Frontier Circus (1962)

 

The failure of Frontier Circus to last beyond a single season of 26 episodes certainly was not due to the efforts of the Revue Productions publicity department. Besides a December 16, 1961 TV Guide photo feature showing how they filmed the hot-air balloon shots for "The Balloon Girl" episode, which aired on January 11, 1962, the series scored two more TV Guide features in 1962--a 2-page photo spread of the three male stars and a menagerie of animals in the February 3, 1962 issue, and a biographical feature on leading man Chill Wills in the April 28, 1962 issue. But while the publicity department did its part and the casting crew lined up such A-list guest stars as Sammy Davis, Jr. in "Coals of Fire" (January 4, 1962), Mickey Rooney in "Calamity Circus" (March 8, 1962), and Red Buttons in "Never Won Fair Lady" (April 12, 1962), the script department failed to come up with much in the way of new stories, instead recycling such shop-worn plots as the shotgun wedding (used twice, in "The Courtship" [February 19, 1962] and "The Clan MacDuff" [April 26, 1962]), the Romeo and Juliet family feud (also in "The Clan MacDuff"), the ugly duckling tomboy ("Stopover in Paradise" [February 22, 1962]), the con-man takeover ("Quick Shuffle" [February 1, 1962]), the impractical pacifist ("The Good Fight" [April 19, 1962]), the jealous husband ("The Daring Durandos" [May 17, 1962]), and the quarantine story ("Incident at Pawnee Gun" [September 6, 1962]). And for a show dubbed "Wagon Train with animals" (see our post on the 1961 episodes as well as the aforementioned TV Guide photo feature), the animals rarely figure prominently in the plots, other than a six-gun-shooting chimpanzee in the final episode, which was aired 3½ months after the penultimate show obviously as a placeholder before the new season got started. Despite all the money spent on the animal acts and special effects for gimmicks like a runaway hot-air balloon, the series itself couldn't deliver on the most fundamental aspect of quality TV--a good story.

In fact, some of the stories are downright awful, beginning with the previously cited Sammy Davis, Jr. guest spot "Coals of Fire" in which Davis plays ex-slave Cato Richards who is bent on revenging the Union Army officer who shot his master. In this Confederate-friendly fantasy, Richards' master was a "good" slave owner who treated his slaves like family, while the Union officer who killed him is a sadist, so evil that it drives Richards to join the Confederate army in a support role so that he can learn how to handle firearms and gather intelligence to help him track down his target. Both Richards and Frontier Circus regular Tony Gentry tell each other that they didn't fight in the Confederate cause in support of slavery, but regardless what they may tell themselves or each other, the Civil War was fought to protect the institution of slavery. Plenty of westerns from the era attempted to whitewash the Confederacy and those who fought for it (see The Rebel, for example), but few stoop to the levels of this episode of Frontier Circus. It does, however, bestow on Wills' Casey Thompson character perhaps the best line uttered in the series when he mutters to himself that man is the only animal who will kill his own kind for reasons other than hunger. The Old South is treated as a quixotic curiosity in "The Courtship" when Gentry rides into the isolated community of New Atlanta hoping to arrange for the circus to perform there only to learn that they don't allow such entertainment in their genteel reconstruction of the Old South out on the frontier (the uncouth subject of slavery is never mentioned). And in "The Good Fight" Ben Travis rediscovers an old flame who has had her family plantation reconstructed in the Nevada valleys, again as if this is some whimsical trifle. Of course, white audiences and TV producers were completely unaware of the power of these antebellum symbols in the pre-Civil Rights Act era.

But white male superiority isn't only promoted by reminders of the Old South: "The Inheritance" (March 15, 1962) has Casey Thompson "inherit" the guardianship of a son and daughter of an old Japanese performing friend of his, but the real purpose of the episode is to denigrate the treatment of women in traditional Japanese culture. The son, Yuki, spends the first half of the episode repressing his sister Hideko--she has to sit at another table when he eats and is not allowed to speak for herself. One of the white male circus performers, Rolando, voices his approval of this arrangement before being put in his place by the "more liberated" American female circus women. When the American women help Hideko dress up in western wear, Yuki feels his heritage is disgraced but holds Ben Travis responsible and has to fight it out with him to try to restore honor, a fight he is bound to lose despite whipping much bigger men earlier in the episode. The episode ends not with a resolution to Hideko's subjugated position in relation to her brother but with Ben and Yuki fighting off the bigger ruffians and then shaking hands, the implication being that once the males have settled their differences everything else will fall into place.

The irony of this episode is that it suggests that American women have it better than their Asian counterparts when, as we covered at length in our post on the 1961 episodes, the women  on Frontier Circus are hardly liberated--they are most often damsels in distress. But in the 1962 episodes women become more devious and dangerous. In "The Courtship" southern belle Amelia Curtis attempts to lure Casey into marrying her because he bears a striking resemblance to her late father who established and ran the resurrected Old South community of New Atlanta. But she, being a woman, does not have the skill to maintain the town's economic prosperity, so she is looking for a man to take over. When he declines her offer, she threatens to seize his circus. He is only able to escape her clutches by persuading her town marshal, who has always loved her but never had the backbone to stand up to her, to put her in her place by repeatedly telling her to shut up. So much for the liberated American woman. As alluded to above, "Stopover in Paradise" recycles the worn-out tale of a tomboy who has to be shown by a man, in this case Ben Travis, how to be a woman. Saloon performer Naomi Champagne in her eponymous episode needs Ben to defend her against snooty easterners who try to convince her that historically women like Joan of Arc and Cleopatra always sacrificed themselves so that men could survive and prosper after a Mexican bandito captures Naomi and the easterners and threatens to kill them unless she becomes his paramour. While Naomi has the courage to kill the outlaw during a private dinner, she and the others need Ben's swashbuckling rescue to escape the outlaw's henchmen. In "Mighty Like Rogues" (April 5, 1962) we see bank robber's widow Ma Jukes forcing her children into a life of crime to eke out an existence after they are left destitute. In "The Good Fight" Ben's former lover Hannah Cabot is a greedy land-grabber who pushes her father in trying to drive out a sect of pacifists who own land she covets. And in "The Daring Durandos" younger sister Tina Durando manipulates Ben to sow discord between her older sister and her husband to try to break up their trapeze act so that she can reform a better version and restore the family name to the luster it enjoyed when their father was still alive. By contrast, white male manipulator Will Grady, who has made a living romancing and then fleecing a series of single women, is portrayed as a devilish old rascal in "Mr. Grady Regrets" (January 25, 1962) who is redeemed when his long-lost daughter decides to disregard his perfidious past and reconcile with him. To be fair, the aforementioned Ma Jukes is also rehabilitated by episode's end when Ben and Casey hire her as a kind of store detective to spot pickpockets circulating amongst their circus customers, but she does so only upon threat of being sent to jail and therefore separated from her children.

The one female who manages to hold her own against the male stars of Frontier Circus is Stella Stevens' balloon entrepreneur Katy Cogswell in "The Balloon Girl." Initially she comes off as another damsel in distress when her hot-air balloon crashes into a hotel in the town where the circus is playing, and she has no money to pay for repairs. Ben and Tony, both finding her attractive and wanting to woo her, offer to have their circus hands repair her balloon if she agrees to join them as a performing act. She agrees, but has no intention of sticking around once the repairs are made (thus casting herself from damsel in distress to manipulative female), but when she takes off she does not realize that Ben has rigged her balloon to only go so far, forcing her to land in the wilderness, where he is easily able to find her and tries to convince her that it is no place for a lady because of the many dangers, in other words, returning her to the role of damsel in distress. However, he overreaches when he recruits a trio of faux Indians, who have been performing with the circus but then walk out in a pay dispute, to scare her into thinking it is best to return to the safety of the circus. When she sees the same "Indians" sneak back into camp, she recognizes that Ben has played her, and once again she takes off in her balloon, though this time Ben does not see it coming, and she leaves behind a note for him saying that she was as honest with him as he was with her. Casey tries to make lemonade out of the episode by pointing out that the name of their circus is plastered on the side of her balloon, meaning they will receive advertising wherever she goes, but it is clear that for once Ben has been outmaneuvered at his own game. Perhaps had the series used a little more of that humility it may have found more success.

 

The Actors

For the biographies of Chill Wills, John Derek, Richard Jaeckel, and J. Pat O'Malley, see the 1961 post on Frontier Circus.

 

Notable Guest Stars

Season 1, Episode 11, "Coals of Fire": Sammy Davis, Jr. (shown on the left, "The Greatest Living Entertainer," starred in Porgy and Bess, Ocean's 11, Robin and the 7 Hoods, A Man Called Adam, Sweet Charity, Salt and Pepper, The Cannonball Run, and Cannonball Run II and played Chip Warren on One Life to Live and Eddie Phillips on General Hospital) plays former slave Cato Richards. R.G. Armstrong (Police Capt. McAllister on T.H.E. Cat and Lewis Vendredi on Friday the 13th) plays former Union Army Capt. Uriah Foster. Chief Yowlachie (aka, Daniel Simmons, starred in Tonio, Son of the Sierras, With Sitting Bull at the Spirit Lake Massacre, The Paleface, Ma and Pa Kettle, and The Pathfinder) plays an Indian chief. Larry J. Blake (the unnamed jailer on Yancy Derringer and Tom Parnell on Saints and Sinners) plays the circus band leader. 

Season 1, Episode 12, "The Balloon Girl": Stella Stevens (shown on the right, starred in Girls! Girls! Girls!, The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, Where Angels Go Trouble Follows, and The Poseidon Adventure and played Lute-Mae Sanders on Flamingo Road, Phyllis Blake on Santa Barbara, Jake on General Hospital, and Doreen Krudup on Strip Mall) plays balloon entrepreneur Katy Cogswell. Chick Chandler (Toubo Smith on Soldiers of Fortune and Barney Hogan on One Happy Family) plays her ground man Luke Turlock. Claude Akins (Sonny Pruett on Movin' On and Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo on B.J and the Bear and on Lobo) plays Indian actor Powcheek. Hal Needham (Hollywood's highest-paid stuntman who invented numerous stunt devices, was a double for Richard Boone and Burt Reynolds, and directed Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, and Cannonball Run) plays his performing partner Ralph Wexler.

Season 1, Episode 13, "Mr. Grady Regrets": Charles Ruggles (shown on the left, starred in Charley's Aunt, The Girl Habit, If I Had a Million, Alice in Wonderland, Ruggles of Red Gap, Bringing Up Baby, and Son of Flubber, voiced Aesop on The Bullwinkle Show, and played Lowell Redlings Farquhar on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays ex-con Will Grady. Anne Helm (starred in Follow That Dream, The Interns, and Honeymoon Hotel and played Molly Pierce on Run for Your Life and Mary Briggs on General Hospital) plays his daughter Rosa Blanchard. Lillian Bronson (Mrs. Drake on Date With the Angels) plays the woman who sent him to prison Dorothy Barker. Crahan Denton (appeared in The Parent Trap, Birdman of Alcatraz, and To Kill a Mockingbird) plays lawman Marshal Beckett. Michael Forest (starred in Ski Troop Attack, Atlas, and The Glory Guys and was the voice of Capt. Dorai on Street Fighter II: V and Olympus on Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue) plays Grady's former cellmate Roy Clatter. Dorothy Neumann (Miss Mittleman on Hank) plays Dorothy's neighbor Mrs. Hoskins. Tim Graham (Homer Ede on National Velvet) plays farmer Williams. S. John Launer (Marshall Houts on The Court of Last Resort and the judge 33 times on Perry Mason) plays prison Warden Martine.

Season 1, Episode 14, "Quick Shuffle": Gilbert Roland (shown on the right, starred in Men of the North, She Done Him Wrong, The Sea Hawk, The Gay Cavalier, The Bad and the Beautiful, and Around the World in 80 Days) plays card hustler Luke Santos. Patricia Barry (Kate Harris on Harris Against the World, Lydia McGuire on Dr. Kildare, Adelaide Horton Williams on Days of Our Lives, Peg English on All My Children, and Sally Gleason on Guiding Light) plays saloon girl Amy. Carl Benton Reid (starred in The Little Foxes, In a Lonely Place, Lorna Doone, and The Left Hand of God and played The Man on Burke's Law) plays circuit Judge Salem. George Mitchell (Cal Bristol on Stoney Burke) plays a New Mexico sheriff. Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays a card player. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays card player Gruber.

Season 1, Episode 15, "The Courtship": Jo Van Fleet (shown on the left, Oscar winner starred in East of Eden, I'll Cry Tomorrow, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Cool Hand Luke, and I Love You, Alice B. Toklas) plays southern belle Amelia Curtis. Jeannette Nolan (starred in Macbeth (1948), The Big Heat, Tribute to a Bad Man, and The Reluctant Astronaut, did voicework for Psycho, The Rescuers, and The Fox and the Hound, and played Annette Devereaux on Hotel de Paree and Holly Grainger on The Virginian) plays her sister Amanda. Henry Jones (Dean Fred Baker on Channing, Owen Metcalf on The Girl With Something Extra, Judge Jonathan Dexter on Phyllis, Josh Alden on Mrs. Columbo, Homer McCoy on Gun Shy, B. Riley Wicker on Falcon Crest, and Hughes Whitney Lennox on I Married Dora) plays New Atlanta Marshal Harry Longstreet. Willard Waterman (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dennis the Menace) plays New Atlanta leading citizen Parker. Sheila Bromley (Janet Tobin on I Married Joan and Ethel Weiss on Hank) plays his wife. Lloyd Corrigan (starred in A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob, Hitler's Children, Captive Wild Woman, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, and Son of Paleface and played Papa Dodger on Willy, Wally Dipple on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Ned Buntline on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Uncle Charlie on Happy, and Professor McKillup on Hank) plays New Atlanta citizen Willis.

Season 1, Episode 16, "Stopover in Paradise": Carolyn Jones (shown on the right, appeared in House of Wax, The Big Heat, The Seven Year Itch, The Tender Trap, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and How the West Was Won and played Morticia Addams on The Addams Family, Marsha, Queen of Diamonds on Batman, and Myrna Clegg on Capitol) plays cattle rancher Amy Tyson. 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 her foreman Jess Bailey. Adam Kennedy (Dion Patrick on The Californians and Brock Hayden on The Doctors) plays her ranch hand Sam Hagen. Jackie Russell (Peggy Connolly on The Joey Bishop Show) plays contortionist Janet Olsen. 

Season 1, Episode 17, "Calamity Circus": Mickey Rooney (shown on the left, starred in Captains Courageous, Boys Town, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Words and Music, Babyface Nelson, and Breakfast at Tiffany's as well as numerous Andy Hardy movies and played Mickey Mulligan on The Mickey Rooney Show, Mickey Grady on Mickey, Oliver Nugent on One of the Boys, Henry Dailey on The New Adventures of the Black Stallion, and Talbut on Kleo the Misfit Unicorn) plays circus clown Arthur. Howard McNear (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Andy Griffith Show) plays small-town Judge Stuart. Parley Baer (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays the town sheriff. Dennis Rush (Howie Pruitt on The Andy Griffith Show) plays a boy who wants to see the circus. 

Season 1, Episode 18, "The Inheritance": Alan Hale, Jr. (shown on the middle right, played Biff Baker on Biff Baker U.S.A., Casey Jones on Casey Jones, and The Skipper on Gilligan's Island) plays ruffian Lait. Donald "Red" Barry (shown on the near right, played Red Ryder in the movie serial The Adventures of Red Ryder, and played Lt. Snedigar on Surfside 6, The Grand Vizier and Tarantula on Batman, Capt. Red Barnes on Police Woman, and Jud Larabee on Little House on the Prairie) plays his partner Martin. Wally Brown (shown on the far right, appeared in Notorious, The Left Handed Gun, and The Absent-Minded Professor and played Jed Fame on Cimarron City and Chauncey Kowalski on The Roaring '20's) plays Primrose Sheriff Tom Bender. Sid Tomack (Jim Gillis on The Life of Riley) plays saloon owner Toby. Peter Leeds (Tenner Smith on Trackdown and George Colton on Pete and Gladys) plays circus knife-thrower Rolando. 

Season 1, Episode 19, "Naomi Champagne": Constance Ford (starred in A Summer Place, Home From the Hill, All Fall Down, and The Caretakers and played Ada Lucas Davis Downs McGowan Hobson on Another World) plays saloon performer Naomi Champagne. Richard Conte (shown on the left, appeared in A Walk in the Sun, 13 Rue Madeleine, Call Northside 777, Ocean's 11, and Lady in Cement and played Jeff Ryder on The Four Just Men) plays outlaw Don Diego Montoya. Alex Montoya (Miguel Morales on The High Chaparral) plays his henchman Juan. Roberto Contreras (Pedro on The High Chaparral) plays his henchman Pablo. Robert H. Harris (Jake Goldberg on Molly and Raymond Schindler on The Court of Last Resort) plays stove company owner John Haskill. Marguerite Chapman (starred in Spy Smasher, Parachute Nurse, Pardon My Past, Man Bait, and The Seven Year Itch) plays his wife Theresa. Neil Hamilton (starred in The Great Gatsby (1926), Why Be Good?, Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), and Brewster's Millions, was the host of Hollywood Screen Test, and played Commissioner Gordon on Batman) plays their friend Jason Glass.

Season 1, Episode 20, "Mighty Like Rogues": Glenda Farrell (shown on the right, starred in Little Caesar, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Johnny Eager, The Talk of the Town, and Kissin' Cousins and played Torchy Blane in 7 feature films) plays pickpocket ring leader Ma Jukes. Joby Baker (David Lewis on Good Morning, World and Col. Harvey Mann on The Six O'Clock Follies) plays her elder son George Washington Jukes. Jena Engstrom (daughter of actress Jean Engstrom) plays her daughter Betsy Ross Jukes. Roger Mobley (Homer "Packy" Lambert on Fury) plays her younger son Andrew Jackson Jukes. 

Season 1, Episode 21, "Never Won Fair Lady": Red Buttons (shown on the left, starred in Sayonara, Hatari!, The Longest Day, Stagecoach, and The Posiedon Adventure and played Henry Wadsworth Phyfe on The Double Life of Henry Phyfe, Al Baker on Knots Landing, and Jules Rubadoux on ER) plays Casey's former commanding officer's son Earl Youngblood. Paul Newlan (Police Capt. Grey on M Squad and Lt. Gen. Pritchard on 12 O'Clock High) plays his father Gen. "Iron Pants" Youngblood. Gloria Talbott (starred in The Cyclops, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll,  and I Married a Monster From Outer Space and played Moneta on Zorro) plays lion tamer Pamela. Richard Reeves (see "Quick Shuffle" above) plays a dissatisfied lemonade customer. 

Season 1, Episode 22, "The Good Fight": George Macready (Martin Peyton on Peyton Place) plays pacifist preacher John Duncan. Kenneth MacDonald (played the judge 32 times on Perry Mason, played Col. Parker on Colt .45, and appeared in several Three Stooges shorts) plays one of his followers Canfield. Jason Evers (shown on the right, 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 foreman Judd Halleck. 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 Rockville Marshal Sam Walden. William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays the Rockville postmaster. Gordon Jones (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 circus roustabout Jase.

Season 1, Episode 23, "The Clan MacDuff": James Barton (shown on the left, appeared in The Shepherd of the Hills, Here Comes the Groom, Golden Girl, and The Misfits) plays Scottish patriarch Angus MacDuff. Jackie Russell (see "Stopover in Paradise" above) plays his daughter Patricia. John Considine (brother of Tim Considine, played Grant Capwell on Santa Barbara) plays member of feuding clan Robin MacNeil. 

Season 1, Episode 24, "The Race": Edward Andrews (shown on the right, appeared in The Harder They Fall, Elmer Gantry, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, Advise and Consent, and The Glass Bottom Boat and played Cmdr. Rogers Adrian on Broadside and Col. Fairburn on The Doris Day Show) plays collector of men Duke Felix Otway. Skip Homeier (appeared in Arthur Takes Over, The Gunfighter, Sailor Beware, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and played Lt. Dan Raven on Dan Raven and Dr. Hugh Jacoby on The Interns) plays his Prussian "pawn" Col. Rastatt. 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 horse race competitor Anderson. Jim McMullan (Officer Don Burdick on Chopper One, John Moore on Beyond Westworld, and Sen. Andrew Dowling on Dallas) plays horse race competitor Charlie. 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 Broken Bowl Marshal Walworth. 

Season 1, Episode 25, "The Daring Durandos": Nehemiah Persoff (starred in The Wrong Man, Al Capone and Some Like It Hot) plays trapeze aerialist Paco Durango. Margarita Cordova (shown on the left, played Rosa Andrade on Santa Barbara and Carmen Torres on Sunset Beach) plays his wife Maria. Anita Sands (later became astrologer to the stars and a self-help guru) plays her younger sister Tina. David White (Larry Tate on Bewitched) plays legendary circus owner F.X. Farnum. Jackie Searl (began as a child actor, appearing in Tom Sawyer (1930), Huckleberry Finn (1931), Alice in Wonderland (1933), Great Expectations(1934), and Little Lord Fauntleroy) plays revenge-minded cowboy Cal Soper. 

Season 1, Episode 26, "Incident at Pawnee Gun": Joe Maross (Fred Russell on Peyton Place, Capt. Mike Benton on Code Red, and Dr. Blakely on Dallas) plays saloon owner Al Buchanan. Kathie Browne (shown on the right, played Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays his employee Mauvereen. Paul Carr (Bill Horton on Days of Our Lives, Casey Clark on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Dr. Paul Summers on The Doctors, Ted Prince on Dallas, and Martin Gentry on The Young and the Restless) plays an aspiring hit man. Kenneth Tobey (see "The Good Fight" above) plays rival saloon owner Frank Mitchell. Walter Sande (appeared in To Have and Have Not, A Place in the Sun, and Bad Day at Black Rock and played Capt. Horatio Bullwinkle on The Adventures of Tugboat Annie and Papa Holstrum on The Farmer's Daughter) plays rancher Shanghai. Robert Foulk (Ed Davis on Father Knows Best, Sheriff Miller on Lassie, Joe Kingston on Wichita Town, Mr. Wheeler on Green Acres, and Phillip Toomey on The Rifleman) plays blacksmith Logan. Robert Lowery (starred in Criminal Investigator, Revenge of the Zombies, The Navy Way, The Mummy's Ghost, and They Made Me a Killer and played Big Tim Champion on Circus Boy and Buss Courtney on Pistols 'n' Petticoats) plays New Orleans Marshal Taggart. John Pickard (Capt. Shank Adams on Boots and Saddles and Sgt. Maj. Murdock on Gunslinger) plays his deputy Murdoch. John Hart (appeared in The Buccaneer, Jack Armstrong, and The Ten Commandments and played Nat "Hawkeye" Cutler on Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans,  was Clayton Moore's replacement on The Lone Ranger from 1950-53 when Moore was in the midst of a contract dispute, and played Narbo on Rawhide) plays his deputy Fred. William Phipps (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays a cowboy manning a line shack.

The Rebel (1960)

A sizable portion of White America has long been tone deaf in owning up to its history of enslaving and later disenfranchising African-Americans, a fact as true today as it was 55 years ago when ABC debuted its post-Civil War western "The Rebel." The series came to life only because of the tenacity of actor Nick Adams, who persuaded producer Andrew J. Fenady at a cocktail party, according to a cover story in the August 13, 1960 edition of TV Guide, to develop a series that he could star in since all of his film roles to that point had been supporting ones and Adams desperately wanted to be a star. Adams had settled on an acting career after growing up poor In Jersey City, the son of a former Pennsylvania coal miner, because he wanted to "be somebody," rejecting his father's advice to learn a trade because he wanted to make "a lot of money." According to the TV Guide account, it was Adams who pitched the general concept of the series to Fenady, but it isn't clear why he settled on portraying a former Confederate soldier who wanders the southwest ostensibly searching for a place to settle down without any clear idea of where or what that would be. Where Adams got his affinity for the Old South is equally puzzling since he grew up in the north, but he appears to have relished or at least embraced the underdog, outsider role, perhaps because of his poor upbringing and the fact that he didn't have the height or the good looks to be a Hollywood leading man. It's also extremely ironic that Adams appeared with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and became best friends with the actor until his untimely death in1955, after which he befriended Elvis Presley during the filming of Love Me Tender, a Civil War period piece. Adams also named his only son Jeb Stuart Adams after the famous general who was considered the knight errant of the Confederacy. Adams' apparent fondness for the Confederacy as some sort of noble lost cause seems as clueless as his idea early on that he could simply show up at a theatre and audition without any prior theatrical training, another true anecdote mentioned in the TV Guide article.

Fenady, in an interview for Boyd Magers' Western Clippings web site, says that he saw Adams' character Johnny Yuma as a kind of Jack London out west, an aspiring writer who had to live the adventures he would later write about. And the Yuma character does keep a journal in which we see him writing during perhaps half the episodes. Fenady saw this angle as unique amongst the current crop of westerns, but it isn't far removed from the newspaper stories being written by narrator and newspaper publisher Harris Claibourne of Tombstone Territory crossed with any of a number of wandering knights errant in series such as Cheyenne, Bronco, The Texan, and Sugarfoot. The series is also like Bronco in chronicling a hero who served in the Confederate Army, and like Bronco it never even so much as mentions the primary cause of the Civil War--slavery. 

Johnny Yuma's backstory is perhaps intentionally murky. The titular pilot episode "Johnny Yuma" (October 4, 1959) begins two years after the War's end with Yuma returning to his hometown of Mason City. Why he took two years to return home isn't explained and neither is his decision to join the Confederate Army, though there is a vague reference to his wanting to get away from home during a troublesome time, a suggestion that perhaps he did not get along with his father. But it is his father's honor that he has to restore in this episode. His father was the lawman of the town but was shot down by a gang who have since taken over the town. His aunt and her timid husband offer no resistance to the gang, so it is up to Yuma to confront and kill them. Afterward he has no sense of peace and feeling of home for a town that wouldn't come to his father's aid, so he sets out on his adventures not sure where he is going or what he is seeking but is encouraged to keep a journal of his affairs by the local newspaper publisher Elmer Dodson. He returns to Mason City and we find him working as a press operator for Dodson in the episode "The Bequest" (September 25, 1960), though why he came back and how long he has been there are not explained. He stays just long enough to try to help a simple-minded friend Jeremy Hake, who goes berserk when he learns his daughter needs an operation he can't afford and ends up shooting and killing a stagecoach driver in a failed attempt to rob the stage to pay for her operation. When Hake disappears but then returns late one night to seek Yuma's help, Yuma does his best but has to fend off two greedy bounty hunters eager to claim the reward on Hake's head. Hake urges Yuma to turn him in and then forward the reward money to his wife for his daughter's operation but winds up getting shot by the bounty hunters, who are then gunned down by Yuma. The citizens of Mason City assume that when Yuma collects the reward money that he has betrayed his friend Hake to enrich himself, though Dodson eventually learns the truth. But rather than allowing the newspaper publisher to print what really happened, he turns his fellow citizens' ignorance into an excuse to leave town again as the misunderstood hero.

This sense of misplaced southern martyrdom is shown elsewhere in the series as well. In "Noblesse Oblige" (February 14, 1960) southern belle Cassandra Bannister complains to Yuma that she is also a casualty of the war because the number of young Confederate soldiers killed has reduced the pool of potential suitors. She isn't helped by her overly proud father who shoots her lover because he considers the suitor beneath their exalted station. In "The Death of Gray" (January 3, 1960) former Confederate officer Col. Charles Morris tells Yuma he can't even bear to return to the South to see its destruction after the War, so instead he teams up with a band of cut-throat marauders who steal from and kill innocent ranchers, though by episode's end a banker's daughter's kidnapping gone awry convinces him of the error of his ways and he agrees to turn himself in.

But besides portraying the defeated South as somehow deserving of pity, the series whitewashes their role in fighting for slavery. Like other westerns of the era, racial prejudice can never be depicted as being whites discriminating against blacks. Instead, the Chinese are inserted in their place, as in the episode "Blind Marriage" (April 17, 1960) in which white stagecoach passengers refuse to ride in the same coach with Chinese immigrants. When slavery is shown, it is of the white-on-white variety shown in "The Captive of Tremblor" (April 10, 1960) in which town patriarch Jethro Gain imprisons the town physician Dr. Sam Bates against his will after paying for his medical training in a vain attempt to save his ailing wife. After his wife dies, Gain keeps Bates locked up in jail so that he can't leave town until he has paid back his debt. Even Confederate-related shame is smoothed over in "The Unwanted" (January 31, 1960) when the father of a Confederate soldier from a Union town digs up unmarked graves in the search for his dead son's remains so that he can rebury the boy in the Union cemetery and hide the fact that his son fought for the South. At first citizens like Jake Rollins, whose Union soldier son rests in the cemetery, think the old man is a despicable grave robber, but after they learn his true motivations, Yuma asks Rollins if it is so wrong to die for something you so firmly believe in. The sensible answer is that if you believe in slavery, then of course it is wrong to die defending it, but in the sentimental world of The Rebel Rollins instead replies that after seeing Yuma go to great lengths to help an old man he doesn't even know and from whom he can expect no reward, then he would have no problem being buried next to him. And then there's the inexplicable line from "The Hope Chest" (December 25, 1960) when Yuma is offered $200 if he will marry an old man's daughter, which Yuma declines and remarks, "I just don't think anybody has the right to sell a human life." Spoken like a page from the Confederate apologist's playbook: the Civil War was not fought over the issue of slavery. Denial couldn't be painted in any starker terms.

The theme song for The Rebel  was composed by Richard Markowitz with lyrics by Fenady and was sung by country music icon Johnny Cash. Richard Allen Markowitz was born in Santa Monica, California and in high school led a big band called Dick Allen and the Teenagers. He served in the military during World War II and then studied music in Paris under Arnold Schoenberg and Arthur Honegger. His career in film and TV composing didn't get started until 1958 when he scored the feature Stakeout on Dope Street, which was produced by Fenady and directed by Rebel director  Irvin Kershner. His other late 50s work continued in the teen exploitation genre: The Hot Angel, The Young Captives, Roadracers, and Operation Dames, all from 1958-59. While his work on The Rebel opened up other TV opportunities, such as Philip Marlowe, Dr. Kildare, and Ben Casey, he also continued working on feature films such as Hoodlum Priest, The Magic Sword, and Bus Riley's Back in Town, as well as TV movies like The Scalplock, which was later adapted into the TV series The Iron Horse. Perhaps his breakout work was the theme and scores for the first two seasons of The Wild, Wild West. From there he found steady work on many TV series into the early 1990s, most notably on The F.B.I. (16 episodes), Police Story (34 episodes), and Murder, She Wrote (71 episodes). His daughter Kate had a platinum-selling single in Germany in the 1990s under the name of Kate Yanai (her mother's maiden name). He died December 6, 1994 at age 68.

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

The Actors

Nick Adams

Nicholas Aloysius Adamshock was born in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, the son of a Ukranian immigrant coal miner. When Adams was 5 years old, his uncle was killed in a mining accident, so his father moved the family as far away as his money would take them, which turned out to be Jersey City, New Jersey. His father found work as a janitor, and his mother worked for Western Electric. At the age of 17 Adams decided he wanted to be an actor but was so naive that, with no prior training, he showed up at a New York theater where The Silver Tassie was holding auditions. By chance he there met actor Jack Palance, and when Palance discovered that they both came from Ukranian-immigrant Pennsylvania coal-mining backgrounds, he steered Adams to a junior theater production of Tom Sawyer in which Adams was cast as Muff Potter. After a year of acting for no pay in New York, Adams hitch-hiked to Los Angeles and worked a number of odd jobs, from which he typically got fired, but also acted in a Las Palmas Theater production and filled in for Pearl Bailey once at the Mocambo nightclub. He finally landed an uncredited part in 1952's Somebody Loves Me, but his bigger break came after joining the Coast Guard and docking in Long Beach where John Ford was casting for the film version of Mister Roberts. Adams showed up at an audition in uniform and did impressions of James Cagney and other celebrities, ending with an impression of Morse code that spelled out "Give the kid a break." Ford was impressed enough to give Adams a small supporting part. The next year he landed supporting roles in box office smashes Picnic and Rebel Without a Cause, where he met and befriended James Dean. After Dean's tragic death, Adams attempted to exploit his connection with the star in order to further his own career, claiming he was being stalked by a female Dean fan and posing for photos at Dean's grave. It wasn't long before he met and became close friends with Elvis Presley. Presley biographer Elaine Dundy spoke ill of Adams as an actor "whose main scheme to further his career was to hitch his wagon to a star." Adams continued getting decent supporting roles, the best being alongside Andy Griffith in No Time for Sergeants, but he appeared to be frustrated by the lack of leading roles, which was his main impetus in persuading Fenady to develop The Rebel.

After The Rebel was canceled at the end of its second season, he appeared in the Steve McQueen war feature Hell Is for Heroes and then landed another TV lead as reporter Nick Alexander on Saints and Sinners, which ran only 18 episodes in 1962-63. He received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Twilight of Honor in 1963, though one account says that the nomination was the result of a hefty dose of self-promotion. He thereafter found occasional guest spots on several TV shows, including 5 appearances on Burke's Law between 1963 and 1965, but in the latter half of the decade he was reduced to B movie fare such as Frankenstein Conquers the World and Invasion of Astro-Monster. A friend of Robert Conrad, he appeared in two episodes of The Wild, Wild West as well as Combat! and Hondo. But after suffering a career downturn and while going through a pending divorce from his wife Carol Nugent, Adams died of a prescription drug overdose on February 7, 1968 at the age of 36. Fenady believes his death was accidental, that he was too invested in his children to have committed suicide. But Adams' daughter Allyson has floated the possibility of foul play when she claimed that some of his personal belongings, such as a bronzed replica of his cap from The Rebel, were missing after his death. However, amongst his surviving effects was a manuscript of his days with Presley, which she published under the title The Rebel and the King in 2014.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 1, Episode 13, "The Death of Gray": Harry Townes (starred in The Brothers Karamazov, Screaming Mimi, and Sanctuary) plays former Confederate officer Col. Charles Morris. Johnny Cash (shown on the left, iconic country singer known as The Man in Black) plays marauder Pratt. Sandra Knight (ex-wife of Jack Nicholson, appeared in Frankenstein's Daughter, Thunder Road, and Blood Bath) plays a banker's daughter.

Season 1, Episode 14, "Angry Town": Jack Elam (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 a small-town lawyer. Perry Cook (Barney Udall on Hunter) plays town deputy Leach. Ron Soble (Dirty Jim on The Monroes) plays dead sheriff's brother Flint.

Season 1, Episode 15, "Gold Seeker": John Sutton (appeared in Jane Eyre, The Three Musketeers(1948), and The Return of the Fly) plays the unnamed gold seeker.

Season 1, Episode 16, "Glory": Marie Windsor (shown on the right, starred in Outpost in Morocco, Dakota Lil, Cat-Women of the Moon, Swamp Women, and The Day Mars Invaded Earth) plays jealous sister Emma Longdon. William Bryant (McCall on Combat!, President Ulysses S. Grant on Branded, Col. Crook on Hondo, Lt. Shilton on Switch, and the Director on The Fall Guy) plays her brother Don. Nick Dennis (starred in A Streetcar Named Desire, East of Eden, and Kiss Me Deadly and played Nick Kanavaras on Ben Casey and Constantine on Kojak) plays stable owner Al Johnson. John Mitchum (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays brawler Sam.



Season 1, Episode 17, "The Unwanted": Trevor Bardette (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays dead soldier's father Sam Amister. Gregory Irvin (Johnny Brady on Dennis the Menace) plays his grandson. 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 Perdition Sheriff John Peeples. Buck Young (Deputy Buck Johnson on U.S. Marshal and Sergeant Whipple on Gomer Pyle: USMC) plays Amister antagonist Salvo. Joseph V. Perry (Nemo  on Everybody Loves Raymond) plays blacksmith customer Brad Evans. Vinton Hayworth (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Lawman) plays physician Dr. Elliott.

Season 1, Episode 18, "The Crime": Walter Sande (appeared in To Have and Have Not, A Place in the Sun, and Bad Day at Black Rock and played Capt. Horatio Bullwinkle on The Adventures of Tugboat Annie and Papa Holstrum on The Farmer's Daughter) plays Mexican Hat Sheriff Amos Cannon. Richard Devon (Jody Barker on Yancy Derringer) plays his deputy Clyde Vollmer.

Season 1, Episode 19, "Noblesse Oblige": 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 Yuma's former commanding officer Quincy Bannister. Robert Vaughn (shown on the right, starred in Teenage Cave Man, The Magnificent Seven, The Towering Inferno, and Bullitt and played Capt. Ray Rambridge on The Lieutenant, Napoleon Solo on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Harry Rule on The Protectors, Harlan Adams on Emerald Point N.A.S., Gen. Hunt Stockwell on The A-Team, and Albert Stroller on Hustle) plays his brother Asa. Gail Russell (starred in The Uninvited, Calcutta, and Angel and the Badman) plays his sister Cassandra.

Season 1, Episode 20, "Land": Ralph Moody (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Rifleman) plays Nebraska Judge Parks. Ross Elliott (Freddie the director on The Jack Benny Program and Sheriff Abbott on The Virginian) plays physician Dr. Mac. Charles Maxwell (Special Agent Joe Carey on I Led 3 Lives and the voice of the radio announcer on Gilligan's Island) plays gunman Joe Falton.

Season 1, Episode 21, "He's Only a Boy": Robert Blake (shown on the left, played Mickey in over 30 Our Gang shorts and Little Beaver in 23 westerns, starred in Black Rose, Pork Chop Hill, The Purple Gang, In Cold Blood, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, and Electra Glide in Blue, and played Det. Tony Baretta on Baretta and Father Noah Rivers on Hell Town) plays young gun Virgil Moss. Donald Woods (John Brent on Tammy and Craig Kennedy on Kennedy, Criminologist) plays his father Sam. Paul Picerni (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Untouchables) plays hotel clerk Clee.

Season 1, Episode 22, "Take Dead Aim": Edgar Barrier (appeared in Phantom of the Opera (1943), Adventures in Silverado, Macbeth (1948), and Snow White and the Three Stooges and played Don Cornelio Esperon on Zorro) plays trick-shooter The Great Bianco. 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 his wife Cassie.

Season 1, Episode 23, "The Rattler": Martha Vickers (starred in The Big Sleep, Ruthless, and Alimony and was Mickey Rooney's third wife and mother of Teddy Rooney) plays marshal's wife Bess Weed. Richard Jaeckel (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Frontier Circus) plays hired hand Roader.

Season 1, Episode 24, "You Steal My Eyes": Cathy O'Donnell (starred in The Best Years of Our Lives, They Live by Night, Detective Story, The Man From Laramie, The Deerslayer, and Ben-Hur) plays blind trapper's daughter Prudence Gant. William Bryant (see "Glory" above) plays gang leader Hump.

Season 1, Episode 25, "Fair Game": Patricia Medina (Margarita Cortazar on Zorro) plays accused murderess Cynthia Kenyon. James Drury (The Virginian on The Virginian and Captain Spike Ryerson on Firehouse) plays her accomplice Bert Pace. Stacy Harris (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays drummer Cramer. James Chandler (Lt. Girard on Bourbon Street Beat) plays bounty hunter Farnum.

Season 1, Episode 26, "Unsurrendered Sword": Lorna Thayer (starred in The Beast With a Million Eyes and played the waitress in Five Easy Pieces) plays Confederate widow Amanda Harrington. Jay Novello (Juan Greco on Zorro and Mayor Mario Lugatto on McHale's Navy) plays Gomera constable Guido Morales. Paul Picerni (shown on the left, see "He's Only a Boy" above) plays bitter drunkard Manuel Flynn. Joseph V. Perry (see "The Unwanted" above) plays hotel owner Sam Hackett. Mary Gregory (appeared in Sleeper and Coming Home and played Dr. Stanwhich on Knots Landing and Judge Pendleton on L.A. Law) plays his wife Elvira.

Season 1, Episode 27, "The Captive of Tremblor": Robert Brubaker (Deputy Ed Blake on U.S. Marshal and Floyd on Gunsmoke) plays captive physician Dr. Sam Bates. James Seay (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays town patriarch Jethro Gain. John Pickard (Capt. Shank Adams on Boots and Saddles and Sgt. Maj. Murdock on Gunslinger) plays Tremblor Marshal Drown. Guy Wilkerson (played Panhandle Perkins in 22 westerns, and Theodore Lehmann, the narrator on Around the World With Willy Fogg and Grimm Masterpiece Theatre and voiced High Dingy Doo on Noozles, the Commander and Zero on Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years, and Mayor Lion on Maple Town) plays a saddle tramp.

Season 1, Episode 28, "Blind Marriage": Philip Ahn (Master Kan on Kung Fu) plays wealthy Chinese father Quong Lee. Lisa Lu (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Have Gun --Will Travel) plays his daughter Quong Lia. Victor Buono (shown on the right, appeared in Robin and the 7 Hoods, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Silencers and played King Tut on Batman and Dr. Schubert on Man From Atlantis) plays stage passenger Young. Joseph V. Perry (see "The Unwanted" above) plays miner Bert.

Season 1, Episode 29, "Absolution": Gloria Talbott (shown on the left, starred in The Cyclops, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll,  and I Married a Monster From Outer Space and played Moneta on Zorro) plays Yuma's former fiance Genevieve Morgan. John Maxwell (Alex Gregory on The Court of Last Resort) plays her attending physician. Natalie Masters (Wilma Clemson on Date With the Angels, Mrs. Bergen on My Three Sons, and Edith Barson on Dragnet) plays his nurse.

Season 1, Episode 30, "A Grave for Johnny Yuma": Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays hotel clerk Mr. Dover.

Season 1, Episode 31, "In Memory of a Son": 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 Yuma's former Army mate Vic Nielsen. Richard Evans (Paul Hanley on Peyton Place) plays former Army mate Tony Parlio.

Season 1, Episode 32, "Paint a House With Scarlet": John Anderson (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays religious zealot Ezra Tabor. Clu Gulager (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Tall Man) plays his son Virgil. Margaret Field (mother of actress Sally Field) plays their neighbor Sara Bodine.

Season 1, Episode 33, "Grant of Land": Paul Richards (appeared in Playgirl and Beneath the Planet of the Apes and played Louy Kassoff on The Lawless Years) plays former Army chaplain Paul Travis. Ruta Lee (appeared in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, and Witness for the Prosecution and played Rona on 1st and Ten: The Championship and Pauline Spencer on Coming of Age) plays land owner Ellen Barton. Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place and Ward Fuller on The Silent Force) plays her hired hand Chad.

Season 1, Episode 34, "Night on a Rainbow": James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays Yuma's old Army friend Ted Evans. Gail Kobe (shown on the left, played Penny Adams on Trackdown and Doris Schuster on Peyton Place and produced over 200 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful) plays his wife Carrie. Perry Cook (see "Angry Town" above) plays druggist Roy Cale. Jon Lormer (Harry Tate on Lawman, various autopsy surgeons and medical examiners in 12 episodes of Perry Mason, and Judge Irwin A. Chester on Peyton Place) plays the town doctor.

Season 1, Episode 35, "Lady of Quality": Joanna Moore (mother of Tatum and Griffin O'Neal, appeared in Touch of Evil, Son of Flubber, and Never a Dull Moment and played Peggy McMillan on The Andy Griffith Show) plays deranged widow Barbara Dyer. Ed Kemmer (Commander Buzz Corry on Space Patrol, Paul Britton on The Secret Storm, and Dick Martin on As the World Turns) plays physician Dr. Curtis. Bart Burns (Capt. Pat Chambers on Mike Hammer) plays buffalo hunter Packer.

Season 1, Episode 36, "The Earl of Durango": John Sutton (see "Gold Seeker" above) plays novelist C. Spencer Scott. L.Q. Jones (Beldon on The Virginian, Sheriff Lew Wallace on The Yellow Rose, and Nathan Wayne on Renegade) plays his gunman Otis Rumph. Angelo Rossitto (appeared in Freaks, Spooks Run Wild, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and played Seymour Spider and Clang on H.R. Pufnstuf, Mr. Big and the lead singer of the Hat Band on Lidsville, and Little Moe on Baretta) plays his secretary Godfrey. Nick Dennis (see "Glory" above) plays Durango Sheriff Rocky Spiropolous. George Tobias (shown on the right, starred in Sergeant York, This Is the Army, and Yankee Doodle Dandy and played Pierre Falcon on Hudson's Bay, Trader Penrose on Adventures in Paradise, and Abner Kravitz on Bewitched) plays Dead Oak Sheriff Boyd. Jody Warner (Penny Cooper on One Happy Family) plays casino owner Belle. Victor Buono (see "Blind Marriage" above) plays casino dealer Ralph Babcock. Andrew J. Fenady (co-creator of The Rebel) plays district Marshal Hondo Payne. Patricia Medina (see "Fair Game" above) plays Spanish lady Lupe.

Season 2, Episode 1, "Johnny Yuma at Appomattox": William Bryant (see "Glory" above) plays Union Army Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. George Macready (Martin Peyton on Peyton Place) plays Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Andrew J. Fenady (see "The Earl of Durango" above) plays Union Gen. Philip Sheridan. Ed Nelson (see "Grant of Land" above) plays Confederate soldier Doug. Robert Hickman (makeup artist who worked on Creature From the Black Lagoon and Around the World in Eighty Days as well as TV series Burke's Law, Honey West, and H.R. Pufnstuf) plays a wounded Confederate soldier. J. Pat O'Malley (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Frontier Circus) plays Abilene newspaper publisher McCune. Teddy Rooney (son of actors Mickey Rooney and Martha Vickers) plays his grandson Jimmy.

Season 2, Episode 2, "The Bequest": Elisha Cook, Jr. (starred in The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, The Great Gatsby (1949), and The Killing and played Francis "Ice Pick" Hofstetler on Magnum P.I.) plays distressed father Jeremy Hake. John Carradine (shown on the left, starred in Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, The Ten Commandments, and Sex Kittens Go to College and played Gen. Joshua McCord on Branded) plays Mason City newspaper publisher Elmer Dodson. John Pickard (see "The Captive of Tremblor" above) plays Mason City Sheriff Cahill. Natalie Masters (see "Absolution" above) plays shop owner Ma Silver.

Season 2, Episode 3, "The Champ": Michael Ansara (appeared in Julius Caesar, The Robe, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Harum Scarum, played Cochise on Broken Arrow and Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart on The Rifleman and the Law of the Plainsman, and voiced General Warhawk on Rambo) plays washed-up boxer Docker Mason. Ed Kemmer (see "Lady of Quality" above) plays his manager Jake Wiley. Chuck Hicks (LaMarr Kane on The Untouchables) plays boxer The Frontier Kid. John Indrisano (real-life professional boxer and referee, played John the Chauffeur on O.K. Crackerby!) plays the fight referee.

Season 2, Episode 4, "The Waiting": Claude Akins (shown on the right, played Sonny Pruett on Movin' On and Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo on B.J and the Bear and on Lobo) plays bounty hunter Tom Hall. Joan Evans (starred in Roseanna McCoy, Edge of Doom, and Skirts Ahoy! and played Leonar on Zorro) plays The Yellow Sky Kid's wife Cassie. William Bryant (see "Glory" above) plays Sheriff Ed Strode.

Season 2, Episode 5, "To See the Elephant": Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays wealthy rancher Bull Hollingsworth. Mark Goddard (shown on the left, played Cully on Johnny Ringo, Det. Sgt. Chris Ballard on The Detectives, Bob Randall on Many Happy Returns, and Maj. Don West on Lost in Space) plays his naive son Seldon. Ron Soble (see "Angry Town" above) plays corrupt saloon owner Josiah Boyd. Ellen Corby (Henrietta Porter on Trackdown and Esther Walton on The Waltons) plays elderly saloon girl Carrie Blyden. Judith Rawlins (second wife of singer Vic Damone, died of a drug overdose) plays her supposed niece Mavis. Aladdin (frequent guest on The Lawrence Welk Show as a violinist, singer, and poet, played Cesare on My Three Sons) plays a hotel clerk.

Season 2, Episode 6, "Deathwatch": James Best (see "Night on a Rainbow" above) plays Confederate general's son Abel Waares. Frank Silvera (Don Sebastian Montoya on The High Chaparral) plays yaqui leader Cota.

Season 2, Episode 7, "Run, Killer, Run": Richard Jaeckel (see "The Rattler" above) plays fleeing killer Traskel. John Pickard (see "The Captive of Tremblor" above) plays patrolling Sheriff Pruett. Ed Nelson (see "Grant of Land" above) plays an unnamed deputy looking for Traskel.

Season 2, Episode 8, "The Hunted": Leonard Nimoy (shown on the right, played Mr. Spock on Star Trek, Paris on Mission: Impossible, and Dr. William Bell on Fringe) plays accused killer Jim Colburn. Dorothy Adams (appeared in Laura, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Winning Team, and The Killing) plays his mother. Nick Dennis (see "Glory" above) plays a French fur trapper. Lennie Weinrib (the voice of H.R. Pufinstuf, Seymour Spider, and Ludicrous Lion on H.R. Pufinstuf, voice of Sam Curvy on Doctor Doolittle, and voice of Moonrock on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show) plays a sheriff building a boat in a bottle. Arlene Martel (Tiger on Hogan's Heroes and Spock's Vulcan bride on Star Trek) plays Colburn's best friend's wife Molly Keller.

Season 2, Episode 9, "The Legacy": Jon Lormer (see "Night on a Rainbow" above) plays Mecca City judge Adam Ricker. Robert Hutton (appeared in Destination Tokyo, Time Out of Mind, The Man on the Eiffel Tower, They Came From Beyond Space, and Trog) plays his son and prosecuting attorney Vance. James Chandler (see "Fair Game" above) plays his son and sheriff Bill. Paul Picerni (see "He's Only a Boy" above) plays his son and defense attorney Lee. Soupy Sales (host of The Soupy Sales Show) plays a blacksmith.

Season 2, Episode 10, "Don Gringo": Gigi Perreau (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Betty Hutton Show) plays a wealthy Mexican's betrothed daughter Demetria Angelica. Edgar Barrier (see "Take Dead Aim" above) plays her father Don Diego.

Season 2, Episode 11, "Explosion": L.Q. Jones (see "The Earl of Durango" above) plays bank-robbing killer Roy Shandell. Douglas Spencer (appeared in The Thing From Another World, Shane, This Island Earth, River of No Return, and The Diary of Anne Frank) plays her father Joe. Ross Elliott (see "Land" above) plays local Sheriff Barney Cagle. Gregory Irvin (see "The Unwanted" above) plays his son Davey.

Season 2, Episode 12, "Vindication": James Drury (shown on the right, see "Fair Game" above) plays blind retired Army Capt. Paul Travis. Dan Sheridan (see the biography section of the 1960 post on Lawman) plays stage shotgun man Jess Hosmer. Martha Vickers (see "The Rattler" above) plays stage waystation host Agnes Boley. William Bryant (see "Glory" above) plays her husband Sam. Michael Barrier (Lt. DeSalle on Star Trek) plays young newlywed Howard Gaynes. Jody Warner (see "The Earl of Durango" above) plays his wife Laurie.

Season 2, Episode 13, "The Scalp Hunter": John Dehner (shown on the left, played Duke Williams on The Roaring '20's, Commodore Cecil Wyntoon on The Baileys of Balboa, Morgan Starr on The Virginian, Cyril Bennett on The Doris Day Show, Dr. Charles Cleveland Claver on The New Temperatures Rising Show, Barrett Fears on Big Hawaii, Marshal Edge Troy on Young Maverick, Lt. Joseph Broggi on Enos, Hadden Marshall on Bare Essence, and Billy Joe Erskine on The Colbys) plays Apache scalp hunter John Sims. Dan Sheridan (see "Vindication" above) plays small-town Sheriff Armstedder.

Season 2, Episode 14, "Berserk": Tom Drake (starred in Meet Me in St. Louis, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, and The Sandpiper) plays war-addled Kansas Sheriff Mat Dunsen. K.T. Stevens (Vanessa Prentiss on The Young and the Restless) plays his wife. Dan Barton (Det. Sgt. Burke on Dan Raven) plays his deputy Frank Maggio. Robert Brubaker (see "The Captive of Tremblor" above) plays trigger-happy citizen Picquete. Arthur Peterson (The Major on Soap) plays town physician Doc Jons.

Season 2, Episode 15, "The Hope Chest": William Demarest (shown on the right, appeared in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Lady Eve, The Devil and Miss Jones, Stage Door Canteen, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and That Darn Cat! and played William Harris on Love and Marriage, Mr. Daly on Make Room for Daddy, Jeb Gaine on Tales of Wells Fargo, and Uncle Charlie O'Casey on My Three Sons) plays old widower Ulysses Bowman. Cathy O'Donnell (see "You Steal My Eyes" above) plays his unmarried daughter Felicity. Soupy Sales (see "The Legacy" above) plays vagabond Meyers.