Bronco (1962)

 

In its final 13 episodes, which aired in 1962, Bronco trod much of the same ground it had in previous years, with the titular character serving in a different capacity each week and brushing up against historical figures and events to try to infuse some interest in an otherwise derivative western. In these last episodes he encounters Wild Bill Hickock for the second time in "One Evening in Abilene" (March 19, 1962) where Hickock serves as marshal. He meets General William Tecumseh Sherman in "The Immovable Object" (April 16, 1962), having fought against him in the Civil War as a Rebel captain. And he receives a letter from President Abraham Lincoln while carrying out a secret mission for the U.S. government in "The Last Letter" (March 5, 1962). This is presented as the "last letter" Lincoln wrote before his assassination on April 14, 1865, just 5 days after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant to end the Civil War. What are the chances Bronco, an officer in the Confederate Army, would be entrusted with a top secret mission for the government he fought against just 5 days after his General's surrender?

But this episode, like roughly half of those aired in 1962, centers around the theme of burying the hatchet after the bloody and divisive Civil War. This episode also ties into another historical event of the era--the French takeover of Mexico--and Bronco's secret mission is to help fund the deposed Mexican government of Juarez against the French-installed monarchy of Maximilian. Bronco's crew delivering a shipment of gold to Mexico is made up of former Rebel soldiers, dubbed "Reconstructed Rebels." Some are more honorable than others, but the real villain in this and other episodes are those who try to play both sides against each other. In this case, renegade McKee Bucklin conspires with the Comanches to attack his own wagon train so that he can take control of the gold, which he has already agreed to deliver to the French--for a price. The Mexican conflict is featured again in "Until Kingdom Come" (March 26, 1962), only this time Bronco has been recruited to protect a Duchess related to Maximilian, since deposed, whose nephew Philip is heir to the throne. It doesn't make any sense that he would serve on opposite sides of the conflict unless he, too, were nothing more than a mercenary, but we are not expected to look for any consistency from week to week, only to trust that whatever side our hero is on is the right one--for that week, at least.

Bronco clashes with another duplicitous marauder in the last episode of the series, "Then the Mountains" (April 30, 1962). Kent Bohannon led a band of raiders who targeted both sides during the War but was eventually court martialed and sentenced to prison but managed to escape and now has an axe to grind with Bronco, who was one of many who testified against him. He runs into Bohannon after one of Bohannon's associates sells and then steals a group of horses from him while Bronco is leading a wagon train of former Virginia Confederates headed for Oregon. In that wagon train is former Confederate soldier Ben Cullen, who still bears ill will toward any Yankees and makes him distrustful of anything they may tell him. This attitude gets him into trouble while Bronco is away trying to escape from Bohannon and Cullen is advised by Yankee Army deserter Frankie Banton not to take a promised shortcut across the mountains. Banton knows there is no such shortcut and recognizes the fake sign as a trap (by Bohannon, as it turns out), but Cullen refuses to believe a Yankee would tell him the truth and leads the entire wagon train into Bohannon's trap. As with several other episodes from 1962 wherein Bronco, the ex-Confederate, has to tell his compatriots that the war is over and it is time to move forward, the message here is that both sides of the War must learn to live together again, a particularly timely message for 1962 as the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing and moving toward the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, as with most television programs of the era, there is no mention of slavery as being the central issue of the Civil War (which is only referred to on Bronco as the War Between the States, the preferred term of Southerners who refused to acknowledge the real reason for the War). TV networks and sponsors bent over backwards not to rile up bitter Southerners just waiting for a provocation to get their dander up, which is exactly the attitude we see from Cullen in this episode. appeasement of Southerners is portrayed in this episode by Union Army commander Lt. Ames, who stops Bronco's wagon train while searching for the deserter Banton. Cullen seems ready to take offense at anything Ames says, but Ames is careful to offer his respect to former Confederate officer Bronco as an equal, and when Bronco gives his word that Banton is not in his wagon train, Ames is willing to accept his word without a search, though it turns out that Bronco was mistaken, not knowing that Banton was hiding in one of his own wagons.

Bronco also adheres to the "don't-stir-the-pot" strategy in "One Evening in Abilene" when he advises former Confederate soldier Clay Farraday not to go to Abilene, one of the worst cities for former Yankee-Rebel clashes since the state of Kansas was split down the middle during the Civil War and its citizens still fight against themselves. Like the stubborn Ben Cullen above, Farraday refuses to take Bronco's suggestion and even seems to welcome conflict by proudly wearing his CSA gun belt as a sign of his loyalties, even challenging Abilene Marshal Wild Bill Hickock, knowing that Hickock has a well-documented dislike for Southerners. Farraday allows his infatuation with Abilene belle Donna Coe to cloud his judgment and finally comes to realize that she was only using him to avenge the death of her fiance at the hands of Hickock. He then decides his future lies elsewhere, away from the cauldron of bitterness still brewing in Abilene.

The program also suggests that not all Confederates were guilty of the crimes committed by their colleagues in "A Town That Lived and Died" (April 9, 1962). Bronco is lured under false pretenses to a ghost town where he is taken prisoner and subjected to a mock trial, to be followed by a hanging, for his involvement in the town being burnt to the ground by Confederate soldiers. But as the story is told in flashback, while Bronco admits that he was sent as an undercover Confederate agent to lead the citizens on a wagon train to their new destination of Lost Hope Hill so that he could discover how they were transporting a secret shipment of gold to finance the Union Army, he says he knew nothing about the torching of the town later, after he had completed his assignment, by a Confederate officer who was angry that the gold shipment was stolen out from under him by a savvy band of bank robbers. Bronco makes the argument that he was just following orders, which could be made by any Confederate, even those actually guilty of atrocities. A similar argument is made on behalf of the character Johnny Davis in "Ride the Whirlwind" (January 15, 1962). Davis was a member of the notorious Confederate gang called Quantrill's Raiders and as such is still a trained killer, even though he now serves as a reputable deputy to Yankee Sheriff Ben Lockwood. Davis is fond of and loyal to Lockwood, but his past as a Confederate killer is able to be exploited by revenge-minded hypnotist Dr. Miles Gillis, just released from a 7-year prison sentence for aiding the enemy when he treated Confederate soldiers so that they could return to battle. Gillis shared a prison cell with Davis for 5 years and knows his past well, exploiting it to secretly assign him under hypnotic suggestion to kill Lockwood and others who were responsible for sending Gillis to jail. Davis is presented as an innocent foil for Gillis' evil plan, even though he presumably took part in atrocities during the War. Still, Bronco tries to argue that even those who committed such atrocities could be rehabilitated and should be given a chance to prove so.

Though the subject of slavery is never broached on the program, the first Black character finally shows up in the episode "Moment of Doubt" (April 2, 1962). Bronco is again assigned a secret mission on behalf of the U.S. Government--this time to infiltrate an insurrectionist anti-Democratic group of former Confederates based in New Orleans. He is given a fake court martial to make his record reflect that he would have a motivation for joining the subversives, and his contact in New Orleans is a Black man named Dorso, working as a boot black at a New Orleans hotel. Most notably, Dorso's Blackness is never referred to nor dramatized. Bronco treats him just as he would anyone else, and Dorso has none of the Black stereotypes seen in earlier movies or TV programs. In fact, his role could have been played by a white actor with no changes to the script or blocking. The only reason to cast a Black actor in the role is to demonstrate a Black man being treated just as a white man would be in the same position. This fits in with the approach taken elsewhere in the series--wanting to move past the animosities of the Civil War and the century of prejudice that followed it (and still continues to this day 60 years later) without acknowledging the wrongs done or holding anyone accountable for them. Like much of the peace idealism that came later in the decade, it's admirable that a show like Bronco would advocate for national unity and a more equal future, but perhaps a bit naive to think that deep-seated resentment could be washed away just by not mentioning it.

The Actors

For the biography of Ty Hardin, see the 1960 post on Bronco.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 4, Episode 6, "Beginner's Luck": Buzz Martin (appeared in Pork Chop Hill, The FBI Story, PT 109, and Shotgun Wedding) plays rancher's son Lew Gant. Pamela Austin (starred in Hootenanny Hoot, Kissin' Cousins, and The Perils of Pauline) plays his sister Marion. Virginia Christine (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Tales of Wells Fargo) plays their mother Martha. Hank Patterson (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Gunsmoke) plays ranch hand Railroad Costigan. Hayden Rorke (shown on the left, starred in Father's Little Dividend, When Worlds Collide, and Pillow Talk and played Steve on Mr. Adams and Eve, Col. Farnsworth on No Time for Sergeants, Dr. Alfred Bellows on I Dream of Jeannie, and Bishop on Dr. Kildare) plays rival rancher Matt Wigram. Walter Coy (Zoravac on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Jason Farrell on A Flame in the Wind, and was the narrator on Frontier) plays lawman Sheriff Springer. Gregg Palmer (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays gun for hire Wes Taylor. Jean Willes (appeared in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ocean's 11, and Gypsy) plays saloon hostess Dolly.

Season 4, Episode 7, "Ride the Whirlwind": Edward Platt (appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, Written on the Wind, Designing Woman, and North by Northwest and played the Chief on Get Smart) plays Willow Springs Sheriff Ben Lockwood. Chad Everett (shown on the right, starred in Get Yourself a College Girl, Made in Paris, The Singing Nun, and Airplane II and played Deputy Del Stark on The Dakotas, Dr. Joe Gannon on Medical Center, Paul Hagen on Hagen, Wyatt Earp III on The Rousters, Jack McKenna on McKenna, Jack Manhattan on Manhattan, AZ, and Vic on Chemistry) plays his deputy Johnny Davis. Vaughn Taylor (starred in Jailhouse Rock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Psycho, and In Cold Blood and played Ernest P. Duckweather on Johnny Jupiter) plays ex-con hypnotist Dr. Miles Gillis. Willis Bouchey (Mayor Terwilliger on The Great Gildersleeve, Springer on Pete and Gladys, and the judge 23 times on Perry Mason) plays Gillis' sentencer Judge Fowler. Pamela Austin (see "Beginner's Luck" above) plays his daughter Mary. Robert Anderson (Park Street, Jr. on The Court of Last Resort and Aeneas MacLinahan on Wichita Town) plays livery owner Len Peters. George Petrie (Nathan Wade on Search for Tomorrow, Freddie Muller on The Honeymooners, Don Rudy Aiuppo on Wiseguy, Harv Smithfield on Dallas, and Sid on Mad About You) plays attorney Tom Egan. Fred Sherman (Tommy the tailor on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and Burt Purdy on Cimarron City) plays Willow Springs Postmaster Freyes.

Season 4, Episode 8, "A Sure Thing": Alan Hale, Jr. (shown on the left, played Biff Baker on Biff Baker U.S.A., Casey Jones on Casey Jones, and The Skipper on Gilligan's Island) plays cattle drover Squire. Mickey Simpson (Boley on Captain David Grief) plays his Buddy Jonah. Trevor Bardette (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays rancher Dutch Vandervort. Barry Kelley (starred in The Asphalt Jungle, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Love Bug and played Charlie Anderson on Big Town, Jim Rafferty on The Tom Ewell Show, Mr. Slocum on Pete and Gladys, and Carol's father on Mister Ed) plays crooked rancher Poole. Joan Taylor (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Rifleman) plays widow rancher Lorain Mitchell. Russell Thorson (Det. Lt. Otto Lindstrom on The Detectives and William Kennerly on Peyton Place) plays fellow rancher Jack Armitage. William Phipps (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays disgruntled rancher Madden. Herb Vigran (Muley Evans on The Life of Riley, Ernest Hinshaw on The Ed Wynn Show, and Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke and voiced Glum on The Adventures of Gulliver and Mr. Dinkle on Shirt Tales) plays general store owner White. Harry Harvey (Sheriff Tom Blodgett on The Roy Rogers Show, Mayor George Dixon on Man Without a Gun, and Houghton Stott on It's a Man's World) plays hotel clerk Benjamin Carstairs. Marshall Reed (Inspector Fred Asher on The Lineup) plays trail boss Harrison.

Season 4, Episode 9, "Trail of Hatred": Robert Carson (Mr. Maddis on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) plays U.S. Army fort commander Col. Cummings. Rian Garrick (Det. Bruce Hanna on Manhunt) plays secret assignment commander Lt. Steve Powell. Kent Smith (shown on the right, starred in Cat People, This Land Is Mine, Hitler's Children, Curse of the Cat People, Nora Prentiss, The Spiral Staircase, and The Fountainhead and played Dr. Robert Morton on Peyton Place and Edgar Scoville on The Invaders) plays his father Dana Powell. James Griffith (Aaron Adams on Trackdown and Deputy Tom Ferguson on U.S. Marshal) plays greedy Army soldier Cpl. Fonda. Joseph Gallison (appeared in All the Young Men, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, and PT 109 and played Bill Matthews on Another World and Dr. Neil Curtis on Days of Our Lives) plays naive soldier Pvt. Foster. Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays Sgt. Prouty.

Season 4, Episode 10, "Rendezvous With a Miracle": Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays reformed bank robber Mike Bestor. 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 his girlfriend Valerie Ames. Mabel Albertson (Mrs. Whiting on Those Whiting Girls, Irene Brady on The Tom Ewell Show, Mrs. Sprague on The Andy Griffith Show, Mildred Hollinger on That Girl, and Phyllis Stephens on Bewitched) plays mission leader Mother Maria Theodore. Rico Alaniz (Mr. Cousin on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Mexican bandit Rick Cardido. Marshall Reed (see "A Sure Thing" above) plays Bestor's pursuer Marshal Hank Barton. Ollie O'Toole (Mr. Meeker on Circus Boy) plays stagecoach worker Clem. Harry Strang (played the sheriff on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin) plays a stagecoach driver.

Season 4, Episode 11, "Destinies West": Kathleen Crowley (shown on the right, played Terry Van Buren on Waterfront and Sophia Starr on Batman) plays wanted Confederate spy Belle Siddons. Ed Prentiss (the narrator on Trackdown and played Carl Jensen on The Virginian) plays Kansas U.S. Army fort commander Col. Welch. Robert McQueeney (Conley Wright on The Gallant Men) plays Bronco's spy-catching partner Major Creighton. Leo Gordon (appeared in Gun Fury, Hondo, Quantrill's Raiders, and Big Top Pee-wee and played Big Mike McComb on Maverick) plays rancher Nero Hollister. Jon Lormer (Harry Tate on Lawman, Sam Watkins on The Real McCoys, the autopsy surgeon on Perry Mason, Simon Benjamin on The Young Marrieds, and Judge Irwin A. Chester on Peyton Place) plays Bonnetville physician Doc Emmery. Bing Russell (father of Kurt Russell, played Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza) plays disgraced Union soldier Rance Crosby. Donald "Red" Barry (played Red Ryder in the movie serial The Adventures of Red Ryder, and played Lt. Snedigar on Surfside 6, The Grand Vizier and Tarantula on Batman, Capt. Red Barnes on Police Woman, and Jud Larabee on Little House on the Prairie) plays stable worker Stumpy. Gregg Palmer (see "Beginner's Luck" above) plays Missouri Raider member Colton.

Season 4, Episode 12, "The Last Letter": Robert Colbert (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Maverick) plays "Reconstructed Rebel" Quill. Richard Garland (starred in Attack of the Crab Monsters, Panic in Year Zero, and Mutiny in Outer Space and played Clay Horton on Lassie) plays Bronco's commander Capt. Grey. Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, Night Passage, and Stripes and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro) plays renegade McKee Bucklin. Joseph Gallison (see "Trail of Hatred" above) plays his son Rob. Mickey Simpson (see "A Sure Thing" above) plays Reconstructed Rebel Dud Miller. 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 Reconstructed Rebel Snowball. Harry Harvey, Jr. (son of actor Harry Harvey, Sr., appeared in Reefer Madness, Moonlight in Vermont, Dangerous Years, and Forbidden Planet, script supervisor on Mannix) plays Reconstructed Rebel Midge. Doye O'Dell (member of music group Sons of the Pioneers, host of Cowboy Thrills) plays Reconstructed Rebel Marsten.

Season 4, Episode 13, "One Evening in Abilene": Jack Cassidy (shown on the right, Tony Award-winning father of David and Shaun Cassidy and husband of Shirley Jones, played Oscar North on He & She) plays Abilene Sheriff Wild Bill Hickock. Lisa Gaye (Collette DuBois on The Bob Cummings Show and Gwen Kirby on How to Marry a Millionaire) plays woman looking for someone to kill him, Donna Coe. George Petrie (see "Ride the Whirlwind" above) plays her father Jack. Tony Young (son of actor Carleton G. Young, played Cord on Gunslinger) plays drifter Tod Chapman. Lee Van Cleef (starred in High Noon, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) plays Bronco's foreman Charley Clune. Bud Osborne (played stagecoach drivers in dozens of westerns and in episodes of The Cisco Kid, Annie Oakley, The Range Rider, Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Rescue 8, Zorro, Law of the Plainsman, Johnny Ringo, Cheyenne, The Texan, Maverick, and Rawhide) plays trail hand Piney.

Season 4, Episode 14, "Until Kingdom Come": Jacqueline Beer (appeared in Pillow Talk, The Prize, and Made in Paris and played Suzanne Fabry on 77 Sunset Strip) plays exiled Mexican Duchess Eugenia. Rodolfo Acosta (appeared in Wings of the Hawk, Flaming Star, and The Sons of Katie Elder and played Vaquero on The High Chaparral) plays her pursuer Juan Rodriguez. Philip Carey (shown on the left, starred in I Was a Communist for the FBI, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, Calamity Jane, Mister Roberts, Dead Ringer, and Three For Texas and played Lt. Michael Rhodes on Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, Philip Marlowe on Philip Marlowe, Capt. Edward Parmalee on Laredo, and Asa Buchanan on One Life to Live) plays former journalist Josh Glendon. Ken Lynch (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Checkmate) plays crooked ex-con Sheriff Lacey. Kathleen Freeman (Katie on Topper, Marilly on Mayor of the Town, Bertha Krause on The Bob Cummings Show, Flo Shafer on The Beverly Hillbillies, Kate Harwell on Funny Face, Iris Belmont on Lotsa Luc, and Sister Mary Dorothy on General Hospital) plays widow rancher Mrs. Kelly.

Season 4, Episode 15, "Moment of Doubt": Frank Wilcox (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Untouchables) plays an Army colonel who gives Bronco his assignment. Walter Brooke (shown on the right, appeared in The Graduate, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and The Nude Bomb and played Bill Morgan on Three Steps to Heaven, Henry Forsythe on The Young Marrieds, D.A. Frank Scanlon on The Green Hornet, Mr. Gibson on Bright Promise, D.A. Wayne Charles on Days of Our Lives, and Clarence Johnson on The Waltons) plays Undersecretary for the Department of War Hammond Craig. Bill Walker (appeared in The Harlem Globetrotters, The Outcast, and Porgy and Bess and played Obadiah on Yancy Derringer) plays boot black Dorso. Tol Avery (Speaker Bert Metcalf on Slattery's People) plays insurrectionist group leader Turlowe. Earl Hammond (Hal Soames on Valiant Lady, Captain Sovine on The Clear Horizon, and voiced Mon-star on Silverhawks and Mumm-ra, Jaga, and Vultureman on Thundercats) plays one of his recruits Oswald Mercer. Doodles Weaver (narrated Spike Jones' horse-racing songs and hosted A Day With Doodles) plays hotel barber Grimes.

Season 4, Episode 16, "A Town That Lived and Died": Robert Rockwell (shown on the left, played Phillip Boynton on Our Miss Brooks, Sam Logan on The Man From Blackhawk, Dean Chalmers and Will Thorne on Lassie, Tom Bishop on Diff'rent Strokes, Dr. Simon Hopkins on Days of Our Lives, and Wally Overmier on Growing Pains) plays former Union Army officer Van Dix. Jolene Brand (Anna Maria Verdugo on Zorro and Pink Cloud on Westward Ho!) plays his wife Emily. Ahna Capri (Mary Rose on Room for One More) plays Emily at age 15. Russell Thorson (see "A Sure Thing" above) plays ghost town former sheriff Frank Sutton. John Alderson (Sgt. Bullock on Boots and Saddles and Wyatt Earp on Doctor Who) plays gold miner Francis Randolph. E.J. Andre (Eugene Bullock on Dallas) plays bank robber Murdo. Lane Chandler (Tom Pike on Lawman) plays gold transfer plotter Tom Finch.

Season 4, Episode 17, "The Immovable Object": William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays cantankerous farmer Tom Christopher. Maggie Pierce (shown on the right, played Barbara Crabtree on My Mother the Car) plays his "granddaughter" Melvina. Mike Road (see "Rendezvous With a Miracle" above) plays newspaper reporter Emmett Dawson. George N. Neise (Capitan Felipe Arrellanos on Zorro, Dr. Nat Wyndham on Wichita Town, and Colonel Thornton on McKeever & the Colonel) plays Army Corps of Engineers commander Major Elijah Moore. Robert Hogan (Gilly Gillespie on The Young Marrieds, Rev. Tom Winter on Peyton Place, Asst. DA Stephens on Bright Promise, Scott Banning on Days of Our Lives, Sheriff Paul Tate on The Manhunter, Sgt. Ted Coppersmith on Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, Lt. Cmdr. Haller on Operation Petticoat, Nathan Welsh on Secrets of Midland Heights, Greg Stemple on Alice, Vince McKinnon on Another World, and L.J. McDermott on As the World Turns) plays his adjutant Capt. Meadows. J. Edward McKinley (appeared in The Angry Red Planet, Advise & Consent, The Interns, The Party, and Where Does It Hurt?) plays the New Mexico governor. Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays legendary Union Army commander Gen. William T. Sherman.

Season 4, Episode 18, "Then the Mountains": 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 former Confederate soldier Ben Cullen. Med Flory (played clarinet in the Ray Anthony orchestra and founded and played alto sax in the group Super Sax, appeared in Gun Street, The Nutty Professor (1963), and The Gumball Rally, and played Sheriff Mike McBride on High Mountain Rangers) plays fellow former Confederate soldier Vance Pelham. Jim Boles (appeared in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Trouble With Angels, Angel in My Pocket, The Love God?, and The Apple Dumpling Gang and  played Joe on One Man's Family) plays Virginia emigrant Jonathan Hawley. Susan Seaforth Hayes (Carol West on The Young Marrieds, Julie Olson Williams on Days of Our Lives, JoAnna Manning on The Young and the Restless, Patricia Steele on Sunset Beach, and Ms. Preston on Venice the Series) plays his daughter Julie Mae. James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard and The Dukes) plays Army deserter Frankie Banton. Gerald Mohr (narrator on 19 episodes of The Lone Ranger, Christopher Storm on Foreign Intrigue, and voice of Mr. Fantastic and Reed Richards on Fantastic 4) plays renegade leader Frank Bohannon. Ken Mayer (see "Trail of Hatred" above) plays his horse trader. Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Virginia emigrant Obie Dilks. Robert Nash (Dr. Jenkins on Days of Our Lives) plays Virginia emigrant Pete Calvert. Billy M. Greene (appeared in The Shrike, Never Steal Anything Small, and The Cape Canaveral Monsters and played Skrag on Captain Video and His Video Rangers) plays the Fort Bridger sutler. Gregg Palmer (see "Beginner's Luck" above) plays Union Army cavalry commander Lt. Ames.

Bronco (1961)

As Bronco moved through the second half of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4 in 1961, nothing really changed from the previous year--former Confederate soldier Bronco Layne continued to drift about the west, often called by an old friend to help deal with a difficult situation ("The Invaders," January 23, 1961 and "Guns of the Lawless," May 8, 1961), assigned by a territorial government to escort a detainee to prison ("The Buckbrier Trail," February 20, 1961), or summoned to help bring in a fugitive who happens to be an old army commander of his ("Manitoba Manhunt," April 3, 1961). Sometimes we find him already working as a buffalo hunter ("Yankee Tornado," March 13, 1961), as the sheriff of Silver City ("The Cousin From Atlanta," October 16, 1961), or as a deputy ("The Harrigan," December 25, 1961). And then occasionally he just wanders into trouble, as in "Stage to the Sky" (April 24, 1961) when he rides up just in time to stop a lynching but then becomes the target of various attempted assaults for defending the intended lynching victim. One thing remains constant, however--Bronco will never have the same job from week to week or settle down anywhere for any length of time, though he contemplates marriage and a ranching life in "One Came Back" (November 27, 1961) only to have his bride-to-be take a bullet to save him from her criminal former boyfriend, a fate as predictable as all the other plots in the typical Warner Brothers recycling factory.

As we mentioned in our post on the 1960 episodes, it seems as if Warner was aware of how mundane their plots were because they kept introducing historical figures into them in an attempt to spur interest, a tactic that became terribly predictable itself, particularly since they continued to recycle the same historical figures, sometimes with the same actors playing the roles, such as the case of Peter Breck playing a pre-presidential Teddy Roosevelt in "Yankee Tornado." Warner had already used Breck to play Roosevelt in the 1960 Sugarfoot episode "Man From Medora," and as if to cement the repetition Will Hutchins appears as Tom Brewster in "Yankee Tornado" as well. Also predictably they twist historical facts for the sake of the story, and in this case a cliched story at that. In this episode Roosevelt travels to the Badlands of Montana to hunt and to take up cattle ranching. He encounters Bronco, working as a buffalo hunter to supply meat to a crew building a railroad across the territory, when they both claim to have shot the same mountain goat. It's curious why Bronco would shoot a mountain goat when he is being paid to hunt buffalo, but the two men keep bumping into each other until Roosevelt helps uncover that the railroad mogul for whom Bronco is working is actually killing many more buffalo than he needs because his real ambition is to drive out the Native Americans and take over the entire territory for his own personal profit. Had they made his ultimate goal to take over the world it would not have been much more far-fetched. Roosevelt shows his conservationist principles by opposing the unnecessary slaughter of the buffalo and wins over Bronco's support at the expense of his job, and the two eventually expose the mogul's evil scheme and defeat him. In real life Roosevelt traveled to Montana in 1883 to hunt bison himself but found that they had already been almost wiped out by commercial hunters. He decided to instead get into cattle ranching because it was beginning to boom with herds being driven north from Texas to take advantage of the now nearly empty grasslands, only this, too, became oversaturated and Roosevelt eventually felt that the cattle business in Montana had become unsustainable because the overabundance of cattle overgrazed the grasslands. His investment in the cattle business was eventually wiped out by the harsh winter of 1886-87 wherein some 80% of the cattle population died from the cold. His time in Montana, spent during legislative breaks over the course of a few years, did inspire his later push for nature conservation measures, but he didn't foil the machinations of any prospective despots. Another painful anachronism in this episode is when Roosevelt tells Bronco while drinking in a saloon that he needs to remember his motto "Walk softly and carry a big stick." Roosevelt did not publicly acknowledge his fondness for the South African expression "Speak softly and carry a big stick" until 1900, some 17 years after the events depicted in "Yankee Tornado."

Another favorite historical figure, not only in Warner Brothers westerns but other western series as well, is actor Edwin Booth, older brother of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, who is the central character in "Prince of Darkness" (November 6, 1961) and is played by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., star of Warner's most popular series at the time 77 Sunset Strip. Warner's had already mined the Edwin Booth story in a 1959 episode of Colt .45 whose star character is assigned to protect Booth from a death threat. In 1960 the non-Warner Brothers series Death Valley Days featured Booth in the episode "His Brother's Keeper" in which Booth is touring the west giving performances and is threatened to be run out of Downeyville, California by a bully. The real-life Booth did tour California as part of his father's troupe in 1852, but any performances out west immediately following his brother's assassination of President Lincoln appear to be fabrications because Booth was so stricken by his brother's act in 1865 that he abandoned acting until a return to the stage in January 1866 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Manhattan. Booth appears to have spent most of his time over the next 8 years in New York not only performing but also running his own theatre beginning in 1869. After being forced into bankruptcy in 1874, Booth resumed touring the world to rebuild his fortune. In the Bronco episode "Prince of Darkness" Booth is recruited at the request of President Ulysses S. Grant to infiltrate and help bring to justice an insurrectionist Confederate gang plotting to overthrow the U.S. government from their headquarters in Virginia City, Nevada. Bronco is also recruited to serve as Booth's bodyguard and sympathizer when he expresses anti-government sentiments in an attempt to invite contact from the insurrectionists. His past as a soldier in the Confederate army supposedly will make him more believable as a Confederate ally. As it turns out, Booth was tangentially involved in a Confederate terrorist plot, but it took place in New York on November 25, 1864 before his brother killed Lincoln. While Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth, and their brother Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. were performing on stage together for the first time in a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to raise money for erecting a statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, a group of Confederates who had snuck into the North via Canada initially to disrupt the November 8 presidential election. When this failed, two and a half weeks later they set fires in 19 hotels, a theatre, and the P.T. Barnum Museum to cause panic and as revenge for Sherman's burning of the South. When the fire alarms went off in the theater during the performance due to one of the fires being set in the Lafarge House Hotel next door, Edwin Booth reassured the audience from the stage that a small fire had broken out at the hotel but was already contained, thereby preventing a panic stampede that could have been disastrous for the crowd of 2000. The performance resumed without incident, and it was only later that the crowd learned of the attack that had been squelched, though Edwin and John Wilkes got into an argument two days later at Edwin's house when John Wilkes defended the attacks. Edwin ordered John Wilkes to leave his house, but the younger brother had the last word less than 5 months later. The actual events in this story would have made a more compelling episode than the grandiose plot in "Prince of Darkness," but it would have required some sort of implausible angle to place Bronco in New York City before the Civil War.

But the most far-fetched episode featuring historical figures is "The Equalizer" (December 18, 1961) in which Bronco is recruited by U.S. Marshal John Heyes to ensure that a truce between outlaws Butch Cassidy and Bill Doolin is kept in order that Cassidy's niece can marry Doolin's younger brother Bob, played by a young Jack Nicholson. Other than the fact that they both led gangs dubbed "The Wild Bunch," there is no historical connection between these two men. In fact, Doolin formed his Wild Bunch with Emmet Dalton in 1892, while Cassidy formed his gang after release from prison in 1896, the same year Doolin would be shot to death on August 24. There is no record that the men ever met, much less joined their families by marriage. But then tall tales are the backbone of the myth of the Old West whose believability is about as convincing as the outdoor sets on the Warner Brothers backlot.

All four seasons have been released on DVD by Warner Archive.

The Actors

For the biography of Ty Hardin, see the 1960 post on Bronco.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 3, Episode 4, "Ordeal at Dead Tree": Frank Ferguson (shown on the near left, played Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays Tres Cruces, New Mexico Marshal Bob Harrod. Dorothy Neumann (Miss Mittleman on Hank) plays his wife Prudence. Merry Anders (shown on the far left, played Joyce Erwin on The Stu Erwin Show, Val Marlowe on It's Always Jan, Mike McCall on How to Marry a Millionaire, and Policewoman Dorothy Miller on Dragnet 1967) plays their helper Lucy Follett. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays outlaw Jake Welty. Stephen Joyce (Bubba Wadsworth on Texas and Admiral Walter Strichen on Wiseguy) plays his brother Phil. Norman Alden (Grundy on Not for Hire, Johnny Ringo on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Captain Horton on Rango, Tom Williams on My Three Sons, Coach Leroy Fedders on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Al Cassidy on Fay) plays his brother Shad. Alfred Shelly (Ed Carney on The D.A.'s Man) plays his brother Burt.

Season 3, Episode 5, "The Invaders": 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 Peaceful, Arizona Marshal Steve Durrock. Shirley Knight (starred in Ice Palace, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Sweet Bird of Youth, Dutchman, and As Good as It Gets and played Mrs. Newcomb on Buckskin, Estelle Winters on Maggie Winters, and Phyllis Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives) plays his daughter Molly. Gary Vinson (Chris Higbee on The Roaring '20's, George Christopher on McHale's Navy, and Sheriff Harold Skiles on Pistols 'n' Petticoats) plays Molly's boyfriend Clay Dawson. Gerald Mohr (narrator on 19 episodes of The Lone Ranger, Christopher Storm on Foreign Intrigue, and voice of Mr. Fantastic and Reed Richards on Fantastic 4) plays gold thief Mace Tilsey. Max Baer, Jr. (Jethro and Jethrine Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays one of Tilsey's gang members. Joan Marshall (Sailor Duval on Bold Venture) plays saloon owner Lucille Masters. Robert Colbert (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Maverick) plays her fiance Capt. Jamison. Jimmy Lydon (starred in Tom Brown's School Days, Little Men, Joan of Arc, and 9 Henry Aldrich features and played Biff Cardoza on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Andy Boone on So This Is Hollywood, and Richard on Love That Jill) plays telegraph operator Shorty Dolan.

Season 3, Episode 6, "The Buckbrier Trail": Paul Birch (Erle Stanley Gardner on The Court of Last Resort, Mike Malone on Cannonball, and Capt. Carpenter on The Fugitive) plays Marshal Pete Kilgore. Ray Danton (shown on the left, starred in Chief Crazy Horse, Onionhead, The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond, The George Raft Story, and Portrait of a Mobster and played Nifty Cronin on The Alaskans) plays undercover agent Fred Larkin. Denver Pyle (Ben Thompson on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Grandpa Tarleton on Tammy, Briscoe Darling on The Andy Griffith Show, Buck Webb on The Doris Day Show, Mad Jack on The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and Uncle Jesse on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays rancher Norton Gillespie. Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays imposter Lt. Blyden. Charles Seel (Otis the Bartender on Tombstone Territory, Mr. Krinkie on Dennis the Menace, and Tom Pride on The Road West) plays a hotel clerk. George Selk (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Gunsmoke) plays livery man Eddie.

Season 3, Episode 7, "Yankee Tornado": Peter Breck (shown on the right, played Clay Culhane on Black Saddle, Doc Holliday on Maverick, and Nick Barkley on The Big Valley) plays a pre-presidential Theodore Roosevelt. Tom London (starred in Six-Shootin' Sheriff, Song of the Buckaroo, and Riders in the Sky) plays his guide Rowdy O'Brien. Tristram Coffin (Lt. Doyle on The Files of Jeffrey Jones and Capt. Tom Rynning on 26 Men) plays land-grabber George Mayfield. 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 his second-in-command Henry Paddock. Lee Van Cleef (starred in High Noon, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) plays railroad foreman Shanghai Williams. Whitney Blake (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Hazel) plays saloon owner Julie. Will Hutchins (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Sugarfoot) plays Bronco's friend Tom Brewster. Henry Hunter (Doctor Summerfield on Hazel) plays the Montana governor.

Season 3, Episode 8, "Manitoba Manhunt": Richard Garland (Clay Horton on Lassie) plays fugitive bank robber Dana Powell. Jacqueline Beer (shown on the left, appeared in Pillow Talk, The Prize, and Made in Paris and played Suzanna Fabry on 77 Sunset Strip) plays his wife Celeste. Judson Pratt (Billy Kinkaid on Union Pacific) plays bank examiner Marlow. John Baer (Terry Lee on Terry and the Pirates) plays his partner Coil. Patrick Whyte (Colonel Standish on Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers and Theodore Dowell on Peyton Place) plays Mountie Insp. Fraser. 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 trapper Joe Spaulding.

Season 3, Episode 9, "Stage to the Sky": Kent Taylor (Carlos Murietta on Zorro and Capt. Jim Flagg on The Rough Riders) plays preacher Billy Rawlins. Joan Marshall (see "The Invaders" above) plays his wife Molly. Bing Russell (shown on the right, father of Kurt Russell, played Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza) plays his brother Johnny. Richard Reeves (see "Ordeal at Dead Tree" above) plays Johnny's sidekick Riley. Denver Pyle (see "The Buckbrier Trail" above) plays saloon owner Nelson. Gail Bonney (Goodwife Martin on Space Patrol and Madeline Schweitzer on December Bride) plays Raven citizen Mrs. Johnson.

Season 3, Episode 10, "Guns of the Lawless": Morris Ankrum (starred in Rocketship X-M, Invaders From Mars, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, and The Giant Claw and played the judge 22 times on Perry Mason) plays ranch owner Gilbert Groves. Denver Pyle (shown on the left, see "The Buckbrier Trail" above) plays his former partner Petrie Munger. Olive Sturgess (Carol Henning on The Bob Cummings Show) plays Munger's daughter Virginia. Corey Allen (went on to direct multiple episodes of Dr. Kildare, Police Woman, Dallas, Hunter, and Star Trek: The Next Generation) plays Munger's foreman Judd Gander. John A. Alonso (cinematographer on Vanishing Point, Harold and Maude, Lady Sings the Blues, Chinatown, Scarface, Steel Magnolias, and Star Trek: Generations) plays Gander's sidekick Tony Gomez. Tom Fadden (Duffield on Broken Arrow, Silas Perry on Cimarron City, and Ben Miller on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction) plays old ranch hand Pop Kelly. Harry Harvey (Sheriff Tom Blodgett on The Roy Rogers Show, Mayor George Dixon on Man Without a Gun, and Houghton Stott on It's a Man's World) plays physician Doc Clement. Kenneth MacDonald (played the judge 32 times on Perry Mason, played Col. Parker on Colt .45, and appeared in several Three Stooges shorts) plays lawman Sheriff Lem Pritt.

Season 4, Episode 1, "The Cousin From Atlanta": Anne Helm (Molly Pierce on Run for Your Life) plays Bronco's cousin Amanda Layne. Joseph Gallison (Dr. Neil Curtis on Days of Our Lives) plays young gunman Tony Dancer. Stephen Mines (David Martin on Days of Our Lives and Dr. Paul Stewart on As the World Turns) plays suitor George Ardmore. Billy M. Greene (Skrag on Captain Video and His Video Rangers) plays prospector Shad. John Beradino (shown on the right, former major league baseball player, played Special Agent Steve Daniels on I Led 3 Lives, Sgt. Vince Cavelli on The New Breed, and Dr. Steve Hardy on General Hospital) plays Dancer's partner Ross Kincaid. Emory Parnell (Hawkins on The Life of Riley and Hank the bartender on Lawman) plays Swedish farmer Olaf Jorgeson. Gary Vinson (see "The Invaders" above) plays his son Johansen. Richard Benedict (appeared in A Walk in the Sun, Crossfire, and Ace in the Hole and directed multiple episodes of Hawaiian Eye, Run for Your Life, Ironside, Medical Center, Police Story, and Hawaii Five-O) plays saloon owner Logan.

Season 4, Episode 2, "Prince of Darkness": Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (shown on the left, played Dandy Jim Buckley on Maverick, Stuart Bailey on 77 Sunset Strip, Insp. Lewis Erskine on The F.B.I., Daniel Chalmers on Remington Steele, Charles Cabot on Hotel, and Don Alejandro de la Vega on Zorro) plays actor Edwin Booth. Byron Keith (Lt. Gilmore on 77 Sunset Strip and Mayor Linseed on Batman) plays soldier Col. Bart Traver. John Howard (Dr. Wayne Hudson on Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal, Commander John "Pliny" Hawk on Adventures of the Sea Hawk, Dave Welch on My Three Sons, and Cliff Patterson on Days of Our Lives) plays insurrectionist Andrew Millard. Denver Pyle (see "The Buckbrier Trail" above) plays prominent citizen William Mason. Jason Evers (starred in The Brain That Wouldn't Die, House of Women, The Green Berets, and Escape From the Planet of the Apes and played Pitcairn on Wrangler, Prof. Joseph Howe on Channing, and Jim Sonnett on The Guns of Will Sonnett) plays guilt-ridden soldier Sgt. Henry Riley. Larry J. Blake (played the unnamed jailer on Yancy Derringer and Tom Parnell on Saints and Sinners) plays newspaper editorialist Tom Lafferty. Clark Howat (Dr. John Petrie on The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu and the police dispatcher on Harbor Command) plays Millard co-conspirator Sheriff Penrose.

Season 4, Episode 3, "One Came Back": Robert McQueeney (Conley Wright on The Gallant Men) plays bank robber Jeremy Clay. Karen Steele (starred in Marty, Westbound, and The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond) plays his girlfriend Vicky Norton. Kenneth MacDonald (see "Guns of the Lawless" above) plays Angel City Sheriff Elliott. 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 Pinkerton agent Sgt. Willoughby. Francis de Sales (shown on the right, played Lt. Bill Weigand on Mr. & Mrs. North, Ralph Dobson on The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Sheriff Maddox on Two Faces West, and Rusty Lincoln on Days of Our Lives) plays Smithfield Sheriff Massey. Paul Keast (Nathaniel Carter on Casey Jones) plays banker Mr. Anderson. Slim Pickens (starred in The Story of Will Rogers, Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, and The Howling and played Slim on Outlaws, Slim Walker on The Wide Country, California Joe Milner on Custer, and Sgt. Beauregard Wiley on B.J. & the Bear) plays a stagecoach driver.

Season 4, Episode 4, "The Equalizer": Steve Brodie (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays notorious outlaw Butch Cassidy. Sheldon Allman (Norm Miller on Harris Against the World) plays his sworn enemy Billy Doolin. Jack Nicholson (shownon the near left with actress Toby Michaels, starred in Five Easy Pieces, Easy Rider, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown, The Shining, and Terms of Endearment and played Jaime Angel on Dr. Kildare) plays Doolin's younger brother Bob. Frank Albertson (starred in Alice Adams, Man Made Monster, and It's a Wonderful Life and played Mr. Cooper on Bringing Up Buddy) plays Painted Rock Sheriff Steve Gage. Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays businessman Jim Morgan. Marie Windsor (starred in Outpost in Morocco, Dakota Lil, Cat-Women of the Moon, Swamp Women, and The Day Mars Invaded Earth) plays saloon owner Belle Logan. 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 troublemaker Toothy Thompson. James Seay (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays U.S. Marshal John Heyes. Donald "Red" Barry (played Red Ryder in the movie serial The Adventures of Red Ryder, and played Lt. Snedigar on Surfside 6, The Grand Vizier and Tarantula on Batman, Capt. Red Barnes on Police Woman, and Jud Larabee on Little House on the Prairie) plays Cassidy gunman Luke Mace. Johnny Seven (Lt. Carl Reese on Ironside) plays Doolin gunman Dave Ward.

Season 4, Episode 5, "The Harrigan": Sean McClory (Jack McGivern on The Californians and Myles Delaney on Bring 'Em Back Alive) plays Clanton Pass deputy Terrance Harrigan. Ken Lynch (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Checkmate) plays Clanton Pass Sheriff Wallace. Jack Cassidy (Tony Award-winning father of David and Shaun Cassidy and husband of Shirley Jones, played Oscar North on He & She) plays Black Hills Gang leader Edward Miller. Wright King (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Wanted Dead or Alive) plays his brother Allen. Kathie Browne (Angie Dow on Hondo and was Darren McGavin's second wife) plays their sister Heather. 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 Miller's informant Gambler. George O'Hanlon (shown on the right, played Joe McDoakes in dozens of shorts with titles that begin with So You Want or So You Think, played Calvin Dudley on The Life of Riley, Artie Burns on The Reporter, and was the voice of George Jetson on The Jetsons) plays piano player Albany Ames. Clyde Howdy (Hank Whitfield on Lassie) plays a Black Hills gang gunman.