Decoy (also titled Policewoman Decoy) is an American crime drama television series created for syndication and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957, to July 7, 1958, with 39 black-and-white 30-minute episodes. The series was the first American police series with a female protagonist. Many Decoy episodes are in the public domain.
Synopsis
The series featured Beverly Garland as Patricia "Casey" Jones, a female undercover police officer in New York City. The undercover nature of Jones's work had her impersonating women in a variety of roles, including gangster's molls, prostitutes, nurses, and singers. and Don Medford were directors of Decoy, partially on location in New York City. Locations included Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side, Randalls Island, and the South Bronx.
Production of the show's pilot began on March 28, 1957, taking seven days for completion. In August 1957, trade publication Billboard reported, "the first-run series is off to one of the fastest sales starts in years, particularly with major station purchases." That sales success included a $600,000 prerelease order from five Westinghouse-owned TV stations and four independent stations.
Production of the series ended on May 29, 1958, because producers lacked the funds to continue. Reruns were broadcast for seven years using the title Police Woman.
Guest stars
- Mason Adams
- Edward Asner
- Martin Balsam
- Barbara Barrie
- Frank Campanella
- Joseph Campanella
- Lonny Chapman
- Albert Dekker
- Peter Falk
- Colleen Dewhurst
- Betty Garde
- Vincent Gardenia
- Bruce Gordon
- Larry Hagman
- Don Hastings
- William Hickey
- Betty Lou Holland
- Arch Johnson
- Diane Ladd
- Zohra Lampert
- Al Lewis
- Joanne Linville
- Ruth McDevitt
- Kay Medford
- Lois Nettleton
- Phyllis Newman
- Simon Oakland
- Tom Pedi
- Leo Penn
- Suzanne Pleshette
- Joanna Roos
- Norman Rose
- Stefan Schnabel
- Frank Silvera
- Lilia Skala
- Frank Sutton
- Michael Tolan
- Betty Walker
Episodes
DVD releases
In 2017, Film Chest Media Group released a DVD set containing all 39 episodes.
References
External links
- Decoy TV Episodes posted in the Internet Archive's Classic TV collection.