21st Precinct
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series
of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of
DRAGNET. Hard-boiled private detective series that often
portrayed police as inept or incompetent were losing favor.
NBC's DRAGNET had proven that a realistic police show could
attract and hold an audience.
NOTE: the official title of the series according to the
series scripts and the CBS series promotional materials was
21ST PRECINCT and not TWENTY-FIRST PRECINCT or TWENTY FIRST
PRECINCT which appears in many Old-Time Radio books.
In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for
their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-
day operations of a single police precinct. Actual cases
would be used as the basis for stories. It was mentioned in
each episode's closing by the announcer that, "Twenty-first
Precinct is presented with the official cooperation of the
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association an organization of more
than 20,000 members of the Police Department, City of New 
York."
OPENING:
The show was written by Stanley Niss to put the listener
into the action right from the start of each episode. Here
is a portion of a typical opening for the series.
A call for assistance would come into the Precinct's
switchboard and a Sergeant would take the information and
the night's case would start.
Call fades out.
Capt:
"You are in the muster room at the Twenty-first Precinct.
The nerve center. A call is coming through. You will
follow the action taken pursuant to that call from this 
minute until the final report is written in the 124 Room
at the Twenty-First Precinct."
Call fades back in and more information is recorded by the
sergeant. Then the call fades out.
Announcer:
"Twenty-first Precinct. It's just lines on a map of the
City of New York. Most of the 173,000 people wedged into
the nine-tenths of a square mile between Fifth Avenue and
the East River wouldn't know, if you asked them, that
they lived or worked in the Twenty First. Whether they
know it or not, the security of their persons, their
homes, and their property is the job of the men of the
Twenty-first Precinct.
Capt:
"The Twenty-first: 160 patrolmen, eleven sergeants and
four lieutenants of whom I'm the boss. My name is
Kennelly. Frank Kennelly. I'm Captain in Command of the
21st."
Each episode would end with another call for help coming in
and the Sergeant would dutifully record the particulars.
Often this call would deal with the subject of the next
week's episode.
Then came the closing, delivered by the Captain. It was
written to reinforce the idea that police work never ends.
"And so it goes. Around the clock, through the week;
every day, every year. A police precinct in the city of
New York is a flesh and blood merry-go-round. Anyone can
catch the brass ring. Or the brass ring can catch
anyone."
The Captain was the primary character and also acted as the
narrator. Three actors played the Captain's role: Everett
Sloane as Kennelly, James Gregory as Cronin, and Les Damon
as Keough. They were ably assisted in supporting roles by
Ken Lynch as Lt. Matt King and Harold Stone as Sgt. Waters.
Santos Ortega appeared frequently as Lt. Patrick "Red"
Gorman. Many of New York's finest actors appeared in this
series.
21ST PRECINCT was unusual in that it used no music. Some
Armed Forces Radio Service broadcasts used an instrumental
version of "I'll Take Manhattan" as the opening and closing
music.
SPONSORSHIP:
This show was aired on a sustaining basis by CBS. Only
episode 015 had a sponsor: the Plymouth division of the
Chrysler Corporation.
LEAD ROLES AND TRANSITIONS:
The episode "The Special Orders" provided the transition
between the departure of Capt. Kennelly and the introduction
of Capt. Cronin. In this episode, Kennelly is told he is
being promoted to Deputy Inspector and transferred to the
Manhattan West Borough Headquarters. Cronin appears in the
episode to take command of the 21st.
In episode 145, the initial episode with Les Damon as Capt.
Keough, there was no such transition. It was simply
mentioned that Capt. Cronin had been transferred.
CAST AND CREW:
CAST:
Capt. Frank Kennelly - Everett Sloane
episodes 001 - 109 & 135
Capt. Vincent Cronin - James Gregory
episodes 109 - 144
Capt. Thomas Keough - Les Damon
episodes 145 -159
Lt. Matt King - Ken Lynch
Sgt. Waters - Harold Stone
Lt. Patrick "Red" Gorman - Santos Ortega
GUEST STARS (In descending order of frequency of
appearance):
Wendell Holmes, John Sylvester, Bill Quinn, Frank Marth,
Lawson Zerbe, Mandel Kramer, Bill Zuckert, George Petrie,
John Larkin, Bill Lipton, Elaine Rost, Elspeth Eric, Bill
Smith, Ethel Everett, Abby Lewis, Eric Dressler, Ralph
Camargo, Larry Haines, Mason Adams, Byrna Raeburn, Joan
Loring, William Redfield, Jean Gillespie, Eileen Palmer, Joe
DeSantis, Phil Sterling, Frank Campanella, Bob Readick,
Barabara Weeks, Joe Julian, Jack Orrison, Amzie Strickland,
Scott Tennyson, Luis Van Rooten, and many others.
53/07/07 1 The Nolen Brothers 53/07/14 2 Case of the Young Incorrigible 53/07/21 3 The Bartender 53/07/28 4 The Twins 53/08/04 5 Case of the Sailor's Family 53/08/11 6 Policeman Shot - Sucide Or Murder? 53/08/18 7 The Mainliner 53/08/25 8 The Bookkeeper 53/09/01 9 The Friend 53/09/08 10 The Certified 600 53/09/15 11 The Dog Day 53/09/22 12 The Homecoming 53/09/29 13 The Shooting Gallery 53/10/06 14 The Bird 53/10/13 15 Case of the Picture 53/10/20 16 Case of the Foundling 53/10/27 17 Case of the Fall 53/11/03 18 Case of the Patient 53/11/17 20 Case of the Basket 53/11/24 21 Case of the Ditch 53/12/04 22 Case of the L.D. 80 53/12/25 25 The Plant 54/01/01 26 Case of the Stairs 54/01/13 27 The Platform 54/01/20 28 The Visitors 54/01/27 29 The Kid 54/02/03 30 The Baker 54/02/10 31 Case of the Drive 54/02/24 33 The Cure 54/03/03 34 The Door 54/03/24 37 The Package 54/04/07 39 The Collar 54/04/14 40 The Brother 54/04/28 42 The Story 54/05/05 43 The Cabinet 54/05/12 44 The Dollar 54/05/19 45 The Day 54/05/26 46 The Father 54/06/02 47 The Needle 54/06/09 48 The Book 54/06/23 50 The Will 54/06/30 51 The Red Tiger 54/07/07 52 The Mover 54/07/14 53 The Shotgun 54/07/21 54 The Ledge 54/07/28 55 The DOA 54/08/04 56 The Job 54/08/18 58 The Iron 54/09/01 60 The Copperhead 54/09/22 63 The Suit 54/09/29 64 The Walker 54/10/06 65 The Jet 54/10/27 68 The Mark 54/11/10 70 The Sticks 54/11/24 72 The Beaver 54/12/15 75 The Loser 54/12/22 76 The Giver 54/12/29 77 The Wife 55/01/05 78 The Trade 55/01/19 80 The Notes 55/01/26 81 The Fire Escape 55/02/02 82 The Daughter 55/02/09 83 The Surety 55/02/16 84 The Lender 55/02/23 85 The Museum 55/03/02 86 The Dowager 55/03/16 88 The Declaration 55/04/13 92 The Communication 55/04/20 93 The Doctor 55/07/02 94 The Artery 55/07/30 95 The Pair 55/08/06 96 The Summons 55/08/13 97 The Tree 55/11/04 109 The Special Orders 55/11/11 110 The Friend 55/11/25 112 The Son 55/12/23 116 The Beard 55/12/30 117 The Slugger 56/03/29 130 The Homecoming 56/04/05 131 The Six Hundred 56/04/12 132 The Shopping Bag 56/04/19 133 The Poodle 56/04/26 134 The Gorilla 56/05/10 136 The Basket 56/05/17 137 The Partners 56/05/24 138 The Paperhanger 56/05/31 139 The Neighbor 56/06/14 141 The Books 56/06/21 142 The Brother xx/xx/xx Two Thieves on the Loose