Gunsmoke (1962)

After slipping from four consecutive seasons at the top to #3 in 1961-62, concurrent with the expanding of the show's format from 30 minutes to an hour, the producers of Gunsmoke introduced more changes, in particular the introduction of new characters, in Season 8 in an obvious attempt to regain lost viewers. The series actually began teasing new characters at the end of Season 7 with the episode "Cale" (May 5, 1962), which introduced the headstrong, tight-lipped title character played by Carl Reindel, and the man who would go to work for, stableman Hank Miller played by Hank Patterson, who had played several other characters over the previous years including a stableman named Carl Miller. The Cale character would be brought back for the Season 8 opening episode, "The Search" (September 15, 1962) in which Matt Dillon goes looking for the missing Cale and encounters all sorts of trouble and unsavory characters rather than the help he seeks while alone on the prairie. Despite Cale being found and returned to safety in Dodge City, he never appeared in the series again, though Reindel returned twice more to play other characters in later seasons. Patterson's stable-hand Hank Miller would continue to be a semi-regular through the series' 19th season, essentially replacing the Moss Grimmick character as Dodge's primary stableman.

Perhaps feeling that Dillon needed a more rugged sidekick than Chester Goode, Burt Reynolds was brought aboard in the third episode of Season 8, playing the title character in "Quint Asper Comes Home" (September 29, 1962) which tells his origin story. Asper is a half-breed whose father is killed by criminal white "prospectors," and in his pursuit of revenge, Quint joins his mother's Comanche tribe so that he can kill as many white people as possible. In one such raid he is wounded and rescued by Dillon, and though he bristles at being taken to Dodge for recuperation, where a group of unruly racists want to lynch him, Dillon goes to great pains to ensure that he is treated with great care so that the next time he goes to kill a white man he will have to think twice. Quint attempts to return to the Comanches after convalescing, but he is assigned to kill a harmless white prisoner as a test of his loyalty, and Dillon's plan to introduce a seed of doubt pays off, making Quint realize that he can no longer live amongst the Comanches. So he returns to Dodge and the man who rescued him, and Dillon helps him become integrated into town life where he eventually sets up his own shop as a blacksmith. Quint's skills in tracking and hand-to-hand combat are a better match for Dillon than Chester would be on dangerous assignments such as those depicted in "Jenny" (October 13, 1962), "Phoebe Strunk" (November 10, 1962), and "Abe Blocker" (November 24, 1962). Reynolds would appear in 50 episodes over three seasons as Quint before moving on to star in his own series, the short-lived detective series Hawk in 1966.

Though Dennis Weaver wouldn't leave his role as Chester Goode until the end of the 9th season, we are introduced to his eventual replacement, Festus Haggen played by Ken Curtis, in the Season 8 episode "Us Haggens" (December 8, 1962), though it is unlikely Festus was being considered for such a role at the time. Like many guest characters, he probably proved more popular than the producers expected, and when the time came to replace Weaver, his name shot to the top of the list. In this introductory episode, Festus is a slightly opaque character whose motivations Dillon can't be sure of as they pursue his uncle, wanted killer Black Jack Haggen. Festus faces the dilemma of deciding which side of the family loyalty fence he is going to fall on--his uncle or his dead twin brother Fergus, whose death he blames on his uncle. Though Festus has his share of quirks, at this point he is not nearly as comical as his predecessor Chester. In fact, it could be argued that sometimes the Chester character is made to be too pathetic, such as when he tries a series of part-time jobs in "Uncle Sunday" (December 15, 1962) to earn extra money for the purpose of buying a stagecoach ticket to send the notorious title character away from Dodge. He manages to set Quint's blacksmith shop on fire, offends a regular customer in Jonas' general store, and allows a pair of drunken pool players to tear a large hole in the cloth on one of Dan Binney's pool tables, all within the space of a few minutes of screen time. Fortunately, the episode is rescued when Chester is allowed to play a crucial role in foiling his uncle's initial bank-robbing scheme, proving that his character is not a complete disaster.

As with the 1961 episodes, not every installment is pure gold. "Catawomper" (February 15, 1962) is a one-note riff on jealous young love. "Reprisal" (March 10, 1962) is a worn-out story about a wife's misguided crusade to avenge her unfaithful husband's death. And "Wagon Girls" (April 7, 1962) is another recycled tale about young women being promised rich husbands at the end of a wagon train adventure when they are really facing indentured servitude, only to be rescued by Dillon in an ending that is too pat and convenient. But there are also plenty of episodes that demonstrate why Gunsmoke was several notches above all its other contemporary western competitors. These exceptional episodes often paint grim portraits of the hard life in the old west and do not come with feel-good happy endings like those found in "Catawomper" and "Wagon Girls." The aforementioned episode "The Search" is one such story that portrays a bleak life in an unforgiving land. When Dillon finds the fallen and partially paralyzed Cale out on the prairie after a fall from his horse, he has to try to find help to bring Cale back to Dodge for medical treatment. But instead of help he finds a depressing scene at a poor ranch where the wife seems to comically flirt with Dillon until he learns from her husband that she has taken to drinking and throwing herself at every man that passes by as a way to cope with the grief of losing their three small children to small pox. When Dillon's horse runs off, he is accosted by three saddle tramps who remember him locking them up the last time they were in Dodge and want revenge, though they stop short of killing him. When he does find his horse, the man who found it isn't willing to give it back without a physical brawl. In other words, the good people inhabiting the old west aren't always willing to lend a helping hand.

Another grim episode from 1962 is "Half Straight" (February 17, 1962), a tale of young love involving hired assassin Lute Willis and innocent farm girl Fanny Fields. When Willis first meets Fanny, she has no inkling of his profession, but when she figures it out, he realizes he will have to give it up if he wants to keep her. He is in the midst of an assignment to kill Dillon for Grant Hatcher, whose brother the marshal had been forced to kill a couple of years prior. But instead of merely calling the deal off and handing the money back, Willis instead tries to get fellow assassin Browder to complete the deal out of a twisted sense of honoring his original commitment. However, Browder winds up bungling the assignment, and then kills Fanny, figuring he can' trust her not to reveal his role in the attempted hit. Through a few twists and turns, Dillon figures out that Willis didn't try to kill him but knows who did, and Willis sees through Browder's phony alibi and sets up Dillon to kill Browder. Even after Browder is dead, Dillon does not arrest Willis but confronts him with the fact that he will have to remember that he caused Fanny's death by only going half straight rather than completely rejecting the assignment to kill Dillon. In the law-and-order world of the TV western, order is restored by having Browder killed and Willis sentenced to a life of regret, but it's a harsh world in which an innocent Fanny pays the ultimate price for the restoration of that order.

A similar narrative plays out in "The Gallows" (March 3, 1962), the highest rated episode of the entire Gunsmoke series by viewers at imdb.com. In this story, earnest cowboy Pruit Dover delivers a wagon-load of goods to Dodge City freighter Ax Parsons after being told by Parsons' Santa Fe-based partner that Parsons would pay him for the delivery. But Parsons appears unaware of the coming merchandise and delays paying Dover what he is due for several days before finally revealing that he doesn't have the money. Dover makes the mistake of listening to alcoholic Louie Pheeters' advice that the way to soften Parsons up is to share a drink or two with him, so that by the time Parsons finally comes clean about being broke, both he and Dover are quite inebriated. The two men fight and Parsons winds up dead, most likely by accident, but when Dover awakens the next morning and sees Parsons' lifeless body, Dover assumes that he must have killed him, though he doesn't really remember. Panicked, he decides to flee the scene but is spotted leaving by Pheeters, who tells Dillon. Dillon gets word that Dover was picked up in Elkader and goes there to bring him back for trial. From there, much of the story revolves around how trustworthy Dover is, making no attempt to escape though he has many opportunities, and going out of his way to be helpful to Dillon, even saving his life after he gets shot by a crazed hunter they run into in the wild. Dillon hears Dover's account of what happened with Parsons and vows to speak up for his character at the trial. However, Dover draws the bad luck of getting Judge Henry, a renowned stickler for going by the book, and despite there being no witnesses to Parson's death, he convicts Dover of murder and sentences him to death by hanging, despite Dillon's attempt to get leniency. Dillon then has the unenviable task of transporting Dover to Hays City for hanging, and the journey again affords Dover many chances to escape that he refuses to take. Dillon even orders him to ride away, but Dover comes back a short time later, saying he couldn't stand damaging Dillon's career. Except for initially running away, Dover never tries to take the easy way out, bravely facing up to his destiny, even if it costs him his life, but there is no last minute reprieve or pardon from the governor to save him, proving that the justice system does not always get it right. Many valiant lawmen in TV westerns give speeches about the importance of letting the justice system sort things out rather than taking the law into one's own hands, but this episode demonstrates that this system is not perfect. While Dover may not have been completely innocent, it is clear that he was not guilty of premeditated murder, and yet that is what he has to pay for.

Another brilliant episode from 1962 is "The Do-Badder" (January 6, 1962) in which longtime prospector Harvey Easter finally strikes it rich and dedicates the rest of his life to reforming others. He persuades cattle drovers Gene Bunch and Chris Kelly that they can escape their cycle of poverty by becoming farmers, even agreeing to stake them to the land and equipment they need to get started. But they have no knowledge about farming, and the land they wind up with is barren, meaning that they are soon starving and resort to trying to rob stagecoaches just to survive, Likewise, Easter tries to reform Louie Pheeters by barricading him in his own shack so that he cannot go out and get any more liquor, but when Pheeters goes through withdrawal after having drunk constantly for 20 years, he has a heart attack, and Doc Adams has to be summoned to save his life. Easter also convinces saloon girl Mary Pickett to give up her life of sin and become her own boss by taking in other people's laundry, but she becomes so frazzled by having to work so hard on her own that when her boyfriend returns to town from one of his usual trips as a stagecoach shotgun rider, he barely recognizes her. Easter's last straw is when he sets a saloon on fire by throwing a kerosene lamp after two drinkers resent his trying to drive them out. The next day a group of those victimized by his reforming decide to teach him a lesson by kidnapping him, tying him up in a burlap bag, and dunking him in a water tank from a wooden yard-arm. Only the yard-arm breaks and Easter drowns trapped inside the burlap bag before his assailants can get him out. Dillon tells all those involved that they will have to appear before the circuit judge to face charges even though they claim Easter's death was an accident. This episode demonstrates a number of human foibles--first, that the wealthy frequently believe that their exalted monetary status gives them superior knowledge about how others should live their lives. Easter fails to recognize that his good fortune was merely a lucky break, not a sign of superior intellect, and his advice to others is misplaced because he fails to consider whether they are suited for or have the ability to pursue the alternate careers he recommends to them. Likewise, his victims are too willing to listen to him merely because he has money. And rather than simply ignoring him, his kidnappers try his own tactics on him in an attempt to reform him and get him to stop pestering them, with tragic consequences, of course. Like the justice system in "The Gallows," human intelligence receives a black eye in the way just about everyone behaves in "The Do-Badder." Other TV westerns usually portray an idealized world where good eventually triumphs and good people make the world a safer place, but in Dodge City things don't always work out that way, just as they don't in the real world outside of television.

As of this post, all 20 seasons have been released on DVD by CBS/Paramount Home Video.

The Actors

For the biographies of James Arness, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Milburn Stone, Dabbs Greer, and George Selk, see the 1960 post on Gunsmoke. For the biographies of Glenn Strange, Gage Clarke, and James Nusser, see the 1961 post on Gunsmoke. For the biography of Burt Reynolds, see the 1960 post on Riverboat.

Hank Patterson

Born Elmer Calvin Patterson on October 9, 1888 in Springville, Alabama, Patterson was one of seven children. His father was an insurance agent. Sometime between 1894 and 1897 the family moved to Taylor, Texas, where Patterson attended school through eighth grade. Initially planning to be a serious pianist, Patterson wound up playing piano for traveling vaudeville groups, which is where he met his wife Daisy Marguerite Sheeler, a dancer with the group he was performing with. In 1917, at age 29, he registered for the draft for World War I while living in Lubbock, Texas, though there is no record he was ever called up. In 1918 the Pattersons moved to California. As of 1930 Patterson was working as a real estate salesman but finally broke into movies at age 51 in an uncredited role in the 1939 Roy Rogers feature Arizona Kid. He had three more uncredited parts in 1939-40 before disappearing from movies for 6 years. When he returned, he landed his first credited part in the 1946 western Abilene Town starring Randolph Scott, Rhonda Fleming, and Edgar Buchanan. Thereafter he found steady work in supporting roles, particularly westerns, through the remainder of the 1940s. He made his television debut in a 1949 episode of The Lone Ranger, and by the early 1950s was finding regular work guest starring on series such as The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Roy Rogers Show, The Cisco Kid, and Death Valley Days, on which he appeared 15 times over a span of 15 years. His first recurring role came playing the character Pete Duggan on the Walt Disney serial The Adventures of Spin and Marty shown on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1957. But he was also a frequent guest on many of the westerns of the period, including 10 times on Have Gun -- Will Travel, 7 times on Tales of Wells Fargo, and multiple episodes of Maverick, Bat Masterson, and Cheyenne. He also made occasional appearances on non-westerns such as The Untouchables, Sea Hunt, and The Twilight Zone. After appearing in several episodes playing different characters on Gunsmoke beginning in 1959, including the title character in the 1960 episode "Crowbait Bob," Patterson settled into the regular role of stableman Hank Miller beginning in the Season 7 episode "Cale" in 1962. Patterson would continue in the role until the series' penultimate season in 1973.

But in 1963 Patterson would land the role for which he is best known, farmer and Hooterville resident Fred Ziffel first on Petticoat Junction and later and more prominently on Green Acres with even one cameo as Ziffel on The Beverly Hillbillies. Even when Patterson went almost completely deaf during his run on Green Acres, he was retained because the producers loved his portrayal of Ziffel, and to overcome his hearing deficiency the dialogue coach would lie on the floor out of view from the camera and tap Patterson on the leg with a yardstick when it was time to deliver his lines. Other producers must have loved his work, too, because he continued to get guest spots through the late 1960s on series such as The Virginian, Cimarron Strip, Daniel Boone, and even The Mod Squad. His last non-Gunsmoke guest spot was on a 1972 episode of Love, American Style. He died from bronchial pneumonia at the age of 86 roughly two years after his last Gunsmoke appearance in 1975. His wife Daisy, four years his junior, died four years later at the same age. Patterson was also the grand-uncle of actress Tea Leoni.

Sarah Selby

Sarah Elizabeth Selby was born August 30, 1905 in Middleton, Ohio. She grew up in St. Louis where she attended Washington University and studied theater under renowned drama teacher Maria Ouspenskaya. In 1933 she moved to San Diego to join the company of the Old Globe Theatre. In the mid-1930s she found work on radio programs such as Amos and Andy, Meet Corliss Archer,  Suspense, Escape, Lux Radio Theater, Junior Miss, and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. Her radio career led to her movie debut when she was recruited by Walt Disney to voice the elephant Prissy in the 1941 animated feature Dumbo. She then began getting regular supporting roles in films, often uncredited, making her first credited appearance in the 1944 feature San Diego I Love You. When The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show transitioned to television, Selby was brought along, first playing Gracie's friend Mamie Kelly and then society hostess Mrs. Lucille Vanderlip. Soon she was also getting regular work in guest spots on other series such as Sky King, Pride of the Family, and Dragnet while also getting more credited work in feature films such as Battle Circus, The System, and Battle Cry. In 1954 she landed the recurring role as schoolteacher Miss Thomas on Father Knows Best in which she would appear 18 times during the series' six seasons. Disney hired her again to play Aunt Gertrude Hardy in the Hardy Boys serial The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure in 1956 and in its sequel The Mystery of the Ghost Farm in 1957. By the late 1950s, most of her work was coming in television on series such as Wagon Train, The Rifleman, Bronco, and Wanted: Dead or Alive. She made the first of 13 appearances as boarding house proprietor Ma Smalley in the 1961 Gunsmoke episode "Chesterland."

Though she made an occasional appearance in feature films such as Moon Pilot, Tower of London, and Don't Make Waves in the 1960s, most of her work continued in television, with multiple appearances on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, My Three Sons, Petticoat Junction, Perry Mason, and Family Affair. She was much less active in the 1970s, appearing on The Smith Family, Adam-12, and Rhoda as well as a few TV movies, the last being Friendships, Secrets and Lies in 1979. During her career she was an instructor at the Pasadena Playhouse, was a founding member of the Canyon Theatre Guild, and was the local chairwoman for the American Red Cross and Planned Parenthood. After a long battle with cancer, she died on January 7, 1980 at the age of 74.

Howard Culver

Howard Brasfield Culver, Jr. was born in rural Larimer County, Colorado where his father was a scientific farmer, but the family moved to Pasadena, California when Howard was 1½ and then settled in Los Angeles, where Howard attended high school and was active in the school theater productions. He landed his first professional job as a radio actor while still a high school student after participating in the school's annual "Boys' Day" which paired students with a day working for a company in their chosen field, in this case KHJ of CBS Radio Hollywood. The producer was impressed with Culver's performance and invited him back to play a supporting part on the program Annals of the Ages the following Sunday. From there, Culver was given roles on a variety of CBS programs, and when he graduated high school decided to continue working as a radio actor rather than going to college to study medicine because he already had an established career and his family needed the money with his father having fallen ill and his sister intending to attend college herself. During his early years in radio Culver also held a number of other part-time jobs, such as being night watchman in a mattress factory and a launderer at Yosemite National Park, where he met his first wife Maxine Born. He got his first full-time radio job with KMTR in Hollywood in 1938 where he had his own show, Happy Dalton's Ranch, and began also working for the news department as an on-site reporter and newsreel editor. Over the next few years, his work expanded to other stations in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where he relocated in 1941. By 1944 he was one of the co-stars on Lady of the Press, the same year he joined the Navy after being drafted. After being sent to radio technician school, he was assigned to the Philippines, where he served for the duration of World War II and won several medals for his service. Upon his discharge in 1946, he returned to his radio career on programs such as Strange Wills, All Star Western Theatre, and Mystery in the Air. In 1948 he was hired as the announcer for Chandu the Magician and was the last actor to play the title role on Ellery Queen before it was canceled. But that same year he was also chosen to play the title character in a new western adventure series sponsored by Nabisco titled Straight Arrow, in which he played a Comanche who had been raised by whites and like Superman had an alternate identity as an everyday rancher, only to switch back to his Comanche warrior roots as Straight Arrow whenever trouble arose. The series ran for three years and was quite popular, spawning  a spin-off comic book and comic strip and requiring Culver to appear as Straight Arrow at promotional events. During its run, Culver and Maxine were divorced in 1949, the same year that Culver also auditioned for the part of Marshal Matt Dillon on a new radio western Gunsmoke. Culver lost out to William Conrad because his contract for Straight Arrow stipulated that he could not appear on any other westerns. In 1950 Culver remarried to Lois Hayes who had also worked at KFI in Los Angeles. After Straight Arrow went off the air, Culver was hired to play opposite Mercedes McCambridge in Defense Attorney, and it was McCambridge who helped Culver make the transition to television in the mid-1950s on series such as Gang Busters, Space Patrol, and Treasury Men in Action. In 1954 he made the first of five appearances on Dragnet and thereafter became a semi-regular guest on Jack Webb productions, such as the reboot of Dragnet in the late 1960s and Adam-12. When the television version of Gunsmoke launched in 1955, Culver appeared in the very first episode as a hotel clerk, the first of 49 appearances on the series over its 20-year run, most often as hotel clerk Howie Uzzell, though also occasionally as other characters including Dodge House proprietor Mr. Dobie.

Since his stint on Gunsmoke was sporadic, Culver found work guest starring on many other programs such as Perry Mason, The Untouchables, Zane Grey Theatre, and The Brady Bunch in the 1950s and 60s and Project U.F.O., Barnaby Jones, and The Virginian in the 1970s. He also had a number of uncredited small movie parts, often playing announcers or newscasters in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Shampoo, The Bad News Bears, The Million Dollar Duck, and The Swarm. In 1963 he was a member of the news staff at Los Angeles radio station KLAC, and in 1969 was news editor at KGIL in the San Fernando Valley. He also kept busy with many hobbies and community activities such as being the local chairperson for the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. He was the celebrity spokesperson for Papermate writing products. He largely retired from TV and movies in 1980, though he made a few more appearances over the next few years in TV movies, series such as CHiPs, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Code Red, and feature films such as Halloween II. He also acted in community theater in the San Gabriel Valley, recorded audio books for Reading for the Blind in Hollywood, and attended fan conventions to sign autographs. After he and his wife finished a 3-week vacation in China, he contracted meningitis and died in Hong Kong on August 4, 1984 at age 66.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 7, Episode 15, "The Do-Badder": Abraham Sofaer (shown on the left, starred in Christopher Columbus, Quo Vadis, and Elephant Walk) plays suddenly rich prospector Harvey Easter. Roy Engel (Doc Martin on Bonanza, the police chief on My Favorite Martian, and President Ulysses S. Grant on The Wild, Wild West) plays station master Ed Greeley. H.M. Wynant (Lt. Bauer on The Young Marrieds, Frosty on Batman, and Ed Chapman on Dallas) plays bandit Sam Smith. Strother Martin (appeared in Kiss Me Deadly, The Shaggy Dog, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cool Hand Luke, True Grit, The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, and Slap Shot and played Aaron Donager on Hotel de Paree and R.J. Hawkins on Hawkins) plays cattle drover Gene Bunch. Warren Oates (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Stoney Burke) plays his partner Chris Kelly. Mercedes Shirley (Nurse Delmore on The Clinic) plays saloon girl Mary Pickett. Shug Fisher (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Ripcord) plays saloon owner Harry Obie. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays barfly Red. Craig Duncan (Sgt. Stanfield/Banfield on Mackenzie's Raiders) plays barfly Pete.

Season 7, Episode 16, "Lacey": Sherry Jackson (shown on the right, played Terry Williams on Make Room for Daddy) plays farmer's daughter Lacey Parcher. Jeremy Slate (starred in The Sons of Katie Elder, The Devil's Brigade, and True Grit and played Larry Lahr on The Aquanauts and Chuck Wilson on One Life to Live) plays her boyfriend Jess Haley. Oliver McGowan (Harvey Welk on Empire) plays her father Cyrus. Dorothy Green (appeared in The Big Heat, Face of a Fugitive, It Happened at the World's Fair, and Tammy and the Millionaire and played Lavinia Tate on Tammy and Jennifer Brooks on The Young and the Restless) plays her mother Ellen.

Season 7, Episode 17, "Cody's Code": Anthony Caruso (appeared in Sunday Punch, Pride of the Marines, Anna Lucasta, The Asphalt Jungle, and Where Love Has Gone) plays carpenter Cody Durham. Gloria Talbott (starred in The Cyclops, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll,  and I Married a Monster From Outer Space and played Moneta on Zorro) plays saloon girl Rose. Robert Knapp (Ben Olson on Days of Our Lives and SAC Noel McDonald on The F.B.I.) plays masher Sam Dukes. Wayne Rogers (shown on the left, played Luke Perry on Stagecoach West, Capt. John McIntyre on M*A*S*H*, Jake Axminster on City of Angels, Dr. Charley Michaels on House Calls, and Charlie Garrett on Murder, She Wrote) plays drifter Brack Tracy. Ollie O'Toole (Mr. Meeker on Circus Boy) plays the postmaster.

Season 7, Episode 18, "Old Dan": 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, Doc Burrage on The Rifleman, and J.J. Jackson on Cade's County) plays alcoholic Dan Witter. Dorothy Neumann (Rita Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show and Miss Mittleman on Hank) plays store customer Mrs. Bales. Philip Coolidge (appeared in I Want to Live!, North by Northwest, The Tingler, Because They're Young, and Inherit the Wind and played Chester Cooper on The Farmer's Daughter) plays farmer Les. William Campbell (appeared in The High and the Mighty, Love Me Tender, Dementia 13, and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte and played Jerry Austin on Cannonball) plays his profligate son Luke. Hugh Sanders (appeared in That's My Boy, The Pride of St. Louis, The Winning Team, and The Wild One) plays rancher Thede Carson.

Season 7, Episode 19, "Catawomper": Sue Ane Langdon (shown on the left, played Kitty Marsh on Bachelor Father, Marge Pulaski on General Hospital, Lillian Nuvo on Arnie, Rosie Kelley on Grandpa Goes to Washington, and Darlene Ridgeway on When the Whistle Blows) plays impatient girlfriend Kate Tassel. Dick Sargent  (starred in Bernardine, Operation Petticoat, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and played Dick Cooper on One Happy Family, Lt. Maxwell Trotter on Broadside, Terrance Ward on The Tammy Grimes Show, the second Darrin Stephens on Bewitched, and Richard Preston on Down to Earth) plays her boyfriend Bud Bones. Roy Wright (Shipwreck Callahan on The Islanders) plays her father Bert. Quentin Sondergaard (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Tombstone Territory) plays her dance partner Hank Summers. Frank Sutton (appeared in Marty, Town Without Pity, and The Satan Bug and played Eric Raddison on Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and Sgt. Vince Carter on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.) plays Bud's best friend Ollie. Hal Needham (Hollywood's highest-paid stuntman who invented numerous stunt devices, was a double for Richard Boone and Burt Reynolds, and directed Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, and Cannonball Run) plays suitor Billy Joe Carter. Harold Innocent (Big Willie Holmes on The River Flows East and Mr. Bumble on The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist) plays banker George Wannamaker.

Season 7, Episode 20, "Half Straight": John Kerr (starred in The Cobweb, Tea and Sympathy, South Pacific, and The Pit and the Pendulum and played Barry Pine on Arrest and Trial, D.A. John Fowler on Peyton Place, and Gerald O'Brien on The Streets of San Francisco) plays gunman-for-hire Lute Willis. J. Edward McKinley (appeared in The Angry Red Planet, Advise & Consent, The Interns, The Party, and Where Does It Hurt?) plays his employer Grant Hatcher. Elizabeth MacRae (shown on the right, played Lou-Ann Poovie on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Meg Bentley on General Hospital, Phyllis Anderson and Barbara Randolph on Days of Our Lives, and Jozie on Search for Tomorrow) plays farmer's daughter Fanny Fields.

Season 7, Episode 21, "He Learned About Women": Claude Akins (Sonny Pruett on Movin' On and Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo on B.J and the Bear and on Lobo) plays comanchero leader Solis. Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, Night Passage, and Stripes and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro) plays his partner Ab Rankin. Ted de Corsia (Police Chief Hagedorn on Steve Canyon) plays their leader Garvy. BarBara Luna (shown on the left, played Theresa Modesto on Zorro, Maria Roberts on One Life to Live, Anna Ryder on Search for Tomorrow, and Sydney Jacobs on Sunset Beach) plays their captive Chavela. Miriam Colon (Dr. Santos on The Edge of Night, Maria Delgado on One Life to Live, Lydia Flores on All My Children, and Cam's Grandma on How to Make It in America) plays Garvy's "wife" Kisla. Andy Romano (appeared in Beach Party, Bikini Beach, Pajama Party, Beach Blanket Bingo, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini and played Lt. Joe Caruso on Get Christie Love!, Frank Richards on Friends (1979), Warren Briscoe on Hill Street Blues, and Inspector Aiello on NYPD Blue) plays comanchero Jose. Mike de Anda (Ciego on The Big Valley) plays comanchero Pepe.

Season 7, Episode 22, "The Gallows": Jeremy Slate (shown on the right, see "Lacey" above) plays cowboy Pruit Dover. Robert Stevenson (Big Ed on Richard Drum and Marshal Hugh Strickland on Stagecoach West) plays freighter Ax Parsons. Orville Sherman (Mr. Feeney on Buckskin, Wib Smith later on Gunsmoke, and Tupper on Daniel Boone) plays the Elkader sheriff. Richard Shannon (appeared in Pony Express, Arrowhead, Cattle Empire, and The Space Children) plays Hays City deputy Jud Gamer. Joseph Ruskin (Hans on Days of Our Lives) plays Circuit Judge Henry. Ollie O'Toole (see "Cody's Code" above) plays telegrapher Milt.

Season 7, Episode 23, "Reprisal": Dianne Foster (shown on the left, starred in Night Passage, The Last Hurrah, and The Deep Six) plays widow Cornelia Conrad. 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 drifter Ben Harden. Grace Lee Whitney (Janice Rand on Star Trek, the Star Trek feature films, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek New Voyages) plays saloon girl Pearl. Harry Antrim (appeared in Miracle on 34th Street, Words and Music, Ma and Pa Kettle, and Teacher's Pet and played Judge Hooker on The Great Gildersleeve) plays banker Mr. Botkin. Brad Trumbull (Det. Brad Brody on The Lawless Years) plays Long Branch patron Hank Ives. Tom Reese (starred in Taggart, The Money Trap, and Murderers' Row and played Sgt. Thomas Velie on Ellery Queen) plays gunman-for-hire Pete Wellman. Joe di Reda (appeared in Gaby, The Black Orchid, The Andromeda Strain, and The Parallax View and played Angel Moran on General Hospital) plays gunman-for-hire Jim Blake. Harold Innocent (see "Catawomper" above) plays a bank teller. Joe Devlin (Sam Catchem on Dick Tracy) plays pool hall proprietor Dan Binny.

Season 7, Episode 24, "Coventry": Joe Maross (shown on the right, played Fred Russell on Peyton Place, Capt. Mike Benton on Code Red, and Dr. Blakely on Dallas) plays land speculator Dan Beard. Paul Birch (Erle Stanley Gardner on The Court of Last Resort, Mike Malone on Cannonball, and Capt. Carpenter on The Fugitive) plays rancher Jessie Ott. Mary Field (appeared in The Prince and the Pauper, Convicted Woman, The Great Gildersleeve, and Life With Father and played Thelma Gibney on Topper and Sister Agnes on Going My Way) plays Ott's wife Clara. Helen Wallace (Nurse Lucy Webber on Dr. Kildare) plays the Otts' friend Hadda Stokes. Don Keefer (starred in Death of a Salesman, Hellcats of the Navy, and Sleeper and played George on Angel) plays farmer Pete Rankin. Harold Innocent (see "Catawomper" above) plays banker Mr. Botkin. John Harmon (Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) plays the circuit judge. Buck Young (Deputy Buck Johnson on U.S. Marshal and Sgt. Whipple on Gomer Pyle: U.S.M.C.) plays horseman Carl. William Boyett (Sgt. Ken Williams on Highway Patrol and Sgt. MacDonald on Adam-12) plays his partner Harry.

Season 7, Episode 25, "The Widow": Joan Hackett (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Defenders) plays Army widow Mrs. Mady Arthur. Alexander Lockwood (Judge Owen Baker on Sam Benedict) plays Fort Dodge commander Col. J.L. Ebert. Alan Reed, Jr. (son of actor Alan Reed) plays young Army officer Cpl. Johnny Jennings. J. Edward McKinley (see "Half Straight" above) plays fur trapper Emil Peck. Rodd Redwing (appeared in Rancho Notorious, Son of Geronimo: Apache Avenger, The Pathfinder, and The Mole People and played Mr. Brother on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Kiowa chief Little Bear.

Season 7, Episode 26, "Durham Bull": Andy Clyde (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Real McCoys) plays grandfather rancher George Squires. Ricky Kelman (Randy Towne on The Dennis O'Keefe Show and Tommy MacRoberts on Our Man Higgins) plays his grandson Little Bit. John Kellogg (Jack Chandler on Peyton Place) plays gang leader Lou Silva. Will Corry (appeared in Wild in the Country and Strategy of Terror and co-wrote the screenplay for Two-Lane Blacktop) plays gang member Wade. Ted Jordan (later played Nathan Burke on Gunsmoke) plays gang member Kearny. Roger Torrey (Nils Torvald on Iron Horse and Mark Templeton on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays gang member Downey.

Season 7, Episode 27, "Wagon Girls": Arch Johnson (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 wagon master Carl Feester. 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 his partner Kelly Bowman. 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 Dr. Kate Bartok on The Doctors, 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, Evanka on Louie, and Bernadette Stabler on Law and Order: Organized Crime) plays one of their passengers Polly Mims. Joan Marshall (Sailor Duval on Bold Venture) plays her friend Emma. Constance Ford (starred in A Summer Place, Home From the Hill, All Fall Down, and The Caretakers and played Ada Lucas Davis Downs McGowan Hobson on Another World) plays women's leader Florida Jenkins. William Schallert (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays Fort Wallace commander Capt. Grant. Ben Wright (voice of Roger Radcliff in One Hundred and One Dalmations, Wolf in The Jungle Book, and Grimsby in The Little Mermaid, was the narrator in Cleopatra, and appeared in Judgment at Nuremberg, The Sound of Music, and Munster, Go Home!) plays his direct-report Sgt. Pickens. William Wellman, Jr. (son of director William A. Wellman, appeared in Darby's Rangers, A Swingin' Affair, A Swingin' Summer, Winter A-Go-Go, and The Happiest Millionaire and played Dr. Denason on Days of Our Lives) plays Fort Wallace soldier Pvt. King. Buck Young (see "Coventry" above) plays Fort Wallace soldier Cpl. Stone.

Season 7, Episode 28, "The Dealer": Roy Roberts (Capt. Simon P. Huxley on The Gale Storm Show, Admiral Rogers on McHale's Navy, John Cushing on The Beverly Hillbillies, Mr. Cheever on The Lucy Show, Frank Stephens on Bewitched, Norman Curtis on Petticoat Junction, and later played Mr. Botkin/Bodkin on Gunsmoke) plays crooked faro dealer Billy Baskin. Judi Meredith (shown on the right, played Bonnie Sue McAfee on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and The George Burns Show, Monique Devereaux on Hotel de Paree, and Betty Cramer on Ben Casey) plays his daughter Lily. Gary Clarke (see the biography section for the 1962 post on The Virginian) plays gunslinger Johnny Cole. George Mathews (appeared in Pat and Mike, The Man With the Golden Arm, and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and played Chick Rogers on Glynis) plays former prizefighter Champ Larkin. Ted Jordan (see "Durham Bull" above) plays a card cheat.

Season 7, Episode 29, "The Summons": John Crawford (shown on the left, appeared in Zombies of the Stratosphere, John Paul Jones, Exodus, and The Americanization of Emily and played Chief Parks on Police Woman and Sheriff Ep Bridges on The Waltons) plays gang leader Loy Bishop. Bethel Leslie (appeared in 15 episodes of The Richard Boone Show and played Dr. Maggie Powers on The Doctors, Claudia Conner on All My Children, and Ethel Crawford on One Life to Live) plays his girlfriend Rose Ellen. Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays gang member Jake Moseley. Robert Stevenson (see "The Gallows" above) plays gang member Cape. Shug Fisher (see "The Do-Badder" above) plays the Ashland telegrapher. Michael Hinn (George Haig on Johnny Ringo) plays the Ashland deputy. Cyril Delevanti (Lucious Coin on Jefferson Drum) plays an old checker player. Percy Helton (Homer Cratchit on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays his partner.

Season 7, Episode 30, "The Dreamers": Liam Redmond (shown on the right, appeared in High Treason, Safari, Kid Galahad, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and Barry Lyndon and played Grubbitt on Swizzlewick and Henry Armitage on You're Only Young Twice) plays miner Henry Cairn. J. Pat O'Malley (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Frontier Circus) plays his partner Jake Fogle. Valerie Allen (appeared in The Joker Is Wild, The Five Pennies, Bells Are Ringing, and Pillow Talk, and played Verna Mason on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and Anne Banner on The Texan) plays saloon girl Annie. Cece Whitney (wife of actor Bernie Kopell) plays saloon girl Julia. Shug Fisher (see "The Do-Badder" above) plays saloon owner Obie.

Season 7, Episode 31, "Cale": Carl Reindel (shown on the left, appeared in Bullitt, The Cheyenne Social Club, and The Andromeda Strain) plays headstrong drifter Cale. Robert Karnes (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Lawless Years) plays horse thief Sterret.

Season 7, Episode 32, "Chester's Indian": Karl Swenson (Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie) plays Kalvesta, Kansas farmer Adam Hill. Jena Engstrom (daughter of actress Jean Engstrom) plays his daughter Callie. Garry Walberg (Police Sgt. Sullivan on Johnny Staccato, Sgt. Edward Goddard on Peyton Place, Speed on The Odd Couple, and Lt. Frank Monahan on Quincy M.E.) plays Indian agent Simeon. Eddie Little Sky (shown on the right, appeared in Tomahawk Trail, Hell Bent for Leather, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, and A Man Called Horse) plays his unnamed Cheyenne prisoner. Lew Brown (SAC Allen Bennett on The F.B.I. and Shawn Brady on Days of Our Lives) plays Callie's brother Frank. Shug Fisher (see "The Do-Badder" above) returns as saloon owner Obie.

Season 7, Episode 33, "The Prisoner": Andrew Prine (shown on the left, starred in The Miracle Worker, The Devil's Brigade, Bandolero!, and Chisum and played Andy Guthrie on The Wide Country, Dr. Roger Helvick on Dr. Kildare, Timothy Pride on The Road West, Dan Costello on W.E.B., and Wayne/Wyatt Donnelly on Weird Science) plays escaped Army prisoner Billy Joe Arlen. Charles Fredericks (Pete Albright on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays fellow prisoner Hunk. Rayford Barnes (see "Wagon Girls" above) plays their work supervisor Sgt. Jellicoe. Conrad Nagel (starred in Little Women (1918), What Every Woman Knows, Lawful Larceny, and Tess of the D'urbervilles) plays wealthy rancher Major Owens. Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place, Ward Fuller on The Silent Force, and Sen. Mark Denning on Capitol) plays his son Seth. William Phipps (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays his other son Ham. Nancy Gates (starred in The Great Gildersleeve, The Atomic City, The Member of the Wedding, and Some Came Running) plays Ham's wife Sarah. Will Corry (see "Durham Bull" above) plays a waiter. Dorothy Neumann (see "Old Dan" above) plays widow Mrs. Pierson. Ollie O'Toole (see "Cody's Code" above) plays the postmaster.

Season 7, Episode 34, "The Boys": Malcolm Atterbury (starred in I Was a Teenage Werewolf, The Birds, and The Learning Tree and played John Bixby on Wagon Train and Grandfather Aldon on Apple's Way) plays elixir salesman Dr. Eliot. George Kennedy (shown on the right, starred in Charade, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Dirty Dozen, Cool Hand Luke, and The Naked Gun and played MP Sgt. Kennedy on The Phil Silvers Show, Father Samuel Cavanaugh on Sarge, Bumper Morgan on The Blue Knight, and Carter McKay on Dallas) plays his son Hug. Harry Dean Stanton (appeared in Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, Cool Hand Luke, Repo Man, Pretty in Pink, Alien, and Paris, Texas and played Jake Walters on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Roman Grant on Big Love, and Carl Rodd on Twin Peaks) plays his son Nate. Michael Parks (starred in Bus Riley's Back in Town, The Bible: In the Beginning, The Return of Josey Wales, From Dusk Till Dawn, Kill Bill, and Argo, and played Jim Bronson on Then Came Bronson, Phillip Colby on The Colbys, and Jean Renault on Twin Peaks) plays his son Park. Arthur Malet (appeared in Mary Poppins, In the Heat of the Night, and Heaven Can Wait and played Carl on Casablanca, Bobby on Easy Street, Nigel Peabody on Days of Our Lives, and Ryan on Dallas) plays stagecoach passenger Farnum. May Heatherly (Heather McNabb on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) plays his daughter Molly. Hal Needham (see "Catawomper" above) plays the stagecoach driver. Harry Swoger (Harry the bartender on The Big Valley) plays prominent Dodge City citizen Hank Green. Harp McGuire (appeared in Captain Thunderbolt, On the Beach, Inherit the Wind, and Cage of Evil) plays a train baggage guard. Joe Devlin (see "Reprisal" above) plays a drummer/train passenger.

Season 8, Episode 1, "The Search": Carl Reindel (see "Cale" above) plays returns as stable boy Cale. Ford Rainey (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Window on Main Street) plays grieving ranch owner Tate Gifford. Virginia Gregg (starred in Dragnet, Crime in the Streets, Operation Petticoat and was the voice of Norma Bates in Psycho, Maggie Belle Klaxon on Calvin and the Colonel, and Tara on Space Stars) plays flirty ranch wife Ess Cutler. Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock on Star Trek, Paris on Mission: Impossible, and Dr. William Bell on Fringe) plays saddle tramp Arnie.

Season 8, Episode 2, "Call Me Dodie": Kathleen Nolan (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Real McCoys) plays escaped 17-year-old orphan Dodie. Diane Mountford (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Assignment: Underwater) plays fellow orphan Lady. Carol Anne Seflinger (Susan Talbot on Wonderbug) plays fellow orphan Marth. 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 orphanage caretaker Floyd Baggs. Mary Patton (Mrs. Nowlin on Days of Our Lives) plays his sister Addie. Joby Baker (David Lewis on Good Morning, World and Col. Harvey Mann on The Six O'Clock Follies) plays unfaithful husband Ky Blessing. Bob Hastings (Lt. Elroy Carpenter on McHale's Navy, Tommy Kelsey on All in the Family, and Capt. Burt Ramsey on General Hospital) plays his pool-playing partner Whip Puckett. Dennis Cross (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Blue Angels) plays barfly Norm. Buck Young (see "Coventry" above) plays his drinking partner John. Wallace Rooney (Andrew Winters on The Doctors and Tim Butterfield on Lou Grant) plays pool hall proprietor Dan Binney. Dal McKennon (see the biography section for the 1961 post on 87th Precinct) plays rancher Jake. Guy Wilkerson (played Panhandle Perkins in 22 westerns) plays the Delmonico's waiter.

Season 8, Episode 3, "Quint Asper": Bill Zuckert (Arthur Bradwell on Mr. Novak and Chief Segal on Captain Nice) plays homesteader Asper. Angela Clarke (appeared in The Great Caruso, The Harlem Globetrotters, House of Wax, and The Interns) plays his Comanche wife Topsanah. James Doohan (appeared in Bus Riley's Back in Town, One of Our Spies Is Missing, and all the Star Trek feature films from Star Trek: The Motion Picture through Star Trek: Generations and played Phil Mitchell on Space Command, Thomas on Peyton Place, Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery Scott on Star Trek: The Original Series, Cmdr. Canarvin on Jason of Star Command, and Damon Warwick on The Bold and the Beautiful) plays prospector Davit. Ed Peck (Officer Clark on The Super, Coach Cooper on Semi-Tough, Police Capt. Dennis McDermott on Benson, and Police Officer Kirk on Happy Days) plays his partner Semple. Myron Healy (see "The Summons" above) plays Indian hater Mike. Earle Hodgins (starred in The Texas Rambler, Paradise Canyon, Heroes of the Alamo, and Pride of the West and played Lonesome on Guestward Ho!) plays his sympathizer Dobie. Henry Beckman (Commander Paul Richards on Flash Gordon, Mulligan on I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, George Anderson on Peyton Place, Colonel Harrigan on McHale's Navy, Capt. Roland Frances Clancey on Here Come the Brides, Pat Harwell on Funny Face, Harry Mark on Bronk, and Alf Scully on Check It Out) plays fellow sympathizer Duff. Foster Brooks (shown on the near left, legendary "drunk" comedian) plays guard Ed Kelly. Harry Carey, Jr. (starred in Red River, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Mister Roberts, and The Searchers and played Bill Burnett on The Adventures of Spin and Marty) plays Comanche prisoner Grant.

Season 8, Episode 4, "Root Down": 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 itinerant patriarch Luke Dutton. Sherry Jackson (see "Lacey" above) plays his daughter Aggie. Robert Doyle (Lt. Osgood on Lanigan's Rabbi) plays her brother Grudie. Howard McNear (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Andy Griffith Show) plays store clerk Howard Rudd. Michael Carr (appeared in Train to Alcatraz, Flame of Youth, Flying Disc Man From Mars, and Faces of Death and played Daffadar Noor Ali on Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers) plays a brawling cowboy.

Season 8, Episode 5, "Jenny": Ron Hayes (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Bat Masterson) plays outlaw Zel Myers. Ruta Lee (shown on the left, appeared in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, and Witness for the Prosecution and played Rona on 1st and Ten: The Championship and Pauline Spencer on Coming of Age) plays his girlfriend Jenny Glover. Barry Russo (Roy Gilroy on The Young Marrieds) plays fellow outlaw Al Flack. Barry Cahill (Capt. Curt Douglas on 12 O'Clock High and Buck Vernon on The Waltons) plays poker player Chuck Eaton.

Season 8, Episode 6, "Collie's Free": Jason Evers (shown on the right, see "Reprisal" above) plays ex-convict Collie Patten. Jacqueline Scott (starred in House of Women, Empire of the Ants, and Telefon and played Donna Kimble Taft on The Fugitive) plays his wife Francie. Richard Bull (played the Seaview doctor on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Thatcher on Nichols, and Nels Oleson on Little House on the Prairie) plays lazy ranch-hand Nort Safford. Mary Castle (Frankie Adams on Stories of the Century) plays a saloon girl. Orville Sherman (see "The Gallows" above) plays the territorial prison warden. Dennis Cross (see "Call Me Dodie" above) plays prisoner Dutton. Pat McCaffrie (Chuck Forrest on Bachelor Father and Dr. Edgar Harris on Outlaws) plays a bartender.

Season 8, Episode 7, "The Ditch": Joanne Linville (shown on the left, played Amy Sinclair on The Guiding Light) plays sprawling ranch heir Susan Bart. Ted Jordan (see "Durham Bull" above) plays her foreman Hank Davis. Mike de Anda (see "He Learned About Women" above) plays their Mexican foreman Gonzalez. Jay Lanin (Lt. Roper on Follow the Sun) plays small-time rancher Trent Hawkins. Gail Bonney (Goodwife Martin on Space Patrol and Madeline Schweitzer on December Bride) plays his mother. Hardie Albright (appeared in This Sporting Age, The Song of Songs, White Heat, The Scarlet Letter, The Pride of the Yankees, and Angel on My Shoulder) plays fellow rancher Peckett. Christopher Dark (played Sgt. Art Zavala on Code 3) plays hired gunman Lafe Crider. Dehl Berti (Standing Elk on The Edge of Night) plays his assistant Waco.

Season 8, Episode 8, "The Trappers": Strother Martin (shown on the right, see "The Do-Badder" above) plays fur trapper Billy Logan. Richard Shannon (see "The Gallows" above) plays his partner Tug Marsh. Doris Singleton (Caroline Appleby on I Love Lucy, Susie on Angel, and Margaret Williams on My Three Sons) plays scheming dressmaker Irma Watkins. Robert Lowery (starred in Criminal Investigator, Revenge of the Zombies, The Navy Way, The Mummy's Ghost, and They Made Me a Killer and played Big Tim Champion on Circus Boy and Buss Courtney on Pistols 'n' Petticoats) plays con man Idaho Slate. Lane Chandler (Tom Pike on Lawman) plays prospective mark Luke Owlsby.

Season 8, Episode 9, "Phoebe Strunk": Virginia Gregg (shown on the left, see "The Search" above) plays renegade matriarch Phoebe Strunk. Don Megowan (Captain Huckabee on The Beachcomber) plays her son Oliver. Dick Peabody (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Combat!) plays her son Simsie. Gregg Palmer (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays her son Hulett. Joan Freeman (appeared in Come September, Panic in Year Zero!, Roustabout, The Reluctant Astronaut, and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and played Elma Gahrigner/Emma Gahringer in Bus Stop, Dr. Sue Lambert on Lassie, and Barbara Robinson on Code R) plays recent orphan Annie Shields. Phil Chambers (Sgt. Myles Magruder on The Gray Ghost and Jason the hotel clerk on The Andy Griffith Show) her father Ned. John McLiam (appeared in Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, Sleeper, The Missouri Breaks, and First Blood) plays homesteader Sam Kinney. 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 Rose.

Season 8, Episode 10, "The Hunger": Robert Middleton (Barney Wales on The Monroes) plays abusive husband and father Claude Dorf. Linda Watkins (Robin Crosley on One Life to Live) plays his wife. Hampton Fancher (Deputy Lon Gillis on Black Saddle and co-wrote the screenplay and was executive producer on Blade Runner) plays their son Clem. Joe Flynn (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Joey Bishop Show) plays liquor drummer Jack. Byron Foulger (Mr. Nash on Captain Nice and Wendell Gibbs on Petticoat Junction) plays saloon customer Dooley. Kelton Garwood (Beauregard O'Hanlon on Bourbon Street Beat and later played Percy Crump on Gunsmoke) plays just-married groom Fred. Henrietta Moore (Peggy Gordon on First Love) plays his bride Dolly.

Season 8, Episode 11, "Abe Blocker": Chill Wills (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Frontier Circus) plays aging mountain man Abe Blocker. Wright King (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Wanted: Dead or Alive) plays homesteader Bud Groves. Harry Carey, Jr. (see "Quint Asper Comes Home" above) plays rancher Jake. Marshall Reed (Inspector Fred Asher on The Lineup) plays posse member Sam Vestral. Wallace Rooney (see "Call Me Dodie" above) returns as pool hall proprietor Dan Binney.

Season 8, Episode 12, "The Way It Is": Claude Akins (shown on the right, see "He Learned About Women" above) plays Kitty's suitor Ad Bellum. Garry Walberg (see "Chester's Indian" above) plays Kitty's friend Bent Dillard. Virginia Lee (Dorothy Danson on My Three Sons) plays his wife Annie.

Season 8, Episode 13, "Us Haggens": Denver Pyle (Ben Thompson on The Life and Legend of WyattEarp, 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 Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays wanted murderer Black Jack Haggen. Ken Curtis (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Ripcord) plays his nephew Festus. Elizabeth MacRae (see "Half Straight" above) plays Back Jack's girlfriend April Conley.

Season 8, Episode 14, "Uncle Sunday": Henry Beckman (see "Quint Asper Comes Home" above) plays Chester's thieving Uncle Sunday Meacham. Joyce Bulifant (shown on the right, played Mary Gentry on Tom, Dick and Mary, Mrs. Marsha Patterson on The Bill Cosby Show, Peggy Wilson on Love Thy Neighbor, Marjorie Martin on Big John, Little John, Marie Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Miriam Willoughby on Flo, and Emily Wallace on Weird Science) plays his "niece" Ellie. Ed Nelson (see "The Prisoner" above) plays thief Burt Curry. Nora Marlowe (Martha Commager on Law of the Plainsman, Sara Andrews on The Governor and J.J., and Mrs. Flossie Brimmer on The Waltons) plays store customer Mrs. Perkins. Wallace Rooney (see "Call Me Dodie" above) returns as pool hall proprietor Dan Binney.

Season 8, Episode 15, "False Front": William Windom (shown on the left, 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 journalist Paul Hill. Andrew Prine (see "The Prisoner" above) plays grocery delivery boy Clay Tatum. Art Lund (popular singer with Benny Goodman's orchestra, starred in Black Caesar, The Last American Hero, and It's Alive III: Island of the Alive) plays professional gambler Nick Heber. Charles Fredericks (see "The Prisoner" above) plays Kansas Senator McGovern. Shary Marshall (Linda on Wendy and Me) plays saloon girl Rita. William Bryant (McCall on Combat!, President Ulysses S. Grant on Branded, Col. Crook on Hondo, Lt. Shilton on Switch, and the Director on The Fall Guy) plays pool player Joe. Roy Thinnes (Dr. Phil Brewer on General Hospital, Ben Quick on The Long, Hot Summer, David Vincent on The Invaders, Dr. James Whitman on The Psychiatrist, Major Dana Holmes on From Here to Eternity, Nick Hogan on Falcon Crest, Teddy on 1st & Ten, and Roger Collins/Rev. Trask on Dark Shadows (1991)) plays his partner Harry. Michael T. Mikler (Walter Reynolds on The Young Marrieds) plays poker player Bill Farrell. Robert Fortier (Maj. Jergens on The Gallant Men) plays gunman Ray Costa. Wallace Rooney (see "Call Me Dodie" above) returns as pool hall proprietor Dan Binney.

Season 8, Episode 16, "Old Comrade": Ralph Moody (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Rifleman) plays dying retired Gen. Kip Marsden. J. Pat O'Malley (see "The Dreamers" above) plays his old friend Col. Gabe Wilson. Frank Sutton (shown on the right, see "Catawomper" above) plays Marsden's estranged "son" Billy Tuker. Wayne Heffley (Officer Dennis on Highway Patrol and Vern Scofield on Days of Our Lives) plays heckler Lem. Roy Roberts (see "The Dealer" above) plays Dodge House owner Mr. Dobie. Ted Jordan (see "Durham Bull" above) plays a party guest. Dick Whittinghill (original member of the Pied Pipers singing group and long-time radio DJ on Los Angeles station KMPC) plays telegrapher Jason.