Studio City Walk of Fame Highlights: 'City Detective'

City Detective

Tile #24 on the Studio City Walk of Fame

CAST: Rod Cameron

1953 - 1955 broadcast in syndication.

Production Company: Revue Studios

City Detective is a half-hour crime drama starring Rod Cameron as 43-year-old Bart Grant, a tough 1950s New York City police lieutenant. City Detective was the first of three consecutive Rod Cameron television series that included State Trooper (1956) and Coronado 9 (1960). State Trooper also has a tile in the Studio City Walk of Fame, Tile #124.

City Detective aired 64 episodes in 2 seasons from January 1, 1953 and May 10, 1955. Late in 1953, Variety noted a syndication record for the series as it had been sold to 1,971 television stations.

Many of the actors who guest starred on City Detective later landed series regular roles on network series, including Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont, who appeared in separate episodes before they were cast as the the Beaver's parents in Leave It to Beaver. Madge Blake, the beloved 'Aunt Harriet Cooper' on the Batman television series, Andy Clyde, who played Madge Blake's brother on The Real McCoys, Frances Bavier, "Aunt Bee" on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show, appeared three times on the series and Jean Byron, who starred as Patty's mom, 'Natalie Lane' on The Patty Duke Show appeared twice on City Detective.

City Detective was filmed on location at Republic Studios, 4024 Radford Avenue in Studio City, CA.

Rod Cameron was born Nathan Roderick Cox in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on December 7. 1910. The former construction worker and stuntman, Cameron began his career as a stand-in for Fred MacMurray and gained star status in action serials for Republic Pictures. As crime-busting federal agent Rex Bennett, Cameron battled enemy terrorists in 15 weekly episodes of G-Men vs the Black Dragon. Rod Cameron's characterization of federal agent Rex Bennett was so successful that Republic hurriedly made changes to Cameron's next serial, already in production. It became an unofficial sequel, Secret Service in Darkest Africa, (Tile #13 on the Studio City Walk of Fame) with Cameron's character renamed Rex Bennett, and the feminine lead Joan Marsh becoming a British character, as in G-Men vs. the Black Dragon.

Cameron had a colorful private life, in 1950 Cameron married Angela Alves-Lico and divorced her in 1960 to marry her mother Dorothy Alves-Lico. William Witney, one of Quentin Tarantino's favorite directors, publicly acclaimed Cameron as the bravest man he had ever seen.

Cameron passed away at the age of 73 on Dec. 21, 1983 in Gainsville, Georgia.

For more information, please visit the SCIA website Walk of Fame pages.