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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	Jack Marshall
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	76 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Henry Fonda William Frye
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Top Gun Productions Revue Studios
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 12, 1959 (1959-09-12) – July 1, 1961 (1961-07-01)

The Deputy is an American Western television series starring Henry Fonda and Allen Case that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1961. Fonda portrayed Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Case 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 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 appeared 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. Gary Hunley played as Deputy Clay McCord's young brother Brandon McCord in an episode of the television series.

Cast

• Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry
• Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord
• Read Morgan as Sergeant Hapgood Tasker
• Wallace Ford as Marshal Herk Lamson
• Betty Lou Keim as Fran McCord

Recurring cast

• Vito Scotti as Jose
• Addison Richards as Doc Landy

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2 (1960–61)

Production notes

The series was created by Roland Kibbee and Norman Lear, produced by Revue Studios, and featured a jazz guitar score by Jack Marshall. It was the first television series that involved Lear as a creator or executive producer. William Frye was the executive producer, and Michel Kraike was the producer. Kibbee and Lear were the head writers. Kellogg's sponsored alternate weeks. 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. 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

1. Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, pp. 212-213
2. Aaker, Everett (May 16, 2017). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 87. ISBN 9781476628561 – via Google Books.
3. ^ "This Week (Cont'd)". Ross Reports. September 7, 1959. p. 76. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
4. Aaker, Everett (2017-06-08). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-4766-6250-3.
5. Evans, Art (2020-07-09). World War II Veterans in Hollywood. McFarland. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-4766-7777-4.

External links

• The Deputy at IMDb

• 1959 American television series debuts
• 1961 American television series endings
• American English-language television shows
• NBC television dramas
• 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