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The teom at work: Ben notes answers while Webb quizzes a suspect (Jeanne Tatum). large shadow before them. In the early summer of 1952 he was a highly successful TV showman with a com¬ fortable income which required little or no work to keep it coming. He was happily settled in San Francisco and had absolutely no intention whatso¬ ever of getting back into the acting racket. Spotted On Quiz Show But he came down to Los Angeles once a week to emcee and ride hex-d on a quickie-type quiz show, Watch and Win, whose format he leases to various other stations around the country. Webb happened to see him on the air one night, and the thought passed through his mind, if only fleet- ingly, that here was a guy who looked and sounded like just the guy he wanted as his permanent sidekick on Dragnet. Barton Yarborough, who had played the role on radio, had died after appearing on only the first two TV versions of the show. Several other actors had been filling in ever since, but none was quite right. Webb was still looking. Alexander, at the same time, was a Dragnet fan. Without ever having met Webb, he mentioned to someone that he’d like to play a bit part on a Drag¬ net film. “Just,” as he expressed it, “for the heck of it.” Agreed To Four Films The two men eventually were brought together. Webb talked Alex¬ ander into doing four films as Frank Smith. Alexander said that was three more than he’d figured on doing, but he’d do it. Webb, who was now sure he wanted Ben on a permanent basis, settled for the four and made no fur¬ ther issue of the matter. Alexander chuckles today, “He knew those four would be enough to get the hook into me. I didn’t need the money and the last thing in the world I wanted was to go back into business as an actor. So here I am—a perpetual monument to a smart man’s come-on.” The psychological factor of Webb’s having wanted Alexander has been the key to their relationship ever since. Webb, a hard-driving perfec¬ tionist, is not the easiest man in the world for actors to get along with. He has his own ideas and the people who work for him are expected to do things his way. “Most actors, especially radio actors, don’t particularly go for Jack,” Alex¬ ander says frankly. “They like to crit¬ icize his technique as a director, yet they never stop to realize that this technique they don’t like has made Dragnet one of the top shows in the country for two years running.” Alexander’s position, however, is vastly different. Because Webb has no hold over him, either psychologically or financially, the two men are auto¬ matically on the same level, a rela-