Ripcord (1962)

 

Any discussion of the 1962 episodes of parachuting adventure series Ripcord must at some point deal with its confusing chronology and, with it, syndicated series in general. Unlike network-sponsored shows, syndicated series such as this one were developed by independent companies and sold to local stations to air when and where they chose. And therein lies the rub in terms of historical chronology--since each local station could choose what to air and when, there is no defined first air date for any episode. Further muddying the waters is the confusion over the two different kinds of syndicated shows--newly developed and independently produced shows versus what were essentially reruns of canceled series, which could be network-produced programs or older independently produced shows. Even TV Guide gets it wrong in their September 15, 1962 Fall Preview issue when they say that syndicated shows are only of the canceled variety being shown in reruns but include Death Valley Days in their list of examples. Death Valley Days, one of the longest-running westerns in TV history, continued producing new episodes through the 1969-70 season. For Ripcord the confusion stems from the mismatch between the episode numbers for Season 2 both on the DVD reissue and the imdb.com listing and the copyright dates in the closing credits for each episode. For example, while the first two episodes of Season 2, "Aerial Backfire" and "Among Those Missing" have 1962 copyright dates (and I have been able to confirm from my incomplete and random collection of 1962 TV Guide magazines issued from several different regional markets) and were aired at least by October 18 and 25, 1962, respectively, the third episode, "Chute to Kill" has a 1963 copyright date in the closing credits, though it is listed as a 1962 episode on imdb.com. Continuing this hodge-podge sequencing, Episodes 4 and 5 are copyrighted 1962, while Episodes 6, 7, and 8 are copyrighted 1963 (the last of these is listed as a 1962 episode on imdb.com). Episode 9, "Flight to Terror" has a 1962 copyright (imdb.com lists it for 1963), while Episode 10, "A Free Falling Star," has a 1963 copyright. Episodes 11 and 12 are both copyrighted 1962, the last listed by imdb.com for that year. However, Episodes 13, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, and 29 all have 1962 copyrights, though imdb.com lists them as 1963 episodes. I have been able to confirm from my TV Guide collection that episodes 20, 21, 27, and 29 all aired somewhere in 1962. It would not be unusual for an episode copyrighted in 1962 to be first aired in early 1963 (this happens regularly with network-produced shows which are filmed weeks ahead of their first airing), but I have found no evidence of a 1963 copyrighted show airing in 1962. It is unclear where the episode-numbering scheme originated, whether from production company records or elsewhere, but if it were from the production company itself, it appears that the episodes were not filmed or aired in sequence. All of which brings us to the reason for this lengthy discussion: this blog post will cover all the remaining Season 1 episodes not covered in our first post for Ripcord as well as the Season 2 episodes with a 1962 copyright date, regardless where they appear in the episode-numbering scheme.

We've already covered the show's origins in our previous post on the 1961 episodes, but a 2014 review of the Season 1 DVD set on dvdtalk.com sheds some light on the confusing world of syndicated television mentioned above. Apparently, Ripcord production company Ziv Television Programs, Inc. owner Frederick Ziv had started out as a radio program syndicator but learned in the early 1950s that he could make even more money by producing independent TV series and selling them directly to local stations. Among his other popular productions were The Cisco Kid, Highway Patrol, and Sea Hunt. However, Ziv hit its peak popularity in the mid-to-late 1950s, by which point the major networks saw the money Ziv was making and decided to muscle in on the business by offering local stations reruns of their canceled series, which were more attractive to the stations since they were proven commodities rather than new, untested product. Ziv's money pot began drying up, and by the early 1960s, the time when Ripcord went into production, he was forced to sell out to United Artists, which is why you will see their trademark and logo on Season 2 Ripcord credits. The changing landscape of syndicated television is perhaps as big a reason for Ripcord's short, 2-season run as the danger involved in filming the real parachute jumps mentioned in our previous post on this series. After all, the series was credited with a huge increase in civilian parachuting interest during its run as well as huge sales of its tie-in children's toy parachutist. The fact that Season 2 was filmed in color shows that United Artists was apparently going all-in to make the show a hit, but the odds against it proved too high to continue beyond 1963.

Other changes for Season 2 included the dismissal of Ripcord pilot Chuck Lambert played by Paul Comi. While Shug Fister was retained in his role as Charlie Kearn, the other Ripcord pilots for Season 2 were the show's credited "technical advisors" Lyle Cameron and Leigh Hunt using their own first names as character names, a la The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The plots, however, did not change much from Season 1 to Season 2--medical rescues that sometimes require paramedic Jim Buckley to perform surgery by dictation, kidnapping ransom drops, apprehending escaped convicts, international espionage, insurance fraud schemes, and Ted McKeever jumping out of a plane holding a dog ("Thoroughbred" in Season 1, "Aerial Backfire" in Season 2) are all used in multiple episodes. All of which begs the question, how realistic would it have been to run a parachute-for-hire business in the early 1960s? Granted, the business landscape has changed plenty since then--drones with cameras can perform a lot of the surveillance that Ted and Jim are ostensibly hired to carry out, and it would seem likely that there are fewer inaccessible parts of the country that can be reached only by air (though it is also likely there were not as many such places in 1961-63 as the Ripcord plots seemed to suggest). These days, the only non-military applications for parachutists appear to be training civilian thrill seekers (as the Ripcord boys do regularly, though their students always seem to have some kind of ulterior motive, like insurance fraud) and wildfire "smoke jumpers"--firefighters trained to parachute into dangerous wildfires to help control their spread, which is what we see Ted and Jim doing in the aforementioned "Aerial Backfire" and the Season 1 episode "Millionaire Doctor," which quickly turns into the familiar medical rescue story. It's also worth noting that today's parachute tourism trainers often barely survive financially and live in their own RVs that allow them to travel the country to drum up seasonal business, as opposed to being housed in an expansive warehouse space with front offices, secretaries, intercom systems, etc., as shown on Ripcord. Milt Platt, one of the stuntmen who performed real-life jumps filmed for Ripcord and profiled in a 2009 article in the Orlando Sentinel, ran his own parachute consulting business at the time (while he was also working as a deputy sheriff for the LAPD), Parachuting Associates, but the bulk of his business was providing film and aircraft services for the film industry, such as filming Johnny Carson's 1968 first attempt at parachuting which ended up being shown on The Tonight Show. But then, real-life accuracy isn't the main objective of Ripcord--it's high-flying adventure.

And nothing spells adventure like jumping out of a plane without a parachute, which happens both in Season 1 and Season 2 and provides the most hair-raising film sequences of the series, especially when one considers that the sky-diving sequences are real, not the faked type of Hollywood make-believe seen in Frankie Avalon surfing movies. In Season 1's "Hi-Jack," Ted and Jim are hired by an aerospace company to locate a submerged test space capsule and then fly with the company's owner, a leading space scientist named Dr. Elmo Gossett, and an attractive female meteorologist back to Florida for no real reason only to find the plane hijacked by the president's greedy assistant and a duplicitous airplane steward and flown to what is clearly meant to be Cuba. The assistant's plan is to force everyone aboard except Gossett to parachute out of the plane before it reaches Cuba but keep Gossett hostage so that he can be forced to work for the enemy. So Gossett has no parachute, and after the assistant pushes an unconscious Jim out of the plane only to have him miraculously regain consciousness in time to pull his own ripcord, Ted pushes Gossett out of the plane with no parachute and then dives after him, catches him in mid-air, and lands safely with him using Ted's parachute. As someone with an acute fear of heights, watching someone free-falling from 10,000 feet without a parachute is unsettling, even knowing that it is a filmed TV episode and that everyone survived. The same stunt is repeated in Season 2's "Panic at 10,000" only this time a pair of politicians are trying to fly to an airport dedication in a private plane only to have the landing gear stick so that they can't land and then discover that in their haste to take off they forgot to bring along any parachutes. The airport where they are destined, with Ted Knight as chief air traffic controller, does not have the necessary equipment for a crash landing, so their only option is to abandon the craft over an unpopulated area. Ted McKeever comes up with a scheme to fly over the top of them and lower parachutes down to them on a rope into the open canopy of the damaged plane, but he is only able to successfully drop them one parachute as two others miss the catch of the passenger politician, and with the private plane about to run out of gas, there is no time for Ted and company to land, pick up more parachutes, and try again. So Ted's new plan is to have one of the politicians jump with the parachute he actually caught, while the other politician continues to pilot the plane and then jumps out without a parachute with Ted diving after him from his own plane and catching him in mid-air, just as in "Hi-Jack." This time the stunt doesn't seem quite as scary, perhaps because we've already seen it executed successfully, or maybe because it's filmed in color, which doesn't seem quite as noirish.

Speaking of dangerous mid-air stunts, we mentioned in our previous post that a mid-air accident during the filming of Season 2 caused the production company to begin using more stock footage. That accident occurred when two planes were trying to allow a stuntman to lower himself from a rope tied around the wheel well of the Ripcord plane onto the tail fin of a second plane while being filmed from a third plane. Due to unexpected turbulence, the two planes touched and crashed, though both pilots and the stuntman were able to parachute safely. The footage from that accident, available for viewing on youtube.com, was reportedly incorporated into two Season 2 episodes, one of which was "The Lost Ones" in which Jim Buckley almost dies doing the stunt from the real-life accident and suffers from PTSD so that he does not want to jump again. However, after refusing to accompany Ted on a jump into the Baja desert as part of a U.S. Coast Guard test of their search and rescue capabilities (who knew the Coast Guard rescued people in mountainous deserts?), Jim is forced to power through his nerves when Ted is lost after slipping over the edge of a cliff while spreading out his parachute as a signal for the Coast Guard to find him, and Jim has to jump down to his location to pull him back to safety (for some reason, the Coast Guard can't do this). The use of stock footage, however, appears to have been confined to other story elements besides Ted and Jim parachuting, at least in the episodes copyrighted in 1962. In any case, the series should be commended for handling a topic like PTSD (though it isn't called that here) and depicting the very real dangers of the sport of sky-diving, even when carried out by experienced professionals. A little more of that vulnerability from the main characters and a little less uber macho bravado would have made for a more interesting and less formulaic series.

One more trivia tidbit: in the final episode for Season 1, "Para-Nurse," Allison Hayes plays a wise-cracking parachuting nurse who Ted and Jim compete for (and lose). Kudos to whoever came up with the idea of filming her from the ground up to make her look taller when she makes her first appearance, since her most famous movie role was the title character in The Attack of the 50-Foot Woman.

The Actors

For the biographies of Larry Pennell, Ken Curtis, Shug Fisher, and Paul Comi, see the 1961 post on Ripcord.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 1, Episode 15, "The Silver Cord": Robert F. Simon  (shown on the left, played Dave Tabak on Saints and Sinners, Gen. Alfred Terry on Custer, Frank Stephens on Bewitched, Uncle Everett McPherson on Nancy, Capt. Rudy Olsen on The Streets of San Francisco, and J. Jonah Jameson on The Amazing Spiderman) plays former military paratrooper Speed Domaine. George Dunn (Jessie Williams on Cimarron City and the Sheriff on Camp Runamuck) plays Ripcord pilot John Chapman.

Season 1, Episode 16, "Thoroughbred": Doris Dowling (starred in The Lost Weekend, The Blue Dahlia, Bitter Rice, and Othello and played Irene Adams on My Living Doll) plays thoroughbred race horse owner Margo Kane. Lee Van Cleef (shown on the right, starred in High Noon, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and played John Peter McAllister on The Master) plays her husband Henry. Grant Woods (Capt. Myles Keogh on Custer) plays a local sheriff.

Season 1, Episode 17, "Ransom Drop": Ric Marlow (shown on the left, wrote the lyrics to "A Taste of Honey" for which he won a Grammy) plays a kidnapper. Jack Raine (appeared in Mine Own Executioner, Dangerous When Wet, and Julius Caesar) plays inventor Brandon Oliver.

Season 1, Episode 19, "Double Drop": James Coburn (shown on the right, 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 fugitive payroll robber Bert Tucker. Kenneth MacDonald (played the judge 32 times on Perry Mason, played Col. Parker on Colt .45, and appeared in several Three Stooges shorts) plays kidnapped Dr. Page.

Season 1, Episode 20, "The Financier": 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 presumed dead financier E.J. Bowen. Myron Healey (shown on the left, played Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays his business partner Joe Manson.

Season 1, Episode 22, "Desperate Choice": Dan White (appeared in Arizona Whirlwind, Taza, Son of Cochise, Attack of the Giant Leeches, and The Sergeant Was a Lady and played Dan Fraser on From These Roots) plays prospector Simmons. Leslie Barrett (Judge Hanley on Dark Shadows) plays college professor David Croft. Wayne Heffley (Officer Dennis on Highway Patrol and Vern Scofield on Days of Our Lives) plays a park ranger.

Season 1, Episode 23, "Diplomatic Mission": Dick Simmons (shown on the right, appeared in Lady in the Lake, Love Laughs at Andy Hardy, Look for the Silver Lining, and Battle Circus and played Sgt. Preston on Sergeant Preston of the Yukon) plays Army commander Col. Jock Sutherland. Walter Brooke (appeared in The Graduate, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and The Nude Bomb and played Henry Forsythe on The Young Marrieds, D.A. Frank Scanlon on The Green Hornet, Mr. Gibson on Bright Promise, and Clarence Johnson on The Waltons) plays imposter U.N. agent Frank Taylor.

Season 1, Episode 24, "Hagen Charm": Arthur Franz (shown on the left, 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 sports and war hero Dr. Joe Hagen.

Season 1, Episode 25, "The Helicopter Race": Tom Brown (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Mr. Lucky) plays business owner Frederick Stanton. Norman Alden (Lucius 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, Coach Leroy Fedders on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Al Cassidy on Fay, and Frank Heflin on Electra Woman and Dyna Girl and voiced Aquaman on Super Friends and The All-New Super Friends Hour and Hank McSummers on Devlin) plays his pilot Owen Driskill. John Bryant (Dr. Carl Spaulding on The Virginian) plays Driskill's boss and co-conspirator. Dyan Cannon (shown on the right, starred in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Shamus, Heaven Can Wait, Revenge of the Pink Panther, and Deathtrap and played Lisa Crowder on Full Circle, Judge Jennifer Cone on Ally McBeal and Ally and Honey Bernstein-Flynn on Three Sisters) plays secretary Marion Hines.

Season 1, Episode 27, "Hi-Jack": Whit Bissell (shown on the left, starred in He Walked by Night, Creature From the Black Lagoon, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, and Hud and played Bert Loomis on Bachelor Father, Calvin Hanley on Peyton Place, and Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk on The Time Tunnel) plays space scientist Dr. Elmo Gossett. Vinton Hayworth (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Lawman) plays space capsule company owner Mr. Burton. Betty Lou Gerson (appeared in The Red Menace, The Fly, and The Miracle of the Hills and voiced Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmations) plays his wife Emily. Liam Sullivan (Major Mapoy on The Monroes, Dr. Joseph Lerner on The Young and the Restless, Dr. Wallace on General Hospital, and Mr. Willis on Knots Landing) plays Burton's assistant Jeffrey Hamlin. Elaine Devry (daughter of a Disney animator and Mickey Rooney's fourth wife) plays meteorologist Dr. Eve Malloy. Bing Russell (father of Kurt Russell, played Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza) plays Burton's private pilot Capt. Larkin. Don Edmonds (appeared in Gidget Goes Hawaiian, Beach Ball, and Wild Wild Winter and played Nicky D'Angelo on Broadside) plays his co-pilot Capt. Finchon.

Season 1, Episode 28, "The Human Kind": Kenneth Tobey (shown on the right, 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, Dick Robinson on Our Private World, and Russ Conway on I Spy) plays itinerant rural preacher Rev. Dr. Darrell. Paul Lambert (appeared in Spartacus, House of Women, The Big Mouth, and Mama's Dirty Girls and played Tom Dalessio on Executive Suite) plays rogue ranch hand Colin Garth.

Season 1, Episode 31, "Elegy for a Hero": Lang Jeffries (shown on the left, one-time husband of Rhonda Fleming, played Skip Johnson on Rescue 8) plays former Army hero Lt. Wally Griffin.

Season 1, Episode 32, "Cougar Mesa": 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 insurance fraudster John Durlin. Della Sharman (shown on the right, wife of Skip Homeier, played Nurse Johnson on Dr. Kildare) plays his girlfriend Jackie Campbell. William "Billy" Benedict (played Trouble in 4 Little Tough Guys features, Skinny in 5 East Side Kids features, and Whitey in 23 Bowery Boys features) plays dude ranch owner Mr. Wheelwright. Joey Faye (Myer in Mack and Myer for Hire) plays insurance adjuster Harry J. Babbitt.

Season 1, Episode 33, "Last Chance": Hank Patterson (shown on the left, played Pete Duggan on The New Adventures of Spin and Marty, Fred Ziffel on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction, and Hank Miller on Gunsmoke) plays flamboyant prospector Harry Travis. Tom London (starred in Six-Shootin' Sheriff, Song of the Buckaroo, and Riders in the Sky) plays claim jumper Garret.

Season 1, Episode 34, "Log Jam": Michael Harvey (appeared in Tycoon, Berlin Express, and Return of the Bad Men and played Capt. Steve Strong on Tom Corbett, Space Cadet) plays lumber company owner George St. Martin. Paul Langton (shown on the right, played Leslie Harrington on Peyton Place) plays his foreman Sam Haney.

Season 1, Episode 35, "Mile High Triangle": Robert Sampson (Sgt. Walsh on Steve Canyon, Father Mike Fitzgerald on Bridget Love Bernie, and Sheriff Turk Tobias on Falcon Crest) plays desperate gambler Eric Ashley. Kathie Browne (shown on the left, played Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays his wealthy wife Liz. Walter Mathews (Clyde Bingham on General Hospital) plays debt collector Charley Carroll.

Season 1, Episode 36, "Millionaire Doctor": George Macready (starred in Gilda, Detective Story, A Kiss Before Dying, Paths of Glory, and Dead Ringer and played Martin Peyton on Peyton Place) plays pushy millionaire Hal Glinders. Lee Philips (shown on the right, starred in Peyton Place and The Hunters, and played Ellery Queen on The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen; also directed 60 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and multiple episodes of Peyton Place, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Doris Day Show, and The Waltons) plays his son-in-law Dr. Ian Kendrick. Meade Martin (Joe Demarest on Michael Shayne) plays Glinders' son Mark. Norman Leavitt (Ralph on Trackdown) plays air traffic controller Ed.

Season 1, Episode 37, "One for the Money": Johnny Seven (shown on the left, played Lt. Carl Reese on Ironside) plays fugitive murderer Johnny Monday. George E. Carey (Lamont Corbin on General Hospital) plays his associate Al Crown. Marie Worsham (Stacey Lee Balla on Kitty Foyle) plays weather balloon reporter Joan. William Sargent (Jerry Carter on Peyton Place) plays police Sgt. Kenyon. Grant Woods (see "Thoroughbred" above) plays Ripcord pilot Bob Archer.

Season 1, Episode 38, "Para-Nurse": Allison Hayes (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Bat Masterson) plays nurse Laura Coakley. 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 forest ranger Carl Devlin. Grant Woods (see "Thoroughbred" above) returns as Ripcord pilot Bob Archer.

Season 2, Episode 2, "Among Those Missing": Gordon Jones (shown on the left, appeared in The Green Hornet, Flying Tigers, My Sister Eileen, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and McLintock! and played Mike Kelley on The Abbott and Costello Show, Pete Thompson on The Ray Milland Show, Hubie Dodd on So This Is Hollywood, and Butch Barton on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays police Capt. Tom Blacker. Paul Lambert (see "The Human Kind" above) plays fugitive Joe Sandoe. Lyle Cameron (technical advisor on Ripcord) plays the Ripcord pilot.

Season 2, Episode 4, "Day of the Hunter": King Calder (Lt. Gray on Martin Kane) plays munitions company CEO John Harland. Karl Swenson (shown on the right, played Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie) plays his employee Will Gorman. Richard Evans (Paul Hanley on Peyton Place) plays Gorman's son Billy.

Season 2, Episode 5, "Devil's Canyon": Pat Conway (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Tombstone Territory) plays escaped convict Johnny Bicker. Paul Birch (Erle Stanley Gardner on The Court of Last Resort, Mike Malone on Cannonball, and Capt. Carpenter on The Fugitive) plays his former boss Bill Dean. Audrey Dalton (appeared in Titanic (1953), Separate Tables, and Kitten With a Whip) plays Dean's wife Janice. William Boyett (Sgt. Ken Williams on Highway Patrol and Sgt. MacDonald on Adam-12) plays State Police officer Capt. Paris.

Season 2, Episode 9, "Flight to Terror": Joe De Santis (appeared in Deadline - U.S.A., I Want to Live!, Al Capone, and Madame X) plays fleeing racketeer Louis Santee. Al Ruscio (shown on the right, played Paul Locatelli on Shannon, Sal Giordano on Life Goes On, Frank Ruscio on Joe's Life, and Kosta Kanelos on Port Charles) plays his bodyguard Carlo Minelli. Jay Douglas (Officer Len Dorsey on Highway Patrol) plays FBI agent Bill Cramden. Leigh Hunt (technical advisor on Ripcord) plays Ripcord pilot Leigh.

Season 2, Episode 11, "Hostage Below": Richard Eastham (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Tombstone Territory) plays wealthy businessman Don Hart. Mikki Jamison (first wife of musician Jimmy Griffin later of the group Bread, appeared in Ski Party, Beach Ball, and played Veronica Lodge in two Archie-comics-based TV movies that were unsold pilots) plays his daughter Laurie. Paul Lambert (see "The Human Kind" above) plays kidnapper Dick Kupper.

Season 2, Episode 12, "The Hunter": Gerald Mohr (shown on the right, narrator on 19 episodes of The Lone Ranger, Christopher Storm on Foreign Intrigue, voice of Mr. Fantastic and Reed Richards on Fantastic 4) plays professional assassin Cliff Street. Russ Conway (see "The Financier" above) plays Secret Service agent Mr. Scott.

Season 2, Episode 13, "Infiltration": John Zaremba (shown on the left, played 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 drug-smuggling boss Harvey Stanton. Ric Marlow (see "Ransom Drop" above) plays his employee Steve Neven. William Sargent (see "One for the Money" above) plays police Lt. Carney. Leigh Hunt (see "Flight to Terror" above) returns as Ripcord pilot Leigh.

Season 2, Episode 20, "The Losers": Leo Gordon (shown on the right, appeared in Gun Fury, Hondo, Quantrill's Raiders, and Big Top Pee-wee and played Big Mike McComb on Maverick) plays uranium prospector Harry. Fred Beir (Larry Atwood on Days of Our Lives) plays his partner Ed Sutton.

Season 2, Episode 21, "The Lost Ones": Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez (shown on the left, appeared in Wings of the Hawk, The High and the Mighty, and Rio Bravo and played Pedro Vasquez on The Texan) plays goat herder Pedro Perez.

Season 2, Episode 24, "The Money Mine": Lee Van Cleef (see "Thoroughbred" above) plays counterfeiting kingpin Jack Martin. John Bryant (shown on the right, see "The Helicopter Race" above) plays government agent Stuart Langton.

Season 2, Episode 25, "Panic at 10,000": Myron Healey (see "The Financier" above) plays Senator Henry Gilbert. Ken Drake (Bragan on Not for Hire) plays his political adversary Rep. Julian Fant. Ted Knight (shown on the left, appeared in The Candidate, Countdown, and Caddyshack and played Phil Buckley on The Young Marrieds, Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Ben Turner on Lassie's Rescue Rangers, Roger Dennis on The Ted Knight Show, and Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort) plays an air traffic controller. Frank Warren (Officer Simpson on Highway Patrol and grocer Art Crowley on The Andy Griffith Show) plays Gilbert's plane attendant Harry. Lyle Cameron (see "Among Those Missing" above) plays the Ripcord pilot.

Season 2, Episode 27, "A Present for Felipe": BarBara Luna (shown on the right, played Theresa Modesto on Zorro, Maria Roberts on One Life to Live, Anna Ryder on Search for Tomorrow, and Sydney Jacobs on Sunset Beach) plays fiesta sky-diver Domi Dias.

Season 2, Episode 29, "Race Morgan: Bounty Hunter": Johnny Seven (see "One for the Money" above) plays bounty hunter Race Morgan. Lyle Cameron (see "Among Those Missing" above) plays the Ripcord pilot.

 

The Rifleman (1960)

In an interview that appeared in the March 12th issue of TV Guide, Chuck Connors, star of The Rifleman, took great pains to point out that his show was not exceptionally violent, that there are killings in only about half the episodes (from what I've seen, the number is somewhat higher than that): "You got to have them, I guess or it wouldn't be a Western." Connors' defense of his show was likely in response to increasing criticism of too much violence on TV, and those involved with the show probably had much to lose from such a backlash given how heavily the brand had been licensed for items like board games, lunch boxes, action figures, and a series of story books, all marketed to children. And the show certainly had a violent beginning, based as it was on a rejected Gunsmoke script called "The Sharpshooter" written by Sam Peckinpah, who would later in his career be known as "Bloody Sam" for directing films such as The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs. The rejected script became the first episode of The Rifleman starring a young Dennis Hopper in the title role. But Peckinpah was  not involved in the show after that initial season of 1958-59, and by 1960 the focus of the show had shifted from showing off the shooting exploits of Connors' character Lucas McCain and more on his role as a widower raising his son Mark (played by Johnny Crawford). For example, in "Day of the Hunter" (Jan 5, 1960) Lucas refuses to take part in a shooting contest with legendary frontiersman Cass Callicott, even when the latter calls him chicken, and even though Lucas decides to participate in North Fork's annual sharp-shooter contest in "The Promoter" (Dec 6, 1960), he only does so because Mark wants the new shotgun that is offered as first prize. However, there were still plenty of shoot-outs involving Lucas or others, but occasionally there were also violent-free episodes, whereas all of the episodes seemed to feature at least one conversation or two between Lucas and Mark of an educational nature. In fact, Mark even makes a comment about this element in "The Martinet" (Nov 8, 1960) when he says that sometimes it's the child who teaches the parent but that he knows who does most of the teaching in the McCain family. He also offers Lucas some of his own advice in "Trail of Hate" (Sep 27, 1960) when Lucas regrets that his obsession for revenge causes an outlaw to be shot and killed. Several episodes, such as "Sins of the Father" (Apr 19, 1960) and "The Prodigal" (Apr 26, 1960) offer a contrasting parent-child relationship that shows the pitfalls of not having honest, open communication in a family.

However, Connors felt that the stories had grown a bit too sentimental. In the same TV Guide interview he notes that his character says to Mark in one episode "I love you" (actually he has it backwards--in "Case of Identity" Mark says "I love you"  to Lucas , who replies, "I know you do, son"): "Brother, that's corn. That's as pure as they grow it, but that's what people want." One senses that Connors has grown cynical in being trapped between his artistic impulses and the success of a popular show that must cater to its audience's wishes. Part of his cynicism could also have been due to the show's declining ratings--it fell to 27th place for the 1960-61 season. But he would continue in the role for another three years before moving on to starring roles in three other series during the decade (Arrest & Trial, Branded, and Cowboy in Africa), but none of them would be as successful or run as long at The Rifleman.

The show was set in the town of North Folk, New Mexico, in the 1880s, though Lucas and Mark lived on their own ranch (which they purchase in the second episode of the first season) just outside of town. Lucas sports a customized Winchester rifle that can fire a round in 3/10 of a second, and by the 1960 season, many outsiders who visit North Fork, whether they are law-abiding or criminals, have heard of his exploits. The show also featured Paul Fix as Marshal Micah Torrance in all but 18 of its 168 episodes during the life of the series. He first appears in the 4th episode of the first season as a drunk who has lost his nerve after killing a man. Lucas must nurse him back to health and restore his confidence. From then on, Lucas often helps in running down or killing criminals who threaten North Fork, with Torrance occasionally deputizing him temporarily. The 1960 season also saw the introduction of semi-regular Milly Scott (played by Joan Taylor) in the November 15th episode, "Miss Milly." She takes over the general store formerly run by semi-regular Hattie Denton (Hope Summers, who played Clara Edwards on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D.), and though she initially clashes with Lucas (and everyone else in town), there is an obvious attraction between them, though nothing concrete seems to develop.

The show was nominated for an Emmy for Best Western Series in 1959 and Crawford was nominated for best supporting actor that same year, but neither won.

The theme music for the show was composed by Herschel Burke Gilbert, who also composed the theme music for The Detectives, Starring Robert Taylor (1959-61) and Burke's Law (1963-66). He also served as music supervisor on many other TV shows of the era, including Perry Mason, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Johnny Ringo, Gunsmoke, The Lawless Years, and Gilligan's Island.

The complete series of 168 episodes of The Rifleman has not been issued on DVD. MPI issued a pair of 4-disc box sets that have since gone out of print. There are a few other single-disc issues with various episodes, but nothing with complete seasons. There are also bootleg releases of the entire series, though they are reported to be of dubious quality. However, imdb.com has 50 episodes available for free online viewing (I'm guessing they are from the MPI releases, as they are spread out across the various seasons). And as of this writing, the cable channel AMC has been airing 4-hour blocks of consecutively sequenced episodes on Saturday mornings. Many of the episodes from 1960 not available on imdb.com can also be found on youtube.com, sometimes split into 2 or 3 parts, with less than stellar video quality.

 

The Actors

Chuck Connors

Connors began acting roles in 1952 after an athletic career in which he played briefly for the Boston Celtics basketball team in 1946-47, and the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs baseball teams and their minor league affiliates from 1947-1952. In 1952 while playing for the Cubs Triple-A team, the Los Angeles Angels, he was spotted by an MGM casting director who recommended him for a part in the Spencer Tracy-Katherine Hepburn film Pat and Mike. From there, he appeared in several more films and began appearing in single episodes of many TV series throughout the 50s before landing the lead role on The Rifleman in 1958.

Besides his other 1960s TV series mentioned above, Connors continued acting in movies throughout his career, appearing in such popular titles as Old Yeller, Flipper, and Soylent Green. He died November 10, 1992.

Johnny Crawford

Crawford was only 12 years old when he began playing Mark McCain on The Rifleman, but he had begun appearing in other TV shows, like The Lone Ranger, two years before that. He apparently peaked early in his career because the show was his only regular role in television. He appeared in single episodes of Mr. Ed, Rawhide, Hawaii 5-0, and Little House on the Prairie, amongst others. But perhaps the die was cast and he will forever be thought of as Mark McCain, just as Adam West was never able to escape the shadow of Batman.

 

 

 

Paul Fix

Born in 1901, Fix began appearing in films as early as 1925, and was quite active as a minor character throughout the 30s and 40s, frequently uncredited. His first television appearance was in a 1950 episode of The Lone Ranger, and later in the 50s he also appeared in episodes of Adventures of Superman, The Adventures of Falcon, and The Adventures of McGraw. After The Rifleman, he made numerous single episode appearances on TV shows up until 1981, including four appearances as Prosecutor/D.A. Hale on Perry Mason. He died October 14, 1983.

 

Notable Guest Stars

Season 2, Episode 15, "Day of the Hunter": John Anderson (Harry Jackson on MacGyver, Dr. Herbert Styles on Dallas) plays legendary frontiersman Cass Calicott, who challenges Lucas to a shooting match. Dick Elliott (Mayor Pike on The Andy Griffith Show) plays Mr. Hardiman, a local apple farmer.

Season 2, Episode 16, "Mail Order Groom": Peter Whitney (Sergeant Buck Sinclair on The Rough Riders and Lafe Crick on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays John Jupiter, the mail order groom.

Season 2, Episode 17, "Case of Identity": Herbert Rudley (Sam Brennan on The Californians, Will Gentry on Michael Shayne, General Crone on Mona McCluskey, Herb Hubbard on The Mothers-in-Law) plays Captain James Gordon, an unscrupulous "detective."

Season 2, Episode 18, "The Visitor": Christine White (Abigail Adams on Ichabod and Me) plays Ann Dodd, a widow and friend of Lucas McCain's late wife.

Season 2, Episode 19, "Hero": Robert Culp (Kelly Robinson on I Spy) plays Colly Vane, a mild-mannered stable hand who kills a wanted outlaw.

Season 2, Episode 21, "The Spoiler": Ellen Corby (Esther Walton on The Waltons) plays Mrs. Avery, whose son is a ruthless killer.

Season 2, Episode 22, "Heller": Don Grady (Robbie on My Three Sons) and Gigi Perreau (Pat Strickland on The Betty Hutton Show, Kathy Richards on Follow the Sun) play a brother and sister bent on killing their abusive step-father (played by Peter Whitney--see "Mail Order Groom" above). K.T. Stevens (Vanessa Prentiss on The Young and the Restless 1976-80) plays his wife. Hope Summers also appears as Hattie Denton in this episode.

Season 2, Episode 25, "The Deserter": Robert Cornthwaite (Professor Windish on Get Smart) plays Major Damler, a discipline-crazed Army commander.

Season 2, Episode 26, "The Vision": Karl Swenson (Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie) plays Nils Swenson, a friend of Lucas' who recommends a doctor in Roswell when Mark gets dangerously ill.

Season 2, Episode 27, "The Lariat": Richard Anderson (D.A. Glenn Wagner on Bus Stop; Lt. Steve Drumm on Perry Mason; Chief George Untermeyer on Dan August; Oscar Goldman on The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman; and Buck Fallmont on Dynasty) plays Lariat Jones, an old buddy of Lucas' who comes to North Fork to open a gaming house. Dayton Lummis (Marshal Andy Morrison on Law of the Plainsman) plays Colonel Craig, a cheating card player.

Season 2, Episode 28, "Smoke Screen": Douglas Kennedy (Sheriff Fred Madden on The Big Valley) plays Pete Crandell, father of a headstrong young woman who is murdered.

Season 2, Episode 30, "Sins of the Father": Richard Evans (Paul Hanley on Peyton Place) plays Shep Coleman, a drunk who makes the mistake of challenging former convict and killer Andy Moon.

Season 2, Episode 31, "The Prodigal": Kevin Hagen (John Colton on Yancy Derringer, Inspector Dobbs Kobick on Land of the Giants, Dr. Hiram Baker on Little House on the Prairie) plays Billy St. John, a notorious gunslinger hiding a secret from his mother and trying to outrun two of his former bank-robbing partners, Stinger (played by Lee Van Cleef, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) and Santos (played by Warren Oates, In the Heat of the Night, The Wild Bunch).

Season 2, Episode 32, "The Fourflusher": Whit Bissell (Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk on The Time Tunnel; Calvin Hanley on Peyton Place) plays Gabe Fenway, a share-cropper hoping to win a horse race in order to be able to buy the property he is currently living on. James Westerfield (Son of Flubber, True Grit, The Love God?) plays the duplicitous landlord Jake Preston, and K.T. Stevens (see "Heller" above) plays Molly Fenway, Gabe's wife. Hope Summers also appears as Hattie Denton in this episode.

Season 2, Episode 33, "The Jailbird": Dabbs Greer (Mr. Jonas on Gunsmoke) plays Farley Weaver, an ex-convict hired by Lucas as a ranch hand who is accused of murdering Charlie Manse (Karl Swenson, see "The Vision" above).

Season 2, Episode 34, "Meeting at Midnight": Claude Akins (Elroy P. Lobo on B.J. and the Bear, and Lobo, Sonny Pruett on Movin' On) plays Tom Benton, an undercover federal agent trying to find where some stolen government money has been hidden by Carl Miller (played by Frank De Kova, Chief Wild Eagle on F Troop).

Season 2, Episode 35, "Nora": Julie Adams (Creature From the Black Lagoon; Martha Howard on The Jimmy Stewart Show) plays Nora Sanford, a former love interest of Lucas who shows up in North Fork with a scheme to get her boyfriend out of a gambling debt.

Season 2, Episode 36, "The Hangman": Whit Bissell (see "The Fourflusher" above) plays Volney Adams, an ex-con assumed to be the murderer of his employer. Michael Fox (Coroner George McLeod on Burke's Law,  Amos Fedders on Falcon Crest)plays a nosy North Fork resident who stirs up accusations against Adams, as does elixir salesman Col. Jebediah Sims (played by Richard Deacon, who played Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show). The Hangman, Harold Tenner, is played by Denver Pyle (Uncle Jessie on The Dukes of Hazzard, Briscoe Darling on The Andy Griffith Show, Grandpa Tarleton on Tammy, Buck Webb on The Doris Day Show).

Season 3, Episode 1, "Trail of Hate": Harold J. Stone (John Kennedy on The Grand Jury, Hamilton Greeley on My World and Welcome to It, Sam Steinberg on Bridget Loves Bernie) plays Benjamin Stark, the leader of a trio of outlaws who hold Mark hostage to force Lucas to help them rob a bank. 

Season 3, Episode 3, "Seven": Don Megaowan (Captain Huckabee on The Beachcomber) plays Dorf, the ring-leader of a group of seven convicts who break out of their jail wagon and hold the town hostage. Bing Russell (Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza)plays another convict named Sanchez. Bill Quinn (Mr. Van Ranseleer on All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place) plays Sweeney the bartender who is captured by the convicts.

Season 3, Episode 4, "The Pitchman": Bob Sweeney (Fibber McGee on Fibber McGee and Molly and producer of many shows, including 80 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show) plays Speed Sullivan, a traveling salesman who tries to scam Lucas out of the mineral rights to his property.

Season 3, Episode 5, "Strange Town": Claude Akins (see "Meeting at Midnight" above) returns as Bletch Droshek, accused of shooting a man in the back, as does Peter Whitney (see "Mail Order Groom" above) as Ott Droshek, Bletch's brother and the man who runs the Strange Town. Willam Schallert (Mr. Leander Pomfritt on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show, Admiral Hargrade on Get Smart) plays Marshal Truce in the Strange Town.

Season 3, Episode 6, "Baranca": John Milford (Lt. Paul Hewitt on The Bold Ones and Captain Dempsey on Enos) plays Bro Hadley, who murders Pedro Sanchez and sets his house on fire. Linda Dangcil (Sister Ana on The Flying Nun) plays Sanchez's wife.

Season 3, Episode 8, "Miss Milly": Joan Taylor (Earth vs. The Flying Saucers) debuts as Milly Scott, who buys out and takes over Hattie Denton's general store.

Season 3, Episode 9, "Dead Cold Cash": John Hamilton (Sherriff John Brannan on The Virginian) plays Harlan Warde, the banker of North Fork;  Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place) plays Stacey Beldon, a hit man sent to assassinate Lucas; and Steve Darrell (Sherriff Hal Humphrey on Tales of Wells Fargo) plays Eli Benson, a cousin of Beldon's.

Season 3, Episode 11, "The Promoter": Dabbs Greer (see "The Jailbird" above) plays Jack Scully, a ruthless con man who makes bets that his protege Reuben Miles (Denny Miller, who played Duke Shannon on Wagon Train) can outgun anyone else.

Season 3, Episode 12, "The Illustrator": Richard Whorf (better known as a director of 18 episodes of Gunsmoke, 37 episode of My Three Sons, and 68 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies) plays Jeremiah Crowley, a drunken New York painter accused of murder. Midge Ware (Amby McAllister on Gunslinger) plays Hannah Shaw, his portrait subject, while Dayton Lummis (see "The Lariat" above) plays her father Jake Shaw. Ed Nelson (see "Dead Cold Cash" above) plays Ben Travis, a hired hand of Jake Shaw.

Season 3, Episode 14, "Miss Bertie": Agnes Moorehead (Endora on Bewitched) plays the title role, an elderly lady from Philadelphia trying to cash in on the reward for wanted outlaw Duke Jennings (Richard Anderson--see "The Lariat" above).