The 50th Anniversary of Laverne & Shirley

There are only a few spin-offs that prove as successful or more successful than the show from which they originated. The Andy Griffith Show (spun-off from The Danny Thomas Show) and Gomer Py,le, U.S.M.C. (spun-off from The Andy Griffith Show)) are two examples of spin-offs that were as successful as or more successful than the shows from which they originated. Another example is Laverne & Shirley. Spun-off from Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley was the number one show on television for two seasons and spent a total of four seasons in the top five shows on the air. Successful for much of its original network run, Laverne & Shirley also had a successful run as a syndicated rerun. It was fifty years ago today, on January 27, 1976, that Laverne & Shirley debuted on ABC.

Laverne & Shirley centred on  Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams), two friends and roommates who lived in Milwaukee in the late 1950s. They worked as bottle-cappers at Shotz Brewery there. Laverne was a bit of a tomboy and could be both blustery and cynical, but at the same time she had a softer, more sensitive side. In contrast, Shirley was bubbly, optimistic, and sweet, and sometimes a bit neurotic. The two women lived in a basement apartment. Their upstairs neighbours were Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski  (Michael McKean) and Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman (David Lander), with whom they sometimes communicated via a dumbwaiter connecting the two apartments. Their landlady was Edna Babish (Betty Garrett), who later married Laverne's father, Frank DeFazio (Phil Foster) who owned the Pizza Bowl. Carmine Ragusa (Eddie Mekka) was Shirley's high school sweetheart with whom she was involved on again and off again.

The origins of Laverne & Shirley go back to the Happy Days episode "A Date with Fonzie" from the show's third season. In the episode, Richie (Ron Howard) has broken up with his long-time girlfriend and, having difficulty dating again, he asks Fonzie (Henry Winkler) for help. Ultimately, Fonzie gets in touch with two women he knows, Laverne and Shirley, two young women known to "date the fleet." At the time Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams were working together as writers for t Francis Ford Coppola's company Zoetrope. Penny Marshall's bother just happened to be Garry Marshall, creator and producer of Happy Days. One day he called them and asked if they would like to take a break from writing and make a guest appearance on Happy Days.Their characters, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney proved popular enough to appear in two more episodes during the third season of Happy Days. Ultimately, they appeared in five episodes of the show.

It was while Garry Marshall was at a conference with ABC executives on Marco Island off the coast of Florida that Fred Silverman, the the head of ABC, asked him to create more shows. More to the point, Fred Silverman asked Garry Marshall if he had any spinoffs. Mr. Marshall told him that he was too busy working on Happy Days, but Fred Silverman persisted. In truth, Garry Marshall had been mulling over an idea for a show centred around Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney. He then pitched the idea of a show centred around two blue collar women. Fred Silverman liked the idea and gave him the go-ahead for the new show. 

Initially, Cindy Williams did not want to reprise the character of Shirley for the prospective new show, originally titled  Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney. At this point in her career, Cindy Williams had already appeared in several movies, including Travels with My Aunt (directed by the legendary George Cukor), American Graffiti (for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress), and The Conversation (directed by Francis Ford Coppola). It was then quite natural that Cindy Williams was considering a career in film and would not consider a TV series,which could be a long-term investment as far as time is concerned. 

It was then that Liberty Williams (also billed as Louise Williams), no relation to Cindy Williams, was asked to audition for the role of Shirley. A seven minute screen test with Liberty Williams as Shirley and Penny Marshall as Laverne was filmed. As it turned out, Cindy Williams was convinced to do the show and an audition tape was filmed with her and Penny Marshall. ABC executives wanted to see both the audition tape with Liberty Williams and the audition tape with Cindy Williams. Paramount executive Michael Eisner hid the tape with Liberty Williams, telling the ABC executives it had been lost. It was then that they only saw the tape with Cindy Williams and in the end she played the role of Shirley on the show. As to Liberty Williams, today she may be best known as the voice of Jayna, one half of the Wonder Twins, on the Saturday morning cartoon Super Friends. 

While Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney were given their own show, they were toned down considerably from their initial appearances on Happy Days., Indeed, in "A Date with Fonzie," Fonzie even makes the statement that they were "...more boisterous than I usually like." For their own show, Laverne and Shirley would remain working class and independent, but they were no longer loose as they had been in their initial appearances on Happy Days.

Laverne & Shirley proved to be a hit from its debut on January 27, 1976. In fact, it became the very first TV show to ever debut in the number one spot in the Nielsen ratings.  Laverne & Shirley ultimately ranked no. 3 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1975-1976 season. It would rise to no. 2 in its second season. For its third and fourth seasons, Laverne & Shirley would be the number one show on the air. 

The success of Laverne & Shirley would result in a Saturday morning cartoon spun-off from the show, Laverne & Shirley in the Army. The cartoon was produced by Hanna-Barbera and took inspiration from the two-part, fifth season episode "We're in the Army Now,"which found Laverne and Shirley enlisting int  the army. It aired as part of The Fonz-Laverne & Shirley Hour.  For its second season, Fonzie (voiced by Henry Winkler) joined the cast, now serving as a mechanic in the motor pool. Laverne & Shirley in the Army did not repeat the live-action show's success,and ended after only two seasons.

While Laverne & Shirley hit no. 1 for two seasons, it would not remain there. For the show's fifth season, ABC moved it from its original Tuesday night time slot to Thursday night. The show's ratings dropped. The show was moved at mid-season to Monday night and then finally back to its original time slot for the summer. Quite naturally, Laverne & Shirley took a beating, with the show dropping int the ratings to no. 42 for the year. While its ratings would improve for its sixth season, Laverne & Shirley never ranked in the top ten again.

It was perhaps because of the drop in ratings that big changes were made to Laverne & Shirley for its sixth season. Previously set in the late Fifties to early Sixties, the show was now set in the mid-Sixties. Laverne and Shirley lost their jobs at the Shotz Brewing Company in Milwaukee, having been replaced by automated bottle-capping machines. The two women then moved to Burbank, California, where they got jobs at ardwell's department store as gift wrappers. Laverne and Shirley were not along in moving to California. Laverne's father Frank and stepmother Edna also moved, opening a restaurant called Cowboy Bill's. Even Lenny and Squiggy moved, opening their own talent agency, the Squignowski Talent Agency. Two new characters were added to the show.  Rhonda Lee (Leslie Easterbrook) was one of their neighbours, a scatter-brained blonde who wanted to be an actress. Sonny St. Jacques (Ed Marinaro) was their landlord and also a stuntman. Whether it was the changes made to the show or the fact that it was back on Tuesday night, ratings for Laverne & Shirley improved. It rose to no. 20 for the season.

While Laverne & Shirley survived its characters' move to California, there would be one change that the show would not survive. It was towards the end of the seventh season that Cindy Williams became pregnant with her first child. She then left two episodes in the show's eighth season. In the end, Cindy Williams sued Paramount for $20 million. The lawsuit was settled out of court and Cindy Williams was released from her contract. The show then continued with Penny Marshall playing Laverne without Shirley around. Amazingly enough, Laverne & Shirley did not drop dramatically in its ratings. It ranked at no. 25 for its eighth season, after having ranked no. 20 for its seventh season. This was high enough that it would have been renewed under normal circumstances. Penny Marshall was open to the prospect of a ninth season, but wanted production to move to New York City. ABC did not want to shill out the money for such a move, and as a result cancelled the show.

Laverne & Shirley went onto a success in syndication as a rerun. It not only aired on many local television stations, but on such cable outlets as Nick at Nite and, TBS. Laverne & Shirley currently airs on MeTV  and Catchy Comedy, It is currently available on streaming on Pluto TV. The entire series has been released on DVD, starting with the first season in 2004.

Laverne & Shirley was not only a highly rated show, it was also a pioneering one. There had been shows centred on single women before, including Private Secretary, Our Miss Brooks That Girl, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, among others, but in every case the characters were middle class. Laverne & Shirley centred on two working class women. Shows centred around working class characters have never been particularly common, so a sitcom featuring two working class women was unique indeed. What is more, the show was empowering for women outside the working class, with its focus on female friendship and female independence. It must be pointed out that in part Laverne & Shirley led to Penny Marshall's directorial career. After making her directorial debut with an episode of Working Stiffs, she directed four episodes of Laverne & Shirley. She went onto direct such movies as Big (1988), Awakenings (1990), and A League of Their Own (1992). If Laverne & Shirley was popular, it was because it featured a talented cast and crew working on a show that was very different for its time. 

Godspeed Yvonne Lime

Yvonne Lime Fedderson, who appeared in the movie I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and founded International Orphans Inc.(later renamed Childhelp) with Sara O'Meara, died on January 23, 2026, at the age of 90.

Yvonne Lime was born on April 7, 1935, in Glendale, California. She graduated from Glendale High School in 1953. An agent discovered her while she was appearing in a production of Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Yvonne Lime first appeared on screen in the recurring role of Dotty Snow, a friend of Betty (Elinor Donahue), on the hit sitcom Father Knows Best. Starting in June, 1960, and into the 1960-1961 season, Yvonne Lime played wife and mother Sally Day on the sitcom Happy. During the Fifties, she guest starred on the shows The Millionaire, Studio 57, The Adventures of Jim Bowie. December Bride, West Point, Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, Crossroads, The Mickey Mouse Club (specifically "The Hardy Boys" segment), The Thin Man, The People's Choice, The Gale Storm Show, Dragnet, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Wichita Town, Bat Masterson,The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Dobie Gillis, and Bringing Up Buddy. She appeared in the movies The Rainmaker (1956), Untamed Youth (1957), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Loving You (1957), Dragstrip Riot (1958), High School Hellcats (1958), and Speed Crazy (1959).

In the Sixties, Yvonne Lime appeared on the shows The Joey Bishop Show, The Third Mn, The Bill Dana Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Dragnet 1968, and My Three Sons. 

It was while she was on a USO tour of Japan that Yvonne Lime and Sara O'Meara observed orphans on the streets of Tokyo. They then founded International Orphans Inc. It was originally meant to support Japanese children following a large typhoon hitting the coast of Japan. over time International Orphans Inc. would evolve into Childhelp, a charity devoted to the prevention, treatment, and advocacy of child abuse and neglect. Yvonne Lime Fedderson served as the organization's president and vice-chairman. She and Sara O' Meara co-wrote the book Silence Broken: Moving From a Loss of Innocence to a World of Healing and Love, which chronicled their work with Childhelp.

Yvonne Lime married producer Don Fedderson, best known for the shows Life with Elizabeth, The Millionaire, My Three Sons, and Family Affair, in 1969. Afterwards Yvonne Lime Fedderson retired from acting. Following Don Fedderson's death, she served as president and CEO of Don Fedderson Productions for over 30 years. 

Yvonne Lime Fedderson was certainly talented as an actress,. and she will probably always be best remembered for her roles in Father Knows Best and I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Regardless, she played many other roles. She appeared on Dobie Gillis twice, notably in "The Right Triangle" in which she played a girl whose sympathy Dobie tries to win by making it look as if he is being used by a married woman. In the Bat Masterson episode "The Snare," she played the fiancée of a man who has been murdered. She could certainly play a variety of roles. 

Of course, she is notable for more than her acting career. She was president and CEO of Don Fedderson Productions for more than 30 years, managing the rights to the shows Don Fedderson had produced. Much more important was founding International Orphans Inc. with Sara O'Meara. Over the years, the organization has helped numerous children and continues to do so as Childhelp. Yvone Lime Fedderson certainly leaves behind an important legacy. 

Godspeed Television Director Bruce Bilson

Prolific television director Bruce Bilson, who directed episodes of The Patty Duke Show, Hogan's Heroes, Get Smart (for which he won an Emmy), and many more shows, died on January 16, 2026, at the age of 97.

Bruce Bilson was born on May 19, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York. Both of his parents were in the show business. His father was writer and producer George Bilson, who would everything from theatrical short subjects at RKO to the television version of Captain Midnight. His mother was screenwriter Hattie Bilson, who would write multiple Pal the Dog shorts. Show business apparently ran the Bilsons' blood. Bruce Bilson's son is writer and director Danny Bilson. Danny Bilson's daughter, and hence Bruce Bilson's granddaughter, is Rachel Bilson.

Bruce Bilson was nearly four years old when his father George moved the family to Los Angeles in order to take a job in charge of the trailers department at Warner Bros. Bruce Bilson was 14 years old when he started working as an extra in various films. In 1946, he graduated from John Marshall High School and then attended UCLA where he studied theatre, camerawork, and film editing. He graduated in 1950 and enlisted in the United States Air Force,where he trained photo units. 

Bruce Bilson worked as an assistant editor on the game show You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx, for two years before he was accepted into the Directors Guild. His first directorial job was directing episodes of the exercise It's Fun to Reduce. He was second assistant editor on the feature film Sincerely Yours (1955) and then second assistant director on the syndicated series The Liberace Show. It was through Desilu production head Argyle Nelson that Bruce Bilson began working at Desilu. In the mid to late Fifties, he served as an assistant director on episodes of Science Fiction Theatre and The Texan, as well as several episodes of the shows The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and U.S. Marshal. He served as first assistant director on 58 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. He served as an assistant director on the feature film Too Soon to Love (1960). 

In the Sixties, he worked as an assistant director on several episodes of Route 66 and two episodes of The Lawbreakers. He also worked an assistant director on the movies Teenage Millionaire (1961), Wild Harvest (1962), and One Potato, Two Potato (1964). His first credit as a director was on an episode of the short-lived sitcom Karen in 1964.   In the Sixties, Bruce Bilson directed several episodes of The Patty Duke Show; Please Don't Eat the Daisies; Get Smart; Hogan's Heroes; The Doris Day Show; and Love, American Style.  He also directed episodes oft the shows The Baileys of Balboa, Gidget, Camp Runamuck, Run Buddy Run, That Girl, Bewitched, The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, The Tim Conway Show, Bonanza, and Barefoot n the Park.

In the Seventies, Mr. Bilson directed seveal episodes of Love, American Style and Barney Miller. He also directed episodes of the shows The Doris Day Show,. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Green Acres, Arnie, The Good Life, Nanny and the Professor, The Odd Couple, Alias Smith and Jones, Samford and Son, Temperatures Rising, M^A^S^H, The Paul Lynde Show, Jigsaw, The Partridge Family, Roll Out!, Chopper One, Diusty's Trail, The Brady Bunch,The Six Million Dollar Man, Sierra, Emergency!, When Things Were Rotten, Matt Helm, Barbary Coast, S.W.A.T., Spencer's Pilots, Alice, Hawaii Five-O Wonder Woman, Hunter, The Feather and Father Gang, Tabitha, Quark, Delta House, Turnabout, The Bad News Bears, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Skag, B.J. and the Bear, and The Wonderful World of Disney. He also directed the TV movies The Girl Who Came Gift Wrapped, Dead Man on the Run, The New Daughters of Joshua Cable, Duffy, The Banana Company, Pleasure Cove, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, The Halloween That Almost Wasn't,\ and The Ghosts of Buxley Hall. He directed the movie The North Avenue Irregulars (1979).

In the Eighties, Bruce Bilson directed episodes of the shows Harper Valley P.T.A., Aloha Paradise, Simon & Simon, House Calls, The Powers of Matthew Star, Private Benjamin, Knight Rider, Bring 'Em Back Alive, The Renegades, Too Close for Comfort, Just Our Luck, Glitter, Finder of Lost Loves, Half Nelson, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, The Twilight Zone, Teh Fall Guy, Dallas, The Love Boat, Life with Lucy, The Colbys, Sledge Hammer!, Hotel, Spenser for Hire, Dynasty, The Munsters Today, The Nutt House, The Bradys, They Came from Outer Space, Hull High, and The Flash. He directed the TV movie Gidget's Summer Reunion. He directed the feature film Chattanooga Choo Choo.

In the Nineites, Bruce Bilson directed episodes of The Flash, P.S. I Luv U, Human Target, Almost Home. Dinosaurs, Touched by an Angel, One West Waikiki, Love Boat: The Next Wave Pensacola: Wings of Gold; and Viper.

Bruce Bilson was also an associate producer on two episodes of the short-lived sitcom The Bailey of Balboa and episode of The Tim Conway Show. 

Bruce Bkson was certainly prolific and he directed many episodes of some of my favourite shows, including Get Smart, Barney Miller, The Flash, and Dinosaurs. He was particularly talented when it came to directing sitcoms, with good timing and an emphasis on the characters. It is little wonder he was in demand on the many shows he directed.

Roger Ewing R.I.P.

Roger Ewing was born in Los Angeles on January 12, 1942. He attended college for a year and worked as a lifeguard before becoming an actor. He made his television debut in an episode of Bewitched. After guest starring in a different role on Gunsmoke, in its tenth season, Roger Ewing joined the cast as Thad Greenwood in the show's eleventh season. He would remain with the show through the show's 12th season. He also guest starred on the shows The Baileys of Balboa, The Bing Crosby Show, Rawhide, The Mothers-In-Law, and Death Valley Days. He made his movie debut in Ensign Pulver in 1964. He also appeared in the movies None But the Brave (1965), and Smith! (1969). He made his last appearance on screen in the movie Play It As It Lays (1972). 

Roger Ewing retired from acting in the early Seventies and took up photography. 

Roger Ewing's acting career was short, but memorable. Aside from playing Thad on Gunsmoke, he appeared in other notable roles. In the Bewitched episode "Girl Reporter," he played Marvin "Monster" Grogan, the football player and boyfriend of the girl reporter (Liza Randall, played by Cheryl Holdridge) who has a crush on Darrin (Dick York). In the Rawhide episode "The Calf Women," Roger Ewing played one of his rare unlikable characters, a young buffalo hunter who tries to force himself on a young woman. On The Mothers-In-Law he played a wealthy ex-boyfriend of Suzie (Deborah Walley) that Suzie fails to tell that she is still married. Roger Ewing was always a welcome presence on television and in movies and always gave good performances.

T. K. Carter Passes On

T. K. Carter, who was a regular on such shows as Just Our Luck and Punky Brewster and appeared in such movies as Southern Comfort (1981), and The Thing (1982) , died on January 6, 2026, at the age of 69. 

Thomas Kent Carter was born on December 18, 1956, in New York City. He grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in California. He made his television debut in 1976 in an episode of Police Woman. In the late Seventies, he guest starred on the shows Good Times; Quincy, M.E.; The Waltons; and The Jeffersons. He made his movie debut in Youngblood in 1978. He appeared in the movies Corvette Summer (1978), The Hollywood Knights (1980), Seed of Innocence (1980), and Seems Like Old Times (1980). 

In the Eighties, T.K. Carter starred on the show Just Our Luck and was a regular on the shows Punky Brewster and Good Morning, Bliss. He was a voice on the animated shows Turbo Teen and Jem. He guest starred on the shows Transformers, 227 and The Magical World of Disney. He appeared in the movies Underground Aces (1981), Southern Comfort (1981), The Thing (1982), Doctor Detroit (1983), Runaway Train (1985), He's My Girl (1987) Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), and Ski Patrol (1990).

In the Nineties, T.K. Carter was a regular on the The Sinbad Show. He guest starred on the TV shows Family Matters, A Different World, Moesha, The Gregory Hines Show, The Steve Harvey Show, and The Nanny, NYPD Blue. He appeared in the mini-series The Corner. He appeared in the movies A Rage in Harlem (1991), Space Jam (1996), and My Favorite Martian (1999).

In the Naughts, T.K. Carter guest starred on the shows In Justice and Everybody Loves Chris. He appeared in the movies How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass (2003), The L.A. Riot Spectacular (2005), and Domino (2005). In the Teens, he guest starred on the shows Love That Girl!, Saints & Sinners, The Bobby Brown Story, and Stumptown. He appeared in the movie The Way Back (2020). In the 2020s, he appeared in the movie Fake Friends (2022). He had a recurring role on the TV shows Dave and The Company You Keep. 

T.K. Carter was a great talent who could play a wide variety of roles. This can even be seen early in his career. He guest starred as Head, one of J.J.'s (Jimmie Walker) fun-loving friends in two episodes of Good Times. His following guest appearance was on The Waltons, playing Jodie Foster, the son of Verdie Foster (Lynn Hamilton), who had just joined the Navy. Throughout his career, T.K. Carter would play both comedic roles and serious roles, and play both sorts of roles equally well. He was the unfortunate Cribbs in Southern Comfort (1981) and the cook Nauls in The Thing (1982), but also played Diavolo Washington in the comedy Doctor Detroit (1983). T,K. Carter could play nearly anything, from goofballs to authority figures. He was a teacher in his regular role on Punky Brewster,  and Clarence Hall, the eccentric friend of lead character David Bryan (Sinbad). T.K. Carter had enormous talent and versatility, and leaves behind a legacy of great performances. 

For Moira Shearer's Centenary, "The Tale of Olympia" from The Tales of Hoffman (1951)

Moira Shearer was born 100 years ago on this date in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. She remains famous both as a ballerina and an film star. As a ballerina, she was a rival to the great Margot Fonteyn. She danced Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty in 1946, and danced in both  Symphonic Variations and  Coppelia that same year. In 1948, she danced in Frederick Ashton's Cinderella. As an actress in film, she only made a few movies, but they were significant. She worked with Michael Powell in The Red Shoes (1948), The Tales of Hoffman (1951), and Peeping Tom (1960). She played multiple roles in the comedy The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955).

Of course, most of Moira Shearer's roles on film would involve dance in some way, even Peeping Tom (1960). While Moira Shearer's best known dance performance on film remains her first in The Red Shoes (1948), she was also remarkable as Olympia in the sequence "The Tale of Olympia" in The Tales of Hoffman (1951). Fortunately, Turner Classic Movies uploaded the entire "Tale of Olympia" to YouTube a year ago. Here, then, in tribute to Moria Shearer on what would have been her 100th birthday is "The Tale of Olympia."

The 90th Anniversary of the Radio Show Gang Busters

It was 90 years ago today, on January 15, 1936, that the radio show Gang Busters debuted on CBS. Gang Busters was an anthology series that dramatized real-life police histories based on files from  police departments across the country. It was known for its opening, which featured the sound of a machine gun, a police siren, the sound of convicts marching, and a police radio. It gave rise to the phrase, "come on like Gang Busters," which is still in use to this day. Gang Busters proved to be phenomenally popular and would expand into media beyond radio. It would have a lasting impact as one of the earliest examples of the true crime genre. 

The origins of Gang Busters go back to an earlier radio show titled G-Men. Both shows were created by Phillips H. Lord, who had earlier created Sunday Evening at Seth Parker's, what might be described today as a faith-based program. It was after that show ended that Phillips H. Lord created G-Men, which largely owed its existence to the 1935 movie of the same name starring James Cagney. G Men (1935) was released in the spring of 1935 and proved to be a smash hit. The success of G Men, as well as the popularity of the true crime genre in general at the time, convinced Phillips H. Lord that a radio show based on real-life F.B.I. cases could be successful.

G-Men proved to be a somewhat difficult experience for Phillips H. Lord. J. Edgar Hoover did not particularly approve of a radio show based on F.B.I. cases. Fortunately the United States Attorney General of the time, Homer Cummings did like the idea of the program and as a result Phillips H. Lord obtained access to the F.B.I's files. Unfortunate for Mr. Lord, G-Men would still have to produced with the cooperation of J. Edgar Hoover, who insisted that only closed cased be used for the show and that every single script be approved by him or another high ranking F.B.I official. J. Edgar Hoover also insisted that the F.B.I. agents on the show conform to his vision of G-men, who were invariably strong, educated, intelligent, and free of any eccentricities who pretty much simply cogs in the machine that was the F.B.I. This was completely at odds with what Phillips H. Lord wanted, which was a radio show filled with excitement. Although the show was popular, it was because of the clashes between Phillips H. Lord and J. Edgar Hoover that G-Men ran only one season on NBC Blue, from July 20, 1935 to October 12, 1935.

G.Men would return after a fashion as Gang Busters. Gang Busters was in some respects the same show as G-Men, except that it focused on local law enforcement across the country for the most part instead of the F.B.I.  In other words, Phillips H. Lord would not have to deal with J. Edgar Hoover. To lend more credibility to Gang Busters, Phillips H. Lord had  former head of the New Jersey State Police Norman Schwarzkopf Sr. introduce the show. Later  New York City police commissioner Lewis Joseph Valentine would handle the introductions. 

Not only would Gang Busters feature well-known law enforcement officials introducing the show, but it also featured well-known radio stars, some of who would go onto success in other media. Among them were Joan Banks and her husband Frank Lovejoy, Art Carney, Larry Haines, and Richard Widmark. 

As mentioned earlier, the success of Gang Busters led to the phrase "come on like Gang Busters" entering the English language. It also led to Gang Busters being adapted to other media, In 1942, Universal produced 13 chapter movie serial, Gangbusters, starring  Kent Taylor, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan, and Robert Armstrong. Among the most successful adaptations of Gang Busters to another medium was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1947 to 1959 for 67 issues. 

Like many radio shows, Gang Busters would make the transition to television, although it did so because of another radio show, Dragnet. When Dragnet first came to television, however, its creator and producer Jack Webb had difficulty producing a half hour episode each week.  NBC needed a show to air during the weeks that they did not have episodes of Dragnet. As a result Gang Busters came to television as a temporary show that would alternate weeks with Dragnet until Jack Webb could begin producing weekly episodes. The television version of Gang Busters debuted on March 20, 1950, on NBC, and proved to be a hit. It ranked no. 14 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1951-1952 season. For the 1952-1953 season, it actually ranked no. 8. Unfortunately for the producers of Gang Busters, by 1952 Jack Webb was able to provide NBC with a new episode of Dragnet every week. NBC then cancelled Gang Busters despite the fact that it was the no. 8 show for the season.

For syndication, the television version of Gang Busters was re-titled Captured and nine new episodes were added to the seventeen episodes broadcast on NBC. Episodes of the show were also edited, along with new footage, into two feature films: Gang Busters (1955) and Guns Don't Argue (1957). 

Gang Busters ultimately had a long run on radio, although it did change networks from time to time. It aired on CBS until 1940, at which point it moved to the NBC Blue Network, its first episode airing there on October 11, 1940. It moved back to CBS on January 8, 1948. It was in 1955 that it moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System with its final season starting there on October 5, 1955. In the end, it ran until November 27, 1957 At twenty one years, it was one of the longest running, broadcast network radio shows. 

Gang Busters would have a lasting impact beyond a still common phrase in English. It was one of the earliest true crime shows in any medium, and would pave the way for other, similar radio shows. Border Patrol, Call the Police, Dragnet The Black Museum, and yet others owe something to Gang Busters. Perhaps Calling All Cars, which debuted in 1933 and dramatized Los Angeles Police Department cases, had as much impact on Gang Busters. Gang Busters' impact would even be felt on television, and can be seen in shows from Dragnet to America's Most Wanted. It is still seen today in the form of true crime podcasts and shows like Dateline NBC. Chances seem good that Gang Busters will still have an impact 90 years from now.