Rawhide (1961)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Actors

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

Don C. Harvey

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

Notable Guest Stars

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

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

Season 3, Episode 12, "Incident at the Top of the World": Robert Culp (shown on the left, starred in Sunday in New York, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, and Breaking Point and played Hoby Gilman on Trackdown, Kelly Robinson on I Spy, Bill Maxwell on The Greatest American Hero, and Warren on Everybody Loves Raymond) plays drug-addicted former soldier Craig Kern. Les Tremayne (starred in The War of the Worlds (1953), The Story of Ruth, The Slime People, and The Fortune Cookie and played Inspector Richard Queen in The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen) plays army physician Dr. Gardner. Jan Shepard (Nurse Betty on Dr. Christian) plays Kern's fiance Ann Powell. Paul Carr (Bill Horton on Days of Our Lives, Casey Clark on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Ted Prince on Dallas, and Martin Gentry on The Young and the Restless) plays drover Jason Adams. Ron Foster (Officer Garvey on Highway Patrol) plays drover Bill Rudd.

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

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

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

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

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

Season 3, Episode 18, "Incident of the Running Iron": Addison Richards (starred in Boys Town, They Made Her a Spy, Flying Tigers, and The Deerslayer and played Doc Calhoun on Trackdown and Doc Landy on The Deputy) plays cow cutter Frank Miller. Darryl Hickman (Dwayne Hickman's older brother, appeared in The Grapes of Wrath, The Way of All Flesh, The Human Comedy, Captain Eddie, Rhapsody in Blue, and The Tingler and played Cpl. Ben Canfield on The Americans) plays his son Andy. John Litel (starred in Back in Circulation, On Trial, Murder in the Blue Room, four Nancy Drew films, and eight Henry Aldrich films and played the Governor on Zorro and Dan Murchison on Stagecoach West) plays Mayor Jim Rye. Kenneth MacDonald (played the judge 32 times on Perry Mason, played Col. Parker on Colt .45, and appeared in several Three Stooges shorts)  plays Sheriff Morgan Shaw. William Schallert (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays army beef buyer Lt. Hill. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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