The Deputy (TV series)
The Deputy is an American western series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1961. The series stars Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.[1]
The Deputy | |
---|---|
Allen Case as McCord on the set with guest star Vivian Vance, 1959 | |
Genre | Western |
Created by | Roland Kibbee Norman Lear |
Starring | Henry Fonda Allen Case Read Morgan Wallace Ford Betty Lou Keim |
Narrated by | Henry Fonda |
Theme music composer | Jack Marshall |
Composer(s) | Jack Marshall |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 76 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Henry Fonda William Frye |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company(s) | Top Gun Productions Revue Studios |
Distributor | NBC Films |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Picture format | Black-and-white |
Audio format | Monaural |
Original release | September 12, 1959 – July 1, 1961 |
Synopsis
Fonda narrated most episodes and appeared briefly at the beginning and ending of most segments. He played the lead in only six episodes in the first season and thirteen in the second. Usually he would give his deputy the assignment and, on rare occasions, would thank him at the conclusion of the episode. As Fred MacMurray later did while shooting the sitcom series My Three Sons, Fonda performed all of his work on The Deputy in several lengthy sessions so as to leave himself free for other projects. Although based in Silver City, the marshal's district also covered several nearby towns. Deputy McCord was a storekeeper who bore arms with great reluctance. Wallace Ford starred as the elderly Marshal, Herk Lamson, with Betty Lou Keim as McCord's sister, Fran, in the first season. Read Morgan joined the show in the second season as Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, known as "Sarge", a one-eyed United States Army cavalry enlisted man stationed in town.
Cast
- Henry Fonda
- Allen Case
- Read Morgan
- Wallace Ford
- Betty Lou Keim
Production notes
The series was created by Roland Kibbee and Norman Lear. It was produced by Revue Studios and featured a jazz guitar score by Jack Marshall. It was also the first television series that Lear was involved as a creator or executive producer.
The Deputy aired at 9 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.
Original Tie-In Novel
An original, licensed novel, based upon the TV series concept and characters, was issued in paperback by Dell Publishing. The book was titled simply The Deputy, after the series; the author was veteran Western novelist Roe Richmond; the publication date was September, 1960; and the cover illustration, featuring Henry Fonda and Allan Case, was a painting by John Leone. The cover price was 35¢.
Bantam Books reissued the novel in 1986, as a non-tie-in, paperback edition, displaying no stated connection to the TV series whatsoever, under the title The Saga of Simon Fry. The cover price was $2.75. The circumstances behind the reprint are unknown.
Home media
On October 26, 2010, Timeless Media Group released the complete series on DVD in Region 1. The 12-disc set features all 76 episodes of the series.
References
- Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, pp. 212-213
External links
- The Deputy on IMDb
- The Deputy at TV.com