Cohort Outtake: Sergeant Joe Friday And Officer Gannon Lost Somewhere In NY

Dragnet fairlane 1

When I saw this shot posted at the Cohort by William Rubano, I instantly thought “Dragnet”. That iconic tv show, based on real cases from the Los Angeles Police Department, ran on tv from 1951-1959, and then again from 1967-1970. It was the latter series that I used to love watching, and Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Gannon drove a Fairlane sedan just like this one. And occasionally, they drove it fast enough so that it too took on this characteristic lean in a corner.

dragnet car -

Actually, it wasn’t just like this one, as the featured Fairlane is a 1966, and their ride was a ’67. Close enough.

dragnet by-absoluteanimedotcom

Here they are underway, being followed by a ’66 Toronado. Don’t stop too quickly, or you’ll get rear ended!  I seem to only remember them driving the ’67 Fairlane for all four seasons of the second run, but I could be wrong.

dragnet pd cars

I don’t know any details about this image, which came up in a Google Image search for Dragnet. Quite a variety of police cars; presumably former LAPD vehicles.

 

If you’re not familiar with Dragnet, here’s one of the many episodes, which shows them heading out in their Fairlane just a few minutes in from the opening.

Dragnet fairlane 2

Even if it’s not Joe Friday, someone’s enjoying a spirited drive in their Fairlane.