DELVECCHIO (1976 detective show starring Judd Hirsch)

In my research into short-lived detective shows, I have found that there are often inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the information currently published on the internet. I recently clarified one set of inaccuracies regarding the episodes of the 1987 TV series Ohara and in doing so, I also discovered a similar inaccuracy when it comes to the episodes of the 1976 TV series Delvecchio.

Delvecchio was a short-lived detective series that ran for just one season between September 9th 1976 and March 13th 1977. It starred Judd Hirsch as LAPD detective (and aspiring lawyer) Dominick Delvecchio. The supporting cast includes: his partner, Paul Shonsky, played by Charles Haid; his boss, Lieutenant Macavan, played by Michael Conrad; and his father, Tomaso, played by Mario Gallo. You can currently watch episodes of the show via my YouTube playlist.

Currently (i.e. as of August 2022), if you look up the show on IMDb or Wikipedia, you might be led astray regarding the specific episodes. Similar to what I did for my post about Ohara, I visited my local reference library and went through back issues of TV Guide on microfilm in order to verify the total number of episode, their titles and their air dates. The result of that research reveals that the full list of episodes and their sequence was as follows:

No.	Title	Original air date	TV Guide Description
1	“The Avenger”	September 9, 1976
2	“Contract for Harry”	September 26, 1976	“A police informant, terrified by an unsuccessful attempt on his life, begs Delvecchio to help him escape the underworld and start afresh with his young son.” Guest Cast: Harry Wilson…Rene Auberjonois; O’Brien…John Durren; Tommy Wilson…Chris Barnes; Mendez…Don Calfa.
3	“The High Price of Justice”	October 3, 1976	“To break up a protection ring in a closely knit Chicano neighborhood, Delvecchio uses the threat of reimprisonment to dragoon a parolee into rejoining–and informing on–his old gang.” Guest Cast: Chaco…Richard Yniguez; Trini…Hector Elias; Mario…Pepe Serna; Juan…Isaac Ruiz.
4	“Good Cop”	October 10, 1976	“Delvecchio (Judd Hirsch) blames himself when his temporary partner, a police veteran who frequently ignores procedure, is fatally wounded going after a murder suspect. ” Guest Cast: Ed McCaffrey…Warren Kemmerling; Joey Scarpino…George Loros; Captain Neiman…Stacy Keach Sr.
5	“Board of Rights”	October 17, 1976	“Delvecchio’s assignment to grueling stakeout duty is interfering with his defense of a fellow officer against an Internal Affairs charge of making obscene phone calls.” Guest Cast: Bill Travis…Don Gordon; Nancy Travis…Barbara Bosson; Captain Moran…John Chappell; Sergeant Halsten…Charles Siebert.
6	“Wax Job”	October 24, 1976	“A car thief working out of a carwash runs an almost undetectable operation by duplicating keys of cars he plans to steal in the future. His fatal mistake is killing a car owner who interrupts him during a theft.” Guest Cast: Earl Slade…Herbert Jefferson Jr.; Venita Ray…Phylicia Ayers-Allen; Ben…Philip Bruns; Arnie…Carmen Argenziano; Jan Naylor…Marla Adams; Fred Naylor…Wayne Wynne.
7	“The Silent Prey”	October 31, 1976	“A housewife traumatized by a narrow escape from a homicidal rapist appears either unable or unwilling to identify her assailant.” Guest Cast: Edie Parker…Ellen Geer; Bob Parker…Alan Fudge; Adams…Michael Richardson; Guido…Titos Vandis.
8	“Thicker Than Water”	November 7, 1976
9	“Hot Spell”	November 14, 1976
10	“Numbers”	December 5, 1976
11	“Red is the Color of My True Love’s Hair”	December 12, 1976
12	“APB: Santa Claus”	December 26, 1976
13	“Dying Can Be a Pleasure”	January 23, 1977
14	“One Little Indian”	January 30, 1977
15	“Bad Shoot”	February 6, 1977
16	“Licensed to Kill”	February 13, 1977
17	“The Madness Within: Part 1”	February 20, 1977
18	“The Madness Within: Part 2”	February 27, 1977
19	“Requiem for a Loser”	March 6, 1977
20	“Cancelled Contract”	March 13, 1977

Previously, internet sources had incorrect information about the first three episodes in particular. Specifically, it was thought that there was a separate pilot episode that was different from “The Avenger”. Additionally, sources either didn’t list “The High Price of Justice” as an episode (Wikipedia), or listed it as the 22nd episode (IMDb). Finally, IMDb listed an episode titled “My Brother’s Keeper” as the 21st episode, but I suspect that this may have simply been the alternate title for the episode “Thicker Than Water”.

The sequence of episodes listed above is supported by the copyright registration record for the show. The catalogue of copyright entries shows that each listed episode was registered either on the day or a few days before it aired.

I hope that fans of the show as well as other TV mystery enthusiasts and historians have found this research interesting and helpful.

Copyright notice: While I am happy when visitors to this website share links to my posts, please refrain from directly copying any original content you see here (even in translation). I spend hours putting together each page and blog post. This not only includes time spent writing, but also time spent doing research and closely rewatching episodes to verify information, as well as trying to capture the perfect screenshot and putting together collages. If you found this website useful and would like to incorporate information you found here into your own content or other websites/media, please appropriately attribute this website as a source.