The Jetsons (1962)

 

For a series that to this day is considered hugely influential in the way we envision the future, The Jetsons has an underwhelming history and is interesting today primarily for its depiction of devices the creators imagined for the year 2062. The series was the third attempt by the Hanna-Barbera studio to create a prime-time animated series, after the success of The Flintstones in 1960 and the failure of Top Cat in 1961. Since The Flintstones had caught on with its humorous depiction of stone-age versions of mid-century appliances and other devices, Hanna-Barbera decided to try the same approach in the opposite direction--the future. So, rather than dinosaurs performing the tasks that by 1960 were handled electronically, The Jetsons showed the same functions performed by automation and robots. As Matt Novak points out in his 2012 Smithsonian Magazine article "50 Years of The Jetsons: Why the Show Still Matters," many of the show's futuristic inventions, such as moving sidewalks, were created elsewhere had already been published in other forums. Novak says that what The Jetsons did was "condense and package those inventions into entertaining 25-minute blocks for impressionable, media-hungry kids to consume." But the program wasn't initially intended just for kids, since it was aired in prime-time, and therein lies the story of why, like Top Cat, it failed to catch on initially.

Though it was the first prime-time program offered in color by ABC, as Novak observes, only 3% of American households had color TVs by 1962. Furthermore, since it was the first ABC color program, ABC allowed individual affiliates to decide whether to broadcast it in color or black-and-white, and only a handful of larger markets chose the color option, meaning that very few people saw it in color during its initial run. Novak maintains that the program loses much of its futuristic appeal when viewed in black-and-white. On top of this, it was slotted into the Sunday evening schedule opposite the already-popular Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color  and Dennis the Menace. Consequently, the show was canceled after its initial 24 episodes, though ABC continued to re-run episodes until the new fall schedule began in September 1963. However, the show was then aired in syndication on Saturday mornings on ABC the following season and thereafter on Saturday mornings on NBC off and on into the mid-1980s when it was rebooted for two new seasons. So while its initial run hardly made a dent on the TV landscape, its long life on Saturday mornings allowed it to influence an entire generation of impressionable children, with an increasing number of them having color TVs as the years went by, which helps to explain how a 1-year flop became an icon of futurism.

As for the content of the show itself, it's a typical Hanna-Barbera production, meaning that it borrows heavily from worn-out plots and character types and even its satirical digs at other shows and general situations are hardly innovative. Whereas Hanna-Barbera had based The Flintstones characters on those from Jackie Gleason's Honeymooners and the Top Cat characters on those from The Phil Silvers Show (even casting Silvers alum Maurice Gosfield as Benny the Ball), The Jetsons is not clearly based on a particular family sit-com, other than the character of Rosey the Robot, who has been compared to the title character from Hazel in that she is an older model with a Brooklyn accent. In a case of serendipitous coincidence, Shirley Booth's Hazel has a nightmare in which she is replaced by Robby the Robot (from Forbidden Planet fame) in the second episode from Season 2 of Hazel, which aired on September 27, 1962, just four days after the first episode of The Jetsons, which introduced the character of Rosey.

The second episode of The Jetsons, "A Date With Jet Screamer" (September 30, 1962) pokes fun at rock 'n' roll teen idols (a la Ricky Nelson of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) and their fans when Judy Jetson enters a song-writing contest and wins a date with the titular Jet Screamer. Her father George tries to foil her chances of winning by intercepting her own song submission and replacing it with a language Elroy developed for talking to his friends in code made up of nonsense words like "Oop" and "Eek." The big joke is that the nonsensical song wins the contest, a clear jab at rock 'n' roll songs like Gene Vincent's "Be Bop a Lula," which already had been heavily parodied by this time. And other sit-coms, like The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Donna Reed Show, and especially The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis had already covered the territory of lingo-laden pop stars, to say nothing of the Edd "Kookie" Byrnes character from 77 Sunset Strip.

"Las Venus" (December 16, 1962) recycles the worn-out joke of a man trying to keep two dates with two different women at the same time, a gag used heavily in comedy feature films for decades. In this case, George has promised to take Jane to Las Venus for a second honeymoon at the same time that his boss Mr. Spacely has ordered him to meet and close the deal for a lucrative contract with female executive and Marlene Dietrich sound-a-like G.G. Galaxy. George has to zip back and forth between two hotels dancing with each of the women and putting them in an extended dance spin so that he can dash back to the other hotel and resume his date with the other. Of course, he can keep up the ruse only so long before Jane discovers he has been spending time with another woman. Naturally, Ms. Galaxy assures Jane that George has been all business with her, and she is willing to sign the contract with Spacely nonetheless so that we get the expected and inevitable happy ending. A similar type of plot is featured in "Jetson's Nite Out" (October 7, 1962), only this time George is joined by his boss Cosmo Spacely in tricking their wives so that they can attend a football playoff game. Spacely tells his wife that he cannot attend a concert for which she has tickets because he has to tend to his gravely ill employee Jetson, while George tells Jane he can't attend the PTA meeting with her because he has to work late. Eventually they are both found out because the game is televised, and George has the winning ticket for the stadium's one millionth customer, meaning he winds up on screen where he is seen by Jane and Mrs. Spacely. If this feels like a story you have seen elsewhere, either on another sit-com or in the movies, it's because it is.

Not only did The Jetsons borrow liberally from other sources for their stories--they also borrowed from themselves, regurgitating the same story twice within the first 15 episodes. In "The Flying Suit" (November 4, 1962), Spacely's chief rival Cogswell's Cosmic Cogs develops a flying suit that can be controlled and navigated by the wearer's brain waves. George winds up getting the suit through a mix-up at the cleaners, and Spacely believes that George has invented a way to enable human flight, while George believes his newfound ability comes from an invention by Elroy, who coincidentally has been trying to invent a pill to enable humans to fly. Meanwhile Cogswell's test pilot Harlan returns from the cleaners with George's ordinary suit which obviously does not fly, and the planned demonstration of Cogswell's new invention in front of his board of directors is a disaster. When Spacely then tries to demonstrate what he believes are Elroy's flying pills to his board of directors, he also falls flat, literally. No one realizes that the real flying suit still works, and when the clerk from the cleaners returns the two mixed-up suits to their rightful owners, Cogswell tells Harlan to simply throw the real flying suit away. About a month later, we get "Astro's Top Secret" (December 9, 1962) in which the Jetson's dog Astro swallows Elroy's toy remote-controlled spaceship and is thereby able to fly, though he is navigated by the toy remote control. After Spacely and Cogswell have a contentious game of golf, which ends with Spacely threatening to drive Cogswell out of business, Cogswell assigns Harlan to spy on Jetson to see if there is any real threat behind Spacely's bluster. When Harlan sees Astro flying around the Jetson's apartment and reports back to Cogswell, the latter has Harlan kidnap Astro to try to discover his secret. Naturally, his efforts to get Astro to reveal his secret are for naught, and Cogswell phones Spacely to surrender in their business war, much to Spacely's surprise. Astro is navigated back home by George with the remote-control device. When Spacely and Cogswell then convene at George's apartment to witness his ground-breaking invention, George turns off the remote, causing Astro to fall to the ground, dislodging the toy spaceship to reveal that there was no great invention after all. The particulars may be a little different, but these two episodes are essentially the same story, aired 5 weeks apart.

Besides repeating the same story in such a short span of time, the show seemed to be made up anew each week without much thought given to consistency from one episode to the next. There are several early episodes featuring automated food-dispensing systems, but they appear different each time. In the debut episode "Rosey the Robot" (September 23, 1962) a fair amount  of time is devoted to the "food-a-rac-a-cycle," which dispenses fully cooked meals at the touch of a button, only the Jetson's model is not working properly, and George complains about having to replace it before he has even paid off the old one. But by the next episode, "A Date With Jet Screamer"," they have a different-looking model that Jane programs with computer punch cards. By the 15th episode, "Test Pilot" (December 30, 1962), Jane is making breakfast with yet another model that has a telephone-like rotary dial and spits out an entire meal in the form of a pill. If we accept the premise from the first episode that these appliances are expensive enough to require long-term financing, it seems impossible that they would be on their third different model in the span of three months. Likewise, George and Jane's bedroom accommodations seem to change from one week to the next--sometimes they have separate beds, sometimes they sleep together in the same bed, and in the first episode we see only George in a single bed that transforms into a toaster-like device that pops him out when he won't wake up. Similarly, after much is made in the first episode of Jane wanting to buy a robot maid to relieve her of the strain of pushing buttons to clean the house and operating the food-a-rac-a-cycle, she is back to doing her own housework in the next episode. In fact, Rosey appears in only two of the first 15 episodes. In short, the creators of The Jetsons seem not to have had a clearly defined vision of the details of future life before embarking on their journey (or felt the need for a continuity supervisor); they simply made it up as they went along.

And yet despite its rehashing of old stories and lack of detailed continuity, the one prescient prediction about the future on The Jetsons is its depiction of how labor-saving devices would make people lazier, growing more reliant on having work done for them and therefore becoming less willing to do anything for themselves. In the opening episode, we see Jane doing a TV workout program that consists of only exercising her index finger to make it strong enough to push buttons all day. In another episode George's morning exercises consist of watching a video of him running and performing other exercises. Though his work week has shrunk to just three days, George is constantly going to Spacely to get the afternoon off or a vacation approved. Jane likewise is overcome by having to push a few buttons to perform housework, so she feels the need to get a robot maid. But otherwise the characters all act just like other sit-com characters of the early 1960s: George aspires to career advancement and is constantly being promoted to Vice President, then fired, then rehired back to his old job (similar to his being sucked around the treadmill in the closing credits); Jane loves to shop and spend money and drives dangerously; Judy has a new boyfriend every week and is obsessed with teen idol singers; and Elroy is preoccupied with TV super heroes ("Elroy's Pal" [December 23, 1962]), trying to invent things, including his secret coded language ("A Date With Jet Screamer"), and playing with his dog. In other words, the underlying theme from The Jetsons seems to be that despite all the technological innovations that could appear a century into the future, humans will still be the same. Depending on your current view of humanity, that sentiment is either reassuring or severely depressing.

The theme song and scores for individual episodes of The Jetsons  were composed by Hoyt Curtin, who was profiled in the 1961 post on Top Cat.

The complete series has been released on DVD by Warner Home Video.

The Actors

For the biography of Daws Butler, see the biography section in the 1960 post for Rocky and His Friends. For the biographies of Mel Blanc and Jean Van Der Pyl, see the biography section in the 1960 post for The Flintstones. For the biography of Don Messick, see the biography section in the 1961 post for The Flintstones.

George O'Hanlon

George O'Hanlon was born in Coney Island, New York on November 23, 1912, 15 years after his cousin Virginia became a cultural icon for writing a letter to a newspaper asking if there really was a Santa Claus, prompting the editorial response "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus." The O'Hanlon family had a long history in the entertainment business dating back to his grandmother performing as a dance hall girl at the Birdcage Theatre in Tombstone, Arizona during the days of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. O'Hanlon's parents were also both entertainers: his mother Lulu Beeson was a dancer in the burlesque theater circuit, and his father George, whose stage name was Sam Rice, owned a theater in Providence, Rhode Island where he also produced and directed. Consequently young George grew up around the theater and became a vaudeville performer himself at a young age while also being mentored by Lou Costello of Abbott & Costello fame. The family lost the theater during the Great Depression and headed out to Hollywood, where young George began to find work as an extra in movie productions, including working as a chorus boy in various Busby Berkeley films. Thanks to a helpful casting director at Warner Brothers he won a scholarship to the prestigious Bliss Haydens drama school. Finally in 1942 he got his big break when he was hired by director Richard L. Bare to play the everyday average Joe McDoakes in a short titled So You Want to Give Up Smoking. Based on this performance, he was signed to a contract by Warner Brothers, but after acting in one more McDoakes short, he was drafted into the Army and served three years during World War II. After the War, O'Hanlon returned to Warner Brothers, which would produce 61 more McDoakes shorts through 1956 with O'Hanlon now co-writing the scripts with Bare, thereby launching a long and prolific career as a writer. At the same time, O'Hanlon continued getting bit parts, sometimes uncredited, in feature films such as The Spirit of West Point, Heading for Heaven, Are You With It?, The Counterfeiters, and June Bride. In November 1948, O'Hanlon spun off the Joe McDoakes character on his own radio show, The George O'Hanlon Show, with Willard Waterman playing his boss. By the early 1950s he began to find infrequent guest spots on TV programs such as My Little Margie, The Dennis Day Show, and The Loretta Young Show. In 1954 he began appearing as neighbor Calvin Dudley on the William Bendix sit-com The Life of Riley, a series for which he also wrote a screenplay to dip his foot into the TV screenplay business. He simultaneously appeared on other programs as a guest star, such as I Love Lucy, Sugarfoot, Maverick, How to Marry a Millionaire, and The Red Skelton Hour as well as the occasional B-movie, such as Kronos and Bop Girl Goes Calypso. But when he and Bare then tried to adapt the McDoakes character for television and produced a pilot in the hopes of landing a series, O'Hanlon was fired from The Life of Riley for moonlighting. In 1959 he tried his hand at not only co-writing the script but also directing the feature film The Rookie, starring Tommy Noonan (who was his co-writer on the script), Peter Marshall, and Julie Newmar. Though he long thought he was not suited for work as a voice actor, he auditioned for the part of Fred Flintstone with Hanna-Barbera but lost out to Alan Reed (one account says that he was going to be cast for the role until an influential sponsor insisted he wasn't right for the part, which led to Reed being cast). He found more work writing scripts for other series such as 77 Sunset Strip, The Ann Sothern Show, and The Gallant Men before Hanna-Barbera came back to him to have him audition for the part of George Jetson.

Though The Jetsons would make O'Hanlon a TV icon, the original series lasted only 24 episodes, and he was again looking for work, acting in series such as The Roaring '20s, Mister Ed, and The Lieutenant while also co-writing the screenplay for the feature film For Those Who Think Young with his brother James and Dan Beaumont. In 1964 he was cast in a supporting role as cab driver Artie Burns on The Reporter starring Harry Guardino, but the series lasted only a single season. In the latter 1960s he wrote for Petticoat Junction, Gilligan's Island, Love, American Style and a couple of different Jackie Gleason series while also appearing in some of the same episodes as well as on Marcus Welby, M.D., The Name of the Game, and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. In the early 1970s he had minor roles in the Walt Disney feature films The Million Dollar Duck, Now You See Him, Now You Don't, and Charley and the Angel as well as appearing on TV programs such as Adam-12, The Partridge Family, The Odd Couple, and Mission: Impossible. Then in 1976 he suffered a stroke while undergoing bypass surgery, which left him nearly blind with compromised short-term memory. It appeared that he would never work again, and his wife Nancy supported the family as a cosmetics company executive. Relegated to watching TV and sitting around the Motion Picture Hospital, O'Hanlon became obsessed with bringing back The Jetsons, with Nancy later saying he claimed to have a premonition that it would be revived even though no one was talking about it at the time. Finally in the mid-1980s O'Hanlon's dream came true, and Hanna-Barbera called him to see if he would again play the part, even though it meant making substantial accommodations for him due to his vision and memory impairments. Someone would have to read his part to him line by line and have him repeat it back on tape. The process was laborious and exhausting for O'Hanlon, but he finally felt that he was doing something worthwhile. Hanna-Barbera produced two new seasons of the series in 1985-87 and then decided to do a feature film as well. But while recording his lines for the film, O'Hanlon was obviously in physical distress. Joe Barbera had him rushed to St. Joseph's hospital, where the doctor who examined him said he had only hours left to live. He passed away on February 11, 1989 at the age of 76.

Penny Singleton

Born Mariana Dorothy Agnes Letitia McNulty on September 15, 1908 in Philadelphia, her father Benny was a newspaper man there. She began her entertainment career as a child singing in silent movie theaters and joined the troupe The Kiddie Kabaret after completing the sixth grade, her last year of schooling, which she would later regret. After briefly attending Columbia University, she made her Broadway debut at age 17 in the production Sky High, billed as Dorothy McNulty, in 1925. She followed that with Sweetheart Time in early 1926 and then Jack Benny's The Great Temptations later that same year. Her performance in the 1927-29 production of Good News as a replacement for the character of Flo was her ticket to Hollywood as she reprised the role in the 1930 feature film version. But it took a while for her movie career to take off. After appearing in another 1930 feature, Love in the Rough, she returned to Broadway for the 1932 production Hey Nonny Nonny!  Other than appearing in a 1934 short, she did not return to films until 1936 in After the Thin Man playing the part of Polly. But she felt that the role typecast her and turned down other similar roles, which somewhat stifled her career. After appearing in two 1937 films--Vogues of 1938 and Sea Racketeers--she married dentist Laurence Scroggs Singleton. Even though the couple divorced two years later, she took his last name as part of a new stage name, along with the name Penny because as a girl she had collected pennies for good luck, first using the name for literary pieces she published in national magazines. The new name appeared to bring her instant good luck because in 1938 she appeared in no less than 11 feature films, including the role that would change her life, Blondie Bumstead in the first of 28 features in the Blondie series. If she had felt typecast before, she surely must have felt it now, as she played little else but Blondie for the next dozen years, the exceptions being the 1941 comedy Go West, Young Lady with Glenn Ford and Ann Miller and Young Widow in 1946, starring Jane Russell. At the same time, she was playing Blondie on the weekly radio program from 1939-50. And to cement her place in the Blondie universe, she even remarried to the film series producer Robert Sparks in 1941. But all of that changed when the series was finally retired in 1950. Anticipating the inevitable, she had devised the practice of paying actors residuals for repeat performances of their work and had a residuals clause written into her contract for the later Blondie films. Initially she had her own radio show on the NBC network, The Penny Singleton Show, and she made her television debut in an episode of Pulitzer Prize Playhouse , but these would be her last credits for over a decade. Nevertheless, she was determined to keep working and launched her own touring nightclub show which led to being included on USO tours during the Korean War. In the late 1950s she became very active in the American Guild of Variety Artists, first being elected to the union's board and then named President for 1958-59. She advocated for variety performers to be treated as employees by the producers who hired them, requiring that they be paid pensions and have unemployment insurance, but when she began questioning the inconsistencies she saw in the union's various reports, she was suspended, making her unable to work as a variety performer herself. She sued the union, and after Senator John J. McClellan began investigating unions practices, Singleton was called to testify at Congressional hearings and eventually won her lawsuit, gaining union reinstatement and $15,000 compensation in 1963. In the meantime, she was hired to voice Jane Jetson by Joe Barbera, who was thrilled to be able to use the iconic voice of Blondie for his space-age sit-com.

Though The Jetsons ran for only a single season of 24 episodes, the exposure resurrected Singleton's acting career, if only briefly. She was cast in an episode of Death Valley Days in 1963 and one for The Twilight Zone in 1964. Meanwhile, her husband Robert Sparks died in 1963. While her return to TV acting fizzled out quickly, she remained active in her work for AVGA, leading a strike for the Rockettes dancing troupe in 1967 over working conditions. In 1969 she was reelected President of AVGA and the next year led a strike by workers of the Disney on Parade  touring show in which the producers tried cutting costs by refusing to transport a support stage, thereby causing the dancers to suffer repeated shin splints because the main stage was being placed directly on top of concrete and had no give. In the early 1970s she returned to Broadway as a replacement for the role of Sue Smith in the 1971-73 production of No, No, Nanette. Though she only completed sixth grade in her formal education, she received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from St. John's University in 1974. Her career was once again revived with the reboot of The Jetsons in 1985, and though most of her late career was voicing Jane Jetson in a variety of TV movies, shorts, the 1990 feature film, and the series itself, it also led to her appearing in a 1986 episode of Murder, She Wrote. She died at age 95 on November 12, 2003.

Janet Waldo

Born Patricia Waldo in Grandview, Washington on February 4, 1919, her mother was a singer who trained at the Boston Conservatory of Music, and her father, Benjamin Franklin Waldo (purportedly a distant cousin of Ralph Waldo Emerson) was a railroad man whose job required the family to move frequently. Her elder sister Elisabeth would become an award-winning violinist and composer, and while his daughters were still young her father decided he didn't want them to grow up to marry farmers, so he sold the family farm and moved the family to Seattle. Janet began her acting career in church plays and got her first big break while performing in a theatrical production while attending the University of Washington where alumnus Bing Crosby was staging a talent scout promotion. Crosby's scouts encouraged Waldo to enter their contest, which she won, the prize being a trip to Hollywood with Crosby and a movie contract with Paramount. However, Waldo recalled in a later interview with Leonard Maltin that the studio didn't really know what to do with her and that she never felt comfortable in front of the camera, so her early film career consisted largely of bit parts, beginning in 1938 with features such as Cocoanut Grove with Fred MacMurray and Harriet Nelson and Sing, You Sinners with Crosby, MacMurray, and Donald O'Connor. She played a number of hat check girls, receptionists, , and telephone operators as well as occasionally credited parts in features such as Tom Sawyer, Detective, Zaza, Persons in Hiding, The Star Maker, and What a Life. Though she worked her way up to leading roles in a few westerns by the early 1940s, such as One Man's Law, The Bandit Trail, and Land of the Open Range, her option was dropped around 1942. Crosby's brother Larry, producer of the radio program Kraft Music Hall, took her under his wing, and she began getting parts on radio with Lux Radio Theatre in 1941. Waldo says she felt right at home doing radio theater and would appear on dozens of programs, including occasionally on Bing Crosby's show. She says her big break came when she auditioned for and was cast on Edward G. Robinson's Big Town. But her biggest breakout came in 1944, first portraying dizzy teenager Emmy Lou on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (a role she would continue playing when the program transitioned to television in the 1950s) and taking over the title role on Meet Corliss Archer from Priscilla Lyon. She would continue playing Archer for almost a decade, until 1953, but did not follow the program when it transitioned to TV. In 1948 she married writer Robert E. Lee, who with his partner Jerome Lawrence would write Inherit the Wind, Auntie Mame, and First Monday in October, and she would appear on some of Lee's radio programs such as Favorite Story, playing opposite William Conrad in an adaptation of Wuthering Heights. She also co-starred with Jimmy Lydon on the short-lived teen radio series Young Love from 1949-50. Though she didn't do much live-action television, she had a memorable debut as star-struck teenager Peggy Dawson in a 1952 episode of I Love Lucy (she had appeared on Lucille Ball's radio program My Favorite Husband years earlier). She appeared 5 times as Emmy Lou in the first TV season of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1953, and would continue to pop up as a variety of other characters over the show's 14 seasons, including one named Janet in the series' later years. But Waldo's career had hit something of a lull in the latter 1950s and early 1960s until she was tabbed to voice space-age teenager Judy Jetson in 1962.

Like others in The Jetsons' cast, Waldo became a regular member of the Hanna-Barbera voice cast for years afterward. She took over the role of Pearl Slaghoople on The Flintstones in 1964, voiced Granny Sweet on The Atom Ant Show and Precious Pupp, played Nancy on Shazzan, voiced Penelope Pitstop on Wacky Races and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, was Jenny Trent on Around the World in 79 Days and Cattanooga Cats, voiced Josie on Josie and the Pussycats and Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, was Widow Wilson on The Funky Phantom, played Mrs. Anders on Jeannie, and was Morticia Addams in the 1973 animated version of The Addams Family. And these are just the regular roles she voiced--she also provided various voices for many other Hanna-Barbera cartoons as well as voicing the character of Lanna Lang on a number of Superman-related cartoons, including The New Adventures of Superman, The Adventures of Superboy, and The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. After the cancelation of The Jetsons, she also began to get more guest star work on live-action TV shows, such as Saints and Sinners, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Lucy Show. In 1964-65 she co-starred with Anthony Franciosa and Jack Soo on the sit-com Valentine's Day playing the role of Libby Freeman. In the mid- to late-60s she guest starred on Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Petticoat Junction, The F.B.I., The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Julia. From then on, she worked exclusively providing voices for dozens of animated TV series and TV movies, except for reprising her role as Amanda on the reunion TV movie Return to Mayberry in 1986. She returned as Judy Jetson when the series was rebooted in 1985 but was replaced for the 1990 feature film by pop star Tiffany at the direction of executives at Universal Pictures. The move backfired because loyal Jetsons fans were outraged, and by the time of the film's release, Tiffany's 15 minutes of fame had expired. Waldo, meanwhile, continued voicing various animated characters throughout the 1990s as well as performing in smaller Los Angeles-area theatrical productions and those of the California Artists Radio Theatre. In 2011 she was diagnosed with a benign but inoperable brain tumor and died 5 years later at the age of 97 on June 12, 2016.

Notable Guest Stars

Because it was an animated series, The Jetsons did not have guest stars but occasionally brought in other voice actors as listed below.

Season 1, Episode 2, "A Date With Jet Screamer": Howard Morris (shown on the left, appeared in Boys' Night Out, The Nutty Professor, and High Anxiety, played Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show, and voiced Beetle Bailey, Gen. Halftrack, Otto, and Rocky on Beetle Bailey, Breezly Bruin on The Peter Potamus Show, Mr. Peebles on The Magilla Gorilla Show, Atom Ant on The Atom Ant Show, Jughead Jones, Big Moose, and Dilton Doiley on The Archie Show and Archie's Funhouse, Frankie, Wolfie, and Dr. Jekyll on Sabrina and the Groovie Goulies, Cousin Ambrose on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and The Hamburglar on McDonaldland) plays teen idol Jet Screamer.

Season 1, Episode 6, "The Good Little Scouts": Dick Beals (shown on the right, voiced Gumby on The Adventures of Gumby and The Gumby Show, Buzzer Bell and Shrinking Violet on The Funny Company, Yank on Roger Ramjet, Davey Hanson on Davey and Goliath, Buzz Conroy on Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles, Reggie Van Dough on The Richie Rich/Scooby Doo Show and Richie Rich, Scat on The Biskitts, and N.J. Normanmeyer on The Addams Family) plays Mr. Spacely's son Arthur.

Season 1, Episode 7, "The Flying Suit": Howard Morris (see "A Date With Jet Screamer" above) plays Cogswell test pilot Harlan.

Season 1, Episode 8, "Rosey's Boyrfriend": Howard Morris (see "A Date With Jet Screamer" above) plays Judy's boyfriend Booster Pendleton.

Season 1, Episode 11, "A Visit From Grandpa": Howard Morris (see "A Date With Jet Screamer" above) plays George's grandfather Montague Jetson. Bea Benaderet (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Flintstones) plays stranded motorist Emily Scope and young mother Celeste Skyler.

Season 1, Episode 12, "Astro's Top Secret": Howard Morris (see "A Date With Jet Screamer" above) returns as Cogswell assistant Harlan.

Season 1, Episode 14, "Elroy's Pal": Howard Morris (see "A Date With Jet Screamer" above) plays children's TV star Nimbus the Great and Elroy's friend Willie.

 

Tales of Wells Fargo (1962)

 

In our post on the 1961 episodes, we covered the changes made to the program for Season 6 in an attempt to recapture its early-life appeal and compete with other higher profile westerns that had entered the market, in particular Bonanza, and how these changes had not had the intended effect of increasing viewership. Nothing of significance changed in the latter 2/3 of Season 6, the episodes that aired in 1962. The series continued to rely on shopworn plots already used on every other western series of the era, a device so obvious that even reviewers on imdb.com have complained about it, most notably for the episode "Don't Wake a Tiger" (May 12, 1962). And the expanded cast introduced at the beginning of Season 6 to appeal to a wider demographic was used less and less as the season progressed, with some characters not appearing at all in several consecutive episodes. Many of the final episodes have Jim Hardie on the road or stuck in some remote location away from his horse farm and neighbors. The last time we see the character of Mary Gee is in episode 24, "Chauncey" (March 17, 1962), meaning she misses the last 10 episodes of the series. In fact, we see more of Wells Fargo clerk Sam Whipple (played by Phil Chambers) than we do of Mary Gee.

But speaking of the episode "Chauncey," it is perhaps the lone episode centered on the character of Tina Swenson, who somehow falls in love with a psychopath "poetic" drifter and refuses to heed the warnings of her mother and Hardie about the young man's instability. While it's not completely unbelievable that an educated young woman might be attracted to a man who talks about metaphysical subjects rather than just farming, is able to paint pictures, if crudely at that, and talks about achieving his dreams through sheer willpower, Chauncey Evans is clearly brutish in grabbing whatever he wants and a little too smooth in coming up with excuses for the lies he keeps spinning to keep others at bay. As Hardie and the law get closer to pinning the murder of a Wells Fargo agent in another town on him, he grows more desperate, and the story devolves into a Snidely Whiplash-style melodrama with Chauncey kidnapping Tina and driving her to the iconic house used in Hitchcock's Psycho, if there was ever any doubt about Chauncey's mental state. Reviewers on imdb.com have lauded this episode for its early, if oversimplified and sensationalized, examination of mental illness, but newly popular medical series such as The Eleventh Hour and Ben Casey were already offering a more measured, if still sensationalized, view of mental issues. More interesting in this Tales of Wells Fargo episode is the treatment of Tina's too-easy willingness to ignore Chauncey's obvious red flags in her desperation to find a lover. This form of mental imbalance is far more common and at times harder to recognize. Certainly Tales of Wells Fargo wasn't the first television show to examine romantic abuse, but it still deserves credit for broaching a female-centered problem in a genre almost exclusively devoted to unreal male action heroes.

Another episode that deserves a modicum of praise is the series finale "Vignette of a Sinner" (June 2, 1962). It, too, revolves around a woman choosing a romantic partner for all the wrong reasons--this time out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to her father. Rachel Whitman plans to marry banker Les Caldwell because he loaned her late father $30,000 to try to keep his renowned horse farm afloat, but even the loan was not enough to save the farm, and Rachel doesn't realize that since then Caldwell has resorted to embezzlement, robbery, and attempted murder to make back the money he loaned. Enter Jim Hardie, who with a little prodding from Jeb Gaines, is immediately smitten with Rachel when she demonstrates she can ride a jumping horse. Even after learning of Caldwell's crimes, Rachel sticks by him, thinking she has no other choice when he is seriously wounded exchanging gunfire with his hired safe-cracker. Caldwell, of course, must pay for his crimes and dies from the gunshot wound, but Hardie does not see any flaws in Rachel for abetting his attempt to evade the law, and at episode's end, he asks her to stay after she boards a stagecoach bound for Kentucky, her original home. This is a significant change for Hardie, whom we have earlier seen reject an attempted reunion with former lover Ella Congreve, who chose a life on the stage rather than becoming Hardie's housewife, in "Return to Yesterday" (January 13, 1962).  It would have been a fitting ending to the series to have Rachel accept Hardie's invitation to stay, suggesting that perhaps he would settle down with her on his horse farm, a mutual interest for the couple, possibly even retiring from Wells Fargo to do so. But this was not the era of tidy series finales, as would be later seen on programs such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show or M*A*S*H. So instead we have Rachel tell Hardie that after what has just happened, she needs time to recover, but also adds that one day she may be ready, leaving the door open just a tiny sliver that they may eventually wind up together. Given that Hardie is a man who typically gets what he is after, we can conjecture that after thinking things over, if he still wants her, he will find a way to make it happen. But the final image we get is her stagecoach driving away with Hardie standing there watching her go. That's about the closest we can get to having a series wrapped up in a meaningful way circa 1962.

One final note: Tales of Wells Fargo seemed to get more coverage in the pages of TV Guide after it was dead in the water than it had the previous two years. The April 21, 1962 issue featured a two-page photo spread about Dale Robertson's office at Revue Studios, decorated as if it were a set for the program. Given that the show would air only until June 2 of that year, and the same issue reported renewals for shows such as Bonanza and Laramie, as well as the cancellation of Thriller, surely the days of Tales of Wells Fargo were already numbered by late April. And yet, this is the kind of photo feature that could have been shot and written at any time and then run in the magazine whenever there was a particularly slow news week. The June 2, 1962 edition of the magazine contained a feature story on actress Lory Patrick, who played Tina Swenson, mentioning that Tales of Wells Fargo "won't be around next season," but then adding that Revue was keeping her under contract to guest star on "prestige shows" as well as all the Revue-produced shows in the upcoming season. Though Patrick appeared on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Wide Country, Alcoa Premiere, It's a Man's World, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Laramie, and Wagon Train in late 1962 and 1963, her career slowed down dramatically thereafter and was over by 1967. Dale Robertson by this time had moved on to star in another western series, Iron Horse, trading his stagecoach on Tales of Wells Fargo for a train.

The "Notable Guest Stars" section below contains screen grabs for all the episodes included on the Timeless Media Group box set for the final season, which does not include all the episodes from that season. The remaining episodes can be found on the Starz streaming service, which requires a paid subscription. However, there is a problem viewing these episodes with the Firefox browser, which is why these episodes have no screen grabs below.

The Actors

For the biography of Dale Robertson, see the 1960 post on Tales of Wells Fargo. For the biographies of William Demarest, Virginia Christine, Mary Jane Saunders, Lory Patrick, and Steve Darrell see the 1961 post on Tales of Wells Fargo.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 6, Episode 15, "Moneyrun": Michael Ansara (shown on the left, husband of actress Barbara Eden, 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 Law of the Plainsman, and voiced General Warhawk on Rambo) plays renegade Mexican army commander Col. Peralta. Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr. (Luis Valdez on Viva Valdez and Hernandez on General Hospital) plays Mexican army commander Col. Navarro. George Dolenz (father of Micky Dolenz, appeared in The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler, Vendetta, Scared Stiff, and The Last Time I Saw Paris and played Edmond Dantes/The Count of Monte Cristo on The Count of Monte Cristo) plays deposed Mexican Governor Rafael De Lopa. Vinton Hayworth (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Lawman) plays Wells Fargo executive Ben Travers. Frank Gerstle (Dick Gird on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and voiced Raseem on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour)  plays his agent Tim. Phil Chambers (Sgt. Myles Magruder on The Gray Ghost and Jason the hotel clerk on The Andy Griffith Show) plays telegraph clerk Sam.

Season 6, Episode 16, "Return to Yesterday": Dianne Foster (shown on the right, starred in Night Passage, The Last Hurrah, and The Deep Six) plays world renowned singer Ella Congreve. Addison Richards (starred in Boys Town, They Made Her a Spy, Flying Tigers, and The Deerslayer and played Doc Calhoun on Trackdown, Doc Landy on The Deputy¸ and John Abbott on Ben Jarrod) plays her father Simon. Yvette Vickers (starred in Reform School Girl, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, and Attack of the Giant Leeches) plays her assistant Agnes Jenkins. 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 hotel bellhop Harry Bowen. Phil Tully (Charlie the bartender on The Deputy) plays hotel detective McGuire. Jason Robards, Sr. (father of Jason Robards, Jr.) plays Simon's physician Dr. Ira P. Strickland. Phil Chambers (see "Moneyrun" above) returns as Wells Fargo clerk Sam.

Season 6, Episode 17, "Reward for Gaine": John Doucette (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Lock Up) plays Jeb's brother Sgt. Gaine. John Anderson (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays his U.S. Army commander Col. Bledsoe. Steven Terrell (Tom on The Pride of the Family) plays one of Gaine's soldiers Trillby. Robert Karnes (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Lawless Years) plays Beldsoe's adjutant Cpl. Lark. Linda Dangcil (Sister Ana on The Flying Nun, Elena on Villa Alegre, and voiced Carmen Alonso and Raya on Jem) plays Indian chief's daughter Feather.

Season 6, Episode 18, "Assignment in Gloribee": Patricia Owens (starred in The Happiest Days of Your Life, Sayonara, The Fly, and Hell to Eternity) plays journalist Katherine Ann Murdock. Rod Cameron (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Coronado 9) plays ex-con Nathan Chance. George Kennedy (starred in Charade, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Dirty Dozen, Cool Hand Luke, and The Naked Gun and played MP Sgt. Kennedy on The Phil Silvers Show, Father Samuel Cavanaugh on Sarge, Bumper Morgan on The Blue Knight, and Carter McKay on Dallas) plays his robbery partner Hawk. Stafford Repp (Lt. Ralph Raines on The Thin Man, Brink on The New Phil Silvers Show, and Chief O'Hara on Batman) plays wealthy cattle buyer Major Shankford. Leonard P. Geer (Ollie on The Adventures of Spin and Marty) plays bounty hunter Jeelo Curran. Gilman Rankin (Deputy Charlie Riggs on Tombstone Territory) plays rancher Jake.

Season 6, Episode 19, "Incident at Crossbow": Sean McClory (shown on the left, played Jack McGivern on The Californians and Myles Delaney on Bring 'Em Back Alive) plays ex-con bank robber Con Toole. Hal Baylor (Jenkins on Rawhide and Mercury on Batman) plays his henchman Hondo. Dan Sheridan (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Lawman) plays stagecoach driver Sam Storey. 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 gambler Duke Tolliver. Robert Sampson (Sgt. Walsh on Steve Canyon, Father Mike Fitzgerald on Bridget Love Bernie, and Sheriff Turk Tobias on Falcon Crest) plays New Jersey farmer Arthur King. Joyce Meadows (Lynn Allen on The Man and the Challenge and Stacy on Two Faces West) plays his fiance Flo Healey. Russell Thorson (Det. Lt. Otto Lindstrom on The Detectives and William Kennerly on Peyton Place) plays waystation operator Jug Perry. Robert B. Williams (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Hazel) plays lawman Marshal Charlie Dodge.

Season 6, Episode 20, "Portrait of Teresa": Arthur Franz (shown on the right, starred in Flight to Mars, The Member of the Wedding, and The Caine Mutiny and played Bill Winters on World of Giants and Hugh McLeod on The Nurses) plays painter Mel Akins. Simon Oakland (starred in Psycho, West Side Story, and Follow That Dream and played Inspector Spooner on Toma, Tony Vincenzo on Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Brig. Gen. Thomas Moore on Black Sheep Squadron, and Sgt. Abrams on David Cassidy - Man Undercover) plays small village strongman Podario. Rico Alaniz (Mr. Cousin on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays his henchman Lopez. Roberto Contreras (Pedro on The High Chapparal) plays another henchman Antonio. William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays stagecoach driver Charlie. 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 a rowdy cattle drover.

Season 6, Episode 21, "Hometown Doctor": Richard Long (shown on the left, starred in The Stranger, Criss Cross, All I Desire, and as Tom Kettle in 4 Ma and Pa Kettle features, and played Red Randolph on Bourbon Street Beat and 77 Sunset Strip, Jarrod Barkley on The Big Valley, Professor Everett on Nanny and the Professor, and Ernie Paine on Thicker Than Water) plays Dr. Jeremy Wilson, son of the deceased Gloribee physician. Lillian Bronson (Mrs. Drake on Date With the Angels) plays one of his father's patients Missee Blake. Ken Scott (appeared in The Three Faces of Eve, Woman Obsessed, Beloved Infidel, and Desire in the Dust and played Det. Vincent Polk on McCloud) plays cattle trail boss Stringer. Paul Sorenson (Andy Bradley on Dallas) plays one of his drovers Ace. George D. Wallace (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays another drover Cross. Hank Patterson (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Gunsmoke) plays stagecoach driver Sid. Roy Barcroft (Col. Logan on The Adventures of Spin and Marty and Roy on Gunsmoke) plays cattle mogul Sam Rogers.

Season 6, Episode 22, "The Traveler": Jack Warden (starred in From Here to Eternity, 12 Angry Men, and Run Silent, Run Deep and played Matt Gower on The Asphalt Jungle, Major Simon Butcher on The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Lt. Mike Haines on N.Y.P.D., Morris Buttermaker on The Bad News Bears, and Harry Fox, Sr. on Crazy Like a Fox) plays ex-con school teacher Brad Axton. Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays his former partner Sunderman. Warren J. Kemmerling (Judge Rense on How the West Was Won) plays his other former partner Morgan. Celia Kaye (see the biography section for the 1962 post on The New Loretta Young Show) plays his daughter Julie. Tyler McVey (Simon Peter on The Living Christ Series and Maj. Norgrath on Men Into Space) plays Wells Fargo agent Max Andrews. Hank Patterson (see "Hometown Doctor" above) plays returns as stagecoach driver Sid. Phil Chambers (see "Moneyrun" above) returns as the Wells Fargo office clerk and telegrapher. Debbie Megowan (Dorine Peters on My Three Sons) plays Axton's sick pupil Cindy Reeves. Dorothy Lovett (played Judy Price in 5 Dr. Christian feature films, Dr. Robinson McKay on The Seeking Heart, and Edie on The Donna Reed Show) plays her mother.

Season 6, Episode 23, "Winter Storm": Dan Duryea (shown on the right, 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 Oregon lawman Marshal Blake. R.G. Armstrong (Police Capt. McAllister on T.H.E. Cat and Lewis Vendredi on Friday the 13th) plays ghost-town resident Hanson. James Beck (appeared in The Bonnie Parker Story, Paratroop Command, Hound-Dog Man, and The Outsider and played Sgt. Highton on Hondo) plays one-armed former soldier Eddy Pierce. Gale Garnett (Grammy-winning popular singer who appeared in Tribute, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding) plays Nez Perce squaw Ruth.

Season 6, Episode 24, "Chauncey": Burt Brinckerhoff (Charles Shannon on Dr. Kildare and directed multiple episodes of Lou Grant, Nine to Five, Remington Steele, ALF, and 7th Heaven) plays violent drifter Chauncey Evans. Andy Albin (Andy Godsen on Julia) plays his Uncle Joe. Phil Chambers (see "Moneyrun" above) returns as Wells Fargo clerk Sam Whipple. Donald Elson (Fred on Little House on the Prairie) plays Willow Creek lawman J.C. Clegg.

Season 6, Episode 25, "Who Lives by the Gun": Judith Evelyn (appeared in Rear Window, Hilda Crane, Giant, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Tingler and played The Woman on Windows) plays small-town mining company owner Emily Callan. Bart Patton (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays her son Jeff. Paul Birch (Erle Stanley Gardner on The Court of Last Resort, Mike Malone on Cannonball, and Capt. Carpenter on The Fugitive) plays local lawman Sheriff Maxon. John Archer (father of Anne Archer, former husband of Marjorie Lord, appeared in White Heat, Ten Thousand Bedrooms, Blue Hawaii, and How to Frame a Figg) plays saloon owner Grant Reynolds. Kathie Browne (Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays saloon girl Peggy. John Alderson (Sgt. Bullock on Boots and Saddles and Wyatt Earp on Doctor Who) plays Emily Callan's right-hand man Gage. John Mitchum (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays the saloon bartender.

Season 6, Episode 26, "To Kill a Town": Buddy Ebsen (see the biography section for the 1962 post on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays Hardie's outlaw prisoner Lou Reese. Russell Johnson (starred in It Came From Outer Space, This Island Earth, and Johnny Dark and played Marshal Gib Scott on Black Saddle, Professor Roy Hinkley on Gilligan's Island, and Assistant D.A. Brenton Grant on Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law) plays his pursuer Normalie Hall. Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays Hall's hired gunman Pete. Peter Helm (brother of actress Anne Helm) plays hot-headed young gunslinger Jason Moore. Joan Staley (Playboy Playmate who appeared in Cape Fear, Roustabout, Valley of the Dragons, Johnny Cool, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and played Tiger on The Lively Ones, Hannah on 77 Sunset Strip, and Roberta Love on Broadside) plays hotel chambermaid Clarissa. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), Cal on Stagecoach West, the Hotel Carlton desk clerk on Have Gun -- Will Travel, and Fred Springer on Arnie and voiced Batman on The All-New Super Friends Hour, Challenge of the Superfriends, The World's Greatest SuperFriends, and Super Friends) plays the New Madrid storekeeper. Roy Wright (Shipwreck Callahan on The Islanders) plays the New Madrid blacksmith.

Season 6, Episode 27, "End of a Minor God": Lin McCarthy (starred in Yellowneck, The D.I., and Face of a Fugitive and played Bill Talbot on Modern Romances) plays notorious gunman Billy Trent. Jan Merlin (Roger Manning on Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Lt. Colin Kirby on The Rough Riders, and wrote screenplays for Another World) plays his pursuer Johnny Fullen. Eileen Ryan (mother of Sean, Chris, and Michael Penn) plays mail-order bride Lorry Cannon. William Schallert (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays bookish stage passenger Paul Grieg. Robert J. Stevenson (bartender Big Ed on Richard Drum and Marshal Hugh Strickland on Stagecoach West) plays stagecoach driver Art Riddle. Hank Patterson (see "Hometown Doctor" above) plays shotgun rider Charlie Benson. Jon Lormer (Harry Tate on Lawman, Sam Watkins on The Real McCoys, the autopsy surgeon on Perry Mason, Simon Benjamin on The Young Marrieds, and Judge Irwin A. Chester on Peyton Place) plays Gloribee citizen Bert Hensley. Richard Tyler (appeared in The Bells of St. Mary's, Father Was a Fullback, and Tea and Sympathy and played Henry Aldrich on The Aldrich Family, and Dick and Beta on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays wannabe gunman Beau Enders. Walter Coy (Zoravac on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Jason Farrell on A Flame in the Wind, and was the narrator on Frontier) plays Buena Vista Sheriff Vincour.

Season 6, Episode 28, "Remember the Yazoo": 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 New Orleans Wells Fargo branch manager Tom Kelly. Jeanne Bal (Pat Baker on Love and Marriage and Jean Pagano on Mr. Novak) plays his fiance Annette Decatur. Alan Napier (appeared in The House of the Seven Gables, Lassie Come Home, Joan of Arc, Marnie, The Loved One, and Batman: The Movie and played Gen. Steele on Don't Call Me Charlie and Alfred the butler on Batman) plays her father Col. Decatur. James Westerfield (appeared in The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Love God? and played John Murrel on The Travels of Jamie McPheeters) plays career criminal Sam Heffridge. Robert Cornthwaite (Professor Windish on Get Smart and Howard Buss on Picket Fences) plays robbery plot organizer Anthony Boaz. Richard Devon (Jody Barker on Yancy Derringer) plays co-conspirator Pierre Carondelet.

Season 6, Episode 29, "The Angry Sky": 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 mule driver Swede Lowell. Anne Barton (Nan Fry on Big Town) plays his wife Helen. James Griffith (Aaron Adams on Trackdown and Deputy Tom Ferguson on U.S. Marshal) plays heist ringleader Roland Jensen. Fay Spain (starred in Dragstrip Girl, Al Capone, and The Gentle Rain) plays his fiance Marie Jarnier. Robert Colbert (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Maverick) plays Jensen henchman Rossi.

Season 6, Episode 30, "Royal Maroon": Kathleen Crowley (Terry Van Buren on Waterfront and Sophia Starr on Batman) plays aspiring entertainer Royal Maroon. Harold J. Stone (John Kennedy on The Grand Jury, Hamilton Greeley on My World and Welcome to It, and Sam Steinberg on Bridget Loves Bernie) plays general store proprietor Mr. Brian. Ron Foster (Officer Garvey on Highway Patrol) plays his henchman Ken Morris. Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays stagecoach driver Sedge. Charles Seel (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Dennis the Menace) plays physician Dr. Fergus. Ken Lynch (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Checkmate) plays the Clearwater sheriff.

Season 6, Episode 31, "The Gold Witch": Ron Rendell (starred in Pacific Adventure, Bulldog Drummond at Bay, Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back, Lorna Doone, and Kiss Me Kate, was the host for The Vise and played Capt. Frank Hawthorn on O.S.S.) plays phony hypnotist Arthur Reardon. Diana Millay (Laura Collins on Dark Shadows and Kitty Styles on The Secret Storm) plays his wife Ruth. Whit Bissell (starred in He Walked by Night, Creature From the Black Lagoon, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, and Hud and played Bert Loomis on Bachelor Father, Calvin Hanley on Peyton Place, and Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk on The Time Tunnel) plays Wells Fargo stagecoach driver Charlie. Alan Hale, Jr. (shown on the left, played Biff Baker on Biff Baker U.S.A., Casey Jones on Casey Jones, and The Skipper on Gilligan's Island) plays wealthy former miner Paul Denning. Claire Carleton (Nell Mulligan on The Mickey Rooney Show and Alice Purdy on Cimarron City) plays his wife Mary-Sue. Laya Raki (Halima on Crane) plays a gypsy woman.

Season 6, Episode 32, "Don't Wake a Tiger": Jim Davis (Matt Clark on Stories of the Century, Wes Cameron on Rescue 8, Marshal Bill Winter on The Cowboys, and Jock Ewing on Dallas) plays vengeful former Union soldier Jonus Sawyer. Gary Clarke (see the biography section for the 1962 post on The Virginian) plays his brother Davie. Royal Dano (appeared in The Far Country, Moby Dick, and The Outlaw Josey Wales) plays Wells Fargo relay station operator Robert Mapes. Marjorie Reynolds (starred in Holiday Inn, Ministry of Fear, The Time of Their Lives, and The Great Jewel Robber and played Peg Riley on The Life of Riley) plays his wife Helen. Kelly Thordsen (Colorado Charlie on Yancy Derringer) plays Little Bend sheriff Tom. Harp McGuire (appeared in Captain Thunderbolt, On the Beach, Inherit the Wind, and Cage of Evil) plays his deputy Sam Harris. Tom Greenway (Sheriff Jack Bronson on State Trooper)plays Wells Fargo agent Henry Sharp. Hank Patterson (see "Hometown Doctor" above) plays the Wells Fargo stagecoach driver. William Tannen (Deputy Hal Norton on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays barfly Ollie Cooper. Mark Allen (Matt Kissel on The Travels of Jamie McPheeters and Sam Evans on Dark Shadows) plays barfly Bill. Mauritz Hugo (appeared in Revenge of the Zombies, Secret Agent X-9, and Alvarez Kelly and played George Holden on The Cisco Kid) plays the Little Bend Wells Fargo agent.

Season 6, Episode 33, "The Wayfarers": James Coburn (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 stagecoach robber Ben Crider. Hugh Marlowe (starred in Twelve O'Clock High, All About Eve, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and played Ellery Queen on Mystery Is My Business and Jim Matthews on Another World) plays banker George Adams. June Vincent (starred in Honeymoon Lodge, Black Angel, Shed No Tears, and The Creeper and played Dr. Amanda Winninger on Bright Promise) plays his wife Grace. Robert Ellenstein (appeared in 3:10 to Yuma, Too Much Too Soon, and North by Northwest) plays novelist Augustus Parmalee. Robert Bray (Simon Kane on Stagecoach West and Corey Stuart on Lassie) plays disgraced seaman Henry Maxon. Alex Montoya (Miguel Morales on The High Chaparral) plays Mexican bandito Juan Morin.

Season 6, Episode 34, "Vignette of a Sinner": Jeff Morrow (starred in Sign of the Pagan, This Island Earth, Pardners, and The Giant Claw and played Maj. Bart McClelland n Union Pacific and Dr. Lloyd Axton on The New Temperatures Rising Show) plays bank director Les Caldwell. Joyce Taylor (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Men Into Space) plays his fiance Rachel Whitman. William Mims (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays outlaw for hire Lucius Kramm. Edward Platt (appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, Written on the Wind, Designing Woman, and North by Northwest and played the Chief on Get Smart) plays ex-con physician Doc Bell. Sam Gilman (Sam Grafton on Shane) plays phony elixir salesman Rockaway. Dean Smith (Doug McClure's stunt double on Overland Trail, Dale Robertson's stunt double on Iron Horse, and stunt coordinator on How the West Was Won and Simon & Simon) plays his accomplice Michael. James Craig (starred in Kitty Foyle, The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Human Comedy, Kismet (1944), and Our Vines Have Tender Grapes) plays the Rawlston sheriff.