Bronco (1960)

Bronco's origins sprung from a contract dispute between Clint Walker, star of top-20 hit Cheyenne, and Warner Brothers, the studio that produced the show. Under the terms of his contract, Walker had to give the studio 50% of any fees he received for public appearances and could record albums only for the Warner Brothers label. Walker wanted a higher percentage of his appearance fees and the freedom to record for any label he chose, so he walked out after the completion of the show's third season in 1958. Jack L. Warner, CEO of Warner Brothers, refused to give in to Walker's demands and countered by creating a new show to replace Cheyenne with relative unknown Ty Hardin starring in the title role. The program slot was still billed Cheyenne but for the 1958-59 season Bronco alternated with Sugarfoot instead of Cheyenne. Bronco proved popular enough, largely because of its beefcake lead actor, that Warner Brothers kept it on the air for another three seasons after Walker returned in the fall of 1959. So in essence Bronco was a replacement player for the professional Cheyenne who was invited to stick with the team when the strike was over.

And the analogy is not without merit--Bronco Layne, like Cheyenne Bodie, is a drifter taking various jobs across the west, often a scout for the U.S. Army or a cowhand, and is part Indian (Layne reveals that his mother was Cherokee in the episode "Seminole War Pipe" [December 12, 1960]). But while Cheyenne never ranked as one of the best westerns of the era, Bronco is decidedly a step below. The plots are highly derivative, the acting stiff (Hardin's skills compare with those of Elvis Presley), and the dialogue laughable. Warner Brothers' productions were never known for originality (except in distorting history, as described below); James Garner spoke at length in his memoir of the studio's recycling of plots from its feature films and use of stock footage, which was common at the time but used more blatantly by Warner Brothers. One episode that stands out in this regard is the aforementioned "Seminole War Pipe" in which Layne escorts a Seminole princess back to her tribe's chief in the Everglades. Along the journey we are treated to stock footage of paddle-wheel riverboats (looking like they had been also used in the series Riverboat, though the latter was not a Warner Brothers production), wildlife such as alligators, flamingos, and a parrot, and most egregiously in the climactic chase and fight sequence a band of Creek Indians is almost entirely shown in blurry footage from a much older film, occasionally interspersed with studio shots of guest star Dean Fredericks and a few uncredited extras. Needless to say, this mash-up hardly makes for smooth viewing.

The "Seminole War Pipe" is also notable for its favorable treatment of the Confederacy. Layne is portrayed as a former Confederate officer, and this episode, as well as "Shadow of Jesse James" (January 12, 1960), is largely comprised of a flashback to his Confederate days. At one point, in trying to persuade a mob of lynch-hungry former Confederate soldiers against hanging a Seminole married couple, Layne tells them that their side may have lost the war but at least they fought "clean." During the flashback Layne delivers a message from Confederate President Jefferson Davis to Seminole chief Akacita offering the tribe their own state on equal footing with the others in the Confederacy if they will join the fight on the side of the south, whereas Union General Blunt offers them only a chance to reunite their tribesman relocated to Oklahoma with those in Florida on their own reservation. Akacita and his great-granddaughter Natula decide to accept the south's offer because it gives their people more freedom. Of course, there is never any mentioned about what a southern victory would mean to the freedom of the African-American slaves. Even though many TV shows bent historical facts in the service of dramatic effect, this one is particularly interesting because rather than offering opportunity to the Seminoles, the real Jefferson Davis placed an embargo on all dealings with them when he was the U.S. Secretary of War three years before the breakout of the Civil War. By the time the war broke out, the Seminole tribe had been reduced to fewer than 1,000 split between Oklahoma and Florida. They were in no position to aid either side in the war.

Other episodes that try to offer more compelling stories by dropping Bronco into situations with historical figures are the aforementioned "Shadow of Jesse James," in which Layne in his Confederate days encounters the notorious outlaw after being surrounded by Union troops in Missouri. James and his partner Cole Younger rescue Layne, who then discovers that James is nothing more than a ruthless psychopath. In the Warner Brothers version, Younger is engaged to Belle Starr and just wants to settle down with her, particularly when Layne offers them some property of his outside Austin, Texas, but James draws Younger into one more robbery, the failed Northfield, Minnesota bank job that led to Younger's capture. In this retelling James abandons Younger to save his own skin when Younger's brother Bob is wounded and slows down their escape. Layne is the  one who convinces Younger to turn himself in. In real life Younger was not involved with Starr, though some claim she was married for a few weeks to his uncle Charles.

"Death of an Outlaw" (March 8, 1960) shows Layne as good friends with Billy the Kid when they are both working as cowhands for British rancher John Tunstall. Many of the events shown in this episode mirror historical events, including Tunstall's murder by agents of rival cattle ranchers, Tunstall associate Alexander McSween's abhorrence of violence, and the revenge-fueled ambush of Sheriff William J. Brady by Billy and other Tunstall sympathizers. However, the episode also depicts Billy as basically a good-natured family man who then wants to just settle down with his Mexican wife, though he later resorts to cattle rustling (as did the real Billy) and eventually is hunted down by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Garrett is depicted in this episode as a double-dealing opportunist who also works for Tunstall (never happened) but then agrees to be appointed sheriff after Brady's murder to collect the reward on his former friend Billy's head. The narrator then says unsympathetically that Garrett eventually was repaid when he met a violent death himself, which is true enough, but the polarization of Billy as the good guy and Garrett as the bad guy is striking.

Layne also rubs elbows with Wild Bill Hickock in "Montana Passage" (April 5, 1960) when the lawman helps Bronco fake his own death to escape an unjust murder charge. However, we never see Hickock again after the first few minutes of the show, making his appearance seem rather gratuitous. On the other hand, the episodes without gratuitous historical cameos offer little of interest--Bronco tangles with various Indian haters, corrupt sheriffs and judges, greedy ranchers, and conniving women and always comes out on top before heading out on his next adventure. If the plots sound familiar, they should--all too familiar, but then what would you expect from a series conceived just to fill a slot vacated by a disgruntled actor?

The theme song for Bronco was composed by Jerry Livingston with lyrics by Mack David, who were profiled in the 1960 post for Lawman. Also, as with Lawman, there were no credits for individual episode scores, but music supervision was handled by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter.

The first three seasons have been released on DVD by Warner Archive.

The Actors

Ty Hardin

Born Orison Whipple Hungerford, Jr. in New York City, Ty Hardin's parents divorced when he was 5 and he moved with his mother and brother to Texas. Unable to support her son, his mother sent him to live with his grandparents outside Austin, though he would graduate from Lamar High School in Houston. His grandmother was the one who nicknamed him Ty because she said he was like a typhoon, only to learn when he was an adult that he had ADHD disorder. He attended Blinn Junior College on a football scholarship and then spent a semester at the Dallas Bible Institute before joining the Army. He attended Officer's Candidate School in New Jersey and eventually rose to the rank of First Lieutenant while serving overseas during the Korean War. After leaving the service he enrolled at Texas A&M University and played tight end for Bear Bryant while studying engineering. However, he left school only a few weeks before graduation when he was offered a job working for Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, California. It was there he was spotted by a Paramount Pictures talent scout while shopping for a Halloween costume and was given a screen test and signed to a 7-year contract. He had bit parts in cult classics such as The Space Children and I Married a Monster From Outer Space when he was summoned to the house of John Wayne, who wanted him to appear in Rio Bravo, though the part was already cast to Ricky Nelson. Nevertheless, Wayne brought Hardin to the attention of Howard Hawks and William T. Orr, son-in-law of Jack Warner, and Orr decided to buy out Hardin's Paramount contract. When Clint Walker of Warner Brothers' Cheyenne TV series went on strike to get better contract conditions for himself, Hardin was cast as his replacement Bronco Layne, whose episodes aired in place of Cheyenne for the duration of the 1958-59 season.

Toward the end of his four-year run on Bronco, Hardin began appearing in Warner feature films such as Merrill's Marauders and The Chapman Report and continued feature work for Warners the next few years, including spots in PT109, Palm Springs Weekend, and Battle of the Bulge. When his contract with Warners expired, he sought work abroad, appearing in spaghetti westerns such as Death on the Run and British-made films with American stars, such as Berserk opposite Joan Crawford, but he reportedly turned down the lead role in A Fistful of Dollars, which eventually made Clint Eastwood a star. He made a similar move while overseas in rejecting the lead role that went to Adam West on the TV show Batman. In 1969 he starred in the Australian TV series Riptide as Moss Andrews and the following year appeared in a German TV series On the Trail of Johnny Hilling, Boor and Billy. In 1973 he had a recurring role on the Hungarian TV series Arpad le tzigane but then returned to work in the States in the mid-1970s but managed only one-off appearances on shows such as David Cassidy - Man Undercover and The Love Boat. He claims to have turned down several film roles because of foul language, sex, and violence. When acting work was sparse he became a minister at Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel but says that he realized this was not his calling. He then led a right-wing conservative group called the Arizona Patriots and founded an IRS protest school called the Common Law Institute. In the mid 1980s he edited The Arizona Patriot, an anti-government publication that often reprinted anti-Semitic articles from other sources. In 1986 the ATF and FBI raided an Arizona Patriot camp and confiscated a large cache of illegal weapons and Aryan Nation publications. Shortly thereafter Hardin left Arizona and the group folded. He currently lives in Huntington Beach, California with his eighth wife but continues to publish his anti-government message on his personal web site. He is also looking for acting work, as indicated in this "update" on his web site:

"I now reside in Huntington Beach, CA.. and will accept doing supporting gigs that do not have to carry the prestige and acclaim that I have been accustomed to in the past. I will enjoy giving due diligence to whatever part is offered to me. I can and will contribute whatever is needed from my talents and experiences to the success of any production, film, stage or public appearance. 

If you are looking for a real 'pro' who takes his work seriously, while enjoying the challenge of bringing reality to his screen performances, unique to this actor, consider using my services. As an octogenerian, I'm 6'2", grey haired, 180 lbs of 'solid' muscle and can still straddle a horse."

Notable Guest Stars

Season 2, Episode 9, "Shadow of Jesse James": James Coburn (shown on the left, starred in The Magnificent Seven, Charade, Our Man Flint, and In Like Flint and played Jeff Durain on Klondike and Gregg Miles on Acapulco) plays notorious outlaw Jesse James. Richard Coogan (Marshal Matthew Wayne on The Californians) plays his friend Cole Younger. Jeanne Cooper (Grace Douglas on Bracken's World and Katherine Chancellor Murphy on The Young and the Restless) plays Younger's fiance Belle Starr. James Westmoreland (Ruel Jaxon on The Monroes and Teddy Holmes on General Hospital) plays Younger's brother Jim. William Forrest (Major Swanson on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin) plays U.S. Marshal Joe Shelby. Don Eitner (Dr. Richard Winfield on Dynasty) plays Shelby's Deputy Clay.

Season 2, Episode 10, "Masquerade": Joel Grey (shown on the right, starred in Cabaret, Man on a Swing, The Seven Percent Solution, and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and played Lemuel Idzik on Oz) plays wannabe outlaw Runt Bowles. Frank Albertson (starred in Alice Adams, Man Made Monster, and It's a Wonderful Life and played Mr. Cooper on Bringing Up Buddy) plays banker J.R. Keene. Paul Maxwell (Steve Tanner on Coronation Street, Sam Webber on The Lotus Eaters, Hellman on The Aphrodite Inheritance and was the voice of Col. Steve Zodiac on Fireball XL5) plays real outlaw Lou Drum. Joe Cranston (Anderson on The Gale Storm Show) plays physician Doc Barnaby. Bill Baldwin (the narrator on Harbor Command and Bat Masterson and the announcer on The Bob Cummings Show) plays newspaper editor Mr. Hoxy.

Season 2, Episode 11, "Volunteers From Aberdeen": Robert Reed (shown on the left, played Mike Brady on The Brady Bunch, Kenneth Preston on The Defenders, Judd Morrison on Dr. Kildare, Lt. Adam Tobias on Mannix, and Dr. Adam Rose on Nurse) plays cattleman's son Tom Fuller. Susan Morrow (starred in Gasoline Alley, Problem Girls, and Cat-Women of the Moon) plays his former fiance Molly Corley. 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, Det. Les Hart on Burke's Law, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) plays Solcito Judge Claymore. John Harmon (hotel clerk Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) plays barber Dykes.

Season 2, Episode 12, "Every Man a Hero": Patricia Barry (Kate Harris on Harris Against the World) plays Army widow Amy Carter. Simon Oakland (starred in Psycho, West Side Story, and Follow That Dream and played Tony Vincenzo on Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Brig. Gen. Thomas Moore on Black Sheep Squadron, and Sgt. Abrams on David Cassidy - Man Undercover) plays Fort Monument surviving commander Sgt. Ross. 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 Army Cpl. Rod Evans. Warren Oates (starred in In the Heat of the Night, The Wild Bunch, and Stripes and played Ves Painter on Stoney Burke) plays Army Pvt. Hurd Maple. Ron Soble (Dirty Jim on The Monroes) plays Army Pvt. Warren Hawks. John Milford (the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Army Pvt. Loren Crane.

Season 2, Episode 13, "Death of an Outlaw": Stephen Joyce (shown on the right, played Bubba Wadsworth on Texas and Admiral Walter Strichen on Wiseguy) plays outlaw Billy the Kid. Miriam Colon (Maria Delgado on One Life to Live and Lydia Flores on All My Children) plays his wife Abrana. Rhodes Reason (John A. Hunter on White Hunter and Sheriff Will Mayberry on Bus Stop) plays former buffalo hunter Pat Garrett. Alan Caillou (Jason Flood on Tarzan and The Head on Quark) plays English cattle rancher John Tunstall. Bartlett Robinson (Frank Caldwell on Mona McCluskey) plays crooked cattle rancher L.G. Murphy. Alan Lane (Red Ryder in 7 westerns, Rocky Lane in 38 westerns, and was the uncredited voice of Mister Ed) plays corrupt Sheriff Brady. Harry Swoger (Harry the bartender on The Big Valley) plays cattle rancher John Chisum. 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 corrupt Deputy Sheriff Dan Peppin. Forrest Lewis (Mr. Peavey on The Great Gildersleeve) plays New Mexico territorial Governor Lew Wallace.

Season 2, Episode 14, "The Human Equation": Lawrence Dobkin (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 military camp commander Col. Arthur. Herbert Rudley (Sam Brennan on The Californians, Lt. Will Gentry on Michael Shayne, General Crone on Mona McCluskey, and Herb Hubbard on The Mothers-in-Law) plays his replacement Maj. Trask. Robert Barrat (appeared in Captain Blood, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Mary of Scotland, The Last of the Mohicans, and They Were Expendable) plays Osage chief Crippled Bear. 

Season 2, Episode 15, "Montana Passage": Mala Powers (starred in Cyrano de Bergerac, Rose of Cimarron, and Tammy and the Bachelor and played Rebecca Boone on Walt Disney's Daniel Boone and Mona on Hazel) plays school teacher Ruth Miller. 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 saloon girl Lola Dalzel. Rex Reason (starred in This Island Earth, Lady Godiva of Coventry, and The Creature Walks Among Us and played Adam MacLean on Man Without a Gun and Scott Norris on The Roaring '20's) plays gambler Amory Tate. Charles Cooper (starred in The Wrong Man and played the sheriff on Father Murphy and Judge Robert Boucher on The Practice) plays Marshal Wild Bill Hickock. Hugh Sanders (starred in That's My Boy, The Pride of St. Louis, The Winning Team, and The Wild One) plays new settlement salesman Stratton. Herb Vigran (Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke) plays his ticket seller Young. Milton Frome (starred in Pardners, The Delicate Delinquent, and The Swinger and played Lawrence Chapman on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays the Sioux CIty sheriff. 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 his deputy Orville Jones. Robert Colbert (Dr. Doug Phillips on The Time Tunnel) plays Army Lt. Cliff O'Neil.

Season 2, Episode 16, "Legacy of Twisted Creek": Carleton Young (starred in Dick Tracy (1937), The Brigand, Thunderhead - Son of Flicka, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and played Harry Steeger on The Court of Last Resort) plays Fort Big Fork commander Maj. Allison Tedrow. Richard Hale (starred in Abilene Town, Kim, San Antone, Red Garters, and To Kill a Mockingbird) plays Apache chief Long Shadow. John Anderson (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Apache antagonist Andy Sturdevant. Robert Williams (Mr. Dorfman on Dennis the Menace) plays his sidekick Howdy McNellis. William Mims (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Patchwork Junction Sheriff Armbruster.

Season 2, Episode 17, "Tangled Trail": Arch Johnson (starred in Somebody Up There Likes Me, G.I. Blues, and The Cheyenne Social Club and played Cmdr. Wivenhoe on Camp Runamuck) plays ranch owner Mark Tanner. 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 Italian ranch owner Joe Russo. Randy Stuart (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays his wife Claire. Robert Shayne (Inspector Bill Henderson on The Adventures of Superman and the sound mixer on Bracken's World) plays Sheriff Henry Logan. Stacy Keach, Sr. (Carlson on Get Smart) plays sensible land owner Barton. Roy Barcroft (Col. Logan on The Adventures of Spin and Marty and Roy on Gunsmoke) plays rancher Martin.

Season 2, Episode 18, "La Rubia": Rodolfo Acosta (Vaquero on The High Chapparal) plays wanted bandito Tomas Fierro. Carlos Romero (Rico Rodriguez on Wichita Town, Romero Serrano on Zorro, and Carlo Agretti on Falcon Crest) plays his right-hand man Urbino. Joan O'Brien (starred in The Alamo and It'$ Only Money) plays stage passenger Judith Castle. Faith Domergue (starred in Cult of the Cobra, This Island Earth, and It Came From Beneath the Sea) plays Fierro hench-woman Catalina. 

Season 2, Episode 19, "Winter Kill": 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, Bob/Doc Dawson on Tales of Wells Fargo, Doc Burrage on The Rifleman, and J.J. Jackson on Cade's County) plays accused killer Ben "Pop" Owens. Merry Anders (Murietta Joyce Erwin on The Stu Erwin Show, Val Marlowe on It's Always Jan, Mike McCall on How to Marry a Millionaire, and Policewoman Dorothy Miller on Dragnet 1967) plays his daughter Francy. Virginia Gregg (starred in Dragnet, Crime in the Streets, Operation Petticoat and was the voice of Norma Bates in Psycho and the voice of Maggie Belle Klaxon on Calvin and the Colonel) plays mine owner Kate Crowley. Richard Rust (Hank Tabor on Sam Benedict) plays her son Jack. 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 Marshal Matt Sample. John Mitchum (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays his deputy Al Sawyer. 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 mine owner Lansford.

Season 2, Episode 20, "End of a Rope": Horace McMahon (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Naked City) plays Las Cruces Marshal Tom Merrick. Robert Colbert (see "Montana Passage" above) plays his deputy Pete Andrews. 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 photographer Allen Brierly. 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 crooked Sheriff Sherm Landry. 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 his co-conspirator Judge Whittaker. Joan Marshall (Sailor Duval on Bold Venture) plays saloon girl Rouge Carter. 

Season 3, Episode 1, "The Mustangers": Mike Keene (Captain Dan Coffin on Harbormaster) plays cattle ranching kingpin Abner Shelton. Whitney Blake (shown on the right, played Dorothy Baxter on Hazel) plays his much younger wife Laurel. Kenneth Tobey (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 his foreman Walt Campbell. 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 ranch hand Jimmy Smith. Arch Johnson (see "Tangled Trail" above) plays rival rancher George Gunlock. 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 Omaha Marshal Herbert Coles. Miriam Nelson (choreographer on High Time, Cat Ballou, and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) plays Coles' wife Emmy. 

Season 3, Episode 2, "Apache Treasure": Ed Prentiss (Jensen on The Virginian) plays Fort Lowell commanding officer Maj. Donald Keever. 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 Sgt. Cass. Chad Everett (shown on the left, starred in Get Yourself a College Girl, Made in Paris, The Singing Nun, and Airplane II and played Deputy Del Stark on The Dakotas, Dr. Joe Gannon on Medical Center, Paul Hagen on Hagen, Wyatt Earp III on The Rousters, Jack McKenna on McKenna, Jack Manhattan on Manhattan, AZ, and Vic on Chemistry) plays greenhorn Lt. Finley. Richard Hale (see "Legacy of Twisted Creek" above) plays Apache Chief Victorio. Mort Mills (Marshal Frank Tallman on Man Without a Gun, Sgt. Ben Landro on Perry Mason, and Sheriff Fred Madden on The Big Valley) plays prospector Hickens. Howard Petrie (Hugh Blaine on Bat Masterson) plays rancher Matt Rigby.

Season 3, Episode 3, "Seminole War Pipe": Anna Kashfi (Marlon Brando's first wife) plays Seminole Princess Natula. Boyd Holister (Phony Van Gelder on General Hospital) plays Seminole brave Johnny Jumper. Robert Warwick (starred in Alias Jimmy Valentine, The Supreme Sacrifice, The Heart of a Hero, and Against All Flags) plays Seminole Chief Akacita. Dean Fredericks (Kaseem in Jungle Jim, Komawi in The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Lt. Col. Steve Canyon in Steve Canyon) plays Creek Chief Greywolf. Morris Ankrum (see "Death of an Outlaw" above) plays Union Gen. Blunt. Frank Wilcox (Henry Van Buren on Waterfront, Beecher Asbury on The Untouchables, Mr. Brewster on The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, and the judge 8 times on Perry Mason) plays Confederate commander Col. Baylor. Robert Brubaker (Deputy Ed Blake on U.S. Marshal and Floyd on Gunsmoke) plays former Confederate soldier Clay.

Lawman (1961)

As actor James Garner observed in his memoir The Garner Files, Jack Warner didn't run his television studio in order to make great art; he did it to make money as cheaply as possible. And since westerns were the most popular genre of the day, his studio produced a stable of shows to capitalize on the cowboy craze. But perhaps the best of the lot was the generically titled Lawman, which, as pointed out in the previous post for its 1960 episodes, certainly had its share of cardboard characters and recycled plots, but it also was the one show that closest approached the bar set by Gunsmoke as the grand daddy of adult westerns. Unlike the other Warners westerns that featured various drifters finding adventure wherever they roamed, Lawman was firmly planted in the town of Laramie, Wyoming, as Gunsmoke was rooted in Dodge City, and recounted the exploits of its Marshal Dan Troop who kept time with his saloon-owning lady friend Lily Merrill (just lake Matt Dillon hung out with Miss Kitty), who is continually thwarted in her attempts to get her man to propose. But after these parallels, the comparison begins to break down: Lawman deputy Johnny McKay is fairly one-dimensional compared with Dennis Weaver's Chester Goode, and there is no equivalent to Milburn Stone's feisty Doc Adams.

But despite the sometimes shop-worn plots and the unfortunate attempts at humor (the continued return of Joel Grey as pint-sized Owny O'Reilly is like a bothersome gnat), Lawman hit its stride in Season 3 with some surprisingly uncompromising storylines. In "The Robbery" (January 1, 1961), an episode directed by Robert Altman, Troop is visited by an old friend and former lawman Sam Deever who has fallen on hard times due to an injury and gotten mixed up with outlaws who have just robbed an army payroll and murdered the paymaster. When the army sends officious Lt. Davidson to investigate the murder, the outlaws feel they need to eliminate Troop, who has met them and now knows them, and have Deever lead him out into the woods under the pretext of investigating apparently stolen railroad equipment so that they can ambush him. But as they go deeper into the woods, Troop begins to suspect something is off and gets Deever to confess and then agree to help him capture the killers, which he does. However, Davidson shows up late, not realizing that Deever has turned against the outlaws and fatally shoots him. McKay is angry at Davidson for killing someone who was on their side, but Troop sums up that perhaps things worked out the best for everyone because his old friend will not have to face a hanging and he won't have to bear the guilt of doing the hanging. It's a grim conclusion to a situation that could never have produced the happy ending that most TV programs delivered at the time.

Another example is "The Marked Man" (January 22, 1961)in which Tod Larson, the estranged brother of saloon girl Muriel Hanley, comes to town and visits her at the Bird Cage, but she is none too pleased because he has a tarnished past that she wants nothing to do with. His real reason for the visit is to pick up a letter sent to her that identifies Troop as his assassination target, paid for by the owner of a saloon that Troop shut down. But when Larson meets and then shares a meal with Troop, he tries to back out of the hit. The saloon owner threatens Muriel, so Larson is stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. With his sister being what he describes as the only thing he's got despite her rejection of him, Larson chooses to sacrifice himself rather than lead Troop to slaughter, knocking him out and stealing his hat and coat, then riding to the spot where Troop was to be ambushed. When Troop wakes up, he and McKay rush to where he knows the ambush will take place but arrives too late. Troop returns to town and tries to console Muriel by focusing on the good her brother did, but Lily remarks that once he has consoled her he will have to console himself.

And in "The Persecuted" (April 9, 1961) Troop has to face an aging gunslinger Burley Keller, who pretends that he wants to turn his back on his past and settle peacefully in Laramie but is actually a sadistic killer who goads men into drawing on him so that he can shoot them down. He is also cruel to his wife of 10 years, saying that she is old and worn out while he tries to talk Lily to leaving town with him. Troop ultimately has to lure Keller into making the same mistake as his victims by insulting him horribly until he is forced to draw and Troop has the justification he needs to gun him down. In the end Troop invites Keller's widow to stay in town as she boards a stagecoach, but she can only reply that she knew what kind of man her husband was and loved him anyway, though she doesn't know why. The story refuses to wrap things up in a tidy sense of closure, instead leaving the wound open. Though Lawman had its share of misguided youths and misfits who manage to turn their lives around, it also took an unflinching look at lives ruined by greed and desperation. In "Trojan Horse" (December 31, 1961) Troop tells government road agent Duncan Clooney that he was right in calling nitroglycerine "the work of the devil," but Clooney counters that men do more of the devil's work than any explosive, to which Troop replies, "I'll drink to that."

And yet despite this unusual realism in depicting the evil that men do, Troop's character is larger than life. He may not be able to save everyone who needs saving, but he is shown to have superior knowledge and judgment over any other authority figures who visit Laramie. Besides the officious Lt. Davidson cited above, he runs afoul of U.S. Marshals inspector Orville Luster in "By the Book" (December 24, 1961), who thinks that Troop runs his town too wide open in allowing citizens to carry guns, gamble, and drink. He forces McKay to lock up two benign drunks since they are technically in violation of disturbing the peace, but Troop then sets them free, angering Luster until the two bumblers foil a plot by a pair of hardened outlaws to kill Luster. 

He also locks horns with New York police Lt. Foster in "The Man From New York" (March 19, 1961), who comes to Laramie looking for a man who committed larceny three years before, even though the culprit has begun repaying the money anonymously. Troop quickly figures out that the man Foster is hunting is harness maker Fred Stiles, a solid citizen since he moved to Laramie, and he refuses to arrest him. Stiles feels that he has no choice but to flee, and Foster chases after him in a buggy that overturns, pinning him. Stiles has the opportunity to shoot Foster but instead uses his rifle to fire a warning shot to help Troop find Foster and take him back to town for medical attention. Foster eventually comes around to agree with Troop that a man can change and salvage his past, and he decides to leave Laramie without Stiles.

Both of the preceding episodes make the point that the law can be applied unfairly and that it takes a person of superior judgment to know when it needs to be held firm and when it can be bent. Marshal Dan Troop is shown to be such a person. As the show entered its fourth season, however, the story lines became more conventional, much like the theme music, which was toned down from the bolder arrangement used during the first three seasons. However, two exceptional episodes maintain the edgier flavor of the Season 3 episodes mentioned above. In "The Four" (October 1, 1961), a posse led by Herm Forrest comes to town looking for a man named Lee Darragh. Troop and Lily at first suspect that they are in town to cause some kind of mischief, such as a robbery, but Forrest eventually explains that they are looking to capture Darragh, a cold-blooded killer who can deceive people because of his boyish youth. When Darragh finally shows up and Troop is forced to gun him down, Forrest approaches Troop and asks if he can take home the body of his brother, a twist that the viewer doesn't see coming but makes Forrest's earlier depiction of Darragh all the more poignant. And in "The Catalog Woman" (November 5, 1961) Troop is hunting a black widow figure who lures lonely men with money into marriage through advertisements in a magazine, then killing them. Troop even agrees to pose as a decoy suitor himself only to find out that the widow is a man. Perhaps even more daring for the time, when the first suitor, Walter Perkins, meets the stage bearing his future bride with a bouquet of flowers, another man gets off before the widow and says to Perkins in an effeminate tone, "Are those for me?" Certainly cross-dressing and homosexuality were strictly taboo on the 1961 television landscape, but Lawman wasn't above bending the rules on many fronts.

Though it has not been released on DVD as of this writing, the series is currently showing weekdays on the Encore West cable TV channel.

The Actors

For the biographies for John Russell, Peter Brown, Peggie Castle, Dan Sheridan, and Harry Cheshire, see the post for Lawman 1960.

Grady Sutton

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and raised in Florida, Grady Harwell Sutton enjoyed a long and prolific career playing primarily befuddled country bumpkins and southerners. Sutton got his start in films while on a summer vacation in Hollywood with his roommate, the younger brother of director William A. Seiter. Sutton was invited on to the set and allowed to serve as an extra in The Mad Whirl, released in 1925. That same year he appeared in the Harold Lloyd masterpiece The Freshman and thereafter appeared in a number of other college-themed films. In 1933 he appeared alongside W.C. Fields in the short  The Pharmacist and thereby became a favorite of Fields, who threatened to back out of The Bank Dick if Sutton were not included in the cast. He also appeared with Fields in The Man on the Flying Trapeze and You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, danced with Katherine Hepburn and stepped on her toes in Alice Adams, and was the bridegroom-to-be for Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey. He also appeared in classics such as Stage Door, Anchors Aweigh, A Star Is Born, and White Christmas, often in uncredited roles. His television appearances began in the early 1950s, starting with The Egg and I, but his role as hotel clerk Ben Toomey on Lawman was his first recurring role.

After Lawman was canceled in 1962, he continued to mix feature film and TV work, the former including appearances in the Doris Day musical Billy Rose's Jumbo, the Rat Pack western farce 4 for Texas, My Fair Lady, a pair of Elvis Presley vehicles--Tickle Me and Paradise Hawaiian Style--the Peter Sellers comedy I Love You Alice B. Toklas, and the Raquel Welch sex-change farce Myra Breckenridge. He found his second recurring TV role playing the character Sturgis on The Phyllis Diller Show, and made his last appearance on film in the Ramones musical Rock 'n' Roll High School in 1979. He moved into the Motion Picture and Television Home and Hospital in 1994 and died there of natural causes on September 17, 1995 at the age of 89.

Vinton Hayworth

Vinton Haworth was born in Washington, D.C., son of a printer and publisher and grandson of a Shakespearean actor. He began his own acting career in his late teens and had a long and successful career in radio drama, most notably playing Jack Arnold (which was also his stage name) in Myrt and Marge, which ran from 1932-46. He made his film debut in the 1934 romantic drama Enlighten Thy Daughter  and had steady work throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, many times in uncredited roles. His television career began in the mid-1940s and from that point forward he made very few feature film appearances. He was a founding member of what is today the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the union for radio and TV performers, and served as its president from 1951-54. By the late 1950s he began getting multiple appearances on shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and Whirlybirds. In 1958 he had his first recurring role as the villainous Magistrado Carlos Galindo on the Walt Disney series Zorro. His role as Laramie bank president Oren Slauson stretched for 10 episodes of Lawman from 1959-62.

He continued appearances  on a number of series thereafter, including Laramie, Perry Mason, and Gunsmoke but also had a number of small recurring roles on other series, playing Mr. Sutherland 5 times on Hazel between 1961-65, Dr. Faber 4 times on Green Acres between 1965-67, and as a judge 3 times on Dragnet between 1967-69. When Barton McLane passed away while playing Gen. Peterson on I Dream of Jeannie in 1969, Hayworth's  Gen. Winfield Schaeffer, who started appearing on the show the previous year, replaced him. Uncle to both Ginger Rogers and Rita Hayworth (his wife Jean Rogers was the sister of Ginger's mother; his sister Volga Hayworth was Rita's mother), Hayworth suffered a heart attack and died 5 days before the air date of his final Jeannie appearance on May 21, 1970 at the age of 63.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 3, Episode 17, "Fireshouse Lil": Sheldon Allman (Norm Miller on Harris Against the World) plays bank robber Edward Dirckes. 

Season 3, Episode 18, "The Frame-Up": Dabbs Greer (shown on the left, see the biography section of the 1960 post on Gunsmoke) plays shady lawyer Les Courtney. Randy Stuart (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays his client Jessica Kindle. William Mims (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays troublemaker Rich Matthews.

Season 3, Episode 19, "The Marked Man": Andrew Duggan (Cal Calhoun on Bourbon Street Beat, George Rose on Room for One More, Major Gen. Ed Britt on 12 O'Clock High, and Murdoch Lancer on Lancer) plays hired assassin Tod Larson. Larry J. Blake (the unnamed jailer on Yancy Derringer and Tom Parnell on Saints and Sinners) plays barfly Chuck Slade.

Season 3, Episode 20, "The Squatters": DeForest Kelley (show on the right, played Dr. McCoy on Star Trek) plays ranch foreman Bent Carr. King Calder (Lt. Gray on Martin Kane) plays squatter Ad Prentice.

Season 3, Episode 21, "Homecoming": 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 escaped convict Frank Walker. Adrienne Marden (Mary Breckenridge on The Waltons) plays his wife Mary. Ray Stricklyn (Dr. James Parris on The Colbys and Senator Pickering on Wiseguy) plays his son Eddy. 

Season 3, Episode 22, "Hassayampa": John Anderson (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays temperance crusader Hassayampa Edwards. 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 shyster bar owner Dusty McCade. 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 his partner Clyde Morton. 

Season 3, Episode 23, "The Promoter": John Van Dreelen (starred in The Leech Woman, 13 Ghosts, and Topaz) plays whiskey promoter Malcolm Tyler DeVries. Frank Gerstle (Dick Gird on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays saloon owner David Farris. 

Season 3, Episode 24, "Detweiler's Kid": Chad Everett (shown on the right, starred in Get Yourself a College Girl, Made in Paris, The Singing Nun, and Airplane II and played Deputy Del Stark on The Dakotas, Dr. Joe Gannon on Medical Center, Paul Hagen on Hagen, Wyatt Earp III on The Rousters, Jack McKenna on McKenna, Jack Manhattan on Manhattan, AZ, and Vic on Chemistry) plays cattle herder Jim Austin. Joyce Meadows (Lynn Allen on The Man and the Challenge and Stacy on Two Faces West) plays rancher's daughter Elfreida Detweiler. 

Season 3, Episode 25, "The Inheritance": Will Wright (Ben Weaver on The Andy Griffith Show) plays miser Tecumsah Pruitt. 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 wife. Fuzzy Knight (appeared in She Done Him Wrong, The Lat Round-Up, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, and The Oregon Trail and played Pvt. Fuzzy Knight on Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion) plays store owner Mr. Morris. Guy Wilkerson (Panhandle Perkins in 22 westerns) plays his customer Slim.

Season 3, Episode 26, "Blue Boss and Willie Shay": Sammy Davis, Jr. (shown on the left, "The Greatest Living Entertainer" starred in Porgy and Bess, Ocean's 11, Robin and the 7 Hoods, Sweet Charity, The Cannonball Run, and Cannonball Run II) plays cattle drover Willie Shay. Richard Jaeckel (Tony Gentry on Frontier Circus, Lt. Martin Quick on Spenser: For Hire, and Capt. Ben Edwards on Baywatch) plays drover Al Janaker. 

Season 3, Episode 27, "The Man From New York": Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and who provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays New York police Lt. Foster. Richard Arlen (Lionel starred in The Virginian, Dangerous Paradise, Gun Smoke, Island of Lost Souls, and Alice in Wonderland) plays harness maker Fred Stiles. 

Season 3, Episode 28, "Mark of Cain": John Kellogg (shown on the right, played Jack Chandler on Peyton Place) plays returning acquitted killer Chad Kennedy. Coleen Gray (starred in Kiss of Death, Nightmare Alley, The Killing, The Vampire, The Leech Woman, and The Phantom Planet and played Muriel Clifford on McCloud) plays his brother's widow Rena. Carolyn Komant (Dixie on The Roaring 20's) plays saloon girl Dolores.

Season 3, Episode 29, "Fugitive": Catherine McLeod (Claire Larkin on Days of Our Lives) plays fugitive's wife Meg Cormack. Dorothy Konrad (Mrs. Trilling on The Last Resort) plays store owner Mrs. Fields. 

Season 3, Episode 30, "The Persecuted": Adam Williams (appeared in Flying Leathernecks, The Big Heat, Fear Strikes Out, and North by Northwest) plays gunslinger Burley Keller. Jean Willes (appeared in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ocean's 11, and Gypsy) plays his wife Annie. Joseph Gallison (Dr. Neil Curtis on Days of Our Lives) plays his victim Roy Barnes. Sandy McPeak (Pvt. Saunders on The Gallant Men, Capt. Braddock on Blue Thunder, J. Wendell Summerhayes on Wildside, and Chief Bradley on Nasty Boys) plays trailhand Ted Turner. 

Season 3, Episode 31, "The Grubstake": Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays prospector Rainbow Jack. Heather Angel (shown on the left, starred in The Hound of the Baskervilles, Orient Express, The Three Musketeers(1935), Pride and Prejudice, Lifeboat, and 5 Bulldog Drummond features and played Mrs. Dowell on Peyton Place and Miss Faversham on Family Affair) plays aging saloon girl Stephanie Collins. Robert Cornthwaite (Professor Windish on Get Smart) plays lawyer Edward Coughill. 

Season 3, Episode 32, "Whiphand": Leo Gordon (shown on the right, played Big Mike McComb on Maverick) plays rancher Bull Nickerson. Peggy McCay (Anna Rose on Room for One More, Iris Fairchild on General Hospital, Mrs. Malloy on Gibbsville, Marian Hume on Lou Grant, and Caroline Brady on Days of Our Lives) plays his wife Cassie. Jack Beutel (starred in The Outlaw, Best of the Badmen, and Jesse James' Women and played Deputy Jeff Taggart on Judge Roy Bean) plays his ranch-hand Ryder. Med Flory (played clarinet in the Ray Anthony orchestra and founded and plays alto sax in the group Super Sax, appeared in Gun Street, The Nutty Professor (1963), and The Gumball Rally, and played Sheriff Mike McBride on High Mountain Rangers) plays traveling peddler Jed Pennyman. 

Season 3, Episode 33, "The Threat": 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 land-grabber Herm Villiers. Whit Bissell (starred in He Walked by Night, Creature From the Black Lagoon, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, and Hud and who played Bert Loomis on Bachelor Father, Calvin Hanley on Peyton Place, and Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk on The Time Tunnel) plays Laramie visitor Edgar Chase. 

Season 3, Episode 34, "The Trial": Shirley Knight (shown on the left, starred in Ice Palace, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Sweet Bird of Youth, Dutchman, and As Good as It Gets and played Mrs. Newcomb on Buckskin, Estelle Winters on Maggie Winters, and Phyllis Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives) plays orphan Tendis Weston. Tim Graham (Homer Ede on National Velvet) plays her uncle Charlie. Ray Teal (see Jim Teal on Lassie and Sheriff Roy Coffee on Bonanza) plays Kansas Judge Leonard Whitehall. Slim Pickens (starred in The Story of Will Rogers, Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, and The Howling and played Slim on Outlaws, Slim Walker on The Wide Country, California Joe Milner on Custer, and Sgt. Beauregard Wiley on B.J. & the Bear) plays stagecoach driver Barney.

Season 3, Episode 35, "Blind Hate": Jason Evers (starred in The Brain That Wouldn't Die, House of Women, The Green Berets, and Escape From the Planet of the Apes and played Pitcairn on Wrangler, Prof. Joseph Howe on Channing, and Jim Sonnett on The Guns of Will Sonnett) plays ranch-hand Shag Warner. Ted de Corsia (Police Chief Hagedorn on Steve Canyon) plays his boss Lem Pastor. Mala Powers (starred in Cyrano de Bergerac, Rose of Cimarron, and Tammy and the Bachelor and played Rebecca Boone on Walt Disney's Daniel Boone and Mona on Hazel) player Pastor's daughter Lucy. John Qualen (starred in The Three Musketeers(1935), His Girl Friday, The Grapes of Wrath, Angels Over Broadway, Casablanca, Anatomy of a Murder, and A Patch of Blue) plays physician Doc Shea.

Season 3, Episode 36, "The Break-In": Sheldon Allman (see "Firehouse Lil" above) plays wanted outlaw in disguise Walt Hudson. Chubby Johnson (shown on the right, played Concho on Temple Houston) plays drunkard Cactus Gates. 

Season 3, Episode 37, "Conditional Surrender": Robert F. Simon (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 outlaw patriarch Pa Beason. Hampton Fancher (Deputy Lon Gillis on Black Saddle and co-wrote the screenplay and was executive producer on Blade Runner) plays his son Lester. Claire Griswold (wife and former student of Sydney Pollack) plays his daughter Iona.

Season 3, Episode 38, "Cold Fear": Frank Overton (shown on the left, starred in Desire Under the Elms, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fail-Safe and played Major Harvey Stovall on 12 O'Clock High) plays former Arizona marshal incognito Brad Turner. Margaret Field (mother of actress Sally Field) plays his wife Ann. 

Season 3, Episode 39, "The Promise": Stuart Randall (Sheriff Art Sampson on Cimarron City, Al Livermore on Lassie, and Sheriff Mort Corey on Laramie) plays Fort Laramie commander Col. Strappin. Ken Lynch (appeared in I Married a Monster From Outer Space, Anatomy of a Murder, and Dead Ringer and played Lt. Thomas Brand on Checkmate, Det. Lt. Tom Handley on Arrest and Trial, Lt. Barney Keller on Honey West, and Police Sgt. Grover on McCloud) plays condemned criminal Jed Barrister. 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 gambler Simm Bracque. Carolyn Komant (see "Mark of Cain" above) plays eloper Nancy Fuller.

Season 4, Episode 1, "Trapped": Peter Breck (shown on the right, played Clay Culhane on Black Saddle, Doc Holliday on later seasons of Maverick, and Nick Barkley on The Big Valley) plays extorter Hale Connors. House Peters, Jr. (Sheriff Jim Billings on Lassie) plays telegrapher Joe Poole. 

Season 4, Episode 2, "The Juror": Jack Hogan (starred in The Bonnie Parker Story, Paratroop Command, and The Cat Burglar and played Kirby on Combat!, Sgt. Jerry Miller on Adam-12, Chief Ranger Jack Moore on Sierra, and Judge Smithwood on Jake and the Fatman) plays accused train robber Ben Cawley. Larry J. Blake (see "The Marked Man" above) plays storekeeper Mr. Parker. 

Season 4, Episode 3, "The Four": Jack Elam (shown on the left, played Deputy J.D. Smith on The Dakotas, George Taggart on Temple Houston, Zack Wheeler on The Texas Wheelers, and Uncle Alvin Stevenson on Easy Street) plays posse leader Herm Forrest. Norman Alden (Grundy on Not for Hire, Johnny Ringo on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Captain Horton on Rango, Tom Williams on My Three Sons, and Coach Leroy Fedders on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) plays posse member Charley. Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. (son of swimmer and actor Johnny Weissmuller) plays posse member Willy. Joseph Gallison (see "The Persecuted" above) plays their quarry Lee Darragh. Dorothy Konrad (see "Fugutive" above) plays storekeeper Mrs. Bangle. 

Season 4, Episode 4, "The Son": James Westerfield (shown on the right, appeared in The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Love God? and played John Murrel on The Travels of Jamie McPheeters) plays vengeful father Zachariah Herod. Chad Everett (see "Detweiler's Kid" above) plays his blind son Cole. Tom Reese (starred in Taggart, The Money Trap, and Murderers' Row and played Sgt. Thomas Velie on Ellery Queen) plays cowboy Bob Mengis. Charles Irving (Judge Blanchard on Perry Mason) plays traveling salesman Eugene Thomas.

Season 4, Episode 5, "Owny O'Reilly, Esquire": Joel Grey (shown on the left, starred in Cabaret, Man on a Swing, The Seven Percent Solution, and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and played Lemuel Idzik on Oz) returns as diminutive youngster Owny O'Reilly. Mort Mills (Marshal Frank Tallman on Man Without a Gun, Sgt. Ben Landro on Perry Mason, and Sheriff Fred Madden on The Big Valley) plays incarcerated killer Jack Saunders. Barry Kelley (starred in The Asphalt Jungle, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Love Bug and played Mr. Slocum on Pete and Gladys and Mr. Hergesheimer on Mister Ed) plays Wyoming Governor Johnson. Roberta Shore (Laura Rogan on Walt Disney Presents: Annette, Henrietta Gogerty on The Bob Cummings Show, and Betsy Garth on The Virginian) plays his daughter Millie.

Season 4, Episode 6, "The Substitute": Kathleen Freeman (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 Laramie matron Mavis Martingale. Jan Arvan (Nacho Torres on Zorro and Paw Kadiddlehopper on The Red Skelton Hour) plays her husband Homer. Whit Bissell (see "The Threat" above) plays educated drunk Al Skinner. 

Season 4, Episode 7, "The Stalker": Peter Whitney (shown on the right, played Sergeant Buck Sinclair on The Rough Riders and Lafe Crick on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays fur trapper Alteeka McClintoch. Donald "Red" Barry (see "Hassayampa" above) plays his antagonist Jess Schaeffer. Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays Schaeffer's brother Compton. 

Season 4, Episode 8, "The Catalog Woman": Herb Vigran (Brooker on Gunsmoke) plays frugal rancher Walter Perkins. William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays Laramie townsman John. Richard Carlyle (Casey on Crime Photographer) plays con man posing as Mrs. Agatha Wingate.

Season 4, Episode 9, "The Cold One": 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 escaped convict King Harris. Joyce Meadows (shown on the left, see "Detweiler's Kid" above) plays his wife Barbara. Ric Marlow (wrote the lyrics to "A Taste of Honey") plays Harris' henchman Willis. Percy Helton (Homer Cratchit on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays cowardly citizen Thatcher. Sandy McPeak (see "The Persecuted" above) plays Marshal Troop helper Ed Lane.

Season 4, Episode 10, "Porphyria's Lover": Benny Baker (appeared in Blonde Trouble, Stage Door Canteen, and Paint Your Wagon and played Pete the bartender on F Troop) plays substitute bartender Dave. 

Season 4, Episode 11, "The Appointment": Kent Smith (shown on the right, starred in Cat People, This Land Is Mine, Hitler's Children, Curse of the Cat People, Nora Prentiss, The Spiral Staircase, and The Fountainhead and played Dr. Robert Morton on Peyton Place and Edgar Scoville on The Invaders) plays Fort Laramie commander Maj. Jason A. Leeds. John Kellogg (see "Mark of Cain" above) plays court-martialed soldier Bern Lochard. Tom London (starred in Six-Shootin' Sheriff, Song of the Buckaroo, and Riders in the Sky) plays old army veteran Pete.

Season 4, Episode 12, "The Lords of Darkness": Arch Johnson (starred in Somebody Up There Likes Me, G.I. Blues, and The Cheyenne Social Club and played Cmdr. Wivenhoe on Camp Runamuck) plays Darkness patriarch Andrew Lord. Corey Allen (went on to direct multiple episodes of Dr. Kildare, Police Woman, Dallas, Hunter, and Star Trek: The Next Generation) plays his son William. Charles Maxwell (Special Agent Joe Carey on I Led 3 Lives and was the voice of the radio announcer on Gilligan's Island) plays the Darkness marshal. Damian O'Flynn (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays bar owner Sutter. Owen Bush (Ben on Shane, John Belson on Sirota's Court, and Crimshaw on Our House) plays the Darkness bartender.

Season 4, Episode 13, "Tarot": Robert McQueeney (shown on the left, played Conley Wright on The Gallant Men) plays gambler Joe Wyatt. Bill Zuckert (Arthur Bradwell on Mr. Novak and Chief Segal on Captain Nice) plays payroll robber Luther. 

Season 4, Episode 14, "The Prodigal Mother": Catherine McLeod (see "Fugitive" above) plays prodigal mother Margaret Coleson. Billy Booth (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Dennis the Menace) plays her abandoned son Tad. King Calder (see "The Squatters" above) plays Tad's adoptive father Dave McCallan.

 

Season 4, Episode 15, "By the Book": Lyle Talbot (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays inspector of U.S. marshals Orville Luster. Walter Burke (starred in All the King's Men, Jack the Giant Killer, and Support Your Local Sheriff! and played Tim Potter on Black Saddle) plays carouser Ernie. Sheldon Allman (see "Firehouse Lil" above) plays his buddy Teakwood. Richard Benedict (appeared in A Walk in the Sun, Crossfire, and Ace in the Hole and directed multiple episodes of Hawaiian Eye, Run for Your Life, Ironside, Medical Center, Police Story, and Hawaii Five-O) plays outlaw Lou Silk.

Season 4, Episode 16, "Trojan Horse": Kenneth Tobey (starred in Angel Face, The Thing From Another World, and It Came From Beneath the Sea and played Chuck Martin on Whirleybirds and Russ Conway on I Spy) plays government road agent Duncan Clooney. Richard Bakalyan (starred in The Delicate Delinquent, The Cool and the Crazy, Juvenile Jungle, Hot Car Girl, Paratroop Command, and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes) plays his worker Eggers.