On Monday, for the first time in the almost four years of the blog, I mentioned one of my favorite TV shows of all time, Car 54, Where Are You?. I admit my judgment of quality TV may have been a little different when it was on the air. Afterall, the series began when I was six-years-old and went off the air when I was eight (well, some people I live with may tell you my taste hasn’t changed that much). But the antics of Officer Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross) and Officer Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne) sure made me laugh. It took place in the Bronx and revolved around the fictional 53rd precinct of the NYPD. It had a great supporting cast that included Al Lewis, Nipsey Russell, Ossie Davis, and Larry Storch. I had always heard from New York native Sheldon Levy that the police cars used in the show were red and white so as not to confuse citizens when filming on New York Streets. Since the show was not shot in color, the cars appeared to be black and white on TV (Wikipedia bears out my late friend’s childhood memory).
I used the show in Quick Takes as an example of other satirical looks at the work of public safety in a brief discussion of the YouTube based comedy Hosed by Juston McKinney and company. It turns out, that very same day the man who wrote the music to the very popular theme song to Car 54, Where Are You?, John Strauss, died in Los Angeles at age 90. Word of his death came out Wednesday or Thursday and reached the World Headquarters of STATter911.com just a short time ago (thanks to Mrs. STATter911.com).
Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions and starts thinking the blog has become a virtual Voodoo doll, I think we need a lot more evidence. It’s just as likely Mr. Strauss left us after feeling the horrible shame of being mentioned in this rag.
But most likely it was simply, as the son of Mr. Strauss told reporters, the complications of Parkinson’s disease that took him from us.
Mr. Strauss had a long career and was involved with the music for many other shows and movies I liked. He composed the theme for The Phil Silvers Show (Sergeant Bilko) and was music editor for the films Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Hair and the The Blues Brothers.
I usually send the obits of popular culture figures from long-ago to Bill Schumm because it seems more fitting for Firegeezer. I selfishly kept this one due to the wife’s efforts and because The New York Times City Room blog proposed that instead of a moment of silence for the departed John Strauss, we spend 31 seconds revisiting his memorable TV theme. What more could a composer want?
If you would like to sing along to the video above, the words by series creator Nat Hiken are below. Enjoy.
There’s a holdup in the Bronx,
Brooklyn’s broken out in fights.
There’s a traffic jam in Harlem
That’s backed up to Jackson Heights.
There’s a scout troop short a child,
Khrushchev’s due at Idlewild.
Car 54, where are you?
