Cheyenne (1961)

By the time 1961 rolled around The Cheyenne Show consisted of the rotating dramas Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, and Bronco and was still a top 30-rated program, just making the cut at #28 for the 1960-61 season. But changes were afoot. Though star Clint Walker had returned to work after staging a one-man strike over his unfavorable contract during the 1958-59 season, which resulted in Warner Brothers creating the Bronco series to replace him, Walker already felt his titular role had been played out and was causing him to be typecast, according to Tim Brooks and Earle F. Marsh's The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. But since the series was still a ratings winner, Warner Brothers had no interest in changing anything. Sugarfoot was another matter: though it had placed in the top 30 its first two seasons, by 1961 it had fallen out of the ratings. Perhaps to goose interest in the series' lead character, Warner Brothers staged the crossover episode "Duel at Judas Basin," which aired January 30, 1961, with all three stars working together to scope out and shut down an illegal operation running guns to the Indians. Since the episode aired under the Cheyenne banner, his character is the main hero with the other two acting in supporting roles. Bronco Layne at first appears to be an antagonist in cahoots with the gun runners until we learn that he is actually working undercover as a U.S. marshal. But Sugarfoot comes off as the weakest of the three, getting set up as the fall guy for a murder and thrown into jail, which requires Cheyenne breaking him out, and then basically hiding amongst a group of cattle drovers Cheyenne is leading until the latter lures the gun runners to his camp for a final shootout. If this episode was intended to renew interest in Sugarfoot, it sure didn't do much to make the title character appear heroic, and the series was canceled at the end of the 1960-61 season.

Walker was correct in claiming that the Cheyenne character had pretty much played itself out by this time--the stories are often predictable, and his drifting lifestyle and constantly changing employment status grows more tenuous each passing week. While it's true that real-life western icons like Wyatt Earp moved frequently and held a number of different occupations over their careers, Cheyenne's nomadic existence seems extreme. From showing up for a friend's wedding in "Incident and Dawson Flats" (January 9, 1961), to working as a cattle ramrod in "Duel at Judas Basin" to working as a small-town sheriff in "The Return of Mr. Grimm" (February 13, 1961), to serving as a bank messenger in "The Beholden" (February 27, 1961), Cheyenne apparently can't keep a steady job for more than a week. He's back to working as a cattle ramrod in "The Frightened Town" (March 20, 1961) and even tries his hand at raising his own cattle in "Winchester Quarantine" (September 25, 1961), but he quickly gives that up when a cattle fever sweeps the Texas town where he lives, making him available to be hired by a husband and wife team driving a herd to market in Abilene. He has several more stints working as a lawman--always in a different town, works for the army as a scout, and sometimes gets embroiled in a skirmish just by drifting by a ranch looking for a meal, as in "The Greater Glory" (May 15, 1961). Perhaps the most salient episode in terms of his ever-changing location and work status is the curiously named "Storm Center" (November 20, 1961) in which he is just drifting along when he comes to a fork in the road with one arrow pointing toward Angel's Way and the other to Devil's Gorge. Typical of his demeanor he flips a coin to decide which trail to take, and typical of his affinity for finding trouble it comes up Devil's Gorge, where he has to foil a bank robbery the moment he rides into town and thereby gets enmeshed in an orphan's search for his biological father and a pair of bank robbers trying to recover their take from a successful heist 12 years ago. Even his lone romantic interlude with widow Cora Ainslie in "Retaliation" (November 13, 1961) turns out to be a ruse to get him out of town, where he is working as the sheriff, so that Cora's fellow citizens can rob the bank as payback for its miserly owner who has driven them all into debt so that he can legally seize their property. And after cleaning up a corrupt bunch of deputies in "Trouble Street" (October 2, 1961), Cheyenne is told by the wealthy, unattached, and attractive female landowner that Colton City is going to be a nice town again and that a man has to settle down sometime, as close to a proposition of marriage as Cheyenne is likely to receive, but he brushes it aside by replying that he will keep that in mind when the time comes. Of course, the time will never come because Cheyenne is an archetype representing the male fantasy of unrestricted freedom rather than a flesh-and-blood man who recognizes the advantages of a stable existence with a reliable partner.

But while Cheyenne's character and wandering lifestyle seem a bit foreign to the modern viewer, the series occasionally delves into relevant themes that are still apropos today. The last episode of Season 5,"The Greater Glory" (May 15, 1961), explores the topic of religious faith in a manner that initially surprises even if the episode ultimately settles for a pat resolution. This is the episode in which Cheyenne gets involved in a fight over ranch land that might contain silver and gold simply by wandering onto the owner's property looking for a meal. He is met by the owner's wife Mary Wiley pointing a shotgun at him because she at first suspects that he is part of the gang who caused a cattle stampede that has gravely injured her husband in the hopes that it will force him to give up his land to his greedy mortgage holder. Once she determines that she can trust Cheyenne, Mary explains that she and her husband are Mormons who not only need to sell their cattle herd to earn enough to pay off their mortgage but they also believe they must have their marriage certified in the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City for them to be able to spend eternity together in heaven. Even though her husband is severely injured and is in no condition to travel, Mary's faith tells her they must make the journey and put themselves in the Lord's hands in order to enjoy eternal happiness. The surprise is that Cheyenne is the skeptic despite his heroic status in the series. He finds it particularly hard to believe that the antagonists who tried to kill her husband and continue to plague them on their journey in order to prevent them from making the last mortgage payment on time are also God's children. But then the story takes a turn to the ridiculous as they stumble upon an injured Indian and help him return to his tribe, which then intervenes twice on their behalf when it appears the antagonists are going to stop them. And while Cheyenne is off fending off the antagonists, Billy the Kid rides up to Mary in her wagon and at first plans to rob her but seeing that she is transporting her injured husband has pity on her, joins Cheyenne in keeping the villains at bay, and winds up accompanying them on the rest of their journey. Of course Mary interprets these coincidences as evidence of divine intervention, while Cheyenne and Billy at first consider them highly unusual but eventually conclude that one should never doubt Mary. Not that the producers intended to have Cheyenne undergo a religious conversion, but it is interesting to note that in the second episode of Season 6, "Trouble Street" (October 2, 1961), Cheyenne is carrying a mini Bible on his person, which comes in handy as a place to hide money he uses to bail himself out of jail.

Another potentially volatile topic that is broached briefly before being swept back under the carpet is gun culture in "The Young Fugitives" (October 23, 1961). Cheyenne pays a visit to an old friend and former lawman Frank Collins, who has become paralyzed from the waist down after taking a bullet in the back while apprehending and killing the son of the town patriarch, who has not forgiven or forgotten. Collins is disturbed that his own son Gilby is fascinated with guns and continues to practice obsessively. Collins launches into a tirade on the evilness of guns and makes Gilby promise to get rid of his, but Cheyenne counters that guns have no moral character in and of themselves, that it all depends on the person using them. While that may be the official stance of gun advocates, the way the story plays out offers a somewhat contrary subtext. When Cheyenne goes into town that evening he finds that not only has Gilby not gotten rid of his gun but he is dreamily staring into the window of the local gun shop eyeing more rifles he would like to own. Cheyenne offers to buy him a ticket to the local carnival, but Gilby chooses to go see the sharp-shooting exhibition rather than any of the other attractions. The town patriarch is in attendance with his still living sons and he goads Gilby into accepting the challenge of competing against the featured sharp-shooting performer. However, Gilby winds up winning the contest when the disgruntled female assistant moves slightly when the sharp-shooter tries to hit a cigarette she is holding in her mouth, which earns Gilby a brand new rifle of his choosing. Outside the venue the female assistant Nita thanks Gilby for speaking to her kindly during the contest because she has received nothing but abuse from her employers. When the sharp shooter Pat Kinsey finds her talking to Gilby, he strikes her, prompting Gilby to defend her, Kinsey to draw his gun on Gilby, and Gilby to shoot him dead. Figuring that he will never receive a fair trial in a town run by the patriarch who holds a grudge against his father, Gilby takes it on the lam with Nita, and Cheyenne has to track them and try to persuade Gilby to come back and face a trial in which he can plead self-defense rather than being caught by the patriarch's lynch mob. While the surface narrative deals with the importance of allowing the criminal justice system to arbitrate disputes and mishaps, and Gilby finds a partner for life when he eventually decides to propose to Nita for sticking by him, it's also clear that he never would have been in the predicament in the first place had he heeded his father's request and gotten rid of his gun.

The viewer also is given a head fake in the ostensible origin story "Legacy of the Lost" (December 4, 1961, which appears to amend Cheyenne's backstory we discussed in our post for the 1960 episodes, particularly "The Long Rope" (September 26, 1960). The original story is that Cheyenne's parents were murdered by Indians but he was taken in by the Cheyenne tribe (thus his name) and raised until he was rescued and adopted by the Pierce family. But in "Legacy of the Lost" he is sought out by detective Dennis Carter hired by the ultra wealthy Abbott family to prove that Cheyenne is the presumed dead eldest son John, whose father was not killed in the massacre that took his mother. Carter even has Cheyenne return to the Cheyenne chief who saved and raised him, White Cloud, to confirm salient details and give to him a locket worn by young John Abbott when he was supposed to have been killed. Cheyenne is then able to win over the Abbott patriarch Lionel, who welcomes his long lost son home to inherit his vast estate and enterprises to the apparent dismay of his second son James, who Lionel has always berated as weak and inferior to the lost boy. Only the whole set-up is a hoax initiated by James to exorcise the ghost of his lost brother by bringing him back to life, having his father accept him, and then having Carter assassinate him in the hopes that his father would then finally value his lone remaining son James. The plan gets messed up when James actually comes to like John/Cheyenne, who is sympathetic to his troubles, and tries to call off the hit by Carter, who is having none of it because he knows James can't pay him his agreed-upon fee of $50,000 unless he inherits his father's estate. We also learn that White Cloud was in on the fix with the promise that his tribe would have a sizable parcel of land returned to them if he helped convince Cheyenne that he was Abbott's son. The episode also ends ambiguously with Cheyenne trying to reconcile the lifelong adversaries Lionel Abbott and White Cloud, each of whom have killed members of the other's family, but after Cheyenne arranges them meeting each other face to face for the first time, Abbott and then White Cloud ride back to their respective homes without exchanging any meaningful words of truce. The only thing settled is that Cheyenne is not going to morph into Bonanza. Given the trajectory the two shows would take in the next few years, perhaps Warner Brothers missed a golden opportunity.

The Actors

For the biography of Clint Walker, see the 1960 post for Cheyenne.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 5, Episode 6, "Incident at Dawson Flats": Jock Gaynor (Deputy Marshal Heck Martin on Outlaws and Dr. William Scott on The Doctors) plays Cheyenne's friend Johnny McIntyre. Joan O'Brien (shown on the left, starred in Operation Petticoat, The Alamo, It Happened at the World's Fair,  and It'$ Only Money) plays his fiancé Selma Dawson. 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 her father Cyrus. Hampton Fancher (Deputy Lon Gillis on Black Saddle and co-wrote the screenplay and was executive producer on Blade Runner) plays her brother Jasper. Gerald Mohr (narrator on 19 episodes of The Lone Ranger, Christopher Storm on Foreign Intrigue, voice of Mr. Fantastic and Reed Richards on Fantastic 4) plays her former suitor Elmer Bostrum. 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 Dawson Flats Sheriff Ed Graves. Grady Sutton (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Lawman) plays the town photographer. 

Season 5, Episode 7, "Duel at Judas Basin": Ty Hardin (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Bronco) plays undercover federal marshal Bronco Layne. Will Hutchins (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Sugarfoot) plays surveyor Tom "Sugarfoot" Brewster. Alan Caillou (Jason Flood on Tarzan and The Head on Quark) plays rancher Ian Stewart. Max Baer, Jr. (shown on the right, played Jethro and Jethrine Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays cattle drover Pete. Phil Tully (Charlie the bartender on The Deputy) plays cattle drover Ben. Clyde Howdy (Hank Whitfield on Lassie) plays an unnamed cattle drover. Sheldon Allman (Norm Miller on Harris Against the World) plays trading post owner Charlie Lutz. Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays his brother Hank. Jacques Aubuchon (starred in The Silver Chalice, The Big Boodle, and The Love God? and played Chief Urulu on McHale's Navy) plays trader Pike Hanson. Ed Prentiss (the narrator on Trackdown and played Carl Jensen on The Virginian) plays Fort Benton commander Major Grant. Terry Frost (Sgt. Bruce Moore/Morse/Morris on Highway Patrol) plays Judas Basin Sheriff Hoag.

Season 5, Episode 8, "The Return of Mr. Grimm": R.G. Armstrong (shown on the left, played Police Capt. McAllister on T.H.E. Cat and Lewis Vendredi on Friday the 13th) plays mine owner Nathaniel Grimm. Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays foreman Wesley Mason. Sherwood Price (Gen. Jeb Stuart on The Gray Ghost) plays Grimm gunman Hardy Russell. Maurice Manson (Frederick Timberlake on Dennis the Menace, Josh Egan on Hazel, and Hank Pinkham on General Hospital) plays Mayor Stanley. Stephen Roberts (Stan Peeples on Mr. Novak) plays Judge Miller. Jericho Brown (popular singer married to Pamela Baird) plays Grimm gunman Red. Anita Sands (later became astrologer to the stars and a self-help guru) plays saloon girl Grace Evans. Orville Sherman (Mr. Feeney on Buckskin, Wib Smith on Gunsmoke, and Tupper on Daniel Boone) plays Grimm's attorney Robert Garrison.

Season 5, Episode 9, "The Beholden": Don Megowan (Captain Huckabee on The Beachcomber) plays Winslow Marshal Tom Grant. Patrice Wymore (appeared in She's Working Her Way Through College, King's Rhapsody, and Ocean's 11 and played Rhoda on Never Too Young) plays saloon girl Harriet Miller. 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 saloon owner Jake Scott. John Hubbard (shown on the right, starred in One Million, B.C., The Mummy's Tomb, and What's Buzzin', Cousin? and played Mr. Brown on The Mickey Rooney Show, Col. U. Charles Barker on Don't Call Me Charlie, and Ted Gaynor on Family Affair) plays Winslow Mayor John Mercer. Sheldon Allman (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays bank robber Elijah McGuire. Max Baer, Jr. (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays his brother Bert. Robert B. Williams (postman Mr. Dorfman on Dennis the Menace  and Barney on Hazel) plays bank manager Mr. Smaller. 

Season 5, Episode 10, "The Frightened Town": Andrew Duggan (shown on the left, played Cal Calhoun on Bourbon Street Beat, George Rose on Room for One More, Major Gen. Ed Britt on 12 O'Clock High, and Murdoch Lancer on Lancer) plays small-town marshal Ben Delaney. Angela Greene (Tess Trueheart on Dick Tracy) plays his wife Harriet. Robert Dunlap (Dennis on Peyton Place) plays their son Mark. Lane Chandler (Tom Pike on Lawman) plays trail boss Joe Cooper. James Griffith (Deputy Tom Ferguson on U.S. Marshal) plays drover Gorrell. Gregg Palmer (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays drover Dillard. William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays cattle team cook Luke. Tim Graham (Homer Ede on National Velvet) plays livery man Jeb Conroy. Clyde Howdy (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays drover Andrews.

Season 5, Episode 11, "Lone Patrol": Robert McQueeney (Conley Wright on The Gallant Men) plays army supply expedition commander Capt. Duquesne. Harry Holcombe (appeared in The Fortune Cookie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Foxy Brown, Escape to Witch Mountain, and Empire of the Ants and played Frank Gardner on Search for Tomorrow, Doc Benson on My Mother the Car, Mr. Kendricks on Barefoot in the Park, and Dr. J.P. Martin on Bonanza) plays his commanding officer Maj. Prewitt. Stacy Keach, Sr. (Carlson on Get Smart) plays expedition member Sgt. O'Bannion. Joseph Gallison (Dr. Neil Curtis on Days of Our Lives) plays cowardly trooper Jerry Dailey. Dawn Wells (shown on the right, played Mary Ann Summers on Gilligan's Island) plays massacre survivor Sarah Claypool. Clyde Howdy (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays Trooper Yawkey.

Season 5, Episode 12, "Massacre at Gunsight Pass": Jack Elam (shown on the left, 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 Russian nobleman Count Nicholas Potosi. Dee Carroll (Adele Winston Hamilton on Days of Our Lives) plays missionary Eva Hopkins. Robert Knapp (Ben Olson on Days of Our Lives and SAC Noel McDonald on The F.B.I.) plays conspirator Frank Thorne. Sherwood Price (see "The Return of Mr. Grimm" above) plays payroll robber Johnny Eldorado. Allan Lane (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Mister Ed) plays his jailer Sheriff Milton. X Brands (Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah on Yancy Derringer) plays Shoshone chief Powder Face. Hank Patterson (Fred Ziffel on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction and Hank on Gunsmoke) plays stage shotgun rider Sunset. Robert Foulk (see "The Beholden" above) plays stage relay station owner Joe Stone. Kathie Browne (Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays his wife Molly. Paul Mantee (starred in Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Blood on the Arrow, and A Man Called Dagger and played Det. Al Corassa on Cagney & Lacey and Commander Clayton on Hunter) plays her old Shoshone friend Jimmy.

Season 5, Episode 13, "The Greater Glory": Ray Stricklyn (shown on the right, played Dr. James Parris on The Colbys and Senator Pickering on Wiseguy) plays Billy the Kid. William Sargent (Jerry Carter on Peyton Place) plays ranch owner Roy Wiley. William Phipps (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays gunman Smiler Jones. Mickey Simpson (Boley on Captain David Grief) plays henchman Big Blue. Clyde Howdy (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays henchman Jim. Ruth Terry (starred in Call of the Canyon, My Buddy, Pistol Packin' Mama, and Smoky River Serenade) plays Wiley's neighbor.

Season 6, Episode 1, "Winchester Quarantine": Susan Cummings (shown on the left, played Georgia on Union Pacific) plays cattle rancher Helen Ransom. Ross Elliott (Freddie the director on The Jack Benny Program and Sheriff Abbott on The Virginian) plays her husband Ernie. John A. Alonzo (cinematographer on Vanishing Point, Harold and Maude, Lady Sings the Blues, Chinatown, Scarface, Steel Magnolias, and Star Trek: Generations) plays her ranch hand Rico. Terry Frost (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays ranch hand Charley. William Fawcett (see "The Frightened Town" above) plays her cook Uncle Luke. 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 cattlemen's association president Nate Weyland. Robert Carson (Mr. Maddis on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) plays cattle rancher Jack Ballister. Steve Brodie (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays hired gun Steve Maclay. Clyde Howdy (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays Cheyenne's ranch hand Reese.

Season 6, Episode 2, "Trouble Street": Patrick McVey (Steve Wilson on Big Town, Lt. Col. Wesley Hayes on Boots and Saddles, Ben Andrews on Manhunt, and Dr. Hansen on The Doctors) plays Colton City Marshal Bailey. 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 his pushy deputy Kell. Lee Van Cleef (starred in High Noon, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) plays Kell's partner Braden. Mala Powers (starred in Cyrano de Bergerac, Rose of Cimarron, and Tammy and the Bachelor and played Rebecca Boone on Walt Disney's Daniel Boone and Mona on Hazel) plays Colton City's leading citizen and landholder Sharon Colton. Frank Sully (Danny the bartender on The Virginian) plays her bartender. Tom Drake (starred in Meet Me in St. Louis, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, and The Sandpiper) plays imprisoned carpenter Randall. Ahna Capri (Mary Rose on Room for One More) plays his daughter Mary. Roy Wright (Callahan on The Islanders) plays general store owner Mr. Nolan. Gilman Rankin (Deputy Charlie Riggs on Tombstone Territory) plays another disgruntled citizen Price. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays chain gang guard Crowley.

Season 6, Episode 3, "Cross Purpose": Michael Forest (starred in Ski Troop Attack, Atlas, and The Glory Guys and was the voice of Capt. Dorai on Street Fighter II: V and Olympus on Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue) plays accused murderer Capt. Robert Holman. Joyce Meadows (Lynn Allen on The Man and the Challenge and Stacy on Two Faces West) plays his wife Madeline DeVier. Walter Brooke (shown on the left, appeared in The Graduate, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and The Nude Bomb and played D.A. Frank Scanlon on The Green Hornet and Clarence Johnson on The Waltons) plays her brother Edward. Frank Gerstle (Dirk Gird on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and voiced Raseem on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour) plays his secretary Hammond. Frank De Kova (Chief Wild Eagle on F Troop and Louis Campagna on The Untouchables) plays Comanche chief Spotted Bull. Francis De Sales (Lt. Bill Weigand on Mr. & Mrs. North, Ralph Dobson on The Adventures of Ozzie& Harriet, Sheriff Maddox on Two Faces West, and Rusty Lincoln on Days of Our Lives) plays army Surgeon-Major Sam Cantell. Mickey Simpson (see "The Greater Glory" above) plays fur trapper Renant. Sam Flint (Mr. Armstead on Father Knows Best and Judge Jewett on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays a minister. Clyde Howdy (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays an army trooper.

Season 6, Episode 4, "The Young Fugitives": Dayton Lummis (Marshal Andy Morrison on Law of the Plainsman) plays former lawman Frank Collins. Richard Evans (shown on the right, played Paul Hanley on Peyton Place) plays his son Gilby. 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 sharp-shooting hawker Sam Kinsey. Anne Whitfield (Barbara Harris on Days of Our Lives) plays his assistant Nita. Trevor Bardette (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays town patriarch Lige Crawford. Richard Rogers (Walter Tell on William Tell) plays his son Alfred. Paul Langton (Leslie Harrington on Peyton Place) plays the Clairmont sheriff. Clyde Howdy (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays Crawford gunman Caldwell. Lane Chandler (see, "The Frightened Town" above) plays posse member Proudhomme. Barry Cahill (Capt. Curt Douglas on 12 O'Clock High and Buck Vernon on The Waltons) plays posse member Ransom.

Season 6, Episode 5, "Day's Pay": Rodolfo Acosta (Vaquero on The High Chaparral) plays wanted bank robber Luis Boladas. Harry Harvey (Sheriff Tom Blodgett on The Roy Rogers Show, Mayor George Dixon on Man Without a Gun, and Houghton Stott on It's a Man's World) plays Prairie Junction Mayor Squires. Joseph Gallison (see "Lone Patrol" above) plays Cheyenne's replacement as sheriff Billy Fipps. Ellen Burstyn (shown on the left, starred in For Those Who Think Young, The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and Same Time, Next Year and played Julie Parsons on Iron Horse, Ellen Brewer on The Ellen Burstyn Show, Dolly DeLucca on That's Life, Bishop Beatrice Congreve on The Book of Daniel, Nancy Davis Dutton on Big Love, and Evanka on Louie) plays Three Corners ambassador Emmy Mae. Willard Waterman (Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve on The Great Gildersleeve and Mac Maginnis on The Real McCoys) plays Three Corners barber Purdie. Clyde Howdy (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays the Prairie Junction hotel clerk. Trevor Bardette (see "The Young Fugitives" above) plays Three Corners usurper Clem McCracken.

Season 6, Episode 6, "Retaliation": Randy Stuart (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays widow Cora Ainslie. Kevin Brodie (son of Steve Brodie, wrote and directed A Dog of Flanders) plays her son Bart. 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 hotel owner Andy Clark. John Anderson (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays bank owner Thackeray Smith. Percy Helton (Homer Cratchit on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays Smith's lawyer Matthew Beasely. Kelly Thordsen (Colorado Charlie on Yancy Derringer) plays Smith henchman Brown. William Lally (Tommy Clifford on My Son Jeep) plays Smith henchman Chester. Guy Wilkerson (played Panhandle Perkins in 22 westerns) plays the undertaker.

Season 6, Episode 7, "Storm Center": Dorothy Green (Lavinia Tate on Tammy) plays saloon owner Lily Mae Nelson. Mario Siletti (appeared in The Great Caruso, When in Rome, and East of Eden and played Charlie Carlotti on Hazel) plays her confidante Pepe. Robert Crawford, Jr. (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Laramie) plays orphan Frank Garcia. Simon Scott (John Riggs on Markham, Gen. Bronson on McHale's Navy, Chief Barney Metcalf on Mod Squad, and Arnold Slocum on Trapper John, M.D.) plays Devil's Gorge Sheriff Riley. Don Megowan (see "The Beholden" above) plays Lily Mae's ex-husband and convict Matt Nelson. 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 former accomplice Garson. Richard Reeves (see "Trouble Street" above) plays his other former partner Hendricks. George Petrie (Freddie Muller on The Honeymooners, Harv Smithfield on Dallas, Don Rudy Aiuppo on Wiseguy, and Sid on Mad About You) plays the prison warden.

Season 6, Episode 8, "Legacy of the Lost": Peter Whitney (Sergeant Buck Sinclair on The Rough Riders and Lafe Crick on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays dynasty patriarch Lionel Abbott. Peter Breck (shown on the right, played Clay Culhane on Black Saddle, Doc Holliday on Maverick, and Nick Barkley on The Big Valley) plays his son James. Jolene Brand (Anna Maria Verdugo on Zorro) plays James' wife Lorna. James Hong (Barry Chan on The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, Frank Chen on Jigsaw John, and Doctor Chen Ling on Dynasty) plays Abbott house servant Suchin. William Windom (appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird, The Americanization of Emily, and Escape From the Planet of the Apes and played Congressman Glen Morley on The Farmer's Daughter, John Monroe on My World and Welcome to It, Larry Krandall on Brothers and Sisters, Frank Buckman on Parenthood, and Dr. Seth Hazlitt on Murder, She Wrote) plays private detective Dennis Carter. Rusty Wescoatt (Joe the bartender on Trackdown) plays Lionel's muscle Benton. Richard Hale (starred in Abilene Town, Kim, San Antone, Red Garters, and To Kill a Mockingbird) plays Cheyenne chief White Cloud. X Brands (see "Massacre at Gunsight Pass" above) plays one of White Cloud's braves.

Season 6, Episode 9, "The Brahma Bull": William Reynolds (shown on the left, starred in All That Heaven Allows, The Big Beat, and The Thing That Couldn't Die and played Pete Kelly in Pete Kelly's Blues, Sandy Wade on The Islanders, Capt. Jim Benedict on The Gallant Men, and Special Agent Tom Colby on The F.B.I.) plays bounty hunter Johnny Tremayne. George Wallace (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays wanted outlaw Blaney Hawker. Owen Orr (Wally Blanchard on No Time for Sergeants) plays his brother Harrison. 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 newspaper editor Joseph Moran. Tommy Farrell (appeared in At War With the Army, Singin' in the Rain, and North by Northwest and played Cpl. Thad Carson on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Chet Holliday on This Is Alice, Jay O'Hanlon on Bourbon Street Beat, Riff Ryan on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and Fred on Room for One More) plays hotel clerk Dooley Wade. John Milford (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays vengeful former Confederate Floyd Pillow. Clyde Howdy (see "Duel at Judas Basin" above) plays Cheyenne's friend Sam Varney. Tom London (starred in Six-Shootin' Sheriff, Song of the Buckaroo, and Riders in the Sky) plays an old man hanging wanted posters.