''The Deputy'' is an American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series starring

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from 1959 to 1961. Fonda portrayed Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

and

Allen Case Allen Case (born Alan Case Lavelle Jones, October 8, 1934 – August 25, 1986) was an American television actor most noted for the lead role of Deputy Clay McCord in NBC-TV's ''The Deputy'' (1959–1961) opposite series regular Henry Fonda, who ...

played Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.

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 13 in the second. Usually, he gave his deputy the assignment, and on rare occasions, thanked him at the conclusion of the episode. As

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

did while shooting the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

series ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chronicl ...

'', 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 Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

's district also covered several nearby towns. Deputy McCord was a storekeeper who bore arms with great reluctance.

Wallace Ford Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-face ...

appeared as the elderly marshal, Herk Lamson, with

Betty Lou Keim Betty Lou Keim (September 27, 1938 – January 27, 2010) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Early life and career Keim was born in Malden, Massachusetts, as the daughter of a choreographer and a dancer, and she grew up in New Y ...

as McCord's sister, Fran, in the first season.

Read Morgan Read Lawrence Morgan (January 30, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of Sergeant Hapgood Tasker in the American western television series ''The Deputy''. Life and career Morg ...

joined the show in the second season as Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, known as "Sarge", a one-eyed

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

enlisted man stationed in town.

Gary Hunley Gary Hunley (born May 22, 1948) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Mickey in the final season of the American western television series ''Sky King''. Hunley was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1954 he appeared ...

played as Deputy Clay McCord's young brother Brandon McCord in an episode of the television series.

Cast

as Chief Marshal Simon Fry *

as Deputy Clay McCord *

as Sergeant Hapgood Tasker *

as Marshal Herk Lamson *

as Fran McCord

Recurring cast

Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...

as Jose *

Addison Richards Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. (October 20, 1902 – March 22, 1964) was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than three hundred films between 1933 and his death. Biography A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Richa ...

as Doc Landy

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Production notes

The series was created by

Roland Kibbee Roland Kibbee (15 February 1914 in Monongahela, Pennsylvania – 5 August 1984 in Encino, California) was an award-winning American screenwriter and producer. He was a frequent collaborator and friend of actor-producer Burt Lancaster. Career ...

and

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...

, produced by

Revue Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...

, and featured a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitar score by

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

. It was the first television series that involved Lear as a creator or executive producer. ''The Deputy'' aired at 9 pm Eastern on Saturdays.

Original tie-in novel

An original, licensed novel, based on the TV series concept and characters, was issued in paperback by

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

. 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 Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

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 Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released the complete series on DVD in Region 1. The 12-disc set features all 76 episodes of the series.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deputy, The 1959 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings English-language television shows NBC original programming Black-and-white American television shows Television shows set in Arizona Television series by Universal Television Television series created by Norman Lear 1950s Western (genre) television series 1960s Western (genre) television series