John Joseph “J.J.” Bittenbinder might have saved your life.

In the ’90s the colorful former Chicago police detective showed viewers how to avoid being kidnapped as host of the “Tough Target” TV show and told kids how to stay safe from muggers in his PBS “Street Smarts” specials.

His programs, which featured crime victims recounting their ordeals, were simultaneously terrifying and informative.

With his fuzzy walrus mustache, colloquial yet entertaining speaking style and bespoke three-piece suits, Mr. Bittenbinder could have been playing a character on air.

But the man on the screen was very real, as was his commitment to making the world a safer place.

Mr. Bittenbinder died peacefully May 26 with his family present. He was 80.

Mr. Bittenbinder was a graduate of the former DePaul Academy in Lincoln Park and attended DePaul University. He served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked in retail sales before joining the Chicago Police Department in 1971.

He helped investigate thousands of cases as a homicide detective before retiring from the department in 1994. During the investigation of the notorious Tylenol murders case in 1982, Mr. Bittenbinder was liaison between the FBI and Chicago police.

Mr. Bittenbinder began giving talks on how to avoid being victims of rape or robbery a few years after working in the violent crimes division at CPD.

“I tell how the bad guys go for the weakest-looking ones, always,” Mr. Bittenbinder told the Sun-Times in 1991. “We’re not talking about offenders with Mensa cards in their pockets: We’re talking animal instincts. I basically tell them how to extricate themselves. I give them practical things. Lightbulbs go on. I’ve been doing this 10 years.”

He held talks wherever anybody would listen: banks, hospitals, church groups. “You put 10 women in a kitchen; I come and talk to them,” Mr. Bittenbinder said. “If I prevent one rape, I do a good job.”

Mr. Bittenbinder also visited schools in the Chicago area, giving children practical tips on how to get out of dangerous situations.

“Of all the things you can tell a kid, the most important is when they’re approached, they should run,” Mr. Bittenbinder said. “Never again will they be able to run as fast as they can now. But you’ve got to tell them to drop the books.”

One of those visits was lampooned by Chicago native John Mulaney in 2018, briefly re-inserting the detective in the national spotlight. The comedian parodied Mr. Bittenbinder’s safety presentation at his elementary school assembly in his stand-up special “Kid Gorgeous at Radio City.”

Sun-Times file

“We had the same stranger-danger speaker every year when I was a kid. His name was Det. J.J. Bittenbinder. Go ahead and laugh, his name is ridiculous,” Mulaney tells the audience.

“By the way, Det. J.J. Bittenbinder wore three-piece suits. He also wore a pocket watch. Two years in a row he wore a cowboy hat. He also had a huge handlebar mustache. None of that matters, but it’s important to me that you know that,” Mulaney joked.

The comedian said Mr. Bittenbinder told the kids to carry a money clip with $50 in it and if someone tries to rob them they should say, “You want my money, go get it” and throw the money clip and run away.

The opening of Mr. Bittenbinder’s “Street Smarts” television program was frightening, featuring scary music and crime victims recounting horror stories. Within minutes, Mr. Bittenbinder would appear in front of an audience and begin to animatedly lecture them on safety.

Mr. Bittenbinder’s style was so distinctive that he also inspired a sketch on the cult favorite ’90s comedy program “Mr Show.” Bob Odenkirk portrayed F.F. Woodycooks, mustachioed crime show television host, who was a parody of the striking detective and his show.

In 1997, Mr. Bittenbinder’s book, “Tough Target: A Street-Smart Guide to Staying Safe” was a critical and financial hit. He also appeared as a crime expert on CNN, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Primetime Live.”

Visitation will be Tuesday at Ryan-Parke Funeral Home at 120 S. Northwest Highway in Park Ridge.