| The Deputy |
 |
| NBC Network |
| 1959 - 1961 |
| Drama |
| 30 Minutes |
Set in the Arizona Territory of the 1880s,
Henry Fonda starred as Simon Fry, an aging US
Marshal who maintained law and order in the town
of Silver City.
"That was the Arizona territory in 1880, and
I was its chief marshal." -- Marshal Fry,
Series Opening
Simon's friends in Silver City included:
- Allen Case as Clay McCord, a young storekeeper who works as a
deputy for Marshall Fry. When outlaws burn his store, McCord
becomes a full-time Deputy Marshal.
- Betty Lou Keim as Fran McCord, Clay's sister.
- Addison Richards/Willis Bouchey as Doc Landy.
- Charles Seel as Doc Miller.
- Phil Tully as Charlie, the bartender.
- Kermit Maynard as Marshal Bud Tyson.
- Read Morgan as Hapgood "Sarge" Tasker, a one-eyed cavalry sergeant
who occasionally teams up with McCord.
- Wallace Ford as Marshal Herk Lamson, Silver City's elderly
lawman..
- Vito Scotti as Jose
Listen to Theme
Music
Here are some of the exploits of Marshal Fry and Deputy
McCord:
Marshall Fry:
- Captures two train robbers with the help of a storekeeper.
- Takes a chance on a suspected rustler handling a gold shipment
- Faces down a lynch mob that wants to kill his prisoner.
- Helps a woman and her son being forced off their land
- Sets out to bust the plot that framed McCord for murder.
- Quells men angry over a bunch of feminist Suffragettes.
Deputy McCord:
- Treks into Apache territory on a peace mission.
- Helps a man falsely accused of selling
gunpowder to Apaches.
- Protect the town veterinarian from a hired gunman.
- Goes under cover to learn the plans of a gang of outlaws.
- Robs a payroll shipment to facilitate the release of a
hostage.
- Tracks down the bad guys who shot Marshal Fry.
Memorabilia
TRIVIA NOTE: Veteran film star Henry
Fonda took a secondary role on the show to
showcase actor Allen Case. If you think about
it, that was a smart move. Fonda could take it
easy and let the young guy do all the hard
stuff. Fonda was 54-years-old at the time. He
narrated the openings and endings of the show.
The TV series was inspired by the western movie
Tin Star (1957) starring Henry Fonda and
Anthony Perkins. In the film, Fonda played a
veteran marshal-turned-bounty hunter who decides
to help a young and inexperienced deputy protect
himself from the criminal elements in town.
Allen Case, the young guy on the
series, went on to co-star in the 1965 western
series THE LEGEND OF JESSE JAMES as frontier
outlaw Frank James.
Case died
of a heart attack
at the age of 52
while on vacation in California. Fonda had died
four years earlier at the age of 77 from
heart disease.
A series similar to THE DEPUTY called
LAWMAN/ABC/1958-62 followed a veteran
lawman and his young assistant as they
maintained peace in Laramie, Wyoming.
Actor Robert Redford made his TV debut on
episode "The Last Gunfight" (April 30. 1960).
Obituaries: Henry Fonda: 08/12/1982; Allen Case:
08/25/1986.
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