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How Adam-12 helped Gary Crosby's acting career
Series creator Jack Webb lent a hand to a friend in need.
While Jack Webb is known for his contribution to television with shows like Dragnet and Adam-12, Webb wasn't just influential in television; he had a hand in the rise of several well-known actors.
Perhaps one of Webb's proudest moments was his assistance of Gary Crosby. As the son of Bing Crosby, Gary attempted to make a name for himself as an actor but struggled with alcoholism in his adulthood. Though he eventually recovered, the experience put a dent in his career.
"My name was bad news around town," said Crosby to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "You remember the old Bessie Smith song,' Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out?' Well, that pretty much summed things up."
"For eight years, I sat by the phone - waiting and hoping," Crosby said. "I was even afraid to call my friends for fear they'd think I was only calling to ask for work."
It seemed that what really turned Crosby's career around wasn't the intervention of his father, but rather, Jack Webb. Not only did Webb cast Crosby in a recurring role on his series Adam-12, but he also cast him in the 1973 series Chase as well. Through roles like these, Crosby was able to prove himself as a responsible and talented actor, and more acting jobs for him quickly followed, all thanks to Webb. Crosby said that he was grateful to Webb for "taking a chance on me."
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