Sea Hunt (1961)

The fourth and final season of Sea Hunt didn't diverge from the previous three in depicting the adventures of frogman-for-hire Mike Nelson who encounters life-threatening dangers each week, whether on assignment with the U.S. Coast Guard, where he is an auxiliary officer, working for scientists and inventors hoping to make new discoveries, or simply giving diving lessons to civilians who sometimes have ulterior motives. But while most of the episodes involve hair-raising near-death experiences, star Lloyd Bridges and the producers show a lighter side as well on a few occasions. In "The Meet" (July 1, 1961), in which Mike Nelson and a young diver named Chaz spoil a counterfeit ring using a cave on an isolated island as their base of operations, Nelson is an avid fan of the TV series Dempsey of the Deep, a kind of soap opera version of Sea Hunt, and after he and Chaz have finished breaking up the counterfeit ring, he learns that Chaz is a fan of the series, too, and the two sit down to watch an episode together while Chaz's girlfriend rolls her eyes. In "Imposter" (August 5, 1961) Bridges plays both Nelson and his diving doppelganger Whitey Fender, who pretends to be the famous diver Nelson in order to swindle socialite Marna Gould out of a diamond necklace and other jewels she lost when a boat she was traveling on sank after she was rescued. To add insult to injury, Fender romances Gould and then drops her like a hot potato once he recovers her jewels, leaving Nelson in an uncomfortable position when she accuses him of ghosting her the first time he actually meets her. And "The Aquanettes" (March 25, 1961) seems to be Nelson's dream come true when he is assigned to help three pretty young female astronauts train underwater for a planned trip to Venus (yes, 8 years before man landed on the moon) only to spend most of his time trying to reassure one of the astronauts that her two panic-induced blunders were perfectly normal and do not mean she is unfit for duty. Which isn't to say that Nelson doesn't show a sense of humor fairly often in teasing people who have just escaped a harrowing experience, but the above-mentioned episodes add a kitschy charm that offer a nice change-of-pace from the usual life-or-death dramas in which the series traffics.

The other characters Nelson interacts with are often mere foils for his swashbuckling manliness, but Victor Buono's depiction of lip-smacking archaeologist Tank Wallace in "The Saint Story" (July 29, 1961) compares favorably with his portrayal of King Tut in Batman as he blusters into the office of Father Guerra before secretly revealing to Nelson that he is actually working undercover for the U.S. government to try to foil an attempt to overthrow the small Caribbean island where Nelson happens to be working. Less amusing is the character of eccentric inventor Dr. Kendrick Kelway as played by Kelton Garwood in "P.T. Boat" (August 26, 1961) due to Garwood's over-the-top mugging and affectations. Then there are the characters who show incredible stupidity that leads to life-threatening near disasters. In "River Treasure" (January 14, 1961) Tom Marzack continues diving alone in the Amazon River searching for emeralds to the point of exhaustion and then suspects his wife of wanting to leave him for Nelson. Nelson has to continue to rescue him when he gets stuck in some underwater pinch, but Marzack continues to ignore Nelson's advice to rest up before trying to go below again. "Rescue" (February 18, 1961) features Nelson's old friend Lou James who thinks he is too poor to avoid a wedding license, so he risks his life and nearly gets killed diving for a reported Aztec relic in the luggage of a sunken freighter that Nelson has been hired by the Coast Guard to blow up. Of course, James gets trapped underwater on his dive minutes before the explosives are due to go off, and Nelson has to make a hair-raising rescue mission to save his life. "Superman" (August 12, 1961) features another bonehead named Stan Brenner in search of relics in an underwater Mexican cave. Brenner's idiocy is matched by his wife Liz's in that he has never told her he has diabetes and takes daily insulin shots, and she is frustrated that he is so obsessed with diving for relics that she deliberately sinks their boat on an isolated, uninhabited island so that he will be forced to pay attention to her, not realizing that the boat she just sank contains her husband's insulin kit. You already know who has to save everybody--Nelson. And "Skipper" (September 9, 1961) tells the implausible story of speed-boat racing champion Johnny Cleaver and his brother Fred, who serves as his mechanic and one day deliberately sabotages his brother's speed boat in the hopes of killing him because mom always liked him best. Funny that his resentment never surfaced until Nelson appeared on the scene.

As for Nelson, besides being brave, heroic, trustworthy, and persistent, in Season 4 he also shows he is modest in "Vital Error" (January 28, 1961) on a diving trip with friend and celebrated newspaper columnist Frederick C. Darrow, who keeps having underwater "accidents" that turn out not to be accidental because Darrow is secretly trying to commit suicide believing that he has a fatal tumor. Fortunately, Darrow's doctor gets in touch with Mike and rushes out to his boat to tell him that the latest tests revealed that the tumor is benign, and Nelson is able to once again rescue Darrow from an underwater death trap, after which Darrow thanks him for saving his life, but Nelson replies that he did it for selfish reasons--so that he can continue to enjoy Darrow's column in his daily newspaper. Nelson uses the same line in the very next episode "The Dancer" (February 4, 1961) when he answers a distress call while out tooling around in his boat and is informed that world-famous dancer Anna Buonanova has one leg pinned by a heavy metal plate on the floor of Rosarita Bay. At first it appears that they may have to perform an underwater amputation of the leg just to save her life, though it would also end her career. But after trying several unsuccessful attempts to free her leg, Nelson hits on the idea of using an air saw, which is rushed out to the site on a Coast Guard boat and saves the day--and the leg. Afterward, when Buonanova is recovering in the hospital, Nelson visits her and says he saved her leg for selfish reasons--so that he could one day see her dance again. Luckily, this is the last time we hear Nelson deflect praise this way, though one can imagine that it could develop into a pretty funny gag if used in more and more ridiculous situations.

Despite the fact that Bridges was the biggest star in syndicated television--he was a major star in NBC's Marineland Circus special and was featured in the April 1, 1961 edition of TV Guide in connection with that program--as we documented in our post on the episodes for 1960, producer Ivan Tors eventually cancelled the series after Season 4 because Bridges wanted to start using plots revolving around oil companies and other industrial actors damaging the sea and its resources, an idea to which the show's sponsor Standard Oil would obviously have objected. Though the final episode, "Round Up" (September 23, 1961), didn't actually serve as a finale in the way we think of series signing off today, it perhaps suggests that Mike Nelson's thrill-seeking adventures were winding down because after completing yet another job collecting and detonating discarded underwater explosives, Nelson says the assignment may be his last such job because he had decided that the work was too dangerous to keep pushing his luck. Of course, he is then immediately summoned by the Coast Guard to do another such job, and once that is finished he is pressed to locate and remove a torpedo fired into the drainage pipe of a hydro plant by disgruntled former employee John Stark, played by a very young Jack Nicholson. Nelson is clearly tired of his life-threatening work and by episode's end is so exhausted that he can barely make it out of the drainage pipe with the torpedo. Though he would never don his mask, fins, and air tanks on television again, Mike Nelson has remained a cherished TV character for decades. Beau Bridges marveled in a 2014 interview on tv.avclub.com that he ran into a fan wearing a Sea Hunt T shirt at a concert performed by his brother Jeff's band The Abiders. Apparently not just The Dude abides in the hearts of old Sea Hunt fans.

The Actors

For the biography of Lloyd Bridges, see the 1960 post on Sea Hunt.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 4, Episode 1, "Point of No Return": Paul Birch (shown on the left, played Erle Stanley Gardner on The Court of Last Resort, Mike Malone on Cannonball, and Capt. Carpenter on The Fugitive) plays State U.S. Coast Guard project leader Dr. Bainbridge. Ross Elliott (Freddie the director on The Jack Benny Program and Sheriff Abbott on The Virginian) plays his assistant Lt. Dave Tulley. Joyce Meadows (Lynn Allen on The Man and the Challenge and Stacy on Two Faces West) plays journalist Dottie Maybrook.

Season 4, Episode 2, "River Treasure": Linda Lawson (shown on the right, played Renee on Adventures in Paradise, Pat Perry on Don't Call Me Charlie, Laura Fremont on Ben Casey, and Mrs. Paganini on That's Life) plays diver's girlfriend Jill Marzack. 

Season 4, Episode 3, "The Destroyers": Ross Elliott (see "Point of No Return" above) returns as USCG Lt. Dave Tulley. Harlan Warde (John Hamilton on The Rifleman and Sheriff John Brannan on The Virginian) plays Tulley's friend USCG Cmdr. Ben White. Paul Maxwell (Steve Tanner on Coronation Street, Sam Webber on The Lotus Eaters, Hellman on The Aphrodite Inheritance, Ed Hathersage on Emmerdale, and was the voice of Col. Steve Zodiac on Fireball XL5) plays electronics expert Dr. Neal Martin. Karl Held (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Perry Mason) plays a Navy radar operator.

Season 4, Episode 4, "Vital Error": Reed Hadley (shown on the left, starred in I Shot Jesse James, The Return of Jesse James, Dallas, and Little Big Horn and played Capt. John Braddock on Racket Squad and Bart Matthews on Public Defender) plays writer Frederick C. Darrow. Aline Towne (Joan Gilbert on Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe) plays his wife Elaine. William Woodson (the narrator on Dick Tracy, The Invaders, and Centurions, voiced J. Jonah Jameson on Spider-Man and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,  and played Sgt. Ed Blankey on This Man Dawson) plays Darrow's doctor John Gregory. Ross Elliott (see "Point of No Return" above) returns as USCG Lt. Dave Tulley.

Season 4, Episode 5, "The Dancer": John Hackett (stand-in for Jack Nicholson in 7 feature films from 1990-2003) plays diver Bob Forrester. 

Season 4, Episode 6, "Sperling of Lamatsu": John Barclay (starred in The Mikado, The Power of God, and King Rat) plays renowned humanitarian physician Dr. Jan Sperling. 

Season 4, Episode 7, "Rescue": Jack Ging (Beau McCloud on Tales of Wells Fargo, Dr. Paul Graham on The Eleventh Hour, Lt. Dan Ives on Mannix, Lt. Ted Quinlan on Riptide, and Gen. Harlan "Bull" Fullbright on The A-Team) plays salvage diver Lou James. Sue Randall (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Leave It to Beaver) plays his fiance Mary Carter. Ross Elliott (see "Point of No Return" above) plays USCG Cmdr. Bill Brady.

Season 4, Episode 8, "Mercy Ship": Gregory Gaye (appeared in Dodsworth, Tovarich, Ninotchka, and Creature With the Atom Brain and played The Ruler on Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe and Andre the Maitre D' on The Roaring 20's) plays Philippine Mayor Sunander. Ken Drake (Bragan on Not for Hire) plays hospital ship chief Dr. Levy.

Season 4, Episode 9, "Hot Tracer": Robert Montgomery, Jr. (shown on the left, son of actor Robert Montgomery and brother of Elizabeth Montgomery) plays thrill-seeker Chan Harrington III. Darlene Tompkins (stunt double for Cheryl Ladd on Charlie's Angels) plays his girlfriend Ginny. Tyler McVey (Major Norgrath on Men Into Space) plays scientist Dr. Wilmer.

Season 4, Episode 10, "Sonar Story": Mark Dana (SAC Clayton MacGregor on The F.B.I.) plays sonar experimenter Dr. Briggs. Joan Patrick (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dr. Kildare) plays a drug trafficker.

Season 4, Episode 11, "Amigo": Noel Drayton (Mr. Hardcastle on Family Affair) plays archaeologist Dr. Graham. Eugene Mazzola (Joey Drum on Jefferson Drum) plays Mexican boy Don Juan.

Season 4, Episode 12, "The Aquanettes": 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 astronaut Dana Perry. Gloria Marshall (Mary Beth Hall on The Bob Cummings Show) plays astronaut Joanna Sue Tolliver. Mary Lawrence (shown on the right, appeared in County Fair, The Stratton Story, and A Cry in the Night and played Alice Jones on Casey Jones and Ruth Helm on The Bob Cummings Show) plays their boss Dr. Barnes.

Season 4, Episode 13, "Survival Kit": King Moody (Starker on Get Smart and Ronald McDonald on McDonaldland) plays German Consul Baumer. Gertrude Michael (appeared in I'm No Angel, Murder at the Vanities, and Flamingo Road) plays Nazi pilot's widow Mrs. Dietrich.  

Season 4, Episode 14, "Expedition": Robert F. Simon (shown on the left, played Dave Tabak on Saints and Sinners, Gen. Alfred Terry on Custer, Frank Stephens on Bewitched, Uncle Everett McPherson on Nancy, Capt. Rudy Olsen on The Streets of San Francisco, and J. Jonah Jameson on The Amazing Spiderman) plays history professor Aaron Halliday. Irene Tedrow (the biography section for the 1961 post on Dennis the Menace) plays boarding house owner Naomi Roundtree. 

Season 4, Episode 15, "Bionics": Kathie Browne (shown on the right, played Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays scientist's daughter Kathryn Drayton. Robert Karnes (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Lawless Years) plays Mike's boss USCG Cmdr. Flint. 

Season 4, Episode 16, "The Defector": Robert Sampson (Sgt. Walsh on Steve Canyon, Father Mike Fitzgerald on Bridget Love Bernie, and Sheriff Turk Tobias on Falcon Crest) plays diving student Bob Hicks. Ted Knight (shown on the left, played Phil Buckley on The Young Marrieds, Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Roger Dennis on The Ted Knight Show, and Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort) plays government agent Steve Powery. 

Season 4, Episode 18, "Cougar": Robert Ridgely (Lt. Frank Kimbro on The Gallant Men, the announcer on The Woody Woodbury Show, and Cliff Hamilton on Domestic Life and was the voice of Tarzan on Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, Flash Gordon on Flash Gordon, and General Ross on The Incredible Hulk) plays former juvenile delinquent Cougar Norris. Susan Silo (Rusty on Harry's Girls and has been a prolific voice actor on shows such as The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, James Bond, Jr., and Where's Waldo?) plays professor's daughter Leilani.

Season 4, Episode 19, "Sub Hatch": George Clayton Johnson (co-wrote the stories for Ocean's 11 and Logan's Run and wrote screenplays for The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and Kung Fu) plays USCG Lt. Harwell. Bill Edwards (Jonathan Kaye on Hawaii Five-O) plays USCG submarine Cmdr. Murdock.

Season 4, Episode 20, "The Octopus Story": Ken Curtis (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Ripcord) plays oceanographer Dean. 

Season 4, Episode 21, "Quicksand": Kathie Browne (see "Bionics" above) plays archaeologist's daughter Eleana Dales. Ric Marlow (wrote the lyrics to "A Taste of Honey") plays diving crew member Slade. Corey Allen (went on to direct multiple episodes of Dr. Kildare, Police Woman, Dallas, Hunter, and Star Trek: The Next Generation) plays diving crew member Young.

Season 4, Episode 22, "Lost Island": Roy Dean (multi-talented athlete in swimming and track, stage designer, actor, singer, and photographer whose first book A Time in Eden was the first to bring male nude imagery to the masses) plays escaped prisoner Johnny Gerard. 

Season 4, Episode 23, "Baby": Beau Bridges (shown on the left, Lloyd Bridges' son, played Seaman Howard Spicer on Ensign O'Toole, Richard Chapin on United States, Dave Hart on Harts of the West, Judge Bob Gibbs on Maximum Bob, Dan Falco on Beggars and Choosers, Tom Gage on The Agency, Maj. Gen. Hank Landry on Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate SG-1, Carl Hickey on My Name Is Earl, Nick Brody on Brothers & Sisters, Barton Scully on Masters of Sex, and Tom Miller on The Millers) plays missionary Warren Tucker. Denise Alexander (Susan Hunter Martin on Days of Our Lives, Mary McKinnon on Another World, Sister Beatrice on Sunset Beach, Lola on The Inn, Dr. Lesley Webber on General Hospital, and Louise Fitzpatrick on Pretty the Series) plays his wife Caroline. John Zaremba (Special Agent Jerry Dressler on I Led 3 Lives, Dr. Harold Jensen on Ben Casey, Admiral Hardesy on McHale's Navy, Dr. Raymond Swain on The Time Tunnel, and Dr, Harlem Danvers on Dallas) plays physician Dr. Bruney.

Season 4, Episode 24, "Confidential Mission": Ken Drake (see "Mercy Ship" above) plays government agent Steve Walker. Terry Becker (Chief Francis Ethelbert Sharkey on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) plays American journalist Alcott. Jan Arvan (Nacho Torres on Zorro and Paw Kadiddlehopper on The Red Skelton Hour) plays a Caribbean police lieutenant. Dehl Berti (Vittorio on Buck James and John Taylor on Guns of Paradise) plays a yacht captain. 

Season 4, Episode 25, "Underwater Pirates": Ron Hayes (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Bat Masterson) plays Mike's war buddy Sam Carter. Stuart Bradley (Prince Percival on The Magic Cottage) plays pirate diver Brady. John Considine (brother of Tim Considine, played Grant Capwell on Santa Barbara) plays Brady's partner Doak. Robert Christian (Dr. Colby on All My Children and Lt. Frank on Search for Tomorrow) plays tug boat pilot Charlie.

Season 4, Episode 26, "The Meet": Robert Clarke (appeared in The Man From Planet X and The Astounding She-Monster, starred in and directed The Hideous Sun Demon, and was married to Alyce King of the King Singers) plays federal agent Bill Saunderman. Richard Evans (shown on the left, played Paul Hanley on Peyton Place) plays young diver Chaz. Larry Pennell (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Ripcord) plays counterfeiter Steve.

Season 4, Episode 27, "Dark Evil": Michael Whalen (starred in White Fang, Career Woman, The Lady Escapes, Inside Story, and The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues) plays philanthropist Oliver Bradon. Margie Regan (shown on the right, played Lucy Carr on Michael Shayne) plays his daughter Lucille.

Season 4, Episode 28, "Sunken Car": John Marley (appeared in Cat Ballou, Love Story, and The Godfather) plays fisherman Frank Johnson. Ann Morrison (Dr. Alma on The Young Marrieds) plays widow Mrs. Krag.

Season 4, Episode 29, "Hit and Run": Nancy Valentine (appeared in Father of the Bride, The Black Castle, and -30-) plays model Virgie Bryant. Terry Becker (see "Confidential Mission" above) plays a movie star's agent. 

Season 4, Episode 30, "The Saint Story": Nestor Paiva (Theo Gonzales on Zorro) plays salvage boat operator Tio Ramon Delgado. Victor Buono (shown on the left, appeared in Robin and the 7 Hoods, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Silencers and played King Tut on Batman and Dr. Schubert on Man From Atlantis) plays archaeologist Tank Wallace.

Season 4, Episode 31, "Imposter": Jean Porter (shown on the right, wife of director Edward Dmytryck, appeared in The Youngest Profession, Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble, and The Left Hand of God) plays diamond necklace seeker Marna Gould. John Bryant (Dr. Carl Spaulding on The Virginian) plays insurance investigator Larrabee. 

Season 4, Episode 32, "Superman": Russ Conway (Fenton Hardy on The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, Gen. Devon on Men Into Space, and Lt. Pete Kile on Richard Diamond, Private Detective) plays relic seeker Stan Brenner. Sue Randall (see "Rescue" above) plays his wife Liz. 

Season 4, Episode 33, "Roustabout": Kenneth Tobey (shown on the left, starred in The Thing From Another World, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, and It Came From Beneath the Sea and played Chuck Martin on Whirlybirds and Russ Conway on I Spy) plays salvage diver Pete Butler. Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr. (Luis Valdez on Viva Valdez) plays policeman Carlos. 

Season 4, Episode 34, "P.T. Boat": Kelton Garwood (Beauregard O'Hanlon on Bourbon Street Beat and Percy Crump on Gunsmoke) plays inventor Dr. Kendrick Kelway. Ken Roberts (the announcer on The Secret Storm, The Electric Company, and Texas) plays his sister's friend Dan Canaday. 

Season 4, Episode 35, "Starting Signal": Robert F. Simon (see "Expedition" above) plays oceanographic scientist Dr. Tomaso Ricou. Ross Elliott (see "Point of No Return" above) plays USCG Lt. Pete Gregory. Ray Hamilton (Al Casey on King of Diamonds) plays Mike's diving partner Jim Parsons. 

Season 4, Episode 36, "Skipper": Grant Woods (Lt. Kelowitz on Star Trek and Capt. Myles Keogh on Custer) plays speed boat mechanic Fred Cleaver. Jana Lund (shown on the right, appeared in Don't Knock the Rock, Loving You, Frankenstein 1970, High School Hellcats, and Hot Car Girl) plays his brother's girlfriend Jill Bromley 

Season 4, Episode 37, "Crime at Sea": Sue Randall (see "Rescue" above) plays Navy captain's daughter Peg Nicholson. Keith Andes (starred in Project X, Clash by Night, and The Girl Most Likely and played Col. Frank Dawson on This Man Dawson, Keith Granville on Glynis, and voiced Birdman on Birdman) plays maritime lawyer Todd Webster. Chris Robinson (Sgt. Sandy Komansky on 12 O'Clock High, Rick Webber on General Hospital, and Jack Hamilton on The Bold and the Beautiful) plays his assistant Kelsey. Bruce Dern (shown on the left, starred in The Wild Angels, Hang 'Em High, Support Your Local Sheriff!, Silent Running, Coming Home, and Nebraska and played E.J. Stocker on Stoney Burke and Frank Harlow on Big Love) okays FBI agent John Furillo. Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays a Coast Guard judge. Ric Marlow (see "Quicksand" above) plays helicopter pilot Robert Lewis Bates. Ken Drake (see "Mercy Ship" above) plays bomber George Hillman.

Season 4, Episode 38, "Round Up": Jack Nicholson (shown on the right, starred in Five Easy Pieces, Easy Rider, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown, The Shining, and Terms of Endearment and played Jaime Angel on Dr. Kildare) plays bomber John Stark.

Tales of Wells Fargo (1960)

If it were cast today, Tales of Wells Fargo might depict crooks and con men working inside the fabled company that began as a guaranteed transportation venture based out of San Francisco, but in the 1950s American television landscape, Wells Fargo agents were the good guys. The series ran for 6 seasons on NBC from 1957-62, the first five as a 30-minute black-and-white program with a single star--Dale Robertson playing special agent Jim Hardie, who travels alone throughout the west usually investigating robberies and murders perpetrated against the assets and agents of his employer. In this role, Hardie is a kind of combination private detective and lawman. The format and stories are hardly distinctive in the western TV genre, overlapping with earlier and later series such as Stories of the Century, Cheyenne, Pony Express, and Shotgun Slade, but due to Robertson's folksy charm and beefcake good looks, it shot to #3 in the ratings during its initial season and still placed #7 in its sophomore year before falling out of the top 30 in its final four seasons. The series was conceived by producer Nat Holt, who had directed Robertson in his first credited film role in Fighting Man of the Plains, and was based very loosely on the career of Fred J. Dodge, who worked as a special undercover agent for Wells Fargo  in the 1870s and 1880s throughout the west before settling in Texas in 1890 and working openly for the company from then on. The television character Jim Hardie, however, always openly announces his role as a Wells Fargo agent, many times preceded by his reputation when he enters a town to work on a case, though he occasionally goes undercover impersonating someone else, such as imprisoned killer Bill Stampel in the episode "The Canyon" (February 1, 1960) and wanted horse thief Rattlesnake Jim in the episode "Vasquez" (May 16, 1960).

Holt and his writers also expanded Hardie's chronological reach beyond Dodge's by setting some episodes as early as 1865, when the real-life Dodge was only 11 years old, and had him encounter real-life western legends that Dodge never dealt with, while avoiding one of Dodge's closest friends, Wyatt Earp, since the latter was then the star of another western series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, on a competing network--ABC. The real-life Fred Dodge had even helped Earp land a job with Wells Fargo in Tombstone, Arizona, where he would later have his famous shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. But in the fictional world of Jim Hardie, the episode "Escort to Santa Fe" (December 19, 1960) depicts Hardie assigned to escort Mexican President Benito Juarez to a meeting with U.S. officials in Santa Fe on the day that President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The episode "Cole Younger" (January 4, 1960) tries placing Hardie in the midst of the famous James-Younger Gang botched robbery of the North Minefield, Minnesota bank, which led to Younger's capture and imprisonment, though the real-life Dodge had no involvement in the event. Likewise, in the highly chauvinistic episode "Pearl Hart" (May 9, 1960), Hardie helps capture the notorious female stagecoach robber by playing on her vanity, which Hardie says all women are guilty of, by luring her into a shooting contest in Deming, New Mexico since she is so proud of her skill. After he bests her and takes her to Tucson for trial, he narrates that after serving a light sentence she went straight and even got married. The story of the real Pearl Hart is a bit more complicated, having married an alcoholic, abusive husband when she was 16, sending her two children to live with her mother in Ohio while she pursued various occupations, even possibly operating a brothel, and eventually turning to stagecoach robbery ostensibly to support her then-ailing mother. She was actually acquitted of the robbery but later arrested for tampering with the U.S. mail, escaped from prison but later recaptured in Deming, and after serving her sentence in Yuma Prison was later charged with receiving stolen property while running a Kansas City cigar store but acquitted of that charge as well. Needless to say, the arc of her real-life story did not follow the tidy redemptive trajectory depicted on Tales of Wells Fargo, but this episode's version is consistent with the overall moral sermonizing found elsewhere in the series.

"Frightened Witness" (December 26, 1960) depicts an eye witness to a murder being unwilling to testify against the perpetrator after being threatened by the perpetrator's gang members. However, after being shamed by his young son as a coward and then receiving a lecture from Hardie about what society would look like if killers were allowed to walk free without repercussion, the witness decides to stand up to the bullies threatening him and is so invigorated by his new-found backbone that he pummels one of the bullies in a fistfight. In "The Bride and the Bandit" (December 12, 1960) a former saloon girl posing as a schoolteacher who hopes to marry an upstanding Wells Fargo agent receives admonishment from Hardie to let the agent make the decision about whether her past is a deal-breaker rather than pretending to be something she's not and then running away once her cover is blown. And in another highly chauvinistic episode, Hardie literally takes over his knee and spanks precocious 17-year-old Stephanie Carrie in "A Study in Petticoats" (October 17, 1960) after she relentlessly tries to get him to marry her and then lies to her brothers, claiming that he took advantage of her when they were alone, in order to try to force a shotgun marriage upon him. After he administers the spanking, the brothers thank him and say they should have done the same a long time ago. Granted, the paternalistic tone of Tales of Wells Fargo was fairly common for the era but also helps demonstrate why this series failed to stand out from its competition.

While Hardie's character was unambiguously upright on screen, Robertson's handling of the series behind the scenes, like Pearl Hart's actual biography, is a little more complicated. Before the series got off the ground, Nat Holt tried to sell Robertson on the idea of Wells Fargo for some time, but Robertson kept putting him off because he considered himself too busy with his work on feature films. Eventually Robertson felt he owed Holt a favor out of loyalty for having gotten him started in his successful career, though he was also drawn to television's shorter shooting schedule than that of feature films. To sweeten the deal Holt offered Robertson 50% ownership of the series, and as the game show says, the price was right. However, by the fifth season, according to an interview with Earle Lyon on westernclippings.com, Robertson felt that Holt, then 67 years old, was getting too old and forgetful to continue, so he invited Lyon to take over as producer for the remainder of the series. Though Holt opposed the move, Robertson, who was also an experienced horse trainer, got the backing of NBC and the show's financial backer, Universal, and Holt was "put out to pasture" with Lyon taking over in Season 5. However, Robertson himself eventually was ousted as well, when, according to Lyon, Lew Wasserman took over Universal and decided that Tales of Wells Fargo, which had been expanded to an hour for its final season and was being shot in color at a time when very few other series were, was too expensive and canceled the series despite Robertson and Lyon wanting to continue. Perhaps Robertson forcing Holt out was necessary as "just business," but it hardly sounds like the kind of thing Jim Hardie would have done.

The theme music for Tales of Wells Fargo was composed by Stanley Wilson, who was profiled in the 1961 post for Ripcord.

Timeless Media Group has released the first two complete seasons on DVD as well as a 6-disc Best of collection from the first five seasons and a 22-episode collection from the final season. The series is also currently airing on the Encore Westerns cable TV channel.

 

 

 

 

The Actors

Dale Robertson

Dayle Lymoine Robertson was born in Harrah, Oklahoma, 30 miles east of Oklahoma City and claimed to have Cherokee blood. He became an accomplished rider of horses by age 10 and was training polo ponies a few years later. In high school he starred in athletics and became a professional boxer after high school while attending the Oklahoma Military Academy. He was reportedly offered a lead role in the Columbia feature Golden Boy during this time but turned it down as he had no interest in acting. Once the U.S. entered World War II he was commissioned as an officer and stationed in Europe, where he was wounded twice and was awarded the Bronze and Silver Star medals. However, while stationed in San Luis Obispo, California, he and some friends decided to have photographs made to send home. The photographer who took his picture made an enlargement and posted it in his shop window, drawing the interest of numerous talent scouts. Taking the advice given him by fellow Oklahoman Will Rogers, Jr., Robertson never took acting classes in order to retain his natural folksiness. Many years later he said that the only reason he got into acting was to earn enough money to buy a horse ranch back in Oklahoma, which he eventually did. His first uncredited role came in the 1948 feature The Boy With Green Hair, and the following year he got his first on-screen credit playing Jesse James in Fighting Man of the Plains. By 1951 he had signed a 7-year contract with 20th Century Fox and was playing leading roles in such films as Take Care of My Little Girl and Golden Girl. Later Robertson estimated that about 70% of his roles were in westerns, such as The Outcasts of Poker Flat, Devil's Canyon, and Sitting Bull. He made his first television appearances on the drama anthologies Studio 57 and Schlitz Playhouse in 1956. His second appearance on the latter series was titled "A Tale of Wells Fargo," which essentially served as the pilot for the series he would help create, own, and star in the following year, Tales of Wells Fargo. 

Though his workload diminished in the first few years after Wells Fargo was canceled, appearing in a handful of feature films and a pair of TV movies, he was soon back on television in a leading role as Ben Calhoun in Iron Horse, which ran for two seasons from 1966-68. He followed that by replacing Robert Taylor as the host and narrator of the syndicated series Death Valley Days during its final two seasons in 1969-70. His acting career again went on hiatus through most of the 1970s except for a few TV movies, but he returned to television as oil wildcatter Walter Lankershim on the first season of Dynasty. The following year he appeared 5 times as Frank Crutcher on Dallas, and after another 5-year drought returned to a starring role in the short-lived J.J. Starbuck in 1987-88. Thereafter he had only a few credits--one on Murder, She Wrote, another TV movie, and two appearances on Lloyd Bridges' series Harts of the West in 1993-94. He and his fourth wife Susan settled on his long-sought horse ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma but eventually sold it and moved to San Diego, where he died from complications from pneumonia and lung cancer on February 27, 2013 at the age of 89.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 4, Episode 17, "Cole Younger": Royal Dano (appeared in The Far Country, Moby Dick, and The Outlaw Josey Wales) plays notorious outlaw Cole Younger. Patty Ann Gerrity (shown on the left, appeared in To Hell and Back, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and The Trouble With Angels and played Alice Holliday on This Is Alice) plays farmer's daughter Inger Hegelund. House Peters, Jr. (Sheriff Jim Billings on Lassie) plays Hanska Falls Sheriff Glisburn. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays a telegrapher.

Season 4, Episode 18, "The Easterner": Gerald Mohr (narrator on 19 episodes of The Lone Ranger, Christopher Storm on Foreign Intrigue, voice of Mr. Fantastic and Reed Richards on Fantastic 4) plays Boston lawyer Mulvaney. Joanna Moore (mother of Tatum and Griffin O'Neal, appeared in Touch of Evil, Son of Flubber, and Never a Dull Moment and played Peggy McMillan on The Andy Griffith Show) plays stage passenger Arlene Howard. S. John Launer (Marshall Houts on The Court of Last Resort and the judge 33 times on Perry Mason) plays a Wells Fargo agent. 

Season 4, Episode 19, "The Governor's Visit": Douglas Kennedy (starred in Adventures of Don Juan, I Was an American Spy, and Jack McCall, Desperado and played Marshal Steve Donovan on Steve Donovan, Western Marshal and Sheriff Fred Madden on The Big Valley) plays Wyoming outlaw Clancy. Mari Blanchard (shown on the right, starred in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, Destry, Son of Sinbad, and She Devil and played Kathy O'Hara on Klondike) plays saloon owner Kitty Flambeau. Joan Staley (Playboy Playmate who appeared in Cape Fear, Roustabout, Valley of the Dragons, Johnny Cool, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and played Hannah on 77 Sunset Strip and Roberta Love on Broadside) plays saloon girl Sally. Joan Granville (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Lock Up) plays saloon girl Tess. Tom McKee (Comrade Laylock Brisson on I Led 3 Lives, Captain Davis on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Fire Chief Tucker on Rescue 8) plays Wyoming sheriff Parker. Bob Steele (starred in Breezy Bill, Of Mice and Men, and The Big Sleep, played Billy the Kid in 6 westerns and Tucson Smith in 19 others, and played Trooper Duffy on F Troop) plays Clancy henchman Cole. Quintin Sondergaard (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Tombstone Territory) plays an unnamed Clancy henchman.

Season 4, Episode 21, "The Canyon": Bruce Gordon (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Untouchables) plays outlaw community kingpin Len Garner. Andy Clyde (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Real McCoys) plays outlaw community resident Pop Brown. Jean Ingram (had an affair with James Edward Baker, aka Father Yod of The Source Family, who was convicted of killing her husband in 1963) plays embezzlement suspect's daughter Jane Kimball. 

Season 4, Episode 22, "Red Ransom": Frank DeKova (Chief Wild Eagle on F Troop and Louis Campagna on The Untouchables) plays Apache renegade Joe Black. John Alderson (Sgt. Bullock on Boots and Saddles and Wyatt Earp on Doctor Who) plays Wells Fargo agent Clay Arvin. Sarah Selby (Aunt Gertrude on The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, Lucille Vanderlip on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Miss Thomas on Father Knows Best, and Ma Smalley on Gunsmoke) plays his wife Clara. Larry J. Blake (the unnamed jailer on Yancy Derringer and Tom Parnell on Saints and Sinners) plays Apache chief Akana. Pat Hogan (Black Cloud on Brave Eagle) plays argumentative townsman Todd Hoover. Grandon Rhodes (Mr. Vanderlip on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Dr. Stevens on Lassie, the judge 16 times on Perry Mason, and Dr. J.P. Martin on Bonanza) plays another townsman.

Season 4, Episode 23, "The Englishwoman": Adrienne Hayes (shown on the right, played Brooke Bentley on General Hospital) plays embezzlement suspect's daughter Vickie St. John. Wesley Lau (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Perry Mason) plays Wells Fargo agent Hank. Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays the Morgan sheriff. George Cisar (Sgt. Theodore Mooney on Dennis the Menace and Cyrus Tankersley on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D.) plays newspaper publisher Whitey Lawson. John Beradino (Special Agent Steve Daniels on I Led 3 Lives, Sgt. Vince Cavelli on The New Breed, and Dr. Steve Hardy on General Hospital) plays gunslinger Larry Wills. Mason Curry (Deke Tuttle on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) plays general store owner Joe Jenson.

Season 4, Episode 24, "Forty-Four Forty": Peter Whitney (Sergeant Buck Sinclair on The Rough Riders and Lafe Crick on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays stagecoach robber Big Duggin. Roy Barcroft (Col. Logan on The Adventures of Spin and Marty and Roy on Gunsmoke) plays stage driver Tom Olsen. Nancy Hale (shown on the left, played Helen Carter on Whirlybirds) plays his daughter Myra. Sam Flint (Mr. Armstead on Father Knows Best and Judge Jewett on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Tucson doctor Ed Baylor. Owen Bush (Ben on Shane, John Belson on Sirota's Court, and Crimshaw on Our House) plays stage manager Hank.

Season 4, Episode 25, "The Late Mayor Brown": John Stephenson (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Flintstones) plays River Oaks resident Miles Rogers. George Mitchell (Cal Bristol on Stoney Burke) plays River Oaks Marshal Dan Fogarty. Vic Perrin (the narrator on Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, the control voice on The Outer Limits, and did voicework on Jonny Quest, Star Trek, Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, and Mission: Impossible!) plays thief Ben Locust. Gail Kobe (Penny Adams on Trackdown and Doris Schuster on Peyton Place and produced over 200 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful) plays late mayor's widow Kate Brown. Charles Cooper (starred in The Wrong Man and played the sheriff on Father Murphy and Judge Robert Boucher on The Practice) plays Locust's friend Sonny Boston. 

Season 4, Episode 26, "Black Trail": Dianne Foster (starred in Night Passage, The Last Hurrah, and The Deep Six) plays former actress Elaine Griffon. Luis Van Rooten (appeared in The Hitler Gang, Champion, and Operation Eichmann and played Knobby Walsh on The Joe Palooka Story) plays bank president Cyrus Wilson. Ron Soble (Dirty Jim on The Monroes) plays stagecoach robber Burch. 

Season 4, Episode 27, "The Great Bullion Robbery": Joyce Taylor (shown on the left, played Mary McCauley on Men Into Space) plays Wells Fargo agent's daughter Anne King. Robert Karnes (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Lawless Years) plays Weber Falls Marshal Emmett Clegg. Jan Merlin (Roger Manning on Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and Lt. Colin Kirby on The Rough Riders) plays ex-con Johnny Hogan. Ed Kemmer (Commander Buzz Corry on Space Patrol, Paul Britton on The Secret Storm, and Dick Martin on As the World Turns) plays blacksmith Joe Beecher.

Season 4, Episode 28, "The Outlaw's Wife": Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays robbery conspirator Clete. Patricia Huston (Addy Olson on Days of Our Lives and Hilda Brunschwager on L.A. Law) plays robber's wife's sister Marge Walker. Byron Morrow (Capt. Keith Gregory on The New Breed and Pearce Newberry on Executive Suite) plays a Wells Fargo agent. 

Season 4, Episode 29, "The Town": Mary Webster (shown on the far right, appeared in The Delicate Delinquent, Eighteen and Anxious, and Master of the World) plays Wolf Creek heir Lucy Potter. Rhys Williams (shown on the near right, played Doc Burrage on The Rifleman) plays train passenger Jim Cook. Robert Foulk (Ed Davis on Father Knows Best, Sheriff Miller on Lassie, Joe Kingston on Wichita Town, Mr. Wheeler on Green Acres, and Phillip Toomey on The Rifleman) plays Wolf Creek crook Clem Fallon. Bert Remsen (Detective Lawrence on Peyton Place, Mr. Pell on Gibbsville, Mario on It's a Living, and Jack Crager on Dynasty) plays Fallon's henchman Burkett. Robert B. Williams (postman Mr. Dorfman on Dennis the Menace  and Barney on Hazel) plays a hotel clerk. 

Season 4, Episode 30, "The Trading Post": Mort Mills (shown on the left, played Marshal Frank Tallman on Man Without a Gun, Sgt. Ben Landro on Perry Mason, and Sheriff Fred Madden on The Big Valley) plays bounty hunter Chase Robson. Paul Langton (Leslie Harrington on Peyton Place) plays trading post manager Frisbee. Peter Leeds (Tenner Smith on Trackdown and George Colton on Pete and Gladys) plays white man living among Indians Oscar Shipley. X Brands (Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah on Yancy Derringer) plays Osage brave Spotted Tail. Monte Blue (Sheriff Hollister on Sky King) plays his father Nicoma. 

Season 4, Episode 31, "Dead Man's Street": Buddy Ebsen (shown on the right, played Sgt. Hunk Marriner on Northwest Passage, Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones on Barnaby Jones, and Roy Houston on Matt Houston) plays lawless patriarch Dan Ferguson. 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 son Joby. Robert Bray (Simon Kane on Stagecoach West and Corey Stuart on Lassie) plays his son Alec. Kelly Thordsen (Colorado Charlie on Yancy Derringer) plays his son Amos. Barney Phillips (Sgt. Ed Jacobs on the original Dragnet, Lt. Sam Geller on Johnny Midnight, Lt. Avery on The Brothers Brannagan, Doc Kaiser on 12 O'Clock High, Mike Golden on Dan August, and Fletcher Huff on The Betty White Show) plays Wells Fargo agent George Guinness. Wallace Ford (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Deputy) plays Paradise, CA marshal F.X. Murphy. Walter Sande (appeared in To Have and Have Not, A Place in the Sun, and Bad Day at Black Rock and played Capt. Horatio Bullwinkle on The Adventures of Tugboat Annie and Papa Holstrum on The Farmer's Daughter) plays bartender Healey. Herbert Lytton (Admiral Reynolds on McHale's Navy) plays store owner Benson.

Season 4, Episode 32, "Threat of Death": Robert Middleton (Barney Wales on The Monroes) plays store owner Jason Kreegar. King Calder (Lt. Gray on Martin Kane) plays a Dobie resident. 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 Wells Fargo robber Johnny Crail. Elizabeth Allen (shown on the left, played Laura Deane on Bracken's World, Martha Simms on The Paul Lynde Show, Capt. Quinlan on CPO Sharkey, and Victoria Bellman on Texas) plays captive half-breed Ilona. Virginia Sale (Selma Plout on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) plays another Dobie citizen. 

Season 4, Episode 33, "Dealer's Choice": Patricia Barry (shown on the right, played Kate Harris on Harris Against the World, Lydia McGuire on Dr. Kildare, Adelaide Horton Williams on Days of Our Lives, Peg English on All My Children, and Sally Gleason on Guiding Light) plays wealthy heir Phyllis Randolph. Frank Wilcox (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Untouchables) plays her father. 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 casino owner John Galena. Arthur Space (appeared in Black Beauty, The Cockeyed Miracle, and Target Earth and played Herbert Brown on National Velvet and Dr. Frank Weaver on Lassie) plays Wells Fargo manager Arnold Porter. Robert Carson (Mr. Maddis on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) plays Wells Fargo agent Houseman Ward. Ann McCrea (Midge Kelsey on The Donna Reed Show) plays casino hostess Sarah. Roy Gordon (Andrew V. McMahon on The Millionaire) plays card-playing Judge Donovan.

Season 4, Episode 34, "Pearl Hart": Beverly Garland (shown on the left, played Casey Jones on Decoy, Ellis Collins on The Bing Crosby Show, Barbara Harper Douglas on My Three Sons, Dorothy "Dotty" West on Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Ellen Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Ginger on 7th Heaven) plays legendary outlaw Pearl Hart. Michael Pate (starred in Face to Face, Julius Caesar, Hondo, and Tower of London and played Chief Vittoro on Hondo and Det. Sgt. Vic Maddern on Matlock) plays her henchman Hogan. Stafford Repp (Brink on The New Phil Silvers Show and Chief O'Hara on Batman) plays Deming, NM sheriff Henry Roseboro. Jean Inness (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dr. Kildare) plays his wife Martha.

Season 4, Episode 35, "Vasquez": Cesare Danova (shown on the right, appeared in Tender Is the Night, Cleopatra, Viva Las Vegas, Mean Streets, and Animal House and played Actor on Garrison's Gorillas) plays famous desperado Tiburcio Vasquez. Jack Reitzen (Chopstick Joe on Terry and the Pirates and Flores on Not for Hire) plays his henchman Moreno. Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr. (Luis Valdez on Viva Valdez) player henchman Chavez. Barbara Luna (Maria on One Life to Live) plays Vasquez's lover Rosita. Stuart Randall (Sheriff Art Sampson on Cimarron City, Al Livermore on Lassie, and Sheriff Mort Corey on Laramie) plays San Jose Sheriff Morris. C. Lindsay Workman (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Donna Reed Show) plays a telegrapher.

Season 4, Episode 36, "Kid Brother": Larry Pennell (shown on the left, see the biographical section for the 1961 post on Ripcord) plays Hardie's younger brother Ben. Henry Corden (Carlo on The Count of Monte Cristo, and Babbitt on The Monkees and did voicework on The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, The Atom Ant Show, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and Return to the Planet of the Apes) plays New Orleans police inspector Dupre. Allison Hayes (see the biographical section for the 1960 post on Bat Masterson) plays saloon girl Marie. Kathie Browne (Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays saloon girl Madeleine. Joanna Lee (appeared in The Joker Is Wild, The Brain Eaters, and Plan 9 From Outer Space and wrote screenplays for The Flintstones, My Three Sons, Gilligan's Island, Nanny and the Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and Room 222) plays saloon girl Antoinette. Howard Caine (Schaab on The Californians and Maj. Wolfgang Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes) plays the saloon manager.

Season 4, Episode 37, "Man for the Job": 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 stagecoach shotgun messenger Phil Coughlin. Regis Toomey (starred in Alibi, Other Men's Women, The Finger Points, His Girl Friday, and The Big Sleep and played Joe Mulligan on The Mickey Rooney Show, Lt. Manny Waldo on Four Star Playhouse, Lt. McGough on Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Bill Cochran on Shannon, Det. Les Hart on Burke's Law, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) plays Wells Fargo agent Les Goslin. Ken Lynch (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Checkmate) plays prospective stage robber Parker. Dennis Cross (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Blue Angels) plays his partner Luke Lambert.

Season 5, Episode 1, "Day of Judgement": John Dehner (shown on the left, 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 vengeful Civil War veteran Wade Cather. John Lupton (Tom Jeffords on Broken Arrow and Frank on Never Too Young) plays wanted robber Eli Fisher. Doris Dowling (starred in The Lost Weekend, The Blue Dahlia, Bitter Rice, and Othello and played Irene Adams on My Living Doll) plays Fisher's lady friend Verna. 

Season 5, Episode 2, "Angry Town": Paul Birch (Erle Stanley Gardner on The Court of Last Resort, Mike Malone on Cannonball, and Capt. Carpenter on The Fugitive) plays Miles City Sheriff Paul Brick. Sydney Pollack (shown on the right, directed They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, The Way We Were, Absence of Malice, Tootsie, and Out of Africa) plays his brother-in-law Stan Riker. Paul Fix (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Rifleman) plays Hardie's old friend and physician Doc Howard. Guy Wilkerson (played Panhandle Perkins in 22 westerns) plays rancher Zeb Baker. Richard Tyler (appeared in It's in the Bag!, Father Was a Fullback, and Tea and Sympathy and played Henry Aldrich on The Aldrich Family) plays posse member Chris Warren. Ed Prentiss (Carl Jensen on The Virginian and Dr. Ralph Dunbar on Days of Our Lives) plays banker Harry Newhole.

Season 5, Episode 3, "Doc Dawson": Edgar Buchanan (shown on the left, played Uncle Joe Carson on The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction, Red Connors on Hopalong Cassidy, Judge Roy Bean on Judge Roy Bean, Doc Burrage on The Rifleman, and J.J. Jackson on Cade's County) plays former outlaw and new dentist Doc Dawson. Stanley Clements (Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie in 6 Bowery Boys feature films) plays dead Wells Fargo driver's brother-in-law Clyde Simpson. Don Haggerty (Jeffrey Jones on The Files of Jeffrey Jones, Eddie Drake on The Cases of Eddie Drake, Sheriff Dan Elder on State Trooper, and Marsh Murdock on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays close family friend Joe Haynes. Douglas Spencer (appeared in The Thing From Another World, Shane, This Island Earth, River of No Return, and The Diary of Anne Frank) plays a Texas sheriff.

Season 5, Episode 4, "The Kinfolk": Richard Jaeckel (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Frontier Circus) plays wanted killer Len Lassiter.

Season 5, Episode 5, "A Study in Petticoats": Whitney Blake (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Hazel) plays jewelry owner Norma Hoover. Diane Jergens (appeared in The Bob Mathias Story, Desk Set, High School Confidential!, and Island of Lost Women and played Francine Williams on The Bob Cummings Show and Susie Jackson on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays infatuated 17-year-old Stephanie Carrie. Paul Genge (Lt. Burns on 87th Precinct) plays the Longshire Wells Fargo agent. 

Season 5, Episode 6, "All That Glitters": Barbara Stuart (shown on the left, played Bessie on The Great Gildersleeve, Alice on Pete and Gladys, Bunny on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Peggy Ferguson on The McLean Stevenson Show, Marianne Danzig on Our Family Honor, and Alice on Huff) plays bank president Meg Hollister. Ron Harper (see the biography section for the 1961 post on 87th Precinct) plays her brother Dan Haskell. Ken Lynch (see "Man for the Job" above) plays ex-con safecracker Joe Brass. Donna Corcoran (sister of Noreen Corcoran, appeared in Angels in the Outfield, Don't Bother to Knock, and Million Dollar Mermaid) plays his daughter Helen. Robert P. Lieb (Harry Thompson on Hazel) plays Wells Fargo agent Sam Tubs.

Season 5, Episode 7, "Run for the River": Ron Hayes (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Bat Masterson) plays Hardie's prisoner Ira Kyle. Bruce Gordon (shown on the right, see "The Canyon" above) plays Red Bluffs Mayor Carl Orleans. Forrest Taylor (starred in True Nobility, Big Calibre, Too Much Beef, and The Lost Planet and played Doc Brannon on Man Without a Gun) plays Ira's father Pop Kyle. William Boyett (Sgt. Ken Williams on Highway Patrol and Sgt. MacDonald on Adam-12) plays bank clerk Bert. 

Season 5, Episode 8, "Leading Citizen": Robert Middleton (see "Threat of Death" above) plays San Tomas, TX mayor/sheriff/judge Bodie Seaton. Wesley Lau (see "The Englishwoman" above) plays outlaw Morgan Bates. Robert Carricart (Pepe Cordoza on T.H.E. Cat) plays Seaton henchman Coley David.

Season 5, Episode 9, "The Killing of Johnny Lash": Dennis Patrick (shown on the left, played Paul Stoddard on Dark Shadows and Vaughn Leland on Dallas) plays card dealer Nevada. Anne Helm (Molly Pierce on Run for Your Life) plays saloon showgirl Nell. 

Season 5, Episode 10, "The Wade Place": Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, and Night Passage and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro) plays Wells Fargo manager Mike Ross. Vaughn Taylor (starred in Jailhouse Rock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Psycho, and In Cold Blood and played Ernest P. Duckweather on Johnny Jupiter) plays store owner Seth Wade. Russell Thorson (Det. Lt. Otto Lindstrom on The Detectives and William Kennerly on Peyton Place) plays his brother, saloon owner Joe Wade. William Henry (appeared in Madame X, The Way of All Flesh, Mister Roberts, and The Alamo and played Andrew on The Living Christ Series) plays outlaw Tracy Harkins. Marianna Hill (appeared in Roustabout, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, The Godfather: Part II, and High Plains Drifter and played Rita on The Tall Man) plays informant Maria.

Season 5, Episode 11, "Jeff Davis' Treasure": John Dehner (see "Day of Judgement" above) returns as Wade Cather. John McLiam (appeared in Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, Sleeper, The Missouri Breaks, and First Blood) plays robbery accomplice Henry Moore. Leo Gordon (Big Mike McComb on Maverick) plays accomplice and blacksmith Adam Kemper. Paul Langton (see "The Trading Post" above) plays accomplice Leo Summers. 

Season 5, Episode 12, "The Bride and the Bandit": Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays holdup man Tip Rollins. Dabbs Greer (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Gunsmoke) plays Wells Fargo agent Ben Wilson. Jan Clayton (starred in Sunset Trail, The Wolf Hunters, and This Man's Navy and played Ellen Miller on Lassie) plays former showgirl Ellen Stevens. Ellen Corby (Henrietta Porter on Trackdown and Esther Walton on The Waltons) plays hotel clerk Kate Wiggam.

Season 5, Episode 13, "Escort to Santa Fe": Gregory Walcott (see the biography section for the 1961 post on 87th Precinct) plays saboteur Kyle Gentry. Linda Lawson (shown on the left, played Renee on Adventures in Paradise, Pat Perry on Don't Call Me Charlie, Laura Fremont on Ben Casey, and Mrs. Paganini on That's Life) plays saloon girl Kate Fallon. 

Season 5, Episode 14, "Frightened Witness": John Milford (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays captured killer Walt Corbin. 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 key witness Chris Matson. Michael Burns (Howie Macauley on It's a Man's World and Barnaby West on Wagon Train) plays his son Billy.