Dead Hunter

Highway Patrol 25 in Dead Hunter

Highway Patrol stars Broderick Crawford as Dan Matthews, the gruff and dedicated head of a police force in an unidentified Western state. A signature shot of the series is fedora-wearing Matthews barking rapid-fire dialogues into a radio microphone as he leans against the door of his black and white patrol car.

Ziv Television Programs was founded by Frederick Ziv in 1948. Ten years later, Ziv TV was a major producer of 1950s and early 1960s first-run syndicated series, including Bat Masterson, The Cisco Kid, Men into Space, Science Fiction Theater, Lock-Up, Sea Hunt, and Ripcord. Crawford signed in April 1955.[1]

Highway Patrol premiered October 3, 1955, with "Prison Break", an episode filmed April 11–13, 1955. Initial ratings were strong, the show running second to I Love Lucy.[2]

Ziv Television Programs produced 156 episodes spanning four TV seasons, 1955–59. During the four years of its run, Highway Patrol would feature many actors who would later become successful stars in their own right, among them Stuart Whitman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Conrad, Larry Hagman, Barbara Eden, Paul Burke, Leonard Nimoy, and Ruta Lee.