Bonanza (1961)

Little changed on the mythical Ponderosa as the series closed out its second season and moved onto its third in calendar year 1961. As detailed in our post of the 1960 episodes, the show was conceived by producer David Dortort on the twin foundation of countering emasculating mom-centric shows like Make Room for Daddy and in cementing the righteousness of the very rich, like the Cartwrights with their vast land holdings on the Ponderosa. Its popularity was ascribed to being the first western centered on a settled family rather than free-roaming adventurers, but Bonanza's idea of family incredibly does not include women. In fact, they are a direct and potent threat to family stability.

In the year's first episode "The Courtship" (January 7, 1961) Ben sends Hoss and Little Joe to help out the widow of a late friend of his in Sacramento. But after Little Joe skips out on his brother, assuming the widow must be old and unattractive, Hoss is smitten when he finds out she is the exact opposite. Only he fails to recognize that she is a gambling addict whose sickness drove her first husband to drink and eventually death. Hoss is so mesmerized by her beauty that he will not be deterred from marrying her, refusing to believe her backstory, until Adam sets up a demonstration of her true character to remove the scales from Hoss' eyes. In "The Bride" (January 21, 1961) it is Ben who is set up for marital disaster when a woman shows up at the Ponderosa while Ben is away and claims to be his new bride. When he returns he says he has never seen her before, and she claims to have been swindled by a man claiming to be him in Crater Plains, all of which plays into her boyfriend's plan to get the Cartwrights to Crater Plains, pin a murder on Ben so that he will hang, and intimidate the county clerk to produce a marriage license so that Ben's "widow" will inherit the Ponderosa. But Adam sniffs out the conspiracy and confronts the villain in the "bride's" hotel room, eventually turning his own gun on him, and then getting the "bride" to come clean.

Little Joe gets himself into hot water when he pursues Jennifer Flinch in "The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch" (November 5, 1961), not realizing that her father Gideon, an unsuccessful investment advisor who has incurred the wrath of a mob boss whose investment went sour, is being hunted by his unhappy customer. Jennifer recruits Hoss to pretend to be her father so that when the heavy shows up to seek revenge he will be intimidated by Hoss' massive size. But Little Joe, unaware of her scheme, tricks Hoss into rushing back home while he steps in to Gideon Flinch's shoes, thinking he will score points with Jennifer but very nearly losing his life. Little Joe again walks into an ambush over a lady in "The Tin Badge" (December 17, 1961) when he agrees to be the temporary sheriff of the town of Rubicon to please a saloon girl he has his eye on, not realizing that she already has a boyfriend, a crooked mine owner who needs a lightweight in the lawman's role so that his hired assassins can knock off the one man who could expose him. Little Joe also walks into trouble over a woman in "Day of the Dragon" (December 3, 1961) when he wins a Chinese slave girl in a poker game, not realizing that she was stolen from a ruthless warlord from San Francisco who plans to make her his bride and will stop at nothing to get her back. And the Cartwrights don't even have to be involved with a woman in order to be threatened by her: in "The Secret" (May 6, 1961) Little Joe is accused of murdering a young woman he is thought to be seeing after she plunges to her death from a cliff outside town, and it is discovered post mortem that she was pregnant at the time of her death. But as it turns out, the deceased woman had only told her father she was seeing Little Joe to cover up her affair with ambitious lawyer Jerome Bell, who was then engaged to his boss's daughter.

Ben is again the target of a duplicitous female in "The Countess" (November 19, 1961) when a woman who once rejected his marriage proposal years ago shows up and wants to pick up where they left off. Only Ben has no interest in renewing past romances, prompting Lady Chadwick to try to ruin him when she realizes that he has no room for a woman in his life because he is in effect married to the Ponderosa. But certainly, one imagines, there must have been some period of wedded bliss in the Cartwright family history--after all, Ben was born three upright sons from three different mothers. However,  as we learn in "Elizabeth, My Love" (May 27, 1961) Ben's marriage to Adam's mother lasted less than a year, as she died within minutes of giving birth. In the calculus of Bonanza, a woman is good for producing babies but can be discarded after that--she is not even fit to raise the child.

The other key theme of the Cartwrights as beneficent and morally pure overdogs is hammered home in multiple episodes, though perhaps not as stridently as its misogynistic counterpart. The Cartwrights frequently kill someone and are accused of murder, though it is always self-defense, an accident, or in defense of someone else being victimized. And they often are victimized by people who are either desperately poor or simply are not willing to work hard enough to amass vast wealth. In "The Spitfire" (January 14, 1961) Little Joe winds up shooting a man who had planned to settle on the Ponderosa and started to clear land he intended to farm by starting a brushfire. When Little Joe tries to stop him, the man goes for his gun and Little Joe of course has no choice but to kill him, but in doing so he obligates himself to take care of the man's wild and destitute daughter (thereby endangering himself by coming in contact with a woman) and brings upon his head the wrath of the family matriarch, who is marching to find him with her trigger-happy sons. The matriarch explains that she plans to exact justice herself because she knows the judicial system unfairly favors the rich, but eventually the women work things out when the daughter persuades the mother that Little Joe merely acted in self-defense. Hoss, the gentle giant, kills drunk and armed Willie Twilight in "Vengeance" (February 11, 1961) when the latter starts shooting indiscriminately in the street. When Twilight's brother shows up to exact revenge, he stalks Hoss and shoots him in the back with a buffalo gun, then attempts to sneak into their Ponderosa home where Hoss is convalescing to finish him off but is stopped by Little Joe and Adam. In "The Smiler" (September 24, 1961) Hoss kills a saddle tramp named Arthur Bolling who accosts widow Mrs. McClure in the street one night and then draws his gun on Hoss after the latter pushes him away. Again the dead man's brother, this time a singing peddler, shows up and though he claims to bear Hoss no ill will, he whips the townfolk into a hanging frenzy through insinuation and provocation. He even manages to kidnap Hoss and tie him to a tree where he plans to shoot him next to his brother's grave until Ben and the boys show up and shoot him just in the nick of time.

The scenario in which the Cartwrights are taken advantage of and must fight to protect what is theirs plays out in "The Rescue" (February 25, 1961) in which squatter Josh Tatum conspires with hardened criminals to steal hundreds of Ponderosa cattle. After Ben catches Tatum and his boys of stealing one cow but lets them off with a warning, Tatum and his criminal gang surround the Cartwright boys in a box canyon until Ben shows up, at which point Tatum is willing to surrender when one of his sons takes a bullet that requires a doctor's care if he is to survive. In "The Thunderhead Swindle" (April 29, 1961) a mine that Ben has invested in is being surreptitiously robbed of its silver ore by a pair of charlatans who solicit investors in a classic pump and dump scheme that Ben eventually ferrets out with the help of a friendly mining engineer. Old army friends of Ben's try to steal from him in "The Dream Riders" (May 20, 1961) and "Land Grab" (December 31, 1961). In the former episode Major John Cayley takes advantage of Ben's hospitality to set up his hot air balloon scheme, which he envisions being used for cross-country and -oceanic travel, while one of his soldiers robs the local bank to finance his operation. In the latter episode Colonel Jonathan Bragg disguises himself as realtor Mr. Polk and sells parcels of the Ponderosa to settlers who are convinced they have really bought the land because of authentic-looking deeds they were given at the time of sale. In both cases the swindlers get shot, but in the latter case Ben generously offers the duped homesteaders a portion of property on the Ponderosa, though in a different location. Though Ben displays a generous nature in parceling out small pieces of his vast holdings to the unfortunate, exactly how he came to acquire such huge tracts of land is not addressed in detail. His sons talk amongst themselves about how hard he has worked to tame the land and make it profitable, but they never mention the terms under which he came to own the land in the first place. Such a revelation might delve into uncomfortable territory, and the show's producers obviously prefer to preserve the Cartwrights' mythic status. Their calculation proved a wise choice, as it made the principal actors nearly as iconic and rich as the characters they played.

The first eight complete seasons have been released on DVD by CBS/Paramount home video.

The Actors

For the biographies of Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon, see the 1960 post for Bonanza.

Victor Sen Yung

Born Sen Yew Cheung in San Francisco in 1915 to Chinese immigrants, Yung and his sister were placed in a children's shelter by his father after his mother died in the flu epidemic of 1919. His father returned to China, but after remarrying he returned in the 1920s and reclaimed his children. Yung began working as a houseboy at age 11 and earned enough to put himself through college at the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a degree in agriculture with a concentration in animal husbandry. After graduation he moved to the Los Angeles area for post-graduate work at UCLA and USC while working for a chemical company. He was "discovered" while pitching a flame-retardant compound on the Twentieth-Century Fox lot where the many Charlie Chan feature films were made. Sidney Toler had just replaced the late Warner Oland in the title role and selected Yung to play #2 son Jimmy Chan based on Yung's screen test. Yung would go on to appear in roughly 25 Charlie Chan films, usually as Jimmy Chan, though his work was interrupted by a stretch in the U.S. Air Force as a Captain of Intelligence (which included working on training films and appearing in Winged Victory) during World War II. During the war years he was also sometimes cast in villainous Japanese roles, such as in Little Tokyo, U.S.A. After his service, he returned to working in the remaining Charlie Chan films as well as minor, sometimes uncredited roles in films such as The Breaking Point, Woman on the Run, and The Blue Gardenia. He began getting occasional minor TV parts in the early 1950s on programs such as Front Page Detective, Terry and the Pirates, and The New Adventures of China Smith. But his biggest break came in being cast as the Cartwrights' cook Hop Sing from the very first episode of Bonanza, on which he appeared 107 times during the series' 14-year run.

His Bonanza role opened the door for occasional guest spots on a number of other TV series during the 1960s, most notably 5 appearances as Sammee Tong's Cousin Charlie on Bachelor Father in 1960-61. He also appeared on Hawaiian Eye, The F.B.I., I Spy, and Get Smart, to name but a few. After his years on Bonanza ended, he appeared in 7 episodes of Kung Fu as well as one-off guest spots on a few other shows, but he also turned his attention to Cantonese-style cooking, much like his Hop Sing character, giving demonstrations in department stores and in 1974 publishing The Great Wok Cookbook. In 1972 he was accidentally shot in the back when he was aboard a plane that was hijacked by two Bulgarians on a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. FBI agents stormed the plane after it landed, and Yung and one other passenger were wounded in the gunfight that ensued, which also killed the hijackers and a third passenger. Yung died November 1, 1980 as a result of a gas leak in his North Hollywood home, out of which he was running a small mail-order pottery business. He was 65 years old. The Chinese Alumni Association at his alma mater in Berkeley established a memorial scholarship in his name in the College of Agriculture.

Ray Teal

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Teal worked his way through college at UCLA playing saxophone and fronted his own jazz band until 1936. He made the transition to feature film acting the following year in a passel of uncredited roles (including a couple as a musician) before getting his first credited part in Western Jamboree in 1938. It has been noted that Teal excelled at a wide variety of roles, though others have honed in on his many villainous characters, such as the anti-Semite Mr. Mollett in The Best Years of Our Lives from 1946. He often played lawmen, whether in contemporary crime dramas or period westerns such as Marshall Noonan in Winchester '73, Sheriff Gus Kretzer in Ace in the Hole, or Lt. Fredericks in The Desperate Hours. In Judgment at Nuremberg he played a judge who felt sympathy for Nazi war criminals. When he moved into television he again played a policeman on Where's Raymond? in 1953 and sheriffs on Chevron Hall of Stars, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Crossroads, Cavalcade of America, Circus Boy, The Frank Sinatra Show, Tales of Wells Fargo, and The Restless Gun. Needless to say, he was a natural to play Virginia City Sheriff Roy Coffee on Bonanza, in which he appeared 98 times between 1960-72. Before landing his career-defining role on Bonanza, he played farmer Jim Teal in Seasons 3 and 4 of Lassie.

During his Bonanza years Teal continued to get guest spots, particularly on westerns such as Cheyenne, Maverick, Rawhide, and Wide Country as well as occasional feature roles in One-Eyed Jacks, Cattle King, Bullet for a Badman, and Chisum. He played another sheriff named Snead in three multi-part Gallegher series on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color from 1965-68, but his only credit after Bonanza was playing a judge in the 1974 TV movie The Hanged Man. He died of natural causes April 2, 1976 at the age of 74.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 2, Episode 16, "The Courtship": Julie Adams (shown on the left, starred in The Creature From the Black Lagoon and played Martha Howard on The Jimmy Stewart Show, Ann Rorchek on Code Red, and Eve Simpson on Murder, She Wrote) plays Ben's late friend's widow Helen Layton. Marshall Reed (Inspector Fred Asher on The Lineup) plays Helen's former suitor Hammond. Paul Dubov (Michel on The Ann Sothern Show) plays a card dealer. Lyle Talbot (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays a sharp-dressed man.

Season 2, Episode 17, "The Spitfire": Don C. Harvey (Collins on Rawhide) plays Kentucky emigre Jeb Hoad. Anita Sands (Elaine on The Tab Hunter Show) plays his daughter Willa. Katherine Warren (appeared in The Lady Pays Off, The Glenn Miller Story, and The Caine Mutiny) plays his mother Maud. Jack Elam (shown on the right, played Deputy J.D. Smith on The Dakotas, George Taggart on Temple Houston, Zack Wheeler on The Texas Wheelers, and Uncle Alvin Stevenson on Easy Street) plays his brother Dodie. Steven Terrell (Tom on The Pride of the Family) plays his brother Bud. Theodore Lehmann (narrator for Around the World With Willy Fog and Grimm Masterpiece Theatre and the voice of Hingy Dingy Doo on Noozles, Commander and Zero on Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years, and Mayor Lion on Maple Town) plays his brother Paul. Mary Treen (appeared in Babbitt, A Night at the Ritz, Love Begins at Twenty, and It's a Wonderful Life and played Emily Dodger on Willy and Hilda on The Joey Bishop Show) plays town lady Mrs. Shaughnessy.

Season 2, Episode 18, "The Bride": Suzanne Lloyd (Raquel Toledano on Zorro)  plays Ben's alleged bride Jennifer Lane. Adam West (shown on the left, played Det. Sgt. Steve Nelson on The Detectives, Bruce Wayne on Batman, Captain Rick Wright on The Last Precinct, and Dr. Noah Goddard on Black Scorpion) plays con man Frank Milton. John McIntire (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Wagon Train) plays Crater Plains Sheriff Mike Latimer. William Mims (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays town clerk Ed Bailey. Herb Vigran (Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke) plays a Crater Plains bartender. Mickey Simpson (Boley on Captain David Grief) plays a miner.

Season 2, Episode 19, "Bank Run": Ian Wolfe (starred in The Barretts of Wimpole Street, The Magnificent Yankee, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and played Hirsch the Butler on WKRP in Cincinnati and Wizard Traquil on Wizards and Warriors) plays bank president John J. Harrison. Walter Burke (shown on the right, starred in All the King's Men, Jack the Giant Killer, and Support Your Local Sheriff! and played Tim Potter on Black Saddle) plays land owner Tim O'Brien. Owen Bush (Ben on Shane, John Belson on Sirota's Court, and Crimshaw on Our House) plays Virginia City bank branch manager J.R. Huggins. Dan Tobin (Terrance Clay on Perry Mason) plays assistant manager Mr. Finch. Jimmie Horan (Trooper Hogan on F Troop) plays a sleeping farmer.

Season 2, Episode 20, "The Fugitive": James Best (shown on the left, played Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays prisoner Carl Reagan. Will Wright (Mr. Merrivale on Dennis the Menace and Ben Weaver on The Andy Griffith Show) plays his father Will. Frank Silvera (Don Sebastian Montoya on The High Chaparral) plays the Plata, Mexico sheriff. Veda Ann Borg (appeared in Miracle on Main Street, The Shadow, Mildred Pierce, and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer and played Honeybee Gillis on The Life of Riley and Peaches La Tour on Duffy's Tavern) plays hotel proprietor Beulah. Ziva Rodann (appeared in Forty Guns, The Private Lives of Adam and Eve, The Story of Ruth, and College Confidential and played Nefertiti on Batman) plays Carl Reagan's wife Maria. Arthur Batanides (Sgt. Sam Olivera on Johnny Midnight) plays her brother Pablo.

Season 2, Episode 21, "Vengeance": Adam Williams (appeared in Flying Leathernecks, The Big Heat, Fear Strikes Out, and North by Northwest) plays dead drunk's brother Red Twilight. Beverly Tyler (starred in The Fireball, The Cimarron Kid, and Voodoo Island) plays saloon girl Mary. Roy Engel (the police chief on My Favorite Martian and President Ulysses S. Grant on The Wild, Wild West) plays physician Doc Tolliver. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays a hotel clerk.

Season 2, Episode 22, "The Tax Collector": Kathie Browne (shown on the right, played Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays ne'er-do-well's wife Ellen Henry. Russ Conway (Fenton Hardy on The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, Gen. Devon on Men Into Space, and Lt. Pete Kile on Richard Diamond, Private Detective) plays Virginia City tax collector Dave Hart. Florence MacMichael (Phyllis Pearson on My Three Sons and Winnie Kirkwood on Mister Ed) plays his wife Nancy. Henry Corden (Carlo on The Count of Monte Cristo, and Babbitt on The Monkees and did voicework on The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, The Atom Ant Show, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and Return to the Planet of the Apes) plays a bookie. Maudie Prickett (played Cassie Murphy on Date With the Angels, Miss Gordon on The Jack Benny Program, and Rosie on Hazel) plays store owner's wife Mrs. Gatlin. 

Season 2, Episode 23, "The Rescue": Leif Erickson (shown on the left, appeared in Sorry, Wrong Number, Joan of Arc, Show Boat, On the Waterfront, and Invaders From Mars and played Big John Cannon on The High Chaparral) plays squatter Josh Tatum. Burt Douglas (Ron Christopher on The Edge of Night  and Jim Fisk on Days of Our Lives) plays his son Jack. Richard Coogan (Marshal Matthew Wayne on The Californians) plays Tatum's accomplice Jake Moss. Ron Hayes (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Bat Masterson) plays another accomplice Johnny Reed. 

Season 2, Episode 24, "The Dark Gate": James Coburn (shown on the right, starred in The Magnificent Seven, Charade, Our Man Flint, and In Like Flint and played Jeff Durain on Klondike and Gregg Miles on Acapulco) plays mentally disturbed Ross Marquette. Med Flory (played clarinet in the Ray Anthony orchestra and founded and plays alto sax in the group Super Sax, appeared in Gun Street, The Nutty Professor (1963), and The Gumball Rally, and played Sheriff Mike McBride on High Mountain Rangers) plays wanted killer Monk Hartley. Harry Dean Stanton (appeared in Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, Cool Hand Luke, Repo Man, Pretty in Pink, Alien, Paris, Texas and played Jake Walters on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) plays a member of Hartley's gang Billy. Donald Foster (Herbert Johnson on Hazel) plays banker Mr. Begley. Joe di Reda (Angel Moran on General Hospital) plays minister Joe. Rush Williams (Roy Hondine on Hawaiian Eye) plays Ponderosa ranch-hand Matthew. John Mitchum (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays Ponderosa ranch-hand Jake. Roy Engel (see "Vengeance above) plays the Virginia City doctor.

Season 2, Episode 25, "The Duke": Maxwell Reed (appeared in Night Beat, Shadow of Fear, and Helen of Troy and played Capt. David Grief on Captain David Grief) plays British boxer Clarence Simpson. J. Pat O'Malley (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Frontier Circus) plays his brother and manager Harry. Jason Evers (starred in The Brain That Wouldn't Die, House of Women, The Green Berets, and Escape From the Planet of the Apes and played Pitcairn on Wrangler, Prof. Joseph Howe on Channing, and Jim Sonnett on The Guns of Will Sonnett) plays Ponderosa ranch-hand J.D. Lambert. Randy Stuart (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays saloon girl Marge Fuller.

Season 2, Episode 26, "Cutthroat Junction": Robert Lansing (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on 87th Precinct) plays Sierra Stagecoach Company troubleshooter Jud Trask. Dick Wessell (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays regional stage manager Big Mike Campbell. John Harmon (hotel clerk Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) his assistant Weasel. Robert Anderson (Park Street, Jr. on The Court of Last Resort and Aeneas MacLinahan on Wichita Town) plays Campbell's co-conspirator Thorn. 

Season 2, Episode 27, "The Gift": Martin Landau (shown on the left, starred in North by Northwest, Cleopatra, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Fall of the House of Usher, and Ed Wood and played Rollin Hand on Mission: Impossible!, Commander John Koenig on Space: 1999, Dr. Sol Gold on The Evidence, Bob Ryan on Entourage, and Frank Malone on Without a Trace) plays former bandito Emeliano. Jim Davis (Matt Clark on Stories of the Century, Wes Cameron on Rescue 8, Marshal Bill Winter on The Cowboys, and Jock Ewing on Dallas) plays bandito leader Sam Wolfe. Jack Hogan (starred in The Bonnie Parker Story, Paratroop Command, and The Cat Burglar and played Kirby on Combat!, Sgt. Jerry Miller on Adam-12, Chief Ranger Jack Moore on Sierra, and Judge Smithwood on Jake and the Fatman) plays his younger brother Cash. 

Season 2, Episode 28, "The Rival": Peggy Ann Garner (appeared in The Pied Piper, Jane Eyre, Daisy Kenyon, and Thunder in the Valley) plays Hoss' love interest Cameo Johnson. Charles Aidman (narrator on the 1985-87 version of The Twilight Zone) plays his rival for her affections Jim Applegate. Robert McQueeney (Conley Wright on The Gallant Men) plays Applegate's brother Frank Gideon. Orville Sherman (Mr. Feeney on Buckskin, Wib Smith on Gunsmoke, and Tupper on Daniel Boone) plays lynching victim Jess Morehouse. 

Season 2, Episode 29, "The Infernal Machine": Eddie Ryder (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dr. Kildare) plays inventor Daniel Pettibone. June Kenney (starred in Teenage Doll, Attack of the Puppet People, and The Spider) plays his wife Robin. Willard Waterman (shown on the right, played Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve on The Great Gildersleeve and Mac Maginnis on The Real McCoys) plays shyster Cyrus K. Throckmorton. George Kennedy (starred in Charade, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Dirty Dozen, Cool Hand Luke, and The Naked Gun and played MP Sgt. Kennedy on The Phil Silvers Show, Father Samuel Cavanaugh on Sarge, Bumper Morgan on The Blue Knight, and Carter McKay on Dallas) plays his partner Pete Long. Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays drunk miner Jeb. Shug Fisher (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Ripcord) plays his friend Jeff.

Season 2, Episode 30, "The Thunderhead Swindle": Parley Baer (Mayor Roy Stoner on The Andy Griffith Show, Darby on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Mayor Arthur J. Henson on The Addams Family, and Doc Appleby on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays mine owner Jack Cunningham. Walter Coy (Zoravac on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger and the narrator on Frontier) plays his partner Frank Furnas. Michael Hinn (Luke Cummings on Boots and Saddles) plays their henchman Horton. Vito Scotti (shown on the left, played Jose on The Deputy, Capt. Gaspar Fomento on The Flying Nun, Gino on To Rome With Love, and Mr. Velasquez on Barefoot in the Park) plays former mine foreman Leon Flores. Ross Elliott (Freddie the director on The Jack Benny Program and Sheriff Abbott on The Virginian) plays survey engineer Watkins. 

Season 2, Episode 31, "The Secret": Dayton Lummis (Marshal Andy Morrison on Law of the Plainsman) plays Ben's attorney Hiram Wood. Stephen Joyce (Bubba Wadsworth on Texas and Admiral Walter Strichen on Wiseguy) plays his understudy Jerome Bell. Morgan Woodward (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays new deputy Rick Conley. Sherwood Price (Gen. Jeb Stuart on The Gray Ghost) plays vengeful father's son Pete. Roy Engel (see "Vengeance above) plays physician Dr. Paul Martin. Bill Edwards (appeared in The Virginian, Danger Street, and The Fighting Stallion and played Jonathan Kaye on Hawaii Five-O) plays jury foreman Jim. 

Season 2, Episode 32, "The Dream Riders": Sidney Blackmer (starred in Kismet (1930), Little Caesar, The Count of Monte Cristo, Heidi (1937), High Society, and Rosemary's Baby and played Dr. Morgan Granger on Ben Casey) plays Ben's old army friend Maj. John Cayley. Diana Millay (shown on the left, played Laura Collins on Dark Shadows) plays his daughter Diana. Burt Douglas (see "The Rescue" above) plays his soldier Pvt. Billy Kingsley. Stuart Nisbet (the bartender on The Virginian) plays another of his men Sgt. Hines. 

Season 2, Episode 33, "Elizabeth, My Love": Geraldine Brooks (Angela Dumpling on The Dumplings) plays Ben's first wife Elizabeth. Torin Thatcher (appeared in Great Expectations, The Crimson Pirate, The Robe, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, and Witness for the Prosecution) plays her father Capt. Abel Morgan Stoddard. Ted Knight (shown on the right, played Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Roger Dennis on The Ted Knight Show, and Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort) plays ship company representative Halloran. Berry Kroeger (appeared in Black Magic, Gun Crazy, Hitler, and Demon Seed) plays Thatcher's competitor Mandible. Bill Quinn (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Rifleman) plays the Cartwright's doctor. Richard Collier (Harry Price on Many Happy Returns) plays Ben and Thatcher's clerk Otto.

Season 2, Episode 34, "Sam Hill": Claude Akins (shown on the far left, played Sonny Pruett on Movin' On and Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo on B.J and the Bear and on Lobo) plays wandering blacksmith Sam Hill. Edgar Buchanan (shown on the near left, played Uncle Joe Carson on The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction, Red Connors on Hopalong Cassidy, Judge Roy Bean on Judge Roy Bean, Bob/Doc Dawson on Tales of Wells Fargo, Doc Burrage on The Rifleman, and J.J. Jackson on Cade's County) plays his long lost father John Henry Hill. Ford Rainey (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Window on Main Street) plays his late mother's suitor Col. Tyson. Robert Ridgely (Lt. Frank Kimbro on The Gallant Men, the announcer on The Woody Woodbury Show, and Cliff Hamilton on Domestic Life, and the voice of Tarzan on Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, Flash Gordon on Flash Gordon, and General Ross on The Incredible Hulk) plays wandering minstrel Billy Joe. Mickey Simpson (see "The Bride" above) plays bartender Percy. 

Season 3, Episode 1, "The Smiler": Herschel Bernardi (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Peter Gunn) plays traveling peddler Clarence Bolling. Catherine McLeod (Claire Larkin on Days of Our Lives) plays widow Mrs. McClure. Scatman Crothers (singer, composer, guitarist, and actor, appeared in Yes Sir, Mr. Bones, Lady Sings the Blues, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Silver Streak, The Cheap Detective, and The Shining, played Louie Wilson on Chico and the Man, Bernard Solomon on One of the Boys, Sam on Casablanca, and Excell Dennis on Morningstar/Eveningstar, and voiced George "Meadowlark" Lemon on Harlem Globe Trotters and The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Hong Kong Phooey and Penrod Pooch on Hong Kong Phooey, Nate Branch and Liquid Man on The Super Globetrotters, Jazz on The Transformers, and Eugenie the Genie on Paw Paws) plays Cartwright ranch-hand Jud. Bill Zuckert (Arthur Bradwell on Mr. Novak and Chief Segal on Captain Nice) plays townsman Gilbert. Robert Foulk (Ed Davis on Father Knows Best, Sheriff Miller on Lassie, Joe Kingston on Wichita Town, Mr. Wheeler on Green Acres, and Phillip Toomey on The Rifleman) plays deputy Fred.

Season 3, Episode 2, "Springtime": John Carradine (shown on the left, starred in Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, The Ten Commandments, and Sex Kittens Go to College and played Gen. Joshua McCord on Branded) plays Ben's miserly friend Jedidiah Milbank. Denver Pyle (Ben Thompson on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Grandpa Tarleton on Tammy, Briscoe Darling on The Andy Griffith Show, Buck Webb on The Doris Day Show, Mad Jack on The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and Uncle Jesse on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays ranch buyer Theodore Hackett. John Qualen (appeared in The Three Musketeers(1935), His Girl Friday, The Grapes of Wrath, Angels Over Broadway, Casablanca, Anatomy of a Murder, and A Patch of Blue) plays squatter Parley. Claude Johnson (Officer Brinkman on Adam-12) plays young homesteader Paul.

Season 3, Episode 3, "The Honor of Cochise": Jeff Morrow (starred in Sign of the Pagan, This Island Earth, Pardners, and The Giant Claw and played Maj. Bart McClelland n Union Pacific and Dr. Lloyd Axton on The New Temperatures Rising Show) plays Apache chief Cochise. Al Ruscio (Locatelli on Shannon, Sal Giordano on Life Goes On, and Frank Ruscio on Joe's Life) plays his top brave. DeForest Kelley (shown on the right, played Dr. McCoy on Star Trek) plays renegade U.S. Army Capt. Moss Johnson. Stacy Harris (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Fort Riley commander Col. Clinton Wilcox. Bing Russell (Kurt Russell's father, later played Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza) plays his second-in-command Maj. Reynolds. Robert Rothwell (Officer Russo on Adam-12) plays another of his men Lt. Culver.

Season 3, Episode 4, "The Lonely House": Faith Domergue (starred in Cult of the Cobra, This Island Earth, and It Came From Beneath the Sea) plays Platteville widow Lee Bolden. Paul Richards (appeared in Playgirl and Beneath the Planet of the Apes and played Louy Kassoff on The Lawless Years) plays bank robber Trock. James Beck (Sgt. Highton on Hondo) plays his accomplice Gavin. Vito Scotti (see "The Thunderhead Swindle" above) plays his other accomplice Hooch. Ray Hemphill (Virgil T. Gillis on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays a bank teller.

Season 3, Episode 5, "The Burma Rarity": Beatrice Kay (singer and vaudeville performer, appeared in Diamond Horseshoe, Underworld U.S.A., and A Time for Dying and voiced Susan Culpepper on Calvin and the Colonel) plays flirtatious widow Clementine Hawkins. Dave Willock (starred in Let's Face It, Pin Up Girl, and The Fabulous Dorseys and played Lt. Binning on Boots and Saddles, Harvey Clayton on Margie, and was the narrator on the animated Wacky Races) plays con man Phil Axe. Wally Brown (appeared in Notorious, The Left Handed Gun, and The Absent-Minded Professor and played Jed Fame on Cimarron City and Chauncey Kowalski on The Roaring '20's) plays his partner Henry Morgan. James Griffith (Deputy Tom Ferguson on U.S. Marshal) plays Virginia City schemer Sam Pearson. William Keene (Reverend Tucker/Martin on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. and Dr. Lubick on Days of Our Lives) plays jewelry appraiser Mr. Nagel. Nestor Paiva (Theo Gonzales on Zorro) plays Indian trader Chief Crazy Fox. Joan Staley (Playboy Playmate who appeared in Cape Fear, Roustabout, Valley of the Dragons, Johnny Cool, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and played Hannah on 77 Sunset Strip and Roberta Love on Broadside) plays a stage coach passenger.

Season 3, Episode 6, "Broken Ballad": Robert Culp (shown on the left, starred in Sunday in New York, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, and Breaking Point and played Hoby Gilman on Trackdown, Kelly Robinson on I Spy, Bill Maxwell on The Greatest American Hero, and Warren on Everybody Loves Raymond) plays former gunman Ed Payson. Dabbs Greer (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Gunsmoke) plays store owner Will Cass. 

Season 3, Episode 7, "The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch": Ian Wolfe (see "Bank Run" above) plays investment advisor Gideon Flinch. Sue Ane Langdon (shown on the right, played Kitty Marsh on Bachelor Father, Lillian Nuvo on Arnie, Rosie on Grandpa Goes to Washington, and Darlene on When the Whistle Blows) plays his niece Jennifer. Arnold Stang (appeared in My Sister Eileen, The Man With the Golden Arm, and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, was the voice of Herman the mouse in a string of Herman and Katnip cartoon shorts, the voice of Top Cat on Top Cat, and played Stanley Stubbs on Broadside) plays pickpocket Jake the Weasel. Clem Bevans (appeared in Sergeant York, Saboteur, The Yearling, Mourning Becomes Electra, and Harvey) plays old codger Jeb. Burt Mustin (Foley on The Great Gildersleeve, Mr. Finley on Date With the Angels, Gus the fireman on Leave It to Beaver, Jud Fletcher on The Andy Griffith Show, and Justin Quigley on All in the Family) plays his friend Burt Lucas. George Dunn (Jesse Williams on Cimarron City and the sheriff on Camp Runamuck) plays panhandler Rocky. Harry Swoger (Harry the bartender on The Big Valley) plays investor William "Bullet Head" Burke. Owen Bush (see "Bank Run" above) plays a hotel clerk. Robert Foulk (see "The Smiler" above) plays deputy Clem. Ricky Kelman (Tommy MacRoberts on Our Man Higgins) plays little boy Sammy.

Season 3, Episode 8, "The Friendship": Dean Jones (shown on the left, starred in Jailhouse Rock, That Darn Cat!, The Ugly Dachshund, The Love Bug, The Million Dollar Duck, and Beethoven and played Ensign O'Toole on Ensign O'Toole, Linc McCray on The Chicago Teddy Bears, and Jim Douglas on Herbie, the Love Bug) plays convict Danny Kidd. Stafford Repp (Chief O'Hara on Batman) plays rich rancher Mr. Carter. Norman Alden (Grundy on Not for Hire, Johnny Ringo on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Captain Horton on Rango, Tom Williams on My Three Sons, and Coach Leroy Fedders on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) plays ranch-hand Teller.

Season 3, Episode 9, "The Countess": Margaret Hayes (appeared in Take a Letter, Darling, The Glass Key, Blackboard Jungle, Violent Saturday, Omar Khayyam, and House of Women and played Dora Hand on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Ben's old flame Lady Linda Chadwick. John Alderson (Sgt. Bullock on Boots and Saddles and Wyatt Earp on Doctor Who) plays her business manager Montague. Dan Sheridan (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Lawman) plays Cartwright mining manager Kelly. Orville Sherman (see "The Rival" above) plays Cartwright lumber foreman Slim. Robert Ridgely (see "Sam Hill" above) plays a surveyor. Norman Leavitt (Ralph on Trackdown) plays a telegrapher.

Season 3, Episode 10, "The Horse Breaker": Ben Cooper (shown on the near right, appeared in Johnny Guitar, The Rose Tattoo, and Support Your Local Gunfighter and played Waverly on The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo and the Director on The Fall Guy) plays horse breaker Johnny Lightly. Addison Richards (starred in Boys Town, They Made Her a Spy, Flying Tigers, and The Deerslayer and played Doc Calhoun on Trackdown and Doc Landy on The Deputy) plays physician Dr. Paul Kay. Sue Randall (shown on the far right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Leave It to Beaver) plays his assistant Ann Davis. R.G. Armstrong (Police Capt. McAllister on T.H.E. Cat and Lewis Vendredi on Friday the 13th) plays vengeful father Nathan Clay. Don Burnett (Ensign Langdon Towne on Northwest Passage) plays his son Gordie. John Cole (Bailey on Rawhide) plays his son Gunnar.

Season 3, Episode 11, "Day of the Dragon": Lisa Lu (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Have Gun -- Will Travel) plays Chinese slave girl Su Ling. Mort Mills (Marshal Frank Tallman on Man Without a Gun, Sgt. Ben Landro on Perry Mason, and Sheriff Fred Madden on The Big Valley) plays her owner Gordon. Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays his partner Bennett. Richard Loo (appeared in The Purple Heart, Back to Bataan, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, The Sand Pebbles, and The Man With the Golden Gun and played Master Sun on Kung Fu) plays San Francisco warlord Gen. Mu Tsung. Philip Ahn (Master Kan on Kung Fu) plays physician Dr. Kam Lee.

Season 3, Episode 12, "The Frenchman": Andre Phillippe (Paul the MC on Hawaiian Eye and Everett Johns on Mr. Novak) plays self-proclaimed poet Francois Villon. Robert Stevenson (bartender Big Ed on Richard Drum and Marshal Hugh Strickland on Stagecoach West) plays landlord Jim. 

Season 3, Episode 13, "The Tin Badge": Vic Morrow (shown on the right, starred in Tribute to a Bad Man, God's Little Acre, and Portrait of a Mobster and played Sgt. Saunders on Combat! and Capt. Eugene Nathan on B.A.D. Cats) plays mine owner Ab Brock. Karen Steele (starred in Marty, Westbound, and The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond) plays his girlfriend Sylviann Goshen. John Litel (starred in Back in Circulation, On Trial, Murder in the Blue Room, four Nancy Drew films, and eight Henry Aldrich films and played the Governor on Zorro and Dan Murchison on Stagecoach West) plays her father, Rubicon Mayor George Goshen. Robert Fortier (Maj. Jergens on The Gallant Men) plays Brock's henchman Higgler.

Season 3, Episode 14, "Gabrielle": Dianne Mountford (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Assignment Underwater) plays orphaned blind girl Gabrielle Wickham. John Abbott (appeared in The Woman in White, Madame Bovary, The Merry Widow, and Gigi) plays her grandfather Zachariah Wickham. Kevin Hagen (John Colton on Yancy Derringer, Inspector Dobbs Kobick on Land of the Giants, and Dr. Hiram Baker on Little House on the Prairie) plays prospective adoptive parent Everett Paster. Evelyn Scott (Ada Jacks on Peyton Place and Return to Peyton Place) plays his wife Drew. Michael McGreevey (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays their son Jeremy.

Season 3, Episode 15, "Land Grab": John McGiver (shown on the left, appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Manchurian Candidate, The Glass Bottom Boat, Midnight Cowboy, The Apple Dumpling Gang and played J.R. Castle on The Patty Duke Show, Walter Burnley on Many Happy Returns, Barton J. Reed on Mr. Terrific, and Dr. Luther Quince on The Jimmy Stewart Show) plays Ben's old army buddy Col. Jonathan Bragg. George Mitchell (Cal Bristol on Stoney Burke) plays duped land buyer Mike Sullivan. Eileen Ryan (mother of Sean, Chris, and Michael Penn) plays spinster Amanda Gates.