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Sgt. Joe Friday never actually said ''Just the facts, ma'am'' on Dragnet
That's just a fact, ma'am.
You want the facts? Here's a fact: Some classic television catchphrases are a lie.
"Beam me up, Scotty?" Kirk never said that exactly. Nobody in the Enterprise crew did. Kirk does say, "Scotty, beam us up," in "The Gamesters of Triskelion" and "The Savage Curtain," but that just doesn't have the same ring to it.
A similar near-miss catchphrase comes from Dragnet, the cop franchise that began on the radio in 1949 and spawned two hit television series from 1951–59 and 1967–70. Dragnet creator Jack Webb, who also portrayed the hero of the show, the stern Sgt. Joe Friday, is forever associated with the line, "Just the facts, ma'am." He never said it.
In the 1953 episode "The Big Lease," Friday tells the main suspect, one Mrs. Banner (Sarah Selby), "All we know are the facts, ma'am."
Again, it doesn't quite roll off the tongue with the same pop.
So how did "Just the facts, ma'am" become such a common catchphrase? You can credit (or blame) two comedians.
In 1953, mere months after "The Big Lease" aired, the sharply satirical writer and performer Stan Freberg recorded a parody mash-up called "St. George and the Dragonet." The audio skit applied the Dragnet formula to the medieval tale "Saint George and the Dragon." The comedy record also featured the vocal talents of Daws Butler (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound) and June Foray (Rocky the Flying Squirrel).
St. George interviews witnesses and suspects, spitting lines like, "How can I be sure of that, ma'am" and "We just want to get the facts, sir." On the B-side, "Little Blue Riding Hood," where Dragnet met Little Red Riding Hood, Joe blurts, "Just routine, ma'am, we just wanna' get the facts."
"St. George and the Dragonet" spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard pop charts.
The popularity of these records continued to keep variations of the catchphrase in the public conscience.
Then, decades later, Dan Aykroyd remade Dragnet as an Eighties buddy-cop comedy, with Tom Hanks as his partner. The 1987 summer movie, which was a hit, featured the former Saturday Night Live star and Ghostbuster saying, "Just the facts, ma'am." The studio not only put the line in the trailer, but used "Just The Facts." as the tagline on the poster.
So, yes, Joe Friday did say, "Just the facts, ma'am." Just not the Joe Friday you think, and not in the decade you'd expect.
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5 Comments
When Stan Freberg went to see Jack Webb to get permission to use the DRAGNET music, he discovered that Webb was already a fan of his earlier records.
Webb arranged for his musical director, Walter Schumann, to use his regular orchestra and score Freberg's record with variations of his (Schumann's) compositions (if you check the record label, Schumann gets a writing credit along with Freberg and Daws Butler).
Subsequently, Stan Freberg did two follow-ups, LITTLE BLUE RIDING HOOD and CHRISTMAS DRAGNET; Webb was on board, and Schumann once again provided the music.
It was, as they say, A Different Time …