Don,
Good point on Dragnet's two incarnations, however I don't think the second
time around Jack meant to be funny.  I've heard him attempt comedy; a friend
of mine who was approached to write a book about Webb dubbed a copy of "The
Jack Webb Show" (radio/1947) for me, and it is fascinatingly awful.  This
friend harbors a private theory that between the two shows Webb was abducted
by aliens and replaced by a moderately sophisticated robot.
Also, for those so inclined, you can hear Jack's amorous warblings (Try A
Little Tenderness) on Rhino records "Golden Throats" CD.
 
Stu Siegal