BW - EP126—003: April 1954—Nightwatch

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting

In April 1954 Bill Froug was supervisor for a new CBS series called Night Watch. The show attempted to take Dragnet’s realism to the next level. It placed reporter Donn Reid in Culver City Officer Ron Perkins’ car. Reid rode the 6PM to 2AM shift, wearing a hidden wire to capture the high drama of the job. Before the premiere broadcast, Reid accumulated one-hundred reels of tape. It included criminals caught in the act, a homicide confession, and the statement of a drug addict. The show was produced by Sterling Tracy and announced by Dan Cubberly. Vernon McKenny was the engineer, and Ray Gerhardt the editor, removing all traces of real names and locales. Night Watch premiered on Monday April 5th at 10PM with an episode called “Nude Prowler.” Traveling in an unmarked car, Reed used a reel-to-reel tape recorder, with a microphone hidden in a flashlight. These were authentic, unscripted, and unrehearsed. In one case, Reid was nearly shot; in another, he was stabbed but was saved by a leather jacket. At the end of each show, Police Chief W. N. Hildebrand gave listeners updates on what happened to the people in each incident. Night Watch aired until April 21st, 1955. Donn Reed went on to be one of the first traffic helicopter reporters, and Ron Perkins eventually was elected Mayor of Culver City.