The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1961)

As we documented in our post for the 1960 episodes, The Barbara Stanwyck Show originated when Stanwyck was no longer sought out for feature film work after turning 50. She had originally wanted to star in a western series but said her agents were against it because the western was in decline. In a January 21, 1961 cover story for TV Guide, Stanwyck offers an alternative explanation--that she wanted to play a really active woman in the old west but none of the networks would buy it and instead she was offered the drama anthology series that would win her an Emmy for Best Actress but be canceled after a single season. In the show's last episode, Stanwyck was able to take a potshot at the genre that rejected her in "A Man's Game" (July 3, 1961). Stanwyck provides satiric narration about the current fad in westerns--the lone gunslinger--and portrays independent businesswoman/saloon owner Chris Mathews (note the male-sounding character name) who refuses to give up her career to marry retired, incognito gunslinger Ben Stockton. When the town's sheriffs keep getting murdered and no man is willing to step up and take over the job, Chris decides to take it on herself, a move that the men of the town think is outrageous and which is played entirely for laughs. But Chris is able to handle the petty drunks and small-time nuisances until she runs up against a real gunslinger, Billy Deevers, and finds herself unable to shoot him when she has the chance. Instead she has to be rescued by her suitor Stockton and decides that she really isn't cut out to play "a man's game," though she does insist on keeping her saloon and cajoling Stockton into taking the sheriff's job. This is one of the more disappointing episodes in the series because Stanwyck has the chance to show a woman can do a man's job, as she does in most of the other episodes, but decides in the end to revert to stereotype.

Her other old west episodes are some of the weaker stories in the series. In "Along the Barbary Coast" (February 27, 1961) she plays another saloon owner, Trixie Callahan, this time in 1899 San Francisco, so there are no evil gunslingers here, but she still has to be rescued from an unscrupulous business partner, Sam Verner, by her suitor, police detective and returning war hero Pete Bishop. Trixie is duped into being Verner's partner due to debilitating circumstances--her old place of business burns down and Verner offers to help her finance a new saloon. Given this act of generosity, she is blinded to his illicit side business of trafficking stolen goods and even willing to believe that he is being framed after he kills Bishop's young police partner. After Bishop reveals Verner for what he is and takes a bullet in the process, Trixie comes off her high horse and we hear wedding bells by episode's end. 

The other old west episode is "Little Big Mouth" (May 8, 1961) in which Stanwyck plays trailblazing newspaper reporter Nellie Bly, a concession to NBC's original plan of having her portray "one of history's most noble women" each week, an idea the modest Stanwyck refused to go along with. But in this episode her Nellie Bly is more of a bystander than change-maker. She travels to the Arapaho-Kiowa Indian reservation in turn-of-the-century Oklahoma hoping to uncover a scandal regarding the way the Indians are being cheated by the white settlers (as the real Bly exposed awful conditions for New York mental patients in 1887, while Stanwyck herself was a champion for Indians' rights). But Nellie instead witnesses the way in which one white man, Dr. Mark Carroll, not only tries to stop goods dealers from swindling the Indians but also has to win their trust to allow him to practice medicine, all while raising a 9-year-old daughter. Even though her job is to report on conditions, not change them, Bly does little except interfere in the relationship between father and daughter, thinking that she knows better about how a young girl should be raised. Still, such a depiction is in perfect keeping with Stanwyck's belief in humility--even trailblazers sometimes get it wrong.

The more contemporary episodes have Stanwyck leading businesses and blazing trails. In "Shock" (March 6, 1961) she plays a nuclear physicist who discovers a formula to create an impenetrable field against nuclear power, while in "Size 10" (January 16, 1961) she's Maggie Wenley, a no-nonsense head of a fashion house with men working underneath her. This story scores one for a woman's career over marriage as Maggie discovers that her suitor has been stealing her designs and selling them to a competitor to force her out of business so that her only option left is to marry him. Instead, after uncovering his duplicity, she decides that her work colleagues are her family and vows to give each of them a bigger share of the business. It's a role Stanwyck could empathize with as her career and charitable causes made up her whole life after her divorce from second husband Robert Taylor for his affair with Lana Turner. As she revealed in her TV Guide interview, she needed to work because she had no hobbies and felt that traveling alone was a bore. In "Big Career" (February 13, 1961) Stanwyck plays department store vice president Harriet Melvane, who was worked her way up from a shop girl but is still carrying her alcoholic, resentful, and womanizing husband Roy, who feels emasculated by her success. When Roy is killed crossing the street to get gas for their empty car, she at first blames herself until Roy's mother has a heart-to-heart to let her know that even she, his mother, knew that Roy was pathetic. However, after Harriet decides to move to New York in search of a new career, the mother-in-law encourages her old boss, who always carried a torch for her, to go after her, because that's what women really want.

However, we get a cautionary tale about a woman pushing too hard for what she wants in "The Golden Acres" (March 13, 1961). Stanwyck plays social climber Avis Fleming, who grew up poor and insecure because she was from the other side of the tracks. The man she hoped to marry, Dexter Willis, dumped her and chose someone else, so that when she learns he is coming back to town now a widower, she devises a scheme to quintuple her family estate by buying a local farm and selling it to a rubber manufacturer that is looking to open a new plant there. To make that happen she has to blackmail Dexter's father into signing a forged will and trick her brothers into signing away their objections to using the family estate to buy the coveted farmland. When Dexter learns from his father what she has done, he tells her that her behavior is precisely why he dumped her years ago--because he was afraid of her ruthless drive to get what she wanted. Fortunately, Avis is a woman who can learn from her mistakes and she backs out of the deal, showing Dexter that she is worthy of his affection after all.

But perhaps the best portrayal of the career vs. marriage dilemma is in "The Hitch-Hiker" (May 29, 1961) in which Stanwyck plays successful lawyer Maggie McClay, whose husband Mac is a novelist. When Maggie decides to defend an immigrant mother from a custody battle with her wealthy mother-in-law, the most powerful woman in town. Mac pooh-poohs Maggie's idealistic view of the law as being equal for everyone regardless of class and believes that she is making a mistake that will ruin her own career and perhaps even that of her father, for whose firm Maggie works. But after a bitter argument that Maggie believes may have damaged their marriage, Mac recants his position, confessing that he has opposed her career because he wanted to feel that he was all she needed. He then helps dig up some dirt on the mother-in-law and cheers Maggie on to victory. Marriage only works when both partners are on the same side, cheering each other's successes and commiserating their failures, and women aren't one-dimensional creatures whose lives are defined by the man they marry.

Stanwyck relives some of her past successes, too, in some of the series' noirish episodes. In her opening introduction, she compares the episode "Confession" (February 20, 1961) to one of her biggest hits, Double Indemnity. And the plot does mimic the Billy Wilder film's backwards chronology with Stanwyck's Paula Manning dictating her confession about a plot to free herself from a domineering husband, only this time she recruits a shady lawyer, rather than insurance salesman, to help her frame her husband for her supposed murder rather than killing him. "The Choice" (April 17, 1961) plays like a Hitchcock thriller as nightclub owner Amanda Prescott hears a radio report about a violent escaped mental patient and then has to figure out which of two men in her bar matching the escapee's description is the psychopath. "The Frightened Doll" (April 24, 1961) has Stanwyck's barfly Hazel Wexley on the run after befriending a mob bagman with a heart condition, then taking his satchel with $100,000 after he collapses dead. And "Sign of the Zodiac" (April 3, 1961) weaves in the occult when Stanwyck's Madge Terry visits a dockside fortune teller with her sister-in-law, then finds her dead husband's watch transported from the fortune teller's shack to her bedroom overnight.

Though the series had a secondary purpose of trying out potential future series ideas, such as Stanwyck's recurring episodes as Hong Kong-based importer/exporter Josephine Little (in "Dragon by the Tail" [January 30, 1961] and "Adventure on Happiness Street" [March 20, 1961], as well as the 1960 episode "The Miraculous Journey of Tadpole Chan") and Andy Devine as a portly police detective in "Big Jake" (June 5, 1961), The Barbara Stanwyck Show produced no spin-offs. But it kept Stanwyck busy, garnered her an Emmy, and paved the way for future television success on The Big Valley and The Colbys. It may have even helped her get a couple of guest spots as a police lieutenant on Season 4 of The Untouchables. After all, she had already proven that she could play any role a man could.

The Actors

For the biography for Barbara Stanwyck, see the 1960 post for The Barbara Stanwyck Show.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 1, Episode 14, "Night Visitor": Stanwyck plays wealthy doctor's wife Marian Andrews. Michael Ansara (shown on the near left, appeared in Julius Caesar, The Robe, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Harum Scarum, played Cochise on Broken Arrow and Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart on The Rifleman and the Law of the Plainsman, and voiced General Warhawk on Rambo) plays her servant Carl. Julie London (shown on the far left, popular singer, starred in Nabonga, The Fat Man, and The George Raft Story and played nurse Dixie McCall on Emergency!) plays Carol's wife Julie. 

Season 1, Episode 15, "Size 10": Stanwyck plays fashion designer Maggie Wenley. Robert Strauss (shown on the right, appeared in Stalag 17, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Seven Year Itch, The Man With the Golden Arm, and Girls! Girls! Girls! and played Sgt. Stan Gruzewsky on Mona McCluskey) plays her sales manager Herbie Harner. Naomi Stevens (Juanita on The Doris Day Show, Mama Rossini on My Three Sons, Rose Montefusco on The Montefuscos, and Sgt. Bella Archer on Vega$) plays her secretary Miss Pearl. Robert Paige (starred in The Main Event, Highway Patrol, Dancing on a Dime, Son of Dracula, and Bye Bye Birdie) plays Maggie's boyfriend Roger.

Season 1, Episode 16, "Dear Charlie": Milton Berle (shown on the left, legendary comedian, starred in Sun Valley Serenade, Always Leave Them Laughing, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and The Loved One, hosted Texas Star Theatre, The Milton Berle Show, and Phillies Jackpot Bowling, and played Louie the Lilac on Batman) plays grifter Charlie Zane. Katherine Squire (Emma Simpson on The Doctors) plays spinster Elvie. Lurene Tuttle (appeared in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Ma Barker's Killer Brood, Psycho, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and The Fortune Cookie and played Doris Dunston on Father of the Bride and Hannah Yarby on Julia) plays her sister Tessie. Virginia Vincent (Betty on The Joey Bishop Show, Dottie Clark on The Super, and Daisy Maxwell on Eight Is Enough) plays their maid Dulcy. 

Season 1, Episode 17, "Dragon by the Tail": Stanwyck returns as Hong Kong-based importer/exporter Josephine Little. James Hong (shown on the right, played Barry Chan on The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, Frank Chen on Jigsaw John, and Doctor Chen Ling on Dynasty) returns as her assistant Sam Wong. Anna May Wong (the first Chinese-American movie star, starred in The Thief of Baghdad, Peter Pan, Shanghai Express, and Island of Lost Men) plays her personal assistant A-Hsing. Weaver Levy (Oliver Kee on Adventures in Paradise) plays bartender Charley. J. Pat O'Malley (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Frontier Circus) plays sea captain Steve Connors. Victor Sen Yung (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Bonanza) plays nuclear scientist Dr. Wing Chin-Ni. Arthur Gould-Porter (Ravenswood on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays British war hero Sir Cedric Carstairs. Philip Ahn (Master Kan on Kung Fu) plays fixer Lee Chin.

Season 1, Episode 18, "Sisters": Stanwyck plays widow Janet Jones. Ellen Drew (starred in Sing, You Sinners, If I Were King, Women Without Names, and Christmas in July) plays her sister Kate. Michael Rennie (shown on the left, starred in The Day the Earth Stood Still, Les Miserables (1952), The Robe, Omar Khayyam, and The Lost World and played Harry Lime on The Third Man) plays Kate's estranged husband Julius Ulrich. 

Season 1, Episode 19, "Big Career": Stanwyck plays department store vice president Harriet Melvane. Frank Overton (starred in Desire Under the Elms, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fail-Safe and played Major Harvey Stovall on 12 O'Clock High) plays her husband Roy. Gene Raymond (husband of Jeanette MacDonald, starred in Red Dust, Ex-Lady, Flying Down to Rio, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith) plays her boss Phil Bennington. Amanda Randolph (shown on the right, played Mama on The Amos 'n' Andy Show and Louise on Make Room for Daddy) plays her maid Cora. Elizabeth Patterson (appeared in The Boy Friend(1926), Daddy Long Legs (1931), Little Women, and Pal Joey and played Mrs. Trumbull on I Love Lucy) plays Roy's mother Millicent.

Season 1, Episode 20, "Confession": Stanwyck plays trapped wife Paula Manning. Kenneth MacKenna (starred in Man Trouble, Temple Tower, and Judgment at Nuremberg) plays her husband Morgan. Lee Marvin (shown on the left, starred in The Big Heat, Bad Day at Black Rock, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cat Ballou, The Dirty Dozen, and Paint Your Wagon and played Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger on M Squad) plays ambulance-chasing lawyer Judson Hollister. Penny Santon (Madame Fatime in Don't Call Me Charlie, Madam Delacort on Roll Out, Mama Rosa Novelli on Matt Houston, Muriel Lacey on Cagney and Lacey, and Teresa Giordano on Life Goes On) plays Hollister client Mrs. Donati. Josephine Hutchinson (appeared in The Story of Louis Pasteur, Son of Frankenstein, Tom Brown's Schooldays, and North by Northwest) plays Paula's friend Betty Galloway.

Season 1, Episode 21, "Along the Barbary Coast": Stanwyck plays saloon owner Trixie Callahan. Jerome Thor (Robert Cannon on Foreign Intrigue) plays police detective Pete Bishop. Richard Eastham (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Tombstone Territory) plays Trixie's business partner Sam Verner. Robert Armstrong (starred in King Kong, The Son of Kong, Framed, Dive Bomber, Blood on the Sun, and Mighty Joe Young and played Sheriff Andy Anderson on State Trooper) plays Bishop's boss Inspector Gunnison. Morris Ankrum (starred in Rocketship X-M, Invaders From Mars, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, and The Giant Claw and played the judge 22 times on Perry Mason) plays stolen goods dealer Walter Harwood. Karl Held (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Perry Mason) plays Bishop's colleague Detective Jones.

Season 1, Episode 22, "Shock": Stanwyck plays atomic scientist Rachel Harrison. Carol Nicholson (Laurie Rose on Room for One More) plays her daughter Shirley. Eduard Franz (shown on the left, starred in The Thing From Another World, Lady Godiva of Coventry, The Jazz Singer (1952), Sins of Jezebel, and The Indian Fighter and played Gregorio Verdugo on Zorro and Dr. Edward Raymer on Breaking Point) plays famous psychiatrist Dr. Paul Aldrich. Ross Elliott (Freddie the director on The Jack Benny Program and Sheriff Abbott on The Virginian) plays impatient army Col. Hawthorne. 

Season 1, Episode 23, "The Golden Acres": Stanwyck plays social climber Avis Fleming. John McGiver (shown on the right, 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 her brother Collins. Robert Emhardt (Sgt. Vinton on The Kids From C.A.P.E.R.) plays her brother Ben. Kent Smith (starred in Cat People, This Land Is Mine, Hitler's Children, Curse of the Cat People, Nora Prentiss, The Spiral Staircase, and The Fountainhead and played Dr. Robert Morton on Peyton Place and Edgar Scoville on The Invaders) plays her former beau Dexter Willis. Jason Robards, Sr. (father of Jason Robards) plays Dexter's father Rupert.

Season 1, Episode 24, "Adventure on Happiness Street": Stanwyck returns as Hong Kong-based importer/exporter Josephine Little. Victor Sen Yung (see "Dragon by the Tail" above) plays sweatshop owner Mr. Chang. Lew Ayres (Dr. James Kildare in 9 Dr. Kildare features, starred in The Dark Mirror, Johnny Belinda, Donovan's Brain, Advise & Consent, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes and played Henry Wade Culver on Lime Street) plays American physician Dr. Paul Harris. Robert Culp (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 Josephine's business colleague Archie Bishop.

Season 1, Episode 25, "High Tension": Stanwyck plays socialite Fran Elick. Nora Marlowe (shown on the left, played Martha Commager on Law of the Plainsman, Sara Andrews on The Governor and J.J., and Mrs. Flossie Brimmer on The Waltons) plays judgmental bus passenger Mill Seabright. Richard Hale (starred in Abilene Town, Kim, San Antone, Red Garters, and To Kill a Mockingbird) plays bus passenger Gibson Hunsucker. Nestor Paiva (Theo Gonzales on Zorro) plays bus station owner Joe.

Season 1, Episode 26, "Sign of the Zodiac": Stanwyck plays recently widowed Madge Terry. Joan Blondell (shown on the right, starred in The Public Enemy, Blonde Crazy, Topper Returns, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Desk Set, and The Cincinnati Kid and played Lottie Hatfield on Here Come the Brides and Peggy Revere on Banyon) plays her sister-in-law Helene Terry. Dan Duryea (starred in The Little Foxes, The Pride of the Yankees, Scarlet Street, and Winchester '73 and played China Smith in China Smith and The New Adventures of China Smith and Eddie Jacks on Peyton Place) plays fortune teller Pierre. James Chandler (Lt. Girard on Bourbon Street Beat) plays a police lieutenant.

Season 1, Episode 28, "The Choice": Stanwyck plays nightclub owner Amanda Prescott. Robert Horton (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Wagon Train) plays bar customer Horace. James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays robber Joe. Jimmy Lydon (starred in Tom Brown's School Days, Little Men, Joan of Arc, and 9 Henry Aldrich features and played Biff Cardoza on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Andy Boone on So This Is Hollywood, and Richard on Love That Jill) plays bartender Harry. George Wallace (starred in Radar Men From the Moon, Destry, and Forbidden Planet and played Judge Milton Cole on Hill Street Blues and Grandpa Hank Hammersmith on Sons and Daughters) plays police officer Tony Johnson.

Season 1, Episode 29, "The Frigthened Doll": Stanwyck plays regular barfly Hazel Wexley. Wallace Ford (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Deputy) plays bartender Harry. Harold J. Stone (shown on the right, played John Kennedy on The Grand Jury, Hamilton Greeley on My World and Welcome to It, and Sam Steinberg on Bridget Loves Bernie) plays mob bagman Jake Lytel. Jackie Searl (began as a child actor, appearing in Tom Sawyer (1930), Huckleberry Finn (1931), Alice in Wonderland (1933), Great Expectations(1934), and Little Lord Fauntleroy) plays hotel clerk Roscoe. Wallace Rooney (Andrew Winters on The Doctors) plays police Capt. Foyle. Eloise Hardt (Karen Hadley on The Dennis O'Keefe Show) plays bar patron Annie.

Season 1, Episode 30, "Yanqui Go Home": Stanwyck plays oil company manager's wife Fran Evans. Dana Andrews (shown on the left, starred in Tobacco Road, The Ox-Bow Incident, Laura, The Best Years of Our Lives, Elephant Walk, and Airport 1975) plays her husband Clint. Rodolfo Acosta (Vaquero on The High Chaparral) plays revolutionary Profirio. 

Season 1, Episode 31, "Little Big Mouth": Stanwyck plays newspaper reporter Nelly Bly. Buddy Ebsen (shown on the right, played Sgt. Hunk Marriner on Northwest Passage, Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones on Barnaby Jones, and Roy Houston on Matt Houston) plays physician Dr. Mark Carroll. Judy Strangis (Helen Loomis on Room 222 and was the voice of Judy/Dyna Girl on Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Rota Ree on Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, and Goldie Gold on Goldie Gold and Action Jack) plays his daughter Mildred. Abel Fernandez (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Untouchables) plays white-educated Tom Tall Bear. Roberto Contreras (Pedro on The High Chaparral) plays self-appointed lawman Joe Jack Rabbit. Anthony C. Montenaro (Tony on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Rocky on Guestward Ho!) plays Indian boy Johnny Tail Feathers.

Season 1, Episode 32, "The Assassin": Stanwyck plays investment firm secretary Louise Forest. Leon Ames (starred in East Side Kids, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Son of Flubber and played Clarence Day, Sr. on Life With Father, Stanley Banks on Father of the Bride, and Gordon Kirkwood on Mister Ed) plays her boss Damon Carlisle. Peter Falk (shown on the left, starred in Robin and the 7 Hoods, Murder by Death, and The Cheap Detective and played Daniel O'Brien on The Trials of O'Brien and Columbo on Columbo) plays hired assassin Joe. Dub Taylor (starred in You Can't Take It With You, Bonnie & Clyde, and The Wild Bunch, played Cannonball in 53 western films, and played Wallie Simms on Casey Jones, Mitch Brady on Hazel, and Ed Hewley on Please Don't Eat the Daisies) plays real estate agent George B. Glimes. Lawrence Tierney (starred in Dillinger, Kill or Be Killed, Born to Kill, Back to Bataan, and Reservoir Dogs and played Sergeant Jenkins on Hill Street Blues) plays an unnamed police detective.

Season 1, Episode 34, "The Hitch-Hiker": Stanwyck plays lawyer Maggie McClay. Joseph Cotten (shown on the right, starred in Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Third Man, Niagara, and From the Earth to the Moon and hosted The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial) plays her husband Mac. 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 opposing lawyer James Fitzgibbon. John Gallaudet (Chamberlain on Mayor of the Town, Judge Penner on Perry Mason, and Bob Anderson on My Three Sons) plays Judge Simon. 

Season 1, Episode 35, "Big Jake": Andy Devine (shown on the left, starred in A Star Is Born(1937), Stagecoach, Pete Kelly's Blues, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won and played Deputy Marshal Jingles P. Jones on Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock and Hap Gorman on Flipper) plays police detective Jake Sloan. Paul Bryar (Sheriff Harve Anders on The Long, Hot Summer) plays his colleague Leo Goodnight. Byron Morrow (Capt. Keith Gregory on The New Breed and Pearce Newberry on Executive Suite) plays their supervising lieutenant. John Harmon (Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) plays safecracker Willie Teeter. Lawrence Tierney (see "The Assassin" above) plays known criminal Larry Duncan. 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 ex-con Sam Lundborg. Patricia Huston (Addy Olson on Days of Our Lives and Hilda Brunschwager on L.A. Law) plays his daughter. Carol Anne Seflinger (Susan Talbot on Wonderbug) plays his grand-daughter.

Season 1, Episode 36, "A Man's Game": Stanwyck plays old west saloon owner Chris Mathews. Charles Drake (starred in Winchester '73, Harvey, It Came From Outer Space, Bonzo Goes to College, and I Was a Shoplifter and played John Burden on Rendezvous) plays retired gunslinger Ben Stockton. Edgar Buchanan (shown on the right, 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 cat fancier Judge Franklin. Andy Albin (Andy Gosden on Julia) plays troublemaker Red Quincy. Sam Buffington (John Richards on Whispering Smith) plays bar patron Vic Trenton. Carl Crow (Teddy Nelson on National Velvet) plays a cowhand.

Rawhide (1961)

Our post on the 1960 episodes of Rawhide already documented its origin as CBS' answer to Wagon Train, hiring the man who had adapted Gunsmoke from radio to television, Charles Marquis Warren to create it. And by its third season the show had risen to its peak at #6 in the ratings but still seemed unsettled concerning its identity. We've already detailed how Wagon Train had a more organic structure with each season beginning a new drive across the west from Missouri to San Francisco, while Rawhide seemed to meander on a seemingly endless cattle drive. The 1961 episodes demonstrate a fair amount of tinkering with both narrative structure and character development, while behind the scenes there were controversies and personnel changes that in some ways mirrored what was being portrayed fictionally.

In the midst of Season 3, Warren and his team experimented with the Wagon Train story-arc formula by stringing together a series of episodes depicting the home stretch and end of a cattle drive that meets its final destination in Sedalia, Missouri. This sequence begins with "Incident Near the Promised Land" (February 3, 1961) wherein the drive gets within sight of Sedalia but when trail boss Gil Favor rides ahead into town to negotiate pricing with buyers he discovers there has been a financial panic causing a run on all the banks, meaning there will be no buyers for his cattle. So he has to find temporary boarding for the herd outside of town while waiting for the panic to blow over, which requires negotiating with a widow bitterly opposed to cattle drovers since her late husband was driven to his death in the same business. It is only through intervention of the convalescing Rowdy Yates, who reminds the widow of her late son, and the trickery of cook G.W. Wishbone, who locates a traveling U.S. government beef buyer, that the drive is salvaged and a profitable price procured.

In the next episode, "Incident of the Big Blowout" (February 10, 1961), the drive has reached Sedalia and the cattle are delivered, but Favor receives a telegram from back home in Philadelphia with disturbing news, though in his typically stoic fashion he does not share it with his men (Wishbone sees him read the telegram and know something is wrong) and instead comes off ornery, alienating the men so that several vow never to work for him again. This creates dramatic tension about the long-term viability of the TV series but also provides an opportunity to delve into Favor's backstory. The theme of drovers threatening to quit because of Favor's surly behavior would become a recurring motif and a bit ironic because, as documented in David R. Greenleaf's book Rawhide: A History of Television's Longest Cattle Drive, Eric Fleming, the actor who played Favor, was constantly threatening to quit the series over the way it was being produced. In fact, Fleming's constant complaints spurred Warren to even recruit actor Gregory Walcott and have him do a screen test as Fleming's replacement with no real intention of following through, unbeknownst to Walcott, who told Greenleaf that he never forgave Warren for using him as a pawn and then later laughing about it. In the TV series the conflict is resolved when Favor rescues Rowdy from a potentially lethal entanglement involving a case of mistaken identity over a deceased former robber with a price on his head and Favor thereby wins back the loyalty of his men before boarding the train to Philadelphia.

The plot continues in the next episode, "Incident of the Fish Out of Water" (February 17, 1961) with Favor on the train to Philadelphia, where he meets Pawnee chief Ogala, who is traveling east to take employment with a wild west show to earn needed money for his tribe. Once they arrive in Philadelphia, Favor goes to his sister-in-law Eleanor's house where she has been taking care of his two daughters Gillian and Margaret since his wife died. Favor has serious disagreements with Eleanor about how the girls are being raised and she walks out on him, again threatening the continuity of the TV series as Favor believes that he will have to give up his life as a trail boss and instead find a job in Philadelphia so that he can raise his daughters. Eventually Favor reconciles with Eleanor and is able to return to his true calling, and his daughters are never mentioned again.

But the story arc continues in "Incident on the Road Back" (February 24, 1961), which begins with the drovers still in Sedalia, having blown all the money they earned on their last drive and waiting for Favor to return from Philadelphia so that they can head down to San Antonio to pick up their next herd. Once Favor shows up and has negotiated for a pack of horses to take with them on the trek to San Antonio, he gets accused of horse thievery by an unscrupulous rancher in the town of Orinsville who is also involved in a love triangle with the sheriff's wife. The plot thickens when the money Favor was carrying to pay off the cattle owners from the last drive is stolen, but by episode's end the money is recovered, the unscrupulous rancher gets his just desserts, and the crew is back on the trail to San Antonio. However, the story arc continues for one more episode with another threat to the show's format in "Incident of the New Start" (March 3, 1961), in which Favor is demoted to ramrod (and Rowdy to common drover) by San Antonio cattle owner Jubal Wade, a middle-aged man with a young wife who feels he has to prove his virility by leading the drive himself. As expected, things do not go well--Wade is bull-headed and does not heed the advice of more experienced hands, and his wife runs off with a young, arrogant drover, after which Wade sends her packing and turns the herd back over to Favor.

Beginning with the next episode, the series returns to its random "incidents" (an affectation that was Warren's idea) somewhere out on the trail--in fact, one episode is appropriately titled "Incident in the Middle of Nowhere" (April 7, 1961). The final episode for Season 3, "Incident of the Wager on Payday" (June 16, 1961), takes place in a town named Kimberly. There is a Kimberly, Missouri, but it is not on the Chisholm Trail that leads to Sedalia, and the episode does not depict finishing the drive. But Season 4 begins the crew reuniting in San Antonio to start another drive. It's unfortunate that Warren and his team decided to drop the sequential story sequence they began in Season 3, which included frequent references to details from previous episodes, in favor of the more random structure adopted later. Granted, non-linear programming was the norm at the time and allowed greater flexibility in when individual episodes were shot and later aired. And the preference for a continuous narrative across multiple episodes is a modern taste that may not have been popular back in 1961. Yet it would not be long before some dramatic TV series would try a 90-minute format, akin to a new feature film each week, which would suggest that there was some interest in longer, more developed narratives. At the risk of quoting a well-known folk singer of the era, the times they were a-changin'.

And the changes came quickly for Rawhide beginning with Season 4. Most notable was the departure of Warren, who went off to develop another western series, Gunslinger, which turned out to be much less successful than Rawhide (it ran for only 12 episodes), though he would soon again find success with 90-minute western The Virginian. Once Warren had left, the series dropped the "incident" episode-naming scheme and debuted a new title sequence at the beginning of each episode that named and showed the four principal actors--Eric Fleming, Clint Eastwood, Sheb Wooley, and Paul Brinegar. Four different vignettes were rotated, each showing the four characters in different mock scenes. Before leaving, Warren had indicated in a February 4, 1961 cover story on Eastwood for TV Guide that he planned on not having Favor and Yates in every episode but alternating back and forth between them, essentially elevating the rising heart-throb Eastwood to co-star status with Fleming. And this promotion begins with the very first episode of Season 4, "Rio Salado" (September 29, 1961), which still features Favor prominently but revolves around Rowdy's relationship with his father Dan Yates, who tries to lure Rowdy away from the drive and make up for his absence during his upbringing by claiming the reward for killing a wanted bandito who lives in Rio Salado. However, the bandito is revered as a revolutionary in the town and Rowdy's connection to his father's deed scuttles Favor's deal with local cattle owner Ben Andrews, leaving him without a herd to drive. But this conceit, again threatening the continuation of the series, is actually just a device to try a different scenario--having Favor and his men round up and buy their own herd rather than driving someone else's, thereby increasing their stake in the drive's success, and deciding to drive the herd to Abilene rather than Sedalia.

Though the new season's episodes do not use as many connecting events linking multiple stories, there is a loose story arc employed in the first few installments of Season 4. After deciding to round up their own herd from loose scrub cattle, the next episode takes place three weeks later near Laredo in "The Sendoff" (October 6, 1961), which has the men literally beating the bushes for cattle until an incognito former wagon master (a jab at Wagon Train, no doubt) shows them an easier way to round them up but also gets them embroiled in a plot of revenge against him. The drive continues in the next episode, "The Long Shakedown" (October 13, 1961) three days out of Laredo with Favor determined to drive off any soft new drovers but instead alienating his long-term crew in favor of enthusiastic but mistake-prone new hires. When the new drovers wind up causing the entire herd to stampede back toward San Antonio, Favor is saved by his old crew, who had decided to hold up just miles away figuring that he would need them eventually, rounding up his fleeing herd, and salvaging the drive from certain demise.

But after these three related episodes, the series shifts gears to character-centered stories aimed to give us a better understanding and deeper connection to some of the lesser characters. "Judgment at Hondo Seco" (October 20, 1961) focuses on Jim Quince, whom we learn has a hanging judge for a brother and who nearly hangs his brother Quince. "The Lost Tribe" (October 27, 1961) plays like a soap opera episode when we learn that Pete Nolan was once married to a Cheyenne squaw who died and whose father he must now help reach Mexico to avoid being driven back to a reservation that cannot support their way of life. And "The Inside Man" (November 3, 1961) introduces us to the character of Clay Forrester, an accomplished and arrogant jack-of-all-trades, be it trail boss, scout, or drover, who in this episode is a plant for a gang of cattle thieves but who sees the error of his ways and would eventually return to the series as a regular character, taking over as scout when Sheb Wooley left the series in 1962.

With a supposed crew of some 20-25 drovers, this trend of digging deep into the backstories of the men working the drive could have continued a bit longer, but the series then changed course again, choosing to focus on eccentric people met along the trail. "The Black Sheep" (November 10, 1961) depicts a feisty sheepherder; "The Prairie Elephant" (November 17, 1961) explores romantic intrigue in a traveling circus (hello, Frontier Circus!); ”The Little Fishes" (November 24, 1961) features a man trying to transport shad to California to breed them in the wild there; "The Blue Spy" (December 8, 1961) shows an actress who worked as a spy for the Union during the Civil War; "The Gentleman's Gentleman" (December 15, 1961) stars a British valet; and "Twenty Five Santa Clauses" (December 22, 1961) depicts us an aging con man and his ailing wife. Apparently all the changes in course did not win over the viewers, as Rawhide dropped from #6 to #13 in 1961-62, to #22 in Season 5, and out of the top 30 the following season. And yet the series persisted into an abbreviated 8th season before being canceled in 1965. Like the cattle drovers they played, the principals may have groused about the quality of the show, the scripts, the producer, etc., but most of them stuck around for the duration. Even Wooley was brought back for the final season. Eastwood, speaking in the 1961TV Guide article, seemed the most content of the lot when he remarked, "I wasn't going anywhere when this show came along. Now I guess I'm a star. Eventually, like anyone else, I'd sort of like to branch out a bit, do other things. I don't figure Rawhide will last forever, but I don't figure to walk out on it, either."

The complete series has been released on DVD by CBS/Paramount.

The Actors

For the biographies for Eric Fleming, Clint Eastwood, Sheb Wooley, Paul Brinegar, James Murdock, Steve Raines, Rocky Shahan, John Erwin, and Robert Cabal, see the 1960 post for Rawhide.

Don C. Harvey

Don Carlos Harvey was born in Council Grove, Kansas in 1911. Not much is known about his early life, such as how he met his wife, the former Eugenia Bartness, known better as actress Jean Harvey, but the two married in 1934 when Harvey was 23 and his wife was 11 years older. Together they performed in tent shows and repertory companies as well as on radio. Harvey himself co-starred on a radio program with famous gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. It is very likely Harvey's film career was helped by his association with Mae West. Harvey had scored an uncredited role in the 1945 feature film That Night With You, and one of his cast mates was Syd Saylor who had worked with West, including an appearance in the film Goin' to Town. When West decided to create a touring version of Come on Up in late 1945, Harvey was cast as her young ingénue Nick. Harvey stayed with the production for 9 months, and not long thereafter he began getting supporting roles in films such as Dragnet (1947), For You I Die, and The Counterfeiters. In 1949 he signed a contract with Columbia and appeared in villainous roles in the serials The Adventures of Sir Galahad, Batman and Robin, and Atom Man vs. Superman. He soon was appearing in more than 10 films a year, though nearly half were uncredited. He broke into TV appearing in a 1950 episode of The Cisco Kid and by the following year had multiple appearances on The Range Rider as well as Gang Busters and The Gene Autry Show. Harvey and his wife owned a movie horse named Goldie that performed as Kit Carson's horse Apache on The Adventures of Kit Carson, a show on which Harvey also appeared four times in 1953-54. Throughout the 1950s he juggled his continuing prolific feature film work with multiple appearances on TV programs such as The Roy Rogers Show, Annie Oakley, and The Lone Ranger. His role as the feisty drover Collins on Rawhide, which he played 13 times between 1959-62 (with 11 of those coming in 1961 alone), was the only recurring role of his career. He died of a heart attack on April 23, 1963 at the age of 51.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 3, Episode 10, "Incident of the Buffalo Soldier": Woody Strode (shown on the left, former UCLA decathlete, appeared in The Ten Commandments, Spartacus, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Professionals, and Shalako) plays buffalo soldier Cpl. Gabe Washington. Ray Montgomery (Prof. Howard Ogden on Ramar of the Jungle) plays his commanding officer Lt. Howard. Roy Glenn (Roy on The Jack Benny Program) plays buffalo soldier Cpl. Jones. Rupert Crosse (Det. George Robinson on The Partners) plays another trooper.

Season 3, Episode 11, "Incident of the Broken Word": E.G. Marshall (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Defenders) plays middle-aged rancher Ben Foley. Gloria Talbott (starred in The Cyclops, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll,  and I Married a Monster From Outer Space and played Moneta on Zorro) plays his wife Lucille. Dick York (Tom Colwell on Going My Way and Darrin Stephens on Bewitched) plays drover Frank Price. Howard Petrie (Hugh Blaine on Bat Masterson) plays rancher Hunneker. Morris Ankrum (starred in Rocketship X-M, Invaders From Mars, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, and The Giant Claw and played the judge 22 times on Perry Mason) plays physician Dr. Morgan. Frank Gerstle (Dick Gird on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays a bartender. John Hart (appeared in The Buccaneer, Jack Armstrong, and The Ten Commandments and played Nat "Hawkeye" Cutler on Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans and was Clayton Moore's replacement on The Lone Ranger from 1950-53 when Moore was in the midst of a contract dispute) plays the local sheriff.

Season 3, Episode 12, "Incident at the Top of the World": 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 drug-addicted former soldier Craig Kern. Les Tremayne (starred in The War of the Worlds (1953), The Story of Ruth, The Slime People, and The Fortune Cookie and played Inspector Richard Queen in The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen) plays army physician Dr. Gardner. Jan Shepard (Nurse Betty on Dr. Christian) plays Kern's fiance Ann Powell. Paul Carr (Bill Horton on Days of Our Lives, Casey Clark on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Ted Prince on Dallas, and Martin Gentry on The Young and the Restless) plays drover Jason Adams. Ron Foster (Officer Garvey on Highway Patrol) plays drover Bill Rudd.

Season 3, Episode 13, "Incident Near the Promised Land": Mary Astor (shown on the right, starred in Beau Brummel, Don Juan, The Great Lie, The Maltese Falcon, and Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte) plays widow rancher Emma Caldwell. Stafford Repp (Chief O'Hara on Batman) plays Sedalia Cattlemen's Association president Matt Walters. John Harmon (hotel clerk Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) plays his associate Hadley. Frank Wilcox (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Untouchables) plays U.S. government cattle buyer Mr. Draper. Hugh Sanders (starred in That's My Boy, The Pride of St. Louis, The Winning Team, and The Wild One) plays Sedalia Marshal Thorpe. 

Season 3, Episode 14, "Incident of the Big Blowout": Mari Blanchard (shown on the left, starred in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, Destry, Son of Sinbad, and She Devil and played Kathy O'Hara on Klondike) plays fiance of dead drover Laura Carter. Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays bank robbery conspirator Lou Calvert. Frank Cady (Sam Drucker on The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction) plays general store proprietor Meadson. Dabbs Greer (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Gunsmoke) plays a mild-mannered Sedalia citizen. William Tannen (Deputy Hal Norton on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays businessman George Frost. Hugh Sanders (see "Incident Near the Promised Land" above) returns as Marshal Thorpe.

Season 3, Episode 15, "Incident of the Fish Out of Water": Jock Gaynor (shown on the right, played Deputy Marshal Heck Martin on Outlaws and Dr. William Scott on The Doctors) plays Pawnee chief Ogala. George Wallace (starred in Radar Men From the Moon, Destry, and Forbidden Planet and played Judge Milton Cole on Hill Street Blues and Grandpa Hank Hammersmith on Sons and Daughters) plays wild west show proprietor Colonel Somers. Dorothy Green (Lavinia Tate on Tammy) plays Favor's sister-in-law Eleanor Bradley. Candy Moore (Angie on The Donna Reed Show, Chris Carmichael on The Lucy Show, and hosted The Dream Girl of 1967) plays Favor's daughter Gillian. 

Season 3, Episode 16, "Incident on the Road Back": Gene Evans (starred in The Steel Helmet, Thunderbirds, Donovan's Brain, and Operation Petticoat and played Rob McLaughlin on My Friend Flicka and Spencer Parrish on Spencer's Pilots) plays Orinsville Sheriff Tom Wilson. Jeanne Cooper (Grace Douglas on Bracken's World and Katherine Chancellor Murphy on The Young and the Restless) plays his wife Clara. Arch Johnson (shown on the left, starred in Somebody Up There Likes Me, G.I. Blues, and The Cheyenne Social Club and played Gus Honochek on The Asphalt Jungle and Cmdr. Wivenhoe on Camp Runamuck) plays rancher James Cronin. Mark Tapscott (Deputy Andy on The Tall Man, Earl Bancroft on The Young and the Restless, and Bob Anderson on Days of Our Lives) plays Wilson's deputy Otis. Brian G. Hutton (directed Sol Madrid, Where Eagles Dare, and Kelly's Heroes) plays deputy Chandler. 

Season 3, Episode 17, "Incident of the New Start": John Dehner (shown on the right, played Duke Williams on The Roaring '20's, Commodore Cecil Wyntoon on The Baileys of Balboa, Morgan Starr on The Virginian, Cyril Bennett on The Doris Day Show, Dr. Charles Cleveland Claver on The New Temperatures Rising Show, Barrett Fears on Big Hawaii, Marshal Edge Troy on Young Maverick, Lt. Joseph Broggi on Enos, Hadden Marshall on Bare Essence, and Billy Joe Erskine on The Colbys) plays cattle rancher Jubal Wade. Robert B. Williams (postman Mr. Dorfman on Dennis the Menace  and Barney on Hazel) plays cattle rancher Blunt. John Hart (see "Incident of the Broken Word" above) plays cattle rancher Prussel. Robert Bice (Police Capt. Jim Johnson on The Untouchables) plays cattle rancher George Kriegel. Burt Douglas (Ron Christopher on The Edge of Night  and Jim Fisk on Days of Our Lives) plays drover recruit Webb Church. 

Season 3, Episode 18, "Incident of the Running Iron": 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 cow cutter Frank Miller. Darryl Hickman (Dwayne Hickman's older brother, appeared in The Grapes of Wrath, The Way of All Flesh, The Human Comedy, Captain Eddie, Rhapsody in Blue, and The Tingler and played Cpl. Ben Canfield on The Americans) plays his son Andy. 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 Mayor Jim Rye. Kenneth MacDonald (played the judge 32 times on Perry Mason, played Col. Parker on Colt .45, and appeared in several Three Stooges shorts)  plays Sheriff Morgan Shaw. William Schallert (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays army beef buyer Lt. Hill. 

Season 3, Episode 19, "Incident Near Gloomy River": John Ericson (starred in Bad Day at Black Rock, Pretty Boy Floyd, The Bamboo Saucer, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks and played Sam Bolt on Burke's Law and Honey West) plays new drover Dan Fletcher. John Cassavetes (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Johnny Staccato) plays his brother Cal. Rosemary DeCamp (starred in Yankee Doodle Dandy, Rhapsody in Blue, and The Life of Riley and played Peg Riley on The Life of Riley, Margaret MacDonald on The Bob Cummings Show, Aunt Helen on Petticoat Junction, Helen Marie on That Girl, and Grandma Amanda Renfrew on The Partridge Family) plays their mother Margaret. Leif Erickson (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 their neighbor Frank Travis. Anne Helm (Molly Pierce on Run for Your Life) plays Travis' daughter Flora. 

Season 3, Episode 20, "Incident of the Boomerang": Michael Pate (starred in Face to Face, Julius Caesar, Hondo, and Tower of London and played Chief Vittoro on Hondo and Det. Sgt. Vic Maddern on Matlock) plays Australian cattleman Richard Goffage. Patricia Medina (Margarita Cortazar on Zorro) plays his fiance Ruthanne Harper. James Drury (shown on the left, played The Virginian on The Virginian and Captain Spike Ryerson on Firehouse) plays her former boyfriend Johnny Adler. Woody Strode (see "Incident of the Buffalo Soldier" above) plays Goffage's guide Binnaburra. Frank De Kova (Chief Wild Eagle on F Troop and Louis Campagna on The Untouchables) plays Comanche Chief Tawyawp.

Season 3, Episode 21, "Incident of His Brother's Keeper": Jack Lord (shown on the right, played Stoney Burke on Stoney Burke and Det. Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O) plays disabled cattleman Paul Evans. Susan Oliver (Ann Howard on Peyton Place) plays his wife Laurie. Jeff Richards (starred in Crest of the Wave, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and It's a Dog's Life and played Jefferson Drum on Jefferson Drum) plays his brother Jubal. Viola Harris (Selma Hanen on One Life to Live) plays wealthy ranch owner Mary Besson. Norman Leavitt (Ralph on Trackdown) plays the telegrapher. Fenton Jones (member of the Square Dance Hall of Fame) plays a square dance caller. 

Season 3, Episode 22, "Incident in the Middle of Nowhere": Cecil Kellaway (appeared in Wuthering Heights, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Luck of the Irish, Joan of Arc, Harvey, The Shaggy Dog, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?) plays prospector McKay. Fay Spain (starred in Dragstrip Girl, Al Capone, and The Gentle Rain) plays fortune hunter Barbara Fraser. Elisha Cook, Jr. (shown on the left, starred in The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, The Great Gatsby (1949), and The Killing and played Francis "Ice Pick" Hofstetler on Magnum P.I.) plays guide Joel Turner. James Griffith (Deputy Tom Ferguson on U.S. Marshal) plays Barbara's accomplice Tyree. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), Cal on Stagecoach West, the lab technician on The New Breed, and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays a bartender. X Brands (Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah on Yancy Derringer) plays an Indian brave.

Season 3, Episode 23, "Incident of the Phantom Bugler": Vaughn Taylor (starred in Jailhouse Rock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Psycho, and In Cold Blood and played Ernest P. Duckweather on Johnny Jupiter) plays empire builder Judge Brady. Jock Mahoney (shown on the right, starred in Pecos River, Junction City, Tarzan Goes to India, and Tarzan's Three Challenges and played The Range Rider on The Range Rider and Yancy Derringer on Yancy Derringer) plays his military leader Capt. Brian Donahoe. Kathie Browne (Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays his wife Mary. Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays one of Donahoe's men Thompson. 

Season 3, Episode 24, "Incident of the Lost Idol": Claude Akins (Sonny Pruett on Movin' On and Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo on B.J and the Bear and on Lobo) plays escaped convict Clete Manson. Douglas Lambert (Walter Schiff on Inside Story) plays his son Billy. Ken Curtis (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Ripcord) plays bounty hunter Vic Slade. Ted de Corsia (Police Chief Hagedorn on Steve Canyon) plays the Itasca sheriff.

Season 3, Episode 25, "Incident of the Running Man": Lloyd Corrigan (shown on the right, starred in A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob, Hitler's Children, Captive Wild Woman, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, and Son of Paleface and played Papa Dodger on Willy, Wally Dipple on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Uncle Charlie on Happy, and Professor McKillup on Hank) plays undertaker Simon Baines. Donald "Red" Barry (played Red Ryder in the movie serial The Adventures of Red Ryder, and played Lt. Snedigar on Surfside 6, The Grand Vizier and Tarantula on Batman, Capt. Red Barnes on Police Woman, and Jud Larabee on Little House on the Prairie) plays his henchman Grut. Peter Mamakos (Jean Lafitte on The Adventures of Jim Bowie) plays henchman Slade. Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, and Night Passage and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro) plays Rawley Sheriff McVey. Robert Donner (appeared in Cool Hand Luke, The Undefeated, Zig Zag, High Plains Drifter and played Teejay on Adam-12, Yancy Tucker on The Waltons, Exidor on Mork & Mindy, Tucker Fixx on Falcon Crest, and Mayor Chamberlain Brown on Legend) plays his deputy Toland. 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 Camp Henley commander Colonel Henroy. Walter Coy (Zoravac on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger and was the narrator on Frontier) plays farmer Lem Trager. Luana Anders (starred in Reform School Girl, Dementia 13, and The Last Detail) plays his wife Maddy. Helen Wallace (Nurse Lucy Webber on Dr. Kildare) plays store co-owner Mrs. Cory.

Season 3, Episode 26, "Incident of the Painted Lady": Marie Windsor (shown on the left, starred in Outpost in Morocco, Dakota Lil, Cat-Women of the Moon, Swamp Women, and The Day Mars Invaded Earth) plays saloon owner Miss Katie. Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place and Ward Fuller on The Silent Force) plays her lover Lt. Cory Clemens. David Brian (appeared in Flamingo Road, Intruder in the Dust, Million Dollar Mermaid, and The High and the Mighty and played D.A. Paul Garrett on Mr. District Attorney) plays Cory's father Thad. Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays Katie's bartender. Byron Morrow (Capt. Keith Gregory on The New Breed and Pearce Newberry on Executive Suite) plays the unsympathetic secretary of the Baxter Springs Cattlemen's Association.

Season 3, Episode 27, "Incident Before Black Pass": Zachary Scott (shown on the right, starred in Mildred Pierce, Flamingo Road, The Southerner, and The Young One) plays Kiawa fugitive White Eyes. Joan Taylor (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Rifleman) plays his squaw Paibada. Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock on Star Trek, Paris on Mission: Impossible, and Dr. William Bell on Fringe) plays belligerent brave Anko. Dennis Cross (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Blue Angels) plays loyal brave Satanga. Arthur Batanides (Sgt. Olivera on Johnny Midnight) plays superstitious drover Gypsy. Robert Sampson (Sgt. Walsh on Steve Canyon, Father Mike Fitzgerald on Bridget Love Bernie, and Sheriff Turk Tobias on Falcon Crest) plays Army Lt. Meadows. Robert Armstrong (starred in King Kong, The Son of Kong, Framed, Dive Bomber, Blood on the Sun, and Mighty Joe Young and played Sheriff Andy Anderson on State Trooper) plays rancher Cal Stone. Cathy Downs (Ann Howe on The Joe Palooka Story) plays his wife Jenny. Billy Strange (guitarist, arranger, and songwriter who penned "Limbo Rock" and "These Boots Are Made for Walking," played guitar on The Munsters theme song, and is credited with inventing the guitar fuzz tone on his solo for Bobb B. Sox and the Blue Jeans' hit "Zip-a-Dee-Doo Dah") plays his ranch hand Murphy.

Season 3, Episode 28, "Incident of the Blackstorms": Stephen McNally (shown on the left, starred in Johnny Belinda, Criss Cross, and Winchester '73 and played Paul Marino on Target: The Corrupters) plays notorious outlaw Sky Blackstorm. Robert Crawford, Jr. (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Laramie) plays his son Danny. Virginia Christine (was the Folger's Coffee woman in commercials and starred in The Mummy's Curse, The Killers, and Night Wind and played Ovie Swenson on Tales of Wells Fargo) plays Danny's aunt Ada Covey. Val Avery (appeared in The Magnificent Seven, Papillon, and Donnie Brasco and played Lt. Al Costello on East Side/West Side) plays the River City sheriff. Bern Hoffman (Sam the bartender on Bonanza) plays Blackstorm henchman Vetch. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays Blackstorm henchman Long. Dee Pollock (Billy Urchin on Gunslinger) plays River City youth Inger Jeffries. Tom Greenway (Sheriff Jack Bronson on State Trooper) plays townsman Hawthorn.

Season 3, Episode 29, "Incident of the Night on the Town": Margaret Hayes (shown on the right, 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 rich widow Mrs. North. Harry Townes (starred in The Brothers Karamazov, Screaming Mimi, and Sanctuary) plays her lawyer Lewis Lewis. James Drury (see "Incident of the Boomerang" above) plays her ranch hand Rance. Don Haggerty (Jeffrey Jones on The Files of Jeffrey Jones, Eddie Drake on The Cases of Eddie Drake, Sheriff Dan Elder on State Trooper, and Marsh Murdock on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays her brother Brewster. Grady Sutton (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Lawman) plays the Palace Hotel clerk. Norman Leavitt (see "Incident of His Brother's Keeper" above) plays the court clerk.

Season 3, Episode 30, "Incident of the Wager on Payday": Stephen Joyce (shown on the left, played Bubba Wadsworth on Texas and Admiral Walter Strichen on Wiseguy) plays banker's son Sidney Porter. Lurene Tuttle (appeared in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Ma Barker's Killer Brood, Psycho, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and The Fortune Cookie and played Doris Dunston on Father of the Bride and Hannah Yarby on Julia) plays his mother. Ken Mayer (see "Incident of the Phantom Bugler" above) plays his greedy accomplice Joe Stapp. Hank Patterson (Fred Ziffel on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction and Hank on Gunsmoke) plays night watchman Simpson. Ford Rainey (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Window on Main Street) plays the Kimberly sheriff. Mark Tapscott (see "Incident of the Road Back" above) plays his deputy. Kathie Browne (see "Incident of the Phantom Bugler" above) plays saloon girl Lily. Percy Helton (Homer Cratchit on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays a bartender. Jonathan Hole (Orville Monroe on The Andy Griffith Show) plays the prosecuting attorney.

Season 4, Episode 1, "Rio Salado": Tom Tully (shown on the right, starred in Destination Tokyo, The Lady in the Lake, The Turning Point, The Jazz Singer (1952), and The Caine Mutiny and played Inspector Matt Grebb on The Lineup and Tom Starett on Shane) plays Rowdy's father Dan Yates. Edward Andrews (appeared in The Harder They Fall, Elmer Gantry, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, Advise and Consent, and The Glass Bottom Boat and played Cmdr. Rogers Adrian on Broadside and Col. Fairburn on The Doris Day Show) plays cattle owner Ben Andrews. Carlos Romero (Rico Rodriguez on Wichita Town, Romero Serrano on Zorro, and Carlo Agretti on Falcon Crest) plays wanted bandito Antonio Marcos. Jan Arvan (Nacho Torres on Zorro and Paw Kadiddlehopper on The Red Skelton Hour) plays his father Don Andres Marcos. Penny Santon (Madame Fatime in Don't Call Me Charlie, Madam Delacort on Roll Out, Mama Rosa Novelli on Matt Houston, Muriel Lacey on Cagney and Lacey, and Teresa Giordano on Life Goes On) plays Don Andres' housekeeper Maria. John Pickard (Capt. Shank Adams on Boots and Saddles and Sgt. Maj. Murdock on Gunslinger) plays the Rio Salado sheriff. Kenneth MacDonald (see "Incident of the Running Iron" above) plays a bartender. Tyler McVey (Gen. Maj. Norgath on Men Into Space) plays a card dealer.

Season 4, Episode 2, "The Sendoff": Darren McGavin (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays incognito wagon master Jed Hadley. Claude Akins (see "Incident of the Lost Idol" above) plays business man Karse. Stacy Harris (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays the local sheriff. John Hart (see "Incident of the Broken Word" above) plays a local rancher. 

Season 4, Episode 3, "The Long Shakedown": Skip Homeier (shown on the right, appeared in Arthur Takes Over, The Gunfighter, Sailor Beware, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and played Lt. Dan Raven on Dan Raven and Dr. Hugh Jacoby on The Interns) plays ambitious new drover Jess Clayton. Lew Gallo (Major Joseph Cobb on 12 O'Clock High and directed multiple episodes of That Girl, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Love American Style, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and The New Mike Hammer) plays disgruntled drover Haskell. Jay Douglas (Officer Dorsey on Highway Patrol) plays Clayton's friend Frank. 

Season 4, Episode 4, "Judgment at Hondo Seco": Ralph Bellamy (shown on the left, starred in Air Hawks, His Girl Friday, The Wolf Man, Trading Places, and Pretty Woman and played Mike Barnett on Man Against Crime, Dr. L. Richard Starke on The Eleventh Hour, Ethan Arcane on The Most Deadly Game, Harold Baker on Hunter, and was the narrator on Frontier Justice) plays Quince's brother Judge Matt Quince. Burt Douglas (see "Incident of the New Start" above) plays saloon owner Brad Lyons. Kathie Browne (see "Incident of the Phantom Bugler" above) plays saloon girl Lily. Roy Barcroft (Col. Logan on The Adventures of Spin and Marty and Roy on Gunsmoke) plays bartender Casey. Ray Teal (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Bonanza) plays Hondo Seco resident Hennegen. Robert Bice (see "Incident of the New Start" above) plays bar patron Rawley. Robert Donner (see "Incident of the Running Man" above) plays bar patron Billings. Jean Inness (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dr. Kildare) plays the judge's housekeeper Hattie. Dick Wessel (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays prisoner Barker.

Season 4, Episode 5, "The Lost Tribe": Abraham Sofaer (starred in Christopher Columbus, Quo Vadis, and Elephant Walk) plays Cheyenne chief Little Hawk. John Hart (see "Incident of the Broken Word" above) plays a posse-leading sheriff. 

Season 4, Episode 6, "The Inside Man": Charles H. Gray (shown on the right, played Officer Edwards on Highway Patrol, Pico McGuire on Gunslinger, later became a regular as Clay Forrester on Rawhide, and Bill Foster on The Young and the Restless) plays new drover Clay Forester. Anne Helm (see "Incident Near Gloomy River" above) plays runaway fiance Sheila Brewster.

Season 4, Episode 7, "The Black Sheep": Richard Basehart (shown on the left, starred in The House on Telegraph Hill, Titanic (1953), La Strada, Moby Dick, Hitler, and The Satan Bug, played Admiral Harriman Nelson on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and was the narrator on Knight Rider) plays sheepherder Tod Stone. Will Wright (Mr. Merrivale on Dennis the Menace and Ben Weaver on The Andy Griffith Show) plays his grandfather Grandpappy.

Season 4, Episode 8, "The Prairie Elephant": Lawrence Dobkin (shown on the right, played Dutch Schultz on The Untouchables, the narrator on Naked City, Judge Saul Edelstein on L.A. Law, and Judge Stanely Pittman on Melrose Place) plays famous clown Pascal. Gloria Talbott (see "Incident of the Broken Word" above) plays his wife Jenny. Britt Lomond (Captain Monastario on Zorro and Johnny Ringo on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays trapeze artist Dario. Billy Barty (Babby on Peter Gunn, Sparky the Firefly on The Bugaloos, Sigmund Ooze on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Inch on Ace Crawford, Private Eye, and the voice of Dweedle on Wildfire) plays circus wrangler Shorty.

Season 4, Episode 9, "The Little Fishes": Burgess Meredith (shown on the left, starred in Of Mice and Men, Mine Own Executioner, Advise & Consent, and The Cardinal and played Martin Woodridge on Mr. Novak, The Penguin on Batman, V.C.R. Cameron on Search, the narrator on Korg: 70,000 B.C., and Dr. Willard Adams on Gloria) plays fish breeder Tom Gwynn. Phyllis Coates (played Alice McDokes in 18 shorts, starred in Outlaws of Texas, Man From Sonora, Superman and the Mole-Men, Jungle Drums of Africa, and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, and played Lois Lane on Adventures of Superman, Gloria on The Duke, Madge Allen on Professional Father, and Clarissa Holliday on This Is Alice) plays his wife Elizabeth. Richard Webb (Captain Midnight on Captain Midnight and Deputy Chief Don Jagger on Border Patrol) plays his business partner Paul Morgan. Richard Reeves (see "Incident of the Blackstorms" above) plays blacksmith Higgins.

Season 4, Episode 10, "The Blue Spy": Phyllis Thaxter (shown on the right, starred in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, The Sea of Grass, The Breaking Point, and Superman) plays former Union spy Pauline Cushman. Lyle Bettger (starred in The Vanquished, Destry, and The Fastest Guitar Alive and played Sam Larsen on The Court of Last Resort and Harry Driscoll on The Grand Jury) plays her former lover Dan Madox. Harry Lauter (see "Incident of the Painted Lady" above) plays drover Kirby. Charles Aidman (narrator on the 1985-87 version of The Twilight Zone) plays drover Bert Pearson. George Wallace (see "The Incident of the Fish Out of Water" above) plays drover Brady.

Season 4, Episode 11, "The Gentleman's Gentleman": John Sutton (appeared in Jane Eyre, The Three Musketeers(1948), and The Return of the Fly) plays British hunter Lord Ashton. Brian Aherne (shown on the left, starred in The Song of Songs, Sylvia Scarlett, Juarez, My Sister Eileen, Prince Valiant, and Sword of Lancelot) plays his valet Woolsey. Jay Silverheels (appeared in The Prairie, Key Largo, Broken Arrow, The Pathfinder, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, and The Lone Ranger (1956) and played Tonto on The Lone Ranger) plays their guide Pawnee Joe. Russell Thorson (Det. Lt. Otto Lindstrom on The Detectives and William Kennerly on Peyton Place) plays Sharp, Texas Mayor Thurman Osgood. Kathryn Card (Mrs. McGillicuddy on I Love Lucy, Mrs. Papernow on The Charles Farrell Show, and Maw Kadiddlehopper on The Red Skelton Hour) plays his wife Emily. Lane Chandler (Tom Pike on Lawman) plays the Sharp sheriff.

Season 4, Episode 12, "Twenty-Five Santa Clauses": Ed Wynn (shown on the right, legendary comedian, starred in Rubber Heels, Follow the Leader, The Chief, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Absent Minded Professor, and Mary Poppins and played John Beamer on The Ed Wynn Show) plays con man Bateman. Anne Seymour (appeared in All the King's Men, The Gift of Love, The Subterraneans, and Fitzwilly and played Lucia Garrett on Empire and Beatrice Hewitt on General Hospital) plays his wife Mag.