Whispering Smith (1961)

In a July 29, 1961 interview for TV Guide, star Audie Murphy described his "new" series Whispering Smith as "Dragnet on horseback," meaning it was a police procedural set in the old west. While the author of thrillingdetective.com has characterized it as a private detective series in the manner of Have Gun -- Will Travel or Shotgun Slade, Murphy's character Tom "Whispering" Smith is actually an employee of the Denver police force working for Sheriff John Richards (played by Sam Buffington) and partnered with detective George Romack (played by Guy Mitchell) rather than a lone wolf. While Smith's narration in some parts of each episode may draw parallels to Dragnet, his acting isn't nearly as wooden as that of Jack Webb, and the main characters are more in the mold of the three principals of Naked City, with Smith being the more cerebral, intuitive detective who does not rush to judgment but wants to follow his hunches and explore less obvious possibilities, while his partner is more folksy and gullible, and his superior is ready to shut each case once a reasonably plausible suspect has been identified. The Whispering Smith character dates back to a 1906 novel by Frank H. Spearman and had already been depicted in 8 feature films, one of them even set in contemporary times in England, but Smith was usually cast as a railroad detective rather than as a member of a burgeoning city police force.

As others have documented extensively, production of the Murphy TV show, which began shooting in 1959, ran into problems from the outset, first when Mitchell fell off a horse and broke his shoulder. An article about the show on the get.tv web site says that Mitchell was an inexperienced actor, as if to suggest this played a part in his accident, but as his biography below demonstrates, Mitchell, though best known as a popular singer, also had learned cowboy skills and even apprenticed as a saddle maker in San Francisco while a teenager. And while his injury obviously could have caused some delays (get. tv says it happened after 10 episodes had been filmed, while westernclippings.com says it happened after 7 were filmed), he appears in a couple of episodes with his arm in a cast propped up with a ridiculous-looking support, so production obviously intended to continue through his recovery. However, Murphy also had a previous feature film commitment shooting Hell Bent for Leather from August to September 1959, which further interrupted filming on Whispering Smith. Most articles about the show seem to imply that the delays caused by Mitchell's fall and Murphy's movie commitment were immediately followed by Buffington's suicide, but Buffington didn't kill himself until May 15, 1960 and appeared in 16 of the program's 26 episodes (as well as being credited but never appearing in a 17th episode), so obviously filming had resumed for some period before his death. Again thrillingdetective.com gets it wrong when it says that Buffington had to be replaced after his death--there was no replacement actor to portray Sheriff Richards, nor was a new sheriff introduced in any of the remaining episodes.

Filming for 26 episodes was completed some time in 1960, but the show did not begin airing until May 8, 1961 in the NBC Monday time slot that two previous failed series, Klondike and Acapulco, had occupied. Clearly the program was being used just to fill out the remainder of the season, but it quickly got dragged into Congressional hearings on violence in television. The Senate Juvenile Delinquency subcommittee viewed the series' second episode "The Grudge" in one of its meetings, as reported in a cover story in the June 9, 1961 edition of The New York Times, and Senator John A. Carroll of Colorado bombastically claimed that the show defamed his home state. Murphy even testified in defense of the program before the subcommittee, but by his July 29 interview with TV Guide he had already soured on the controversy and hoped that he would not be held to his contract to produce 86 episodes. Several sources, including some of those cited above, suggest that the show was canceled due to the controversy stirred by the Senate hearings, but NBC was obviously only using it as a stopgap after both Klondike and Acapulco had failed to find an audience. Had the network thought well of the Whispering Smith series, it would have started airing in the fall of 1960--there were certainly enough episodes in the can filmed in 1959--rather than Klondike. Murphy quipped sarcastically to TV Guide, "It's like the Redstone rocket--obsolete, but they're going to fire it anyway." The series was not pulled immediately after the Congressional hearings but was allowed to run through September 18, 1961 until it was replaced by the 1-hour police drama 87th Precinct in the new Fall schedule. As such, only 20 of the 26 episodes ever aired, and these were not the first 20 episodes produced as some of the unaired shows still included Sam Buffington in the cast. Even when the show was resurrected on DVD by Timeless Media Group in 2010 there were problems--only 25 of the 26 episodes could be located before the set went into production. The missing 26th episode surfaced afterward and a revised set was issued containing all of the episodes that were actually filmed.

As for the content of the show, despite the brouhaha about its violence in front of the U.S. Senate, it was no more violent than any other western or crime drama of the time, nor was there a particular style that made it stand out from the dozens of other similarly themed programs, which is probably why it never attracted a large viewership. While the show claimed to base its stories on actual post-Civil War Denver crime cases (a la Death Valley Days), several plots bear a striking resemblance to stories used by other westerns of the era. For example, one of the unaired episodes, "Trial of the Avengers," tells of a band of abused prisoners who hunt down and try to exact revenge on a particularly cruel former prison guard and his accomplice. Several other westerns use this same basic plot, though in these other cases the abuse happened during the Civil War when the prisoners were POWs. The notorious episode "The Grudge" (May 15, 1961) is also familiar from other programs in which a widow whose outlaw husband was killed by Smith in the course of carrying out his duty is driven to exact revenge by using her children as bait and executioner only to have her plan backfire and wind up with her daughter being killed by her own hand. And in "Three for One" (July 3, 1961) we are treated to the worn-out story of outlaw accomplices killing and then impersonating deputies assigned to take their colleague to prison so that they can free him, only this time their reason for springing him is to get a half key belonging to a post office box containing their stolen money.

Murphy also stated in his TV Guide interview that the original intent was to produce the series cheaply and that he fought with the producers constantly over scripts, directors, and budgets, which also contributed to his disgruntled attitude about television. One script that easily could have been a target for his criticism is "Safety Valve" (June 5, 1961) in which for some inexplicable reason Smith and Romack are sent on loan to an army fort commander to solve a rash of officer killings that he believes may have come from within his own ranks. And the killer turns out to be a private infatuated with the commander's daughter, which motivates him to kill anyone he perceives as a threat to his pursuit of her. Also a bit of a stretch is "The Deadliest Weapon" (June 19, 1961) in which a rich stock promoter is frightened into confessing that he took part in a train robbery 12 years ago that killed the uncle of his own doctor, who secretly stages a series of near assassinations to get the promoter to confess his crime to Smith. And then there is "The Quest" (June 26, 1961) in which an orphaned daughter goes looking for a mother who gave her up years ago but has supported her with anonymous checks, only to discover that the mother abandoned her own daughter to shield her from the fact that the mother had killed the daughter's abusive father but then regretted it and sunk into mental disability. Westerns of the era were often pejoratively called "horse operas" by critics, and Whispering Smith with its melodramatic plots certainly fit the term. Perhaps it would have fared better if slotted in a daytime slot opposite The Edge of Night or The Secret Storm. In any case, the series actually had more drama happening off screen than in front of the camera.

The theme and score for 22 of the show's 26 episodes were composed by Richard Shores, born May 9, 1917 in Rockville, Indiana. After studying music at Indiana University while also conducting a WPA-funded chamber orchestra, he attended Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY on an ASCAP fellowship. During World War II he arranged for a 150-member band at a Jefferson, Missouri Air Force base and served overseas, helping to liberate the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. After the war he settled in Chicago and worked in radio and live television in the early 1950s. After scoring a top 25 hit for Johnny Desmond with his arrangement of Max Steiner's Gone With the Wind theme as "My Own True Love," he recorded an album of mood music titled Emotions for Mercury in 1957, which opened the door for film and TV composing and arranging. After a recommendation by composer David Buttolph, Shores was hired by Herschel Burke Gilbert to write a new theme and episode scores for the fourth season of Richard Diamond, Private Detective after a publishing dispute with original composer Pete Ruggolo. From there he was brought to Revue Studios under the leadership of Stanley Wilson to write for not only Whispering Smith but also Johnny Midnight, Wagon Train, Laramie, Tales of Wells Fargo, Checkmate, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. After writing scores for a few episodes each of Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, and Rawhide, Shores found work at MGM on Jericho, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., and the final season of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. For CBS he scored 15 episodes of The Wild Wild West between 1966-69 and 23 episode of Hawaii Five-O between 1969-74. He also found work with Walt Disney Studios for several TV movies and features on The Magical World of Disney. He kept busy throughout the 1970s with multiple scores for Born Free, Police Woman, Hunter, The Paper Chase, and Police Story. He retired after completing the score for the 1983 TV movie Emergency Room and episodes of the 1983-84 TV series The Mississippi. He died April 12, 2001 at the age of 83 from complications from a stroke.

The complete series of Whispering Smith has been released on DVD by Timeless Media Group.

The Actors

Audie Murphy

Audie Leon Murphy was born June 20, 1925 in Kingston, Texas, one of 12 children of poor sharecroppers of Irish descent. He dropped out of school in the fifth grade to take a job picking cotton to help support the family and used his skill with a rifle to hunt small animals for food to feed his family. When he was a teenager, his father deserted the family, and in 1941 his mother died from endocarditis  and pneumonia. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Murphy tried to enlist in the Army, Navy, and Marines but was turned down because he was underage and underweight. He got his sister Corinne to sign an affidavit falsely claiming that he was a year older than he was, which allowed him to finally join the army in June 1942. After being assigned to the African theater but seeing no action before the Allies drove out the Germans, he was sent to Europe, first to Sicily, where his division helped to retake Italy. He was then assigned to southern France and was instrumental in defeating the Germans there as well. Murphy became the most decorated veteran of World War II, earning every medal and honor available, a total of 33 in all, and was credited with single-handedly killing some 240 Germans and capturing scores more. His most famous exploit was climbing aboard a burning tank while wounded and using its machine gun to hold off a regiment of Germans, killing and wounding 50 soldiers before he ran out of ammunition and returned to his own regiment. He sustained several wounds during his service and twice suffered from malaria, being discharged as a first lieutenant with a 50 percent disability classification. But perhaps his biggest injury was suffering from PTSD, which plagued him his entire life. He is said to have slept with a loaded pistol under his pillow and became addicted to the sleeping medication Placidyl before kicking the habit by locking himself in a hotel room for a week. He became an advocate for military sufferers of PTSD and had a veteran's hospital in San Antonio named after him. His acting career began when James Cagney saw him profiled in a 1945 issue of Life magazine and signed him to a contract with his production company, giving him acting lessons and grooming him to be a star until the two had a disagreement and parted ways in 1947. Murphy's acting career struggled, finding only bit parts in 1948 features Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven and Beyond Glory, the latter role coming thanks to the agent of actress Wanda Hendrix whom Murphy had dated since 1946 and would marry in 1949. The marriage would last only two years due to Murphy's violent outbursts due to PTSD. Hendrix said that he once held a loaded gun to her head. Four days after their divorce, he married airline stewardess Pamela Archer, with whom he had two sons. But he got his first acting break in 1949 when the financial backers of Bad Boy refused to bankroll the picture unless the untested Murphy was cast in the lead role. He was then signed to a 7-year contract with Universal Studios, who occasionally loaned him out to other studios such as MGM. He played Billy the Kid in The Kid From Texas, had the lead role in the John Huston-produced Red Badge of Courage, and appeared in many westerns such as Kansas Raiders, Gunsmoke, and Destry. His greatest success came in playing himself in the film adaptation of his memoirs To Hell and Back in 1955, Universal's most profitable movie until Jaws eclipsed it 20 years later. After his contract with Universal expired, he continued his prolific film career through the end of the 1950s with titles such as Night Passage with James Stewart, The Quiet American, and No Name on the Bullet. He appeared in another John Huston feature in 1960, The Unforgiven.

Murphy had become friends with producer Willard W. Willingham early in his acting career and the two teamed up for his lone television lead role in Whispering Smith. However, after its brief run, he returned to feature films, though the popularity of westerns was fading. He continued appearing in a series of lower and lower-profile features through the 1960s including a spaghetti western filmed in Spain, The Texican, and one filmed in Israel, Trunk to Cairo in 1966. But besides his acting career, Murphy owned several ranches and raised thoroughbred horses which raced at the Del Mar Racetrack. He also co-wrote country music songs with songwriter Scott Turner between 1962 and 1970, including "Shutters and Boards," recorded by Jerry Wallace, Dean Martin, and Porter Waggoner, and "When the Wind Blows in Chicago," recorded by Bobby Bare, Eddy Arnold, and Roy Clark. He ran into financial trouble through gambling losses and bad investments but refused to supplement his income by acting in alcohol and cigarette commercials because he felt it would send a bad message to children. He declared bankruptcy in 1968 and died in a small plane crash near Roanoke, Virginia on his way to a business meeting on May 28, 1971 at the age of 45. He was given a full military burial in Arlington National Cemetery. Due to his debts at the time of his death, his widow Pamela Murphy worked for 35 years as a patient liaison at a VA hospital in North Hills, California to pay off those debts. She died in 2010 at the age of 90.

Guy Mitchell

Born Albert George Cernik to Yugoslavian parents in Detroit on February 22, 1927, Mitchell made his first appearance as a singer at age 3 at a wedding reception. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1938, and young Mitchell, then 11 years old, was signed to a contract as a child actor by Warner Brothers, but before appearing in any films, the family again relocated to San Francisco in 1940, where Mitchell learned cowboy skills and apprenticed as a saddle maker at age 17 as well as singing on country music star Dude Martin's radio show. He served a 2-year stint in the Navy during World War II and then returned to radio singing before joining Carmen Cavallaro's orchestra as a vocalist in 1947 until a bout of food poisoning forced him to quit in 1948. Later that year he recorded as Al Grant for King Records and won first prize on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program, with the exposure leading to him being hired by several music publishers as a demo singer. He was signed by impresario Eddie Joy, who introduced him to Mitch Miller at Columbia Records. Miller gave him his stage name, by using his first name as Mitchell's last name and saying he seemed like a nice Guy. His first five singles for Columbia failed to chart, but he got his big break when Frank Sinatra refused to record a pair of pop songs Miller was intent on producing. With studio time and musicians already booked, Miller brought in Mitchell to sing the tunes and the result was a pair of top 5 hits with "My Heart Cries for You" and "The Roving Kind" in 1950. He dueted with Rosemary Clooney on a pair of 1951 singles that failed to chart, but reached the #2 spot later that year with "My Truly, Truly Fair." He had another Gold Record the following year with "(There's a Pawnshop on the Corner in) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania," which peaked at #4, but the next few years he could climb no higher than #14 with many singles failing to chart at all. His acting career, however, belatedly got started as he appeared in the 1953 feature Those Redheads From Seattle and the following year with Clooney in the musical Red Garters. Miller managed to resurrect his career and take it to new heights by having him do a pop cover of Marty Robbins' country hit "Singing the Blues," which went to the top spot for Mitchell in 1956. He took another Robbins cover, "Knee Deep in the Blues" to #16 in 1957, a year in which he also had a top 10 hit with "Rock-a-Billy" and hosted his own variety show, The Guy Mitchell Show, on ABC. His last big hit came in 1959 with a pop cover of "Heartaches by the Number," which also made it to #1, but his brand of pop was soon supplanted by the likes of Frankie Avalon, Fabian, and their ilk, and Mitchell left Columbia in 1961, never to haunt the charts again.

However, his television acting career sprung to life when he was cast as Audie Murphy's sidekick on Whispering Smith, which started filming in 1959. While the show ran through its problems before finally making it to air in 1961, he found guest spots on other programs such as Overland Trail, The Ann Sothern Show, Perry Mason, and Thriller. After Whispering Smith was canceled, he made one more feature film appearance in The Wild Westerners in 1962 and tried to revive his singing career with recordings for his manager's Joy Records and Sinatra's Reprise label, but his heyday had passed. He finally had to ply his craft on the nostalgia circuit and found success in the 1980s performing in England and Yugoslavia. He moved to Las Vegas in 1981, where he died 18 years later of complications from cancer surgery on July 1, 1999 at the age of 72.

Sam Buffington

Samuel Elisha Buffington was born October 12, 1931 in Swansea, Massachusetts where his father managed a wholesale lumber business. In Boston he attended the Leland Powers School of Radio and Theatre. Not much of Buffington's life has been documented, but by 1953, at age 22, he was working as a radio DJ at WHIM in Providence, Rhode Island. On July 15 of that year he married Patricia Ann Whitehouse in Henderson, North Carolina. By 1955 he was acting in community theater in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he played Captain Queeg in a production of The Caine Mutiny. By 1957 he had made his way to Hollywood to begin a short but prolific career as a character actor, beginning with TV series such as Highway Patrol, Cheyenne, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Tales of Wells Fargo and feature films such as Invasion of the Saucer Men. While logging nearly 20 more TV and movie credits in 1958, he was also cast in the lead role of the CBS Radio western Luke Slaughter of Tombstone which appeared on a Sunday afternoon western lineup that also included Gunsmoke. The next year was similarly busy with guest spots on Perry Mason, Bat Masterson, and Mr. Lucky as well as the recurring role of Sheriff John Richards on Whispering Smith.

Even as Whispering Smith ran into production problems when Guy Mitchell was incapacitated due to a broken shoulder, Buffington continued his guest work in 1960 on Hawaiian Eye, Laramie, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, and Bourbon Street Beat before committing suicide at age 28 on May 15, 1960. The initial newspaper accounts claimed that Buffington had left a note for his wife Patricia that he was killing himself because he was unable to support her financially, but Patricia said in another newspaper story 12 days later that they were not in financial difficulty. According to the author of the Lost to History blog, who says he spoke to one of Patricia's nephews who knew Buffington, he committed suicide because he was gay.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 1, Episode 1, "The Blind Gun": Jan Merlin (shown on the left, played Roger Manning on Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and Lt. Colin Kirby on The Rough Riders) plays bank robber Thad Janek. Carol Byron (Kitty Mathews on Oh! Those Bells) plays bank manager Mary Gallagher. Herbert Lytton (Admiral Reynolds on McHale's Navy) plays the Denver doctor.

Season 1, Episode 2, "The Grudge": Robert Redford (shown on the right, starred in Barefoot in the Park, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and All the President's Men) plays vengeful mother's son Johnny Gates. 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 sister Cora. Tom McKee (Comrade Brisson Laylock on I Led 3 Lives, Capt. Davis on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Fire Chief Tucker on Rescue 8) plays a warehouse manager. Gail Bonney (Goodwife Martin on Space Patrol and Madeline Schweitzer on December Bride) plays a hotel manager.

Season 1, Episode 3, "The Devil's Share": Clu Gulager (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Tall Man) plays railroad worker Jeff Whalen. Jimmy Lydon (starred in Tom Brown's School Days, Little Men, Joan of Arc, and 9 Henry Aldrich features and played Biff Cardoza on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Andy Boone on So This Is Hollywood, and Richard on Love That Jill) plays his brother Frank. Kathie Browne (Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays farmer's daughter Ilsa Dunker. 

Season 1, Episode 4, "Stake-Out": Joyce Taylor (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Men Into Space) plays Romack's wife Edie. Hal Needham (Hollywood's highest-paid stuntman who invented numerous stunt devices, was a double for Richard Boone and Burt Reynolds, and directed Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, and Cannonball Run) plays Deputy Barney Henesey. Richard Devon (Jody Barker on Yancy Derringer) plays outlaw Duggan. 

Season 1, Episode 5, "Safety Valve": 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 fort commander Col. Middleton. Della Sharman (Nurse Johnson on Dr. Kildare) plays his daughter Carrie. Jack Grinnage (appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, King Creole, and Wolf Larsen and played Ron Updyke on Kolchak: The Night Stalker) plays her suitor Pvt. Roger Owen. Harry Carey, Jr. (starred in Red River, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Mister Roberts, and The Searchers and played Bill Burnett on The Adventures of Spin and Marty) plays disgruntled Sgt. Curt Stringer. Paul Baxley (stunt coordinator on Riverboat, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, T.H.E. Cat, Wonder Woman, and The Dukes of Hazzard) plays former Confederate soldier Cpl. Forsythe.

Season 1, Episode 6, "Stain of Justice": Patric Knowles (starred in The Adventures of Robin Hood, How Green Was My Valley, and The Wolf Man) plays respected judge Wilbur Harrington. Richard Chamberlain (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dr. Kildare) plays his son Chris. Barbara Wilson (appeared in Teenage Doll, Blood of Dracula, Invasion of the Animal People, and The Flesh Eaters) plays Chris' fiance Alice Kirby. Nancy Valentine (appeared in Father of the Bride, The Black Castle, and -30-) plays Wilbur's mistress Stella Dean. 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 Alice's father Jess Kirby.

Season 1, Episode 7, "The Deadliest Weapon": Bartlett Robinson (shown on the right, played Willard Norton on Wendy and Me and Frank Caldwell on Mona McCluskey) plays stock promoter Ralph Miller. Aline Towne (Joan Gilbert on Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe) plays his wife Tina. Don Keefer (starred in Death of a Salesman, Hellcats of the Navy, and Sleeper and played George on Angel) plays his physician Dr. Albert Johnson. 

Season 1, Episode 8, "The Quest": Harry Holcombe (appeared in The Fortune Cookie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Foxy Brown, Escape to Witch Mountain, and Empire of the Ants and played Frank Gardner on Search for Tomorrow, Doc Benson on My Mother the Car, Mr. Kendricks on Barefoot in the Park, and Dr. J.P. Martin on Bonanza) plays wealthy rancher Broderick. John Harmon (hotel clerk Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) plays blind pianist Jackie Rouge. 

Season 1, Episode 9, "Three for One": Richard Crane (Rocky Jones on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Dick Preston on Commando Cody, Sky Marshal of the Universe, and Lt. Gene Plehn on Surfside 6) plays imposter deputy Hank Lucas. Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays his accomplice Chet Carter. Raymond Hatton (starred in Oliver Twist (1916), The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Lord Jim, played Marshal Sandy Hopkins in 28 westerns and Rusty Joslin in 7 other westerns, and played The Mole on Dick Tracy) plays a locksmith. Norman Leavitt (Ralph on Trackdown) plays a hotel clerk. Roscoe Ates (appeared in Freaks, Cimarron, The Champ, and Alice in Wonderland, played Soapy Jones in 15 westerns, and played Ike Jenkins on Lawman) plays Leadville Sheriff  Ben Stanley.

Season 1, Episode 10, "Death at Even Money": Robert Lowery (shown on the left, 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 gambler Dave Markson. Marc Lawrence (appeared in The Ox-Bow Incident, Tampico, Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle, and The Man With the Golden Gun and directed 16 episodes of Lawman) plays losing gambler Frankie Wisdom. Sherwood Price (Gen. Jeb Stuart on The Gray Ghost) plays hired gun Rios.

Season 1, Episode 11, "The Hemp Reeger Case": James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays wanted outlaw Hemp Reeger. Edward Platt (shown on the right, appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, Written on the Wind, Designing Woman, and North by Northwest and played the Chief on Get Smart) plays Gaileyville Sheriff Sam Aikens. Patricia Medina (Margarita Cortazar on Zorro) plays his fiance Flo Nichols. Sam Edwards (starred in Captain Midnight, Twelve O'Clock High, and The Beatniks and played Hank the hotel clerk on The Virginian and Mr. Bill Anderson on Little House on the Prairie) plays Aiken's Deputy Ed Skillie.

Season 1, Episode 12, "This Mortal Coil": John Beradino (shown on the left, former major league baseball player, played Special Agent Steve Daniels on I Led 3 Lives, Sgt. Vince Cavelli on The New Breed, and Dr. Steve Hardy on General Hospital) plays prominent citizen's brother Claude Denton. Hugh Sanders (starred in That's My Boy, The Pride of St. Louis, The Winning Team, and The Wild One) plays Denver Mayor Adams. Hank Patterson (Fred Ziffel on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction and Hank Miller on Gunsmoke) plays a Leadville old timer. Dennis Moore (Deputy Lee on Tombstone Territory) plays Leadville stable owner Clay Goodnight.

Season 1, Episode 13, "Cross Cut": Audrey Dalton (shown on the right, appeared in Titanic (1953), Separate Tables, and Kitten With a Whip) plays bookkeeper's assistant April Fanshaw. Colin Male (the announcer on The Andy Griffith Show) plays her outlaw husband Dakota Jackson. Marshall Reed (Inspector Fred Asher on The Lineup) plays police Officer McGowan. 

Season 1, Episode 14, "Double Edge": Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays saloon owner Jim Conley. Lori Nelson (Greta Hanson on How to Marry a Millionaire) plays outlaw's widow Venetia Malloy. Robin Raymond (appeared in Rogues Gallery, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, High School Confidential!, and The Candidate) plays saloon girl Peggy Casson. Bill McLean (Dave on The Jim Backus Show) plays bartender Corky. John Harmon (see "The Quest" above) plays forger Walter Frye.

Season 1, Episode 15, "Trademark": 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 Maple Gray. 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 newspaper owner Angus Mitchell. Bernie Kopell (Siegfried on Get Smart, Jerry Bauman on That Girl, Louie Palucci on The Doris Day Show, Charlie Miller on Needles and Pins, Alan-a-Dale on When Things Were Rotten, Dr. Adam Bricker on The Love Boat, and voiced Baron von Butcher, Creto, and Wang Fu on Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp) plays a roulette wheel operator. Henry Wills (Pernell Roberts' stunt double on Bonanza and the stunt coordinator on The High Chaparral) plays a saloon pit boss.

Season 1, Episode 16, "The Jodie Tyler Story": Rachel Foulger (usually billed as Rachel Ames, played Audrey Hardy on General Hospital and Port Charles) plays newcomer widow Jodie Tyler. Read Morgan (shown on the right, see the biography section of the 1960 post on The Deputy) plays her outlaw brother Hob Judson. Dorothy Adams (appeared in Laura, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Winning Team, and The Killing) plays general store owner's widow Mrs. Ward. 

Season 1, Episode 17, "Poet and Peasant Case": Alan Mowbray (shown on the left, appeared in A Study in Scarlet, Berkeley Square, Topper, and The Man Who Knew Too Much and played Colonel Humphrey Flack on Colonel Humphrey Flack and Stewart Styles on Dante) plays British poet Lord Alfred Hilary. Paul Keast (Nathaniel Carter on Casey Jones) plays his valet Summers. William Mims (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays gambler Lou Dawson. 

Season 1, Episode 18, "Dark Circle": E.J. Andre (Eugene Bullock on Dallas) plays alcoholic lawyer Philo Blanch. Diana Millay (Laura Collins on Dark Shadows) plays his daughter Ellen. Adam Williams (appeared in Flying Leathernecks, The Big Heat, Fear Strikes Out, and North by Northwest) plays bartender Ben. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays his accomplice Ev Tabor.

Season 1, Episode 19, "Swift Justice": Minerva Urecal (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Peter Gunn) plays feuding matriarch Flora MacDonald. William Tannen (Deputy Hal Norton on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays her antagonist Angus Campbell. Stanley Clements (played Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie in 6 Bowery Boys feature films) plays her son Glencoe. 

Season 1, Episode 20, "The Idol": John Stephenson (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Flintstones) plays saloon owner Eddie Royce. Joan O'Brien (shown on the left, starred in Operation Petticoat, The Alamo, It Happened at the World's Fair,  and It'$ Only Money) plays saloon singer Marilyn Manning. Alan Hale, Jr. (Biff Baker on Biff Baker U.S.A., Casey Jones on Casey Jones, and The Skipper on Gilligan's Island) plays Swedish bartender Ole Brindessen. Marjorie Reynolds (starred in Holiday Inn, Ministry of Fear, and The Time of Their Lives and played Peg Riley on The Life of Riley) plays wealthy widow Baby Doll Harris

Season 1, Episode 21, "String of Circumstances": Terence De Marney (Case Thomas on Johnny Ringo and Counsellor Doone on Lorna Doone) plays Irish drifter Willie Farrar. Kathleen Freeman (shown on the right, played Katie on Topper, Marilly on Mayor of the Town, Bertha Krause on The Bob Cummings Show, Flo Shafer on The Beverly Hillbillies, Kate Harwell on Funny Face, and Iris Belmont on Lotsa Luck!) plays Swedish spinster Gilda Sorensen. Henry Hunter (Doctor Summerfield on Hazel) plays Miners' Association President Chet Phillips. Olive Sturgess (Carol Henning on The Bob Cummings Show) plays his daughter Meg. Tyler McVey (Maj. Norgrath on Men Into Space) plays independent miners' spokesman Dan Cargill.

Season 1, Episode 22, "The Interpreter": Paul Picerni (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Untouchables) plays Italian court interpreter Enrico Spanato. Johnny Seven (Lt. Carl Reese on Ironside) plays a mafia enforcer. Al Ruscio (Paul Locatelli on Shannon, Sal Giordano on Life Goes On, and Frank Ruscio on Joe's Life) plays mafia flunky Phillippe Carmotta. Robert Stevenson (bartender Big Ed on Richard Drum and Marshal Hugh Strickland on Stagecoach West) plays newspaper publisher Sam. Sara Taft (Aunt Alex on The Young Marrieds) plays fortune teller Ida Martin.

Season 1, Episode 23, "The Homeless Wind": Jim Davis (shown on the right, played Matt Clark on Stories of the Century, Wes Cameron on Rescue 8, Marshal Bill Winter on The Cowboys, and Jock Ewing on Dallas) plays wanted outlaw Sam Chandler. Alex Montoya (Miguel Morales on The High Chaparral) plays Mexican bandito El Tigre.

Season 1, Episode 24, "Trial of the Avengers": 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 former prison worker Joe Mullet. Leo Gordon (Big Mike McComb on Maverick) plays ex-con Bigley. Craig Duncan (Sgt. Stanfield/Banfield on Mackenzie's Raiders) plays ex-con Garson. John Mitchum (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays ex-con Dutch Logan. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays a telegrapher.

Season 1, Episode 25, "Prayer of a Chance": Peter Whitney (shown on the left, played Sergeant Buck Sinclair on The Rough Riders and Lafe Crick on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays statue thief Lasko. Cyril Delevanti (Lucious Coin on Jefferson Drum) plays jeweler Dan. 

Season 1, Episode 26, "Hired to Die": Arthur Franz (starred in Flight to Mars, The Member of the Wedding, and The Caine Mutiny and played Bill Winters on World of Giants and Hugh McLeod on The Nurses) plays blind widow's son impersonator Paul Landers. Mary Adams (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Window on Main Street) plays his wealthy mark Mrs. Landers. Viola Berwick (Speedy Winters on The Bennetts and Madge Byron on A Time to Live) plays Mrs. Landers' caretaker Mrs. Hunter. Richard H. Cutting (Manners, the tiny butler in 1950s Kleenex commercials) plays banker Gallagher.