''The Felony Squad'' is a half-hour television
crime drama
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
originally broadcast on the
ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969.
Overview
Sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
Sam Stone and Detective Jim Briggs are investigators in a major crimes unit in an unidentified
West Coast city.
(Los Angeles City Hall is shown at dusk in the final scene of the opening credits.) Duff's character was the veteran who was teaching his younger partner the nuances of life in this new facet of police work. Another main character was desk sergeant Dan Briggs, the father of Cole's character.
[
Originally titled ''Men Against Evil'', the show was set to be a soap opera-type program that would have been broadcast two nights per week. By March 1966 Stone's alcoholic wife and other "main female characters" were removed, with the focus of the program changed from personal lives of policemen to the work of the police.] In addition, following primary sponsor Liggett & Myers' objection about being associated with the word "evil," the show's title was changed.
Regular Cast
*Howard Duff
Howard Green Duff (November 24, 1913July 8, 1990) was an American actor. He started in radio during World War II before appearing in many Hollywood features and television programs from 1947 to 1990. He also directed for television. His career ...
as Detective Sgt. Sam Stone
* Dennis Cole as Detective Jim Briggs
* Ben Alexander as Desk Sgt. Dan Briggs
* Frank Maxwell as Captain Frank Nye (1966–1967)
* Barney Phillips as Captain Ed Franks (1967–1969)
* Robert DoQui as Detective Cliff Sims (1968–1969)
*Len Wayland as District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
Adam Fisher (recurring)
Guest Stars
*Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker (February 12, 1936 – May 7, 2025) was an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" characters on both sides of the law. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles in the Westerns '' Guns of the Magnificent ...
as Shep in "My Mommy Got Lost" (1967)
*Francis De Sales
Francis de Sales, Congregation of the Oratory, C.O., Order of Minims, O.M. (; ; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Savoyard state, Savoyard Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Geneva and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He became n ...
as Harmon in "The Broken Badge" (1966)
* Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., as Pepe Enciras in "Epitaph for a Cop" (1968)
*Don Keefer
Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...
as Harry Jocelyn in "A Most Proper Killing" (1967)
* Ricky Kelman as Donny Clement in "The Fatal Hours" (1968)
* John M. Pickard as Cahill in "A Blueprint for Dying" (1968)
*Eric Shea
Eric Shea (born February 14, 1960) is an American former child actor. Active from age six through seventeen, he is best known for his roles in the feature films '' Yours, Mine and Ours'' (1968), ''Smile'' (1975), and '' The Poseidon Adventure'' ...
as Mike Bradley in "A Date with Terror" (1966)
*Brooke Bundy
Brooke Bundy (born August 8, 1944) is an American film and television actress.
Early years
As a teenager, Bundy was a model in New York before she went to Hollywood on vacation and remained there to become an actress. While in New York, she at ...
as Betty Joyce in "The Deadly Innocents" (1968)
* Lana Wood as Sherry Martin in "The Last Man in the World" (1967)
Episodes
Season 1: 1966–67
Season 2: 1967–68
Season 3: 1968–69
Production
The show was filmed in Los Angeles locations.
From the show's debut until September 1968, it was broadcast on Monday nights from 9 to 9:30 Eastern Time. In the Fall of 1968 it was switched to Fridays from 8:30 to 9 E.T. The program was cancelled at midseason after just thirteen aired episodes. The final episode of the series was part of a crossover with the ABC legal drama ''Judd, for the Defense
''Judd, for the Defense'' is an American legal drama originally broadcast on the ABC network on Friday nights from September 8, 1967, to March 21, 1969. Judd was a shortened surname from Juddinski.
Synopsis
The show stars Carl Betz, who had pr ...
'', starring Carl Betz
Carl Lawrence Betz (March 9, 1921 – January 18, 1978) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He appeared in a variety of television series, including the CBS soap opera ''Love of Life''; he is best remembered for playing Donn ...
, which was cancelled at the end of its season after a two-year run.
Alexander's role in the series was not only onscreen but also offscreen as a technical adviser. His earlier work with Jack Webb
John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise), ''Dragnet'' franchise ...
in '' Dragnet'' was the basis for this added position, but resulted in his inability to reprise his role of Officer Frank Smith when Webb revived ''Dragnet'' in late 1966.[ He died of a ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
less than six months after ''The Felony Squad'' left the air.
''The Felony Squad'' was sponsored by L&M cigarettes, as seen on the 1967 episode "The Day of the Shark Part 1".
20th-Century Fox supplied the series. Pete Rugolo
Pietro Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011), known professionally as Pete Rugolo, was an American jazz composer, arranger, and record producer.
Life and career
Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the ...
composed ''Felony Squad Theme''.
Critical response
Jack Gould
John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television.
Early life and education
Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...
wrote in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' that the debut episode was "a very old-fashioned and conventional yarn about tight-lipped detectives doing a day's work."
References
External links
*
YouTube compilation of Batman window cameos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felony Squad, The
1960s American crime drama television series
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
1966 American television series debuts
1969 American television series endings
American English-language television shows
American detective television series
American Broadcasting Company crime dramas