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Joe Friday had two partners prior to Bill Gannon. The first one was Sgt. Ben Romero. He was played by Barton Yarborough on both the radio and televison shows of Dragnet. When Yarborough died suddenly, (just after the first season of Dragnet's television run) Friday was partnered with Officer Frank Smith. Smith, was played by Ben Alexander and stayed with both the radio and television versions of Dragnet until it ended in the late 1950's. When Jack Webb (Friday) was ready to bring "Dragnet" back to life after an almost ten year hiatus, he wanted his old partner, Ben Alexander back on the beat with him. However, Alexander was committed to another television series at the time, so from 1965 through the early 1970's that Friday was paired up with Officer Bill Gannon.

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15y ago

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