Alan Alda on a story Harry Morgan told him about how serious Jack Webb was on the set of Dragnet

[ghhtdesfh]

What? No moralizing?

[suferwill808]

Rest In Peace. Harry Morgan April 10, 1915- December 7, 2011. I salute you one last time. </3

[brothergaryii]

That was how Alan grew up to love Harry Morgan. For years as a kid, he watched Morgan's movies, before he would get hooked up on "Dragnet."

[Husband501]

Ha Ha Ha -- Alan. Hilarious story. Was Harry being "impish" when he beat the shit out of his wife in 1996?

[rrhynes]

@Husband501 He was probably smiling while he did it , so yeah, he was being impish. 

[KatzBeatles]

He still sounds the same. :)

[208stroker1]

I loved watching mash and still do , its the only tv show i know that i could watch over and over and never get sick of...harry morgan was a great actor and i respect him alot, the world thanx u Mr Morgan for giving us laughs and joy in watching u perform...rip sir.!!!

[kellyberry]

RIP COLONEL POTTER

[AntiItanimulli]

REST IN PEACE HARRY.....:(

[XxDjinn420xX]

R.I.P Harry Morgan you shall be missed.

[63Reed]

It would be so awesome to meet him.

[fromthesidelines]

Jack Webb filmed his episodes "fast" because that's how he originally did them on radio- even though they were pre-recorded {"transcribed"}, he was on a very tight production schedule...and that became part of his regimen when he filmed the original TV version in the '50s. To save time, Webb often used a TelePrompter so that he and his fellow actors would often just look past the camera, and "read" their lines...that they were able to be convincing while doing it is a tribute to Webb's genius.

[Licmycat]

Jack Webb was paid for whatever he would say. Whether he believed it or not. Got NO respect for people like THAT. I HONER Whistle-Blowers!

[MrBEB123]

Decent fellow but sadly he has chosen to be a stupid liberal.

[happygilmour888]

Still has the same golden voice :)

[glimmer2158]

Alan Alda is a clown.

[Rosyheart1]

from the great state of Maine, i grew up USAF & you were my real father figure notthe step-nightmare they threw at me; thank you for being so cool i and wicked funny!

[chism26]

Dragnet is Not halph the film Mash was

[MIKESOWELL]

@cutandpaste1 Geez, the guy was 64 here...give him a break! And he's 75 now and just gave a commencement speech, so I think he is okay mentally.

[winnetouch]

OMG! HAWKEYE IS BALD! :P :D

[hateliberals1]

he sure is a disgusting liberal....

[bucky468]

Did Harry Morgan die or something? Where is he now?

[LycoValleyRRFan]

@bucky468 No he still is alive. He is like 90 something.

[rayjr62]

@bucky468 No, Harry is still alive, He is over 90 and retired from show business.

[youbestbequiet]

Mash- A show that is still as great today as it was 30 years ago.

[MikeH0714]

Wow - incredible that Alda couldn't remember the title or the star of DRAGNET, the most famous cop show of all time. This story appears in the book MY NAME'S FRIDAY in Morgan's own words, and if that version is accurate, Alda's not remembering it very well.

[hybrid212]

he is absolutely amazing.. so charismatic

[hookalakah]

Too bad Alan Alda never ran his own production company like Jack Webb did. Maybe he'd have a little more empathy for Webb's daily struggle to come in under budget and get the show in the can on time. If Webb had been handed the same budget that "M.A.S.H." had, maybe he would've been a little more jocular and forgiving of Harry Morgan's impish pranks. But then, "M.A.S.H." dwelled in the lofty ether of great art, and "Dragnet" was just a long-running television show.

[VelvetCyberpunk]

@hookalakah OMG! Alda was just telling a funny story about how serious Jack Webb was and how laid back and funny Harry Morgan was. He wasn't saying anything bad about Jack Webb, lighten up.

[gymnastix]

@hookalakah So Webb lived by the old "Teach a man how to fish, and you've fed him for life" philosophy Along with "The Golden Rule," both still pretty good practices by which to live

[toiseywoisey]

What was that Korean War television show with army medics? --oh yeah, "MASH"...

[TheFrogger15]

@toiseywoisey Yeah, and who was the main guy in M*A*S*H, that's right, Alan Alda.

[JubalCalif]

Very funny story! The very talented Harry Morgan must have had a LOT of patience to have worked so long with a humorless taskmaster Jack Webb. But maybe the late great Mr Webb only appeared to be humorless....maybe he was much more mellow & laid back than his image portrayed. In any case, thanks for sharing this delightful clip with us! :)

[TiminPhoenix]

@JubalCalif Webb had a very good sense of humor. Watch the Copper Clapper send up he did with Carson. It's a classic. He was just serious about his craft and that's why his show will be remembered for a long, long time.

[SheriffTankStoner]

@TiminPhoenix In a way, you took the words right out of my mouth, Since the Johnny Carson skit and the 1974 Jack Benny skit Jack did were not his own production, Jack Webb could allow himself some levity in those scenarios.

[WSenator1]

@JubalCalif - For those who think that Jack Webb was just a sourpuss, check out the "Copper Clappers" sketch he did with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show."

[ORagnar]

Funny, Alda's manner and style remind me of Richard Feynman. Just a comparison of style, nothing to do with the vast differences in career between the two.

[usmctanks1]

Mash jumped the shark when ;

A, McClean Stevenson left

B.Wayne Rogers left

C. Alan Alda started believing the press that he was the "funniest man in America"

and

D. When the shows stopped being funny, and started preaching. The writer of the book disavowed the tv series and it got more and more outlandish as the series dragged on and on to "after mash" a three show wonder..

[Favoriteforeignmovie]

On the TV show Mash, Alan Alda used to joke that the United States was over in Korea jamming the American way down their throats instead of liberating them from Stalin's horrifying tyranny. The North Korean's are so lucky they escaped America's domineering brutality, right Alda?

[MediaWatchDawg]

What's more, Harry used to tell a joke right BEFORE and right AFTER beating his wife. He was truly ONE of a kind.

[axelboy243]

WOW!  That was hilarious...hahahahahahahaaaa!­!!!

[ProudConfederateSon]

Harry Morgan and Jack Webb were a subtle comedy team, with Jack playing the "straight" man, and it worked perfectly on Dragnet. Morgan's impishness, as stated here by Mr. Alda, made the show have such a balance. Dragnet is my favorite show of all time.

[mverno2]

I am a dragnet fan too  just found out season 2 of dragnet will be released on july 6

[GroovyChainsaw]

@mverno2 -- That's awesome -- where did you hear that ? Will it be another Universal TV release ?

[westeightyone]

@ProudConfederateSon

Dragnet is your favorite show of all time ?!?

Let me guess, you've got the entire box set for Adam 12.

[FartFaceJimmy]

@ProudConfederateSon right on

[REDEYEPRODUCTION2009]

Harry Morgan was such an awesome addition to the cast.

[WilliamRowlett]

@REDEYEPRODUCTION2009 One of my favorite Harry Morgan moments was when he gave Joe his secret recipe for barbeque sauce which included "1 quart vanilla ice cream" as the main ingredient. If I'd had to say those lines as an actor, I don't think I could have kept a straight face.