV movie "Kojak: It's Always Something", Crocker having now become an assistant District Attorney. Dobson continued to appear on stage in "Art", at the Royal George Theater in Chicago, in the movies " Midway" (1976), with Henry Fonda and Charlton Heston, "All Night Long" (1981), with Barbra Streisand and on TV in "One Life to Live" (2003), "The Bold and the Beautiful" (2006-2007) and "Days of Our Lives" (2008).

Kevin Dobson died after suffering with an autoimmune deficiency in Stockton, California, USA, in 2020 aged 77.

Answer: Bruce Weitz

Det. Mick Belker was played by Bruce Weitz in the TV series "Hill Street Blues", which ran for 146 episodes from 1981 to 1987.

Bruce Peter Weitz was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, in 1943. In 1966 he gained graduate and undergraduate degrees from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh. He got his acting training at the Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater and Louisville's Actor's Theater. In 1976 he made his Broadway debut understudying the roles of sons Happy and Biff in the George C. Scott production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". He will always be remembered for his role as Det. Mick Belker in "Hill Street Blues" and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (1984), Q Award for Best supporting actor in a quality drama series, Viewers for Quality Television (1985) and Golden Globe Award nominations, for best performance by an actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture made for Television, 1985 and 1986, all for his role in "Hill Street Blues".

Answer: Al Waxman

Lt. Bert Samuels was played by Al Waxman in the CBS TV series "Cagney & Lacey", which ran for 125 episodes between 1982 and 1988, plus four TV movies.

Albert Samuel Waxman was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1935. He was on radio at the age of 12 and in movies in the late '50s. He was in the 1962 movie "The War Lover", with Steve McQueen. He starred as Larry King in the CBC TV series "King of Kensington", from 1975 to 1980. He was in the 1980 movie "Atlantic City", with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon. He will be best remembered for playing Lt. Bert Samuels in "Cagney & Lacey". Loretta Swit played the role of Christine Cagney in the original television movie of "Cagney and Lacey" (1981). The producers of "M*A*S*H" would not let her out of her contract to play Cagney in the TV series. Meg Foster played Cagney in the first six episodes but was then replaced by Sharon Gless who partnered Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey.

Al Waxman died during heart surgery in Toronto, Canada in 2001 aged 65.

Answer: Michael Imperioli

Det. Nick Falco was played by Michael Imperioli in the TV series "Law & Order", which ran for 456 episodes from 1990 to 2010. He appeared as Det. Nick Falco in five episodes of "Law & Order", during 2005 and 2006. He was Det. Joe Fontana's temporary partner when Fontana's normal partner Ed Green, was shot and hospitalized.

Michael Imperioli may be better known for his portrayal of a gangster in the TV series "The Sopranos". His portrayal of Christopher Moltisanti, a cousin of Tony Soprano's wife Carmela, won him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2004.

Answer: Gordon Clapp

Det. Greg Medavoy was played by Gordon Clapp in the ABC TV series "NYPD Blue", which ran for 261 episodes between 1993 and 2005.

Gordon Clapp was born in North Conway, New Hampshire, USA, in 1948. He had appeared in many TV shows, stage plays and movies before appearing in all 12 seasons of "NYPD Blue", which starred at various times David Caruso, Dennis Franz, James McDaniel, Nicholas Turturro, Sharon Lawrence, Jimmy Smits, Kim Delaney and Rick Schroder. At the time, "NYPD Blue" was ABC's longest-running primetime one hour drama series, until it was surpassed by "Grey's Anatomy" in 2016.