87th Precinct (1962)

 

In our post on the 1961 episodes of 87th Precinct, we discussed how the series somewhat based on Ed McBain's novels seemed intent on showing not only that police detectives are humans like the rest of us, with families and concerns outside the office, but are actually a cut above the ordinary people they come in contact with every day. That theme continued through the remainder of the program's only season, as we continue to see their office visited by civilian cranks such as Mrs. Collier, who claims to have committed multiple crimes in which she had no part in "Out of Order" (January 22, 1962). But in one sense, the program bit off more than it could chew--focusing on not one but four different detectives, each with supposedly a different personality and background, while also following the police procedural format that has to identify and apprehend this week's villain or gang within 60 minutes. In most cases, the procedural format overshadows any character revelation or development amongst the four principals, and the producers made things even more difficult for themselves by frequently introducing new characters that become the center of attention, thereby drawing focus even farther away from the principals. 

The most obvious diversion is Det. Carella's deaf/mute wife Teddy, who was introduced the program's pilot as a way to show the softer side of her husband, as we discussed in our previous post. Unfortunately for the show's producers, viewers found her far more interesting than any of the show's stars and demanded to see more of her, perhaps in every episode, as documented in the February 17, 1962 TV Guide article "She Was Too Much of a Good Thing." After appearing in 3 episodes in 1961, she would show up only once more in the 1962 episode "Step Forward" (March 26, 1962) in a story more focused on her husband's flirtation with leaving the police force for a bank job. After all four detectives spend many episodes complaining about how little they are paid, Carella is finally fed up at not being able to pay his bills, so he takes up an offer from a few years earlier by a bank president who wants him to be his head of security. However, he is soon bored with coddling wealthy customers and literally itches (he develops hives) to get back to solving crimes. Again, the lesson from this episode's sermon is that these four detectives are selfless public servants who will turn down better offers to help themselves--and their families.

Hulking Det. Roger Havilland offers a similar explanation in the last episode to air, "Girl in the Case" (April 30, 1962), when he is asked by a threatened stenographer he has been assigned to protect why he spurned a career in professional football, which he was offered after college, to become a cop--saying he just wanted to do something useful. What he doesn't explain in this episode is why he allows himself to become romantically involved with the stenographer when he is on duty, though as one might expect, she rebuffs his advances and chooses to marry a rich man not for love but for luxury. Like Carella turning down a cushy bank job, Havilland rejects a career that could have earned him enough money to catch a woman like the stenographer, though it is clear we are led to believe he is actually better off not pairing up with someone so shallow.

Det. Meyer is the noble martyr in "Feel of the Trigger" (February 26, 1962) when he tries to ignore a series of blackouts in order to keep doing his job, only his behavior makes as much sense as going to work when you're sick because he can put his partner at risk if one of the blackouts occurs at a critical moment when they are facing a dangerous criminal. Fortunately for the other detectives, Meyer's wife Sarah forces him to go to the doctor who prescribes him some pills to regulate his blood pressure before all his test results come back, and he is able to apprehend a murderous punk with a karate chop after Carella takes a bullet in the leg. Back at the office Meyer hears from Sarah that the doctor said there is nothing wrong with him--he only needs regular sleep and meals, and he tells his colleagues after getting off the phone that women are such worriers. Despite the fact that we are supposed to believe that his physical troubles were no big deal, Meyer has shown poor judgment in trying to power through what could have been a serious health crisis if it happened at the wrong time. His attempt to comically brush off his wife's legitimate concern shows us that he hasn't really learned his lesson.

And yet detective-on-loan Cotton Hawes (yet another new character who distracts from the principals) does learn his lesson in not trying to be a hero in "New Man in the Precinct" (April 16, 1962). Hawes is temporarily reassigned from his cushy, wealthy precinct to the 87th and isn't used to dealing with the rough-and-tumble ways of the poorer side of town. He notes that domestic disputes are very civil where he comes from, and his lack of hard knocks almost gets Carella killed when he announces that they are police after Carella pounds on the door of a dangerous suspect. We are thereafter treated to a tableau of all the other detectives telling their families and associates what a stupid, ignorant move Hawes made in announcing himself, but in reality his mistake is no stupider than Meyer's in "Feel of the Trigger"--Meyer is just luckier. After trying to right his wrong on his own, Hawes finally realizes that trying to be a hero is stupid and calls in the other detectives when he learns where the perpetrator has gone to try to escape. His is a character that viewers could have related to since he has not yet achieved perfection, but at the end of the episode he returns to his safer precinct.

In "The Last Stop" (April 23, 1962) we are treated to two more characters with backstories--Lt. Jim Burns, the boss of the four detectives, and his former mentor Det. Mike Power, who has been banished from the prestigious Central Station after an informant in his custody is gunned down in a taxi stalled in downtown traffic. Burns takes pity on Power when the latter is cut adrift only 6 months short of retirement and agrees to give him a home in the 87th to serve out his tenure since he feels a debt to Power. But he soon comes to regret it as Power is a grandstanding know-it-all who sees no problem in bending the rules if it is to his benefit. No one in the precinct can stand him, but they still have to endure him. After Power takes credit to his newspaper reporter friend Ed Bennett for solving a tax fraud scheme that Carella actually unraveled, the hit man who killed his informant comes looking for him to prove to his wife that Power would never recognize him. Power does not show any signs of knowing who he is dealing with when they meet in a bar, and almost gets killed when he tries to return the hit man's lighter he left in the bar, though he later tells the detectives in the 87th Precinct that he knew the hit man all along. Power is held up as the antithesis of the 87th boys--showy, overconfident, and unwilling to admit his shortcomings, while Burns reveals that he can let emotion cloud his judgment in allowing a sloppy detective to work for him out of a sense of debt.

Another policeman who lets emotion overrule his better judgment is patrolman Bill Miller in "A Bullet for Katie" (February 12, 1962). After his wife his shot through the window of their apartment and nearly killed, Miller fixates on ex-con Lou Gantry as the shooter because Gantry had threatened revenge against Miller when he was sent to prison years ago. However, Gantry is truly reformed, but a work colleague named Cole sees his checkered past as an opportunity for blackmail, pressuring Gantry to cover for Cole's embezzlement in exchange for his silence about his past. When Gantry refuses to go along, Cole falsely tells the police that Gantry's alibi on the night of the shooting was a lie, and when an indiscreet dispatcher hears that Havilland and Kling have left to pick up Gantry, he passes the information to Miller, who is afraid that Gantry will somehow escape justice unless he administers it himself. Fortunately, Miller hesitates long enough in shooting Gantry to allow Havilland and Kling to arrive and stop him before telling him that his wife was shot accidentally by a kid who was playing with a friend's father's war trophy. The purpose of episodes such as this one and "The Last Stop" is to venerate the 87th Precinct detectives by contrasting them with other policemen who are not as principled.

But to the series'  credit we also see a policeman who is just as principled as they are in "Square Cop" (March 12, 1962). Like Mike Power in "The Last Stop," veteran officer Otto Forman is near retirement, but when his rookie replacement is shot and killed by a robber who escapes despite Forman having a clear shot at him, and the robber is later identified as Forman's estranged son, we are led to question his motives. His legitimate explanation that he was blinded by the robber's headlights and that there were too many innocent bystanders in the line of fire comes off sounding weak, so the 87th boys stake out his apartment, figuring his son, who took a bullet from the now-dead rookie cop, might show up there seeking help and a means to escape. Their hunch proves correct, but to their surprise Forman refuses to help his son and even challenges him to go ahead and shoot his father. After a tense standoff, Forman helps capture his son, and the 87th men recommend him for a special commendation. As in real life, there are good cops and bad cops, and the 87th Precinct just happens to be blessed with four exceptional cops.

However, despite its relatively realistic take on the lives of policemen and detectives, 87th Precinct didn't really catch on with viewers over the course of the season. Hard-to-please TV Guide reviewer Gilbert Seldes called the series "well-made" in his February 17 issue review but also remarked that while he enjoyed the episode he watched ("Give the Boys a Great Big Hand"), he did not feel compelled to watch it every week. And while the April 28th TV Guide cover story discussed how much fan mail teen heart-throb Ron Harper was receiving while playing Det. Bert Kling, it also mentions that Gregory Walcott, i.e., Det. Roger Havilland, had 87th Precinct business cards made up for himself and his three co-stars as a novelty, but when he presented one to a young lady at a party, she thought it was real, meaning she didn't even know of the show's existence. As documented on the tvobscurities.com web site, 87th Precinct began with poor reviews but improved over time and even started garnering positive press in 1962. As late as March, it was being reported that NBC had said the series would "continue for some time." However, by this time the series may have already lost viewers due to the poorer-quality early episodes, a case in point being "Main Event" (January 1, 1962), which is marred by a worn-out plot and overwrought acting and direction, as compared to the much crisper episode "Man in a Jam" (January 8, 1962) only a week later that presents a novel story about a man trying to be arrested for a murder he committed because he knows the police do not yet have enough evidence to convict him, and after he is acquitted he could not be retried due to double jeopardy laws. Tvobscurities.com notes that early ratings in November and December, 1961 had it tied with The Andy Griffith Show and The Danny Thomas Show, both of which finished in the top 10 at the end of the season, while 87th Precinct failed to crack the top 30 at season's end. Perhaps the improvement in quality came too late to reclaim viewers who had already left the series behind. After its final original episode aired on April 30th followed by a summer of reruns, the series disappeared for good until its 2012 DVD revival.

The Actors

For the biographies of Robert Lansing, Ron Harper, Norman Fell, Gregory Walcott, Gena Rowlands, Ruth Storey, and Dal McKennon, see the 1961 post on 87th Precinct.

Paul Genge

Paul Morgan Genge was born in Brooklyn, NY on March 29, 1913. Little has been published about his life off screen and off stage. He was appearing on Broadway as early as 1935, as he is listed as a member of the male chorus in a production of Panic, which ran for only two days. The following year, he appeared as the captain Francisco in a production of Hamlet that starred Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard. The Internet Broadway Database lists him in three more productions--Journey to Jerusalem in 1940, Romeo and Juliet in 1951, and Bernardine in 1952-53. In between these, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 2, 1941, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant during World War II. In 1944 he married Rowena Kirkpatrick, but they divorced two years later. He remarried to Jeanne Elsa Lasher on March 31, 1948, and they remained married until her death in 1976. Genge made his television debut in a 1953 episode of Man Against Crime titled "High Ambush," which aired April 22, 1953. He appeared in a second episode of the series in June of that year but then did not land another TV role for 5 years, finally breaking the streak with an episode of The Walter Winchell File and appeared in 3 more programs and 2 episodes of Perry Mason that year as well as his first feature film role, an uncredited part as a police inspector in I Want to Live! starring Susan Hayward. From then on the work would be steady, both on TV and feature films-- uncredited parts in North by Northwest, The Beat Generation, and The F.B.I. Story in 1959; 3 appearances on Mr. Lucky along with single appearances on Peter Gunn, Tales of Wells Fargo, One Step Beyond, Route 66, and Bonanza in addition to his first credited feature role in The Crowded Sky in 1960, and appearances on The Untouchables, The Twilight Zone, and Shotgun Slade in 1961, the same year he made his first of 5 appearances as Lt. Jim Burns on 87th Precinct.

After his brief, only recurring TV role, Genge's opportunities dwindled somewhat, though he did return to The Untouchables and Perry Mason and other series such as Hawaiian Eye, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. His feature film work also receded somewhat as he was returned to uncredited parts in such noteworthy films as The Americanization of Emily and The Sandpiper in the mid-1960s. He had a credited part as an unnamed policeman in 1967's Hot Rods to Hell and scored perhaps his most-remembered, though small role as shotgun-toting hitman Mike in the 1968 Steve McQueen drama Bullitt. The 1970s saw his roles diminish even further, appearing only in single episodes of The Bold Ones: The Senator and The Streets of San Francisco, with only one feature film, one TV movie, and his final uncredited appearance in the 1975 TV mini-series Lincoln. He died 13 years later at the age of 75 in Los Angeles on May 13, 1988.

 

 

Notable Guest Stars

Season 1, Episode 15, "Main Event": Myron McCormick (starred in No Time for Sergeants and The Hustler) plays boxing manager Scotty Thompson. Arch Johnson (shown on the left, starred in Somebody Up There Likes Me, G.I. Blues, and The Cheyenne Social Club and played Gus Honochek on The Asphalt Jungle and Cmdr. Wivenhoe on Camp Runamuck) plays former boxer Bert "Bobo" Felix. Robert Carricart (Pepe Cordoza on T.H.E. Cat) plays mobster Frankie Spain . Henry Corden (Carlo on The Count of Monte Cristo, and Babbitt on The Monkees and did voicework on The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, The Atom Ant Show, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and Return to the Planet of the Apes) plays his henchman Cyril. Paul Newlan (Police Capt. Grey on M Squad and Lt. Gen. Pritchard on 12 O'Clock High) plays boxing camp owner Dennis Calhoun. Maggie Pierce (Barbara Crabtree on My Mother the Car) plays boxer's girlfriend Martha Costello. Norman Leavitt (Ralph on Trackdown) plays a gas station attendant. Dennis McCarthy (Dr. Sam Hodges on Cimarron City) plays the police lab technician.

Season 1, Episode 16, "Man in a Jam": Lin McCarthy (shown on the right, starred in Yellowneck, The D.I., and Face of a Fugitive and played Bill Talbot on Modern Romances) plays groom-to-be Cleve Tompson. Robert Sampson (Sgt. Walsh on Steve Canyon, Father Mike Fitzgerald on Bridget Love Bernie, and Sheriff Turk Tobias on Falcon Crest) plays his friend Jerry Young. Sheila Bromley (Janet Tobin on I Married Joan and Ethel Weiss on Hank) plays landlord Mrs. Holt. Ed Peck (Officer Clark on The Super, Coach Cooper on Semi-Tough, Police Capt. Dennis McDermott on Benson, and Police Officer Kirk on Happy Days) plays modeling agency owner Mike Waring. Michael Fox (Sig Levy on The Clear Horizon, Coroner George McLeod on Burke's Law, Amos Fedders on Falcon Crest, Saul Feinberg on The Bold and the Beautiful, and appeared 25 times as autopsy surgeons and various other medical witnesses on Perry Mason) plays police forensic investigator Grossman. Jerry Dexter (voiced Chuck on Shazzan, Gary Gulliver on The Adventures of Gulliver, Alan M. on Josie and the Pussycats and Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, Elmo on The Funky Phantom, Hal Bryant on Sealab 2020, Ted on Goober and the Ghost Chasers, and Drak Jr. on Drak Pack) plays bachelor party guest Pat.

Season 1, Episode 17, "Give the Boys a Great Big Hand": 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 missing sailor Karl Andrade. Theodore Marcuse (starred in Hitler, The Cincinnati Kid, and Harum Scarum and played Von Bloheim on Batman) plays ship Capt. Kromer. Barry Atwater (shown on the left, played Dr. John Prentice on General Hospital) plays choreographer Warren Tudor. Asa Maynor (Dixie on Straightaway) plays his receptionist. Roxanne Arlen (former wife of Red Buttons, appeared in Hot Rod Girl, Bachelor Flat, and Gypsy) plays dancer Taffy. George N. Neise (Capitan Felipe Arrellanos on Zorro, Dr. Nat Wyndham on Wichita Town, and Colonel Thornton on McKeever & the Colonel) plays airline executive Piat. Lorna Thayer (starred in The Beast With a Million Eyes and played the waitress in Five Easy Pieces) plays missing boy's mother Mrs. Livingston. Norman Grabowski (appeared in Girls Town, College Confidential, Sex Kittens Go to College, Roustabout, The Monkey's Uncle, and The Towering Inferno and played Padowski on Hank) plays rookie policeman Linowski. Herb Vigran (Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke) plays Missing Persons Dept. Lt. Bartholdi. Dennis McCarthy (see "Main Event" above) returns as the police lab technician.

Season 1, Episode 18, "Out of Order": Dawn Wells (shown on the right, played Mary Ann Summers on Gilligan's Island) plays chorus girl Kathy Blakely. Mary Gregory (appeared in Sleeper and Coming Home and played Dr. Stanwhich on Knots Landing and Judge Pendleton on L.A. Law) plays landlord Mrs. Gadby. Cheerio Meredith (Emma Brand on The Andy Griffith Show and Lovey Hackett on One Happy Family) plays eccentric crank Mrs. Collier. Jack Smith (singer who hosted his own radio show, appeared in King Kong (1933), On Moonlight Bay, and The Barefoot Executive, and hosted You Asked For It and American West) plays diner owner Telford. C. Lindsay Workman (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Donna Reed Show) plays diner cook Evans. Jack Reitzen (Chopstick Joe on Terry and the Pirates and Flores on Not for Hire) plays a bookie. Jack Regas (director of multiple episodes of The Lost Saucer, Dr. Shrinker, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, Magic Mongo, and Out of This World) plays a chorus line director. Dennis McCarthy (see "Main Event" above) returns as police lab technician Joe.

Season 1, Episode 19, "The Pigeon": Peter Falk (shown on the left, starred in Robin and the 7 Hoods, Murder by Death, and The Cheap Detective and played Daniel O'Brien on The Trials of O'Brien and Columbo on Columbo) plays son of famous mobster Greg Brovane. Frank Sutton (appeared in Marty, Town Without Pity, and The Satan Bug and played Eric Raddison on Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and Sgt. Vince Carter on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.) plays robbery gang leader Tully Borgman. Morgan Woodward (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays accomplice Matty Tremaine. Arthur Batanides (Sgt. Olivera on Johnny Midnight) plays accomplice Clay Boudreau. Marjorie Bennett (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays robbery witness Mrs. Turner. Harry Swoger (Harry Sprague on The Big Valley) plays a garage mechanic. Nora Marlowe (Martha Commager on Law of the Plainsman, Sara Andrews on The Governor and J.J., and Mrs. Flossie Brimmer on The Waltons) plays landlord Rosalie Pender. Richard Deacon (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Dick Van Dyke Show) plays D.A. representative Martin. Harlan Warde (John Hamilton on The Rifleman and Sheriff John Brannan on The Virginian) plays prison psychiatrist Dr. Daniels. Clark Howat (Dr. John Petrie on The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu and the police dispatcher on Harbor Command) plays a lie-detector-test examiner. E.J. Andre (Eugene Bullock on Dallas) plays a man who gives candy to children.

Season 1, Episode 20, "A Bullet for Katie": Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place, Ward Fuller on The Silent Force, and Sen. Mark Denning on Capitol) plays policeman Bill Miller. Della Sharman (Nurse Johnson on Dr. Kildare) plays his wife Katie. Harold J. Stone (John Kennedy on The Grand Jury, Hamilton Greeley on My World and Welcome to It, and Sam Steinberg on Bridget Loves Bernie) plays ex-con Lou Gantry. Patty Ann Gerrity (Alice Holliday on This Is Alice) plays his daughter Wendy. Roger Mobley (Homer "Packy" Lambert on Fury) plays neighbor of the Millers, Lane Connors. Robert Brubaker (Deputy Ed Blake on U.S. Marshal and Floyd on Gunsmoke) plays his father Fred. Catherine McLeod (Claire Larkin on Days of Our Lives) plays Lane's mother. John Fiedler (shown on the right, appeared in 12 Angry Men, That Touch of Mink, The World of Henry Orient, Kiss Me, Stupid, Girl Happy, The Odd Couple, True Grit and played Emil Peterson on The Bob Newhart Show and Woody on Buffalo Bill) plays Gantry's work colleague Cole. William Keene (played various reverends on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D.) plays their boss Mr. Oxman. Harry Holcombe (appeared in The Fortune Cookie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Foxy Brown, Escape to Witch Mountain, and Empire of the Ants and played Frank Gardner on Search for Tomorrow, Doc Benson on My Mother the Car, Mr. Kendricks on Barefoot in the Park, and Dr. J.P. Martin on Bonanza) plays a doctor.

Season 1, Episode 21, "King's Ransom": Charles McGraw (appeared in The Killers, Blood on the Moon, The Narrow Margin, and Spartacus and played Mike Waring on The Adventures of Falcon) plays shoe company executive Douglas King. Nancy Reagan (shown on the left, second wife of Ronald Reagan, starred in The Next Voice You Hear..., Donovan's Brain, and Hellcats of the Navy) plays his wife Diane. John McLiam (appeared in Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, Sleeper, The Missouri Breaks, and First Blood) plays their chauffeur Charles Reynolds. John Astin (appeared in That Touch of Mink, The Wheeler Dealers, Move Over, Darling, Viva Max, and Freaky Friday and played Harry Dickens on I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, Rudy Pruitt on The Phyllis Diller Show, Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Sherman on Operation Petticoat, Ed LaSalle on Mary, Buddy Ryan on Night Court, Radford on Eerie, Indiana, and Prof. Albert Wickwire on The Adventures of Briscoe County, Jr.) plays phone installer Cassidy. Charles Aidman (narrator on the 1985-87 version of The Twilight Zone) plays kidnapper Eddie Folsom. Virginia Vincent (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Joey Bishop Show) plays his wife Kathy. Dan Tobin (Terrance Clay on Perry Mason) plays con man Adrian Score.

Season 1, Episode 22, "Feel of the Trigger": Jerry Hausner (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Mr. Magoo Show) plays grocer Nathan Kossoff. Renata Vanni (appeared in Pay or Die!, A Patch of Blue, and Fatso and played Rose Brentano on That Girl) plays his wife Maria. Neil Burstyn (third husband of Ellen Burstyn, story editor on The Monkees) plays robber Danny Brodek. Ted de Corsia (Police Chief Hagedorn on Steve Canyon) plays his father John. Ellen Corby (shown on the right played Henrietta Porter on Trackdown and Esther Walton on The Waltons) plays Danny's mother. Bernie Hamilton (Capt. Harold Dobey on Starsky and Hutch) plays police Officer Kendal. Maudie Prickett (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Hazel) plays Meyer's Nurse Crowley. Dick Wessel (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Riverboat) plays suspect's father Howard Pitt. Jean Inness (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dr. Kildare) plays shoplifter Agnes Burton.

Season 1, Episode 23, "Killer's Choice": Gloria Talbott (starred in The Cyclops, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll,  and I Married a Monster From Outer Space and played Moneta on Zorro) plays liquor store maanger Amy Boone. R.G. Armstrong (Police Capt. McAllister on T.H.E. Cat and Lewis Vendredi on Friday the 13th) plays her boss Franklin Phelps. Rosemary DeCamp (shown on the left, starred in Yankee Doodle Dandy, Rhapsody in Blue, and The Life of Riley and played Peg Riley on The Life of Riley, Margaret MacDonald on The Bob Cummings Show, Aunt Helen on Petticoat Junction, Helen Marie on That Girl, and Grandma Amanda Renfrew on The Partridge Family) plays his wife Marna. John Lasell (Dr. Peter Guthrie on Dark Shadows) plays Amy's ex-husband Ted Boone. Katherine Warren (appeared in The Lady Pays Off, The Glenn Miller Story, and The Caine Mutiny) plays Amy's mother Mrs. Travail. Nancy Kulp (Pamela Livingstone on The Bob Cummings Show, Jane Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies, Mrs. Gruber on The Brian Keith Show, and Mrs. Hopkins on Sanford and Son) plays liquor store customer Miss Fitzhenry. Clancy Cooper (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Lawman) plays police Det. Monroe. Sidney Clute (Sgt. Same Gerke on Steve Canyon, Det. Simms on McCloud, the National Editor on Lou Grant, and Det. Paul La Guardia on Cagney & Lacey) plays bartender Blackie. Jonathan Hole (Orville Monroe on The Andy Griffith Show) plays hotel manager Mr. Morgan. Carla Balenda (Patricia Hardy on The Mickey Rooney Show, Betty Leonard on The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu, and Miss Hazllit on Lassie) plays phony flight attendant Miss Tilson. Berniece Janssen (David Janssen's mother) plays a Phelps party guest.

Season 1, Episode 24, "Square Cop": Lee Tracy (shown on the right, starred in Doctor X, Blessed Event, Dinner at Eight, Bombshell, and The Lemon Drop Kid and played John J. Malone on The Amazing Mr. Malone, Martin Kane on Martin Kane, and Lee Cochran on New York Confidential) plays 30-year police veteran Officer Otto Forman. 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 his estranged son Johnny. James Hong (Barry Chan on The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, Frank Chen on Jigsaw John, and Doctor Chen Ling on Dynasty) plays restaurant owner "Mike" #2. Paul Smith (George Howell on The Gertrude Berg Show, Capt. Martin on No Time for Sergeants, Harley Trent on Mr. Terrific, and Ron Harvey on The Doris Day Show) plays aspiring reporter Fred Jamison.

Season 1, Episode 25, "Step Forward": Philip Bourneuf (shown on the near left, appeared in Joan of Arc, Chamber of Horrors, and Pete 'n' Tillie and played Dr. Wickens on Dr. Kildare) plays bank president John Frost. Ray Teal (shown on the far left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Bonanza) plays Texas millionaire Sam Thorpe. Isobel Elsom (appeared in Of Human Bondage, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Lust for Life, and My Fair Lady) plays wealthy bank customer Andrea Edgerton. Alvy Moore (appeared in Susan Slept Here, Designing Woman, and The Wackiest Ship in the Army and played Howie on Pete and Gladys and Hank Kimball on Green Acres) plays suit salesman Adam Sloan. Byron Foulger (Mr. Nash on Captain Nice and Wendell Gibbs on Petticoat Junction) plays bank guard Frank. Charles Seel (Otis the Bartender on Tombstone Territory, Mr. Krinkie on Dennis the Menace, and Tom Pride on The Road West) plays bank guard Lloyd. Hank Brandt (Leonard Waggedorn on Julia, Morgan Hess on Dynasty, and Dr. Aaron Kranzler on Santa Barbara) plays police patrolman Vic. Alice Backes (Vickie on Bachelor Father) plays Carella neighbor Jane. Leonard A. Mazzola (set decorator on The Sixth Sense, Fame, and Beauty and the Beast) plays robber Barrows.

Season 1, Episode 26, "Idol in the Dust": Michael Dante (Crazy Horse on Custer) plays professional baseball player Larry Brooks. Jeanette Nolan (shown on the right, 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 his mother. Al Ruscio (Paul Locatelli on Shannon, Sal Giordano on Life Goes On, Frank Ruscio on Joe's Life, and Kosta Kanelos on Port Charles) plays his brother Joe. Paddi Edwards (Doris on The Trouble With Harry and voiced Gorda on Phantom 2040, Atropos on Hercules, and Vera Groober-Schwartz on Pepper Ann) plays Joe's wife Betty. Joseph Mell (Bill Pence on Gunsmoke) plays grocer Sol. David Kent (Bill Scott on Leave It to Beaver) plays his son Richard. Robert Biheller (Corky on Here Come the Brides) plays punk Ben Kramer. Frank Bank (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Leave It to Beaver) plays Kramer's friend. Howard Caine (Schaab on The Californians and Maj. Wolfgang Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes) plays poker game organizer Georgie Meinig.

Season 1, Episode 27, "Ramon": Danny Bravo (voice of Hadji on Jonny Quest) plays young troublemaker Ramon Morales. Willis Bouchey (shown on the left, played Mayor Terwilliger on The Great Gildersleeve, Springer on Pete and Gladys, and the judge 23 times on Perry Mason) plays State Department agent Harry Spencer. Rico Alaniz (Mr. Cousin on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays conspirator Rafael Bencosme.

Season 1, Episode 28, "New Man in the Precinct": Fred Beir (Larry Atwood on Days of Our Lives) plays detective on loan Cotton Hawes. Joan Patrick (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dr. Kildare) plays his wife Chris. Robert Colbert (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Maverick) plays former boxer Matt Murdock. Elizabeth Perry (shown on the right, played Katy Elliott on Morning Star) plays doctor's daughter Linda Walters. Ray Montgomery (Prof. Howard Ogden on Ramar of the Jungle) plays veteran 87th detective Frank Kanin. Jack Albertson (starred in Days of Wine and Roses, Kissin' Cousins, The Flim-Flam Man, and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and played Lt. Harry Evans on The Thin Man, Walter Burton on Room for One More, Lt. Cmdr. Virgil Stoner on Ensign O'Toole, Paul Fenton on Mister Ed, and Ed Brown on Chico and the Man) plays boxing manager Maxie Carroll. Margie Regan (Lucy Carr on Michael Shayne) plays Kling's fiance Claire Townsend. John Aniston (Martin Tourneur on Search for Tomorrow and Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives) plays a police officer.

Season 1, Episode 29, "The Last Stop": Victor Jory (shown on the left, starred in Madame Du Barry, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Gone With the Wind, and The Miracle Worker and played Lt. Howard Finucane on Manhunt) plays veteran reassigned detective Mike Power. Lyle Talbot (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays informant Woody Gaynor. Ralph Manza (Al Bonacorsi on The D.A.'s Man, Mike Costello on General Hospital, Jay Drury on Banacek, Ambulance Aide Stanke on A.E.S. Hudson, Padre Guardiano on Mama Malone, Bud on Newhart, and Father Lewis on Days of Our Lives) plays a taxi driver. Sheldon Allman (Norm Miller on Harris Against the World) plays Central Station Det. White. George Cisar (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dennis the Menace) plays grocer Mr. Starr. Frank Gerstle (Dick Gird on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays newspaper reporter Ed Bennett. 

Season 1, Episode 30, "Girl in the Case": Janis Paige (shown on the right, appeared in Of Human Bondage, Cheyenne, Romance on the High Seas, Silk Stockings, and Please Don't Eat the Daisies and played Jan Stewart on It's Always Jan, Kate Lanigan on Lanigan's Rabbi, Auntie V on Eight Is Enough, Nettie McCoy on Gun Shy, Blanche Riddle on Baby Makes Five, Catherine Hackett on Trapper John, M.D., Aunt Iona Huntington on General Hospital, and Minx Lockridge on Santa Barbara) plays freelance stenographer Cheryl Anderson. Russell Collins (appeared in Niagara, Bad Day at Black Rock, and Fail-Safe and played Owen Sharp on Many Happy Returns) plays dying millionaire Raymond L. Masters. Jerry Paris (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Dick Van Dyke Show) plays his son Douglas. Joan Staley (Playboy Playmate who appeared in Cape Fear, Roustabout, Valley of the Dragons, Johnny Cool, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and played Tiger on The Lively Ones, Hannah on 77 Sunset Strip, and Roberta Love on Broadside) plays Douglas' girlfriend Monica. Douglas Dick (Carl Herrick on Waterfront) plays elder Masters' nephew Anson Masters. Bill Erwin (Joe Walters on My Three Sons and Glenn Diamond on Struck by Lightning) plays elder Masters' valet George. S. John Launer (Marshall Houts on The Court of Last Resort and the judge 33 times on Perry Mason) plays shady lawyer Warner. Kathleen Freeman (played Katie on Topper, Marilly on Mayor of the Town, Bertha Krause on The Bob Cummings Show, Flo Shafer on The Beverly Hillbillies, Kate Harwell on Funny Face, and Iris Belmont on Lotsa Luc) plays policewoman Miss Wilson. Craig Duncan (Sgt. Stanfield/Banfield on Mackenzie's Raiders) plays a taxi driver. Addison Richards (starred in Boys Town, They Made Her a Spy, Flying Tigers, and The Deerslayer and played Doc Calhoun on Trackdown and Doc Landy on The Deputy) plays elder Masters' brother-in-law Windrow. Norman Grabowski (See "Give the Boys a Great Big Hand" above) plays a policeman. Thomas Browne Henry (Dr. Reno on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Mr. Channing on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, J. Homer Radcliffe on Tombstone Territory, and Prof. Hubacher on The Gertrude Berg Show) plays Douglas Masters' lawyer.

The Deputy (1961)

Viewers of contemporary dramatic TV series have in a sense become spoiled by the current trend in devising multi-season story arcs narrating a continuous thread over dozens of episodes delineating not only the connected events that comprise a certain character's story but also the development and past history of that character. Critically acclaimed series like Breaking Bad grab and hold our attention specifically by posing and answering the question of why and how an upright, by-the-book high school science teacher could evolve into an amoral drug lord. But that level of character development and sequential narration was unthinkable five and a half decades ago. TV characters may have had multiple personality traits, which could be tested, challenged, and even temporarily changed within the confines of a single episode, but over the course of the series those traits were immutable, and events from one week's episode almost never carried over to any subsequent episodes. When an actor left a series that continued after his or her departure, often their sudden absence was never explained. All of which is prelude to the proposition that The Deputy was one of the best TV westerns of its era precisely because it was ahead of its time.

As recounted in our post covering the 1960 episodes of The Deputy, the series was remarkable because it boasted the most famous movie star then performing a regular television role in Henry Fonda. But Fonda was not the titular character in the series and had agreed to do the series only if he could make minimal appearances in the majority of episodes and get all of his camera work done in a 2-month span so that he could spend the rest of the year on movies and theatrical productions. Nevertheless, Fonda's role as Chief Marshal Simon Fry was crucial in the series' tone and evolution. As we narrated in the previous post, the title role of Clay McCord played by Allen Case begins as a store keeper who gets roped into backing up long-time Silver City Marshal Herk Lamson, who is nearing retirement. McCord is quick with a gun but wary of using it, particularly since his father was killed in a gun battle, so Fry must play upon his conscience to get him to step into a lawman's role that he really doesn't want. After this dynamic had been ridden about as far as it could go, the producers have McCord's store set on fire and burnt to the ground to provide a plausible motivation for him to accept a more permanent deputy position to earn enough money to reopen his store. Fry then adds the enticement of luring McCord into pursuing various outlaws to collect the reward money, only to find a flimsy excuse once the criminal has been captured of awarding the money to someone else and thereby lengthening the time McCord must serve as deputy.

But this scenario of tricking McCord week after week did not descend into the familiar Peanuts comic strip ruse with Lucy offering to hold the football so that Charlie Brown can kick it. Fry extends McCord's servitude so that he can mentor him in the not always obvious or even ethical ways a lawman must sometimes use to serve the cause of justice. And it is this mentorship that we see play out in the 1961 episodes until Fry feels that McCord is his equal. McCord's financial motivation only crops up once more in "The Challenger" (February 25, 1961) when he gets a letter from his sister, now living near St. Louis after being jettisoned from the series when the family store burned down, who needs an extra $20 a week to save the family farm. When McCord tells Fry he is thinking of quitting his deputy post to work a more lucrative cattle ranching job, Fry says he knows he won't be able to wrangle that big a raise out of the governor but is willing to try. Meanwhile, McCord's sidekick Sgt. Hapgood Tasker gets the brilliant idea to win $500 for his friend by entering a boxing challenge against a travelling carnival strongman. The Boxing Match is a much-used, hackneyed plot in early 1960s westerns, an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of televised boxing within the confines of the dramatic western, but what makes this version different is the way the story is enveloped in McCord's past history, tied to events portrayed the previous season. The series frequently uses well-worn western plots like this one but manages to make them palatable by framing them with the witty interchanges between Fry and McCord.

Elsewhere in the 1961 episodes we see Clay demonstrating that he has developed the manipulative skills of his mentor, enabling him to turn the tables to solve a problem through devious means. In "The Lesson" (January 14, 1961), a notorious ex-con rides into town and shocks the populace by revealing that their highly regarded school teacher is his wife. The town council can't abide having an outlaw's wife teach their impressionable children, so they terminate her contract. After McCord is unable to get the council members to reconsider, given all the good the school teacher has done for their children during hard times, McCord reminds them of a statute that they enacted requiring all children to attend school every day if there is a teacher available, then promising that he will make sure there is one available. McCord then talks with Fry, who thinks that McCord is naturally the one who must serve as interim teacher, but McCord counters that the children would never accept him as teacher since they are used to calling him by his first name, and that Fry, as the highest-ranking representative of the territory, is duty-bound to fill in as the temporary teacher. As it turns out, McCord's plan works perfectly because Fry winds up instilling in his pupils the teachings of Benjamin Franklin on standing up against those who would curtail their freedoms, and when their lily-livered fathers refuse to oppose the notorious ex-con and his gang of bandits, the children take up arms and shame their parents into fulfilling their duty in capturing the threat to their society. By having Fry teach the children so that they can in turn give their parents a lesson to solve his problem, McCord demonstrates the kind of two-steps-ahead chess move for which Fry is famous.

In "Past and Present" (January 21, 1961) Fry and the rest of Silver City think bank employee Herb Caldwell must have been in on a bank robbery when Caldwell fails to shoot at the bank robbers when he had the chance. But McCord believes that there is more to the story and eventually discovers that Caldwell's brother was the leader of the bank robbing gang, and he hesitated to fire at the robbers because it would have meant killing his own brother. But after confronting his brother and being unable to get him to turn himself in, Caldwell is forced to do what he had avoided earlier, and when McCord later recounts the turn of events to Fry, the latter says that's why he hired McCord in the first place--because he's stubborn enough to do his own thinking.

Fry concedes that McCord is his equal in devising risky schemes to handle tricky situations in "The Example" (March 25, 1961). Faced with the problem of a young man headed down the wrong path, such as forcing the bartender to serve him liquor at gunpoint even though he is under age, McCord decides that the only way to get through to the troubled youth is to enlist the help of his fugitive father who is hiding out in Mexico. When he discusses his idea with Fry, the latter points out the many risks involved if the outlaw father is spotted north of the border but then says that he can see McCord's mind is made up, though he also says that as far as he is concerned their conversation never happened. After McCord rides off to carry out his plan, Fry says to himself that he wish he'd thought of it.

McCord tries another risky move in "The Return of Widow Brown" (April 22, 1961) when he is faced with the return of Amelia Brown, widow of a bank robber whose stolen loot has never been recovered. McCord isn't sure whether Widow Brown knows where the money is, but he figures the only way to find out is to release from prison the only surviving member of her husband's gang and see if he can flush out where the money is, only to get the prison warden to release his prisoner, he has to give him the impression that Fry approved of his plan. After McCord has retrieved the stolen money and recaptured the prisoner, he tries to explain to Fry why a Yuma prisoner is in their Silver City jail by telling him that in order to solve the mystery of the missing money he had to think like Fry, but suspecting that McCord likely had to bend a few laws to do it, Fry tells him he doesn't want to hear the details now or ever. 

McCord again beats Fry at his own game in "The Legend of Dixie" (May 20, 1961) after a notorious loafer is awarded a $2000 reward for the killing of two wanted bank robbers that he didn't actually shoot. After McCord cleverly lets loafer Dixie Miller bask in his unearned glory in order to lure the lone remaining robber into town, where he is shot trying to commit another robbery. Fry is upset that McCord still allowed Miller to keep the reward money when it could be put to better use for various needs throughout the territory, at which point McCord reminds him of the need for a new school house in Silver City and then shows him a check Miller has written for half the reward amount to start a school house fund. Whereas Fry frequently dangled the prospect of reward money before McCord in earlier episodes to get him to do his bidding, McCord in this episode has reversed that tactic, holding on to reward money to finance a local need, showing that he is no longer thinking of returning to his private concern of running a store but is instead the voice of the community.

While the series did not wind up its last episode with anything that today would pass for a finale, at least not literally, it did offer a symbolically satisfying end to the slow education and eventual graduation of Clay McCord from private citizen and storekeeper to permanent Deputy Marshal. In "Lawman's Conscience" (July 1, 1961), McCord suffers a crisis of conscience when he is duped into believing that he incorrectly contributed to an innocent man being sentenced to prison. Though Tasker and Fry attempt to console him by telling him that mistakes are bound to be part of the business, McCord's ability to carry out his duties is jeopardized by his guilt as he bends over backwards to avoid suspecting the released Albee Beckett, the man he had helped convict three years earlier. However, as the evidence begins to mount that Beckett is responsible for a recent string of robberies, McCord is able at least to devise a plan to ferret out the truth by telling Beckett's girlfriend that they suspect him, causing him to bolt and reveal his hideout containing the stolen loot. At episode's end Fry finds McCord camping out one evening on his way to transport Beckett back to Yuma prison. Fry chides McCord for not finishing his report on the affair, and McCord counters that the report is in the mail and that besides that he needs to clear his conscience by returning Beckett where he belongs. Fry offers to join him for the journey and then says he will take first watch while McCord gets some sleep, which McCord accepts because he says that Fry is the boss. This episode provides a satisfactory end to the series because it demonstrates that despite suffering a crisis of conscience and being duped by a faked death-bed confession, McCord's instincts about Beckett were right in the first place and that even though he was temporarily weakened by self-doubt he was able to adjust to mounting suspicion against Beckett and make the right call, leading to Beckett's capture. These traits have all the qualities of a seasoned lawman, showing the progress that McCord has made from the unwilling quick-draw artist to one who can think like his mentor and adapt to changing circumstances. Fry's offer to accompany McCord on the remainder of his journey shows that, while Fry is still technically the "boss," the two men are essentially equals going forward. And McCord's lying down to snooze while Fry takes first watch symbolically puts the series narrative "to bed."

It's unfortunate that such a well-devised and executed series lasted only two seasons. The May 6 issue of TV Guide said only "Henry Fonda and The Deputy are bowing out of the NBC schedule" by way of explanation. In an interview for the web site westernclippings.com Read Morgan, who played Sgt. Tasker during Season 2, suggested that Fonda decided to leave the series because it was too demanding given all of his other projects and that because television operated on such a condensed schedule to provide weekly content the quality was not up to what Fonda was used to when working on feature films. Perhaps so, but the quality Fonda and his castmates produced over two seasons of The Deputy compares favorably to anything turned out by the much more popular westerns of that time.

The Actors

For the biographies of Henry Fonda, Allen Case, and Read Morgan, see the 1960 post on The Deputy.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 2, Episode 15, "Duty Bound": Ron Harper (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on 87th Precinct) plays accused killer Jay Elston. Frank Maxwell (Duncan MacRoberts on Our Man Higgins and Col. Garraway on The Second Hundred Years) plays accused killer Mel Ricker. Pat McCaffrie (Chuck Forrest on Bachelor Father) plays a wounded Army lieutenant.

Season 2, Episode 16, "The Lesson": Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays notorious outlaw Lex Danton. Wandra Hendrix (starred in Nora Prentiss, Ride the Pink Horse, Sierra, and Johnny Cool) plays his wife Mary Willis. Steve Darrell (Sheriff Hal Humphrey on Tales of Wells Fargo) plays store owner Mr. Jenkins.

Season 2, Episode 17, "Past and Present": Arthur Franz (starred in Flight to Mars, The Member of the Wedding, and The Caine Mutiny) plays bank employee Herb Caldwell. Murvyn Vye (Lionel on The Bob Cummings Show) plays bank robber Calico Bill Caldwell. Mary Beth Hughes (appeared in Star Dust, The Ox-Bow Incident, Orchestra Wives, Inner Sanctum, Riders in the Sky, and Young Man With a Horn) plays his former fiance Madge Belden. Paul Newlan (shown on the right, played Police Capt. Grey on M Squad and Lt. Gen. Pritchard on 12 O'Clock High) plays mine owner Art Standish. 

Season 2, Episode 18, "The Hard Decision": George Brenlin (Benny on General Hospital and Duke Dukowski on Adam-12) plays convicted killer Jimmy Burke. Marc Lawrence (appeared in The Ox-Bow Incident, Tampico, Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle, and The Man With the Golden Gun and directed 16 episodes of Lawman) plays his brother Alvy. John Dennis (Dutch Schultz on The Lawless Years) plays Alvy's sidekick Josh. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays dentist Painless Stoner. 

Season 2, Episode 19, "The Dream": Dick Foran (shown on the left, played Fire Chief Ed Washburne on Lassie and Slim on O.K., Crackerby!) plays landowner Major Quint Hammer. John McLiam (appeared in Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, Sleeper, The Missouri Breaks, and First Blood) plays rancher Ty Lawson.

Season 2, Episode 20, "Shackled Town": Bruce Gordon (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Untouchables) plays Vista Grande Judge Denton. Robert Brubaker (Deputy Ed Blake on U.S. Marshal and Floyd on Gunsmoke) plays Marshal Pecos Smith. Carla Alberghetti (sister of Anna Maria Alberghetti) plays store clerk Carmelita. Ralf Harolde (appeared in Smart Money, I'm No Angel, He Was Her Man, and Murder, My Sweet) plays priest Padre Rafael.

Season 2, Episode 21, "The Lonely Road": Edward Binns (starred in 12 Angry Men, North by Northwest, Heller in Pink Tights, and Judgment at Nuremberg and played Roy Brenner on Brenner and Wally Powers on It Takes a Thief) plays released ex-con Shad Billings. 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) played his wife Meg. Jim Davis (shown on the right, played Matt Clark on Stories of the Century, Wes Cameron on Rescue 8, Marshal Bill Winter on The Cowboys, and Jock Ewing on Dallas) plays mine foreman Trace Phelan. Dick Wilson (Dino Barone on McHale's Navy and George Whipple in Charmin toilet paper commercials) plays the Silver City barber.

Season 2, Episode 22, "The Challenger": Paul Gilbert ("The Duke" London on The Duke) plays carnival promoter Dillon. Stafford Repp (Chief O'Hara on Batman) plays cattle rancher Mr. Collins.

Season 2, Episode 23, "Edge of Doubt": Richard Chamberlain (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dr. Kildare) plays pardoned criminal Jerry Kirk. Floy Dean (Laura Spencer Horton on Days of Our Lives) plays his girlfriend Annie Jenner. George Chandler (Mac Benson on Waterfront, Uncle Petrie Martin on Lassie, and Ichabod Adams on Ichabod and Me) plays her father's assistant George Lake. Thomas E. Jackson (starred in Broadway, Little Caesar, and The Woman in the Window) plays store owner Potts.

Season 2, Episode 24, "Two-Way Deal": Ted de Corsia (Police Chief Hagedorn on Steve Canyon) plays bounty hunter Slade Blatner. Billy Gray (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Father Knows Best) plays his son Johnny. Kenneth MacDonald (played the judge 32 times on Perry Mason, played Col. Parker on Colt .45, and appeared in several Three Stooges shorts) plays the Indian Wells sheriff. 

Season 2, Episode 25, "The Means and the End": DeForest Kelley (shown on the right, played Dr. McCoy on Star Trek) plays wanted killer Farley Styles. Justice Watson (J.W. Harrington on Holiday Lodge) plays circuit Judge Stokes. 

Season 2, Episode 26, "The Example": Denver Pyle (Ben Thompson on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Grandpa Tarleton on Tammy, Briscoe Darlingon 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 fugitive Frank Barton. Rickie Sorensen (Thomas Banks on Father of the Bride) plays Simon Fry's young admirer Kit. 

Season 2, Episode 27, "Cherchez la Femme": Edward Platt (shown on the left, appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, Written on the Wind, Designing Woman, and North by Northwest and played the Chief on Get Smart) plays irate father Noah Harper. 

Season 2, Episode 28, "Tension Point": Jerome Thor (Robert Cannon on Foreign Intrigue) plays gang leader Ben Meadows. William Stevens (Officer Jerry Walters on Adam-12) plays gang member Whip. Bern Hoffman (Sam the bartender on Bonanza) plays gang member Club. John Marley (starred in Cat Ballou, Love Story, and The Godfather) plays dead gang member's father Zeb Baker. Virginia Christine (was the Folger's Coffee woman in commercials and starred in The Mummy's Curse, The Killers, and Night Wind and who played Ovie Swenson on Tales of Wells Fargo) plays his wife Molly.

Season 2, Episode 29, "Brother in Arms": Lon Chaney, Jr. (shown on the right, starred in The Wolfman, Of Mice and Men, High Noon, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Curse of Dracula, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, and many others, and played Chief Eagle Shadow on Pistols 'n' Petticoats and Chingachgook on Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans) plays mine owner Tom Arnold. Denny Miller (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Wagon Train) plays Clay's childhood friend Bill Jason.  

Season 2, Episode 30, "The Return of Widow Brown": Norma Crane (appeared in Tea and Sympathy, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!, and Fiddler on the Roof and played Rayola Dean on Mister Peepers) plays widow Amelia Brown. Dennis Holmes (Mike Williams on Laramie) plays her son Tommy. Tom Greenway (Sheriff Jack Bronson on State Trooper) plays prison Warden Binns. 

Season 2, Episode 31, "Spoken in Silence": Sydney Pollack (shown on the left, directed They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, The Way We Were, Absence of Malice, Tootsie, and Out of Africa) plays outlaw Chuck Johnson. Frances Helm (first wife of Brian Keith) plays deaf/mute Laura Powell. 

Season 2, Episode 32, "An Enemy of the Town": Whit Bissell (starred in He Walked by Night, Creature From the Black Lagoon, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, and Hud and played Bert Loomis on Bachelor Father, Calvin Hanley on Peyton Place, and Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk on The Time Tunnel) plays newspaper editor Will Culp. Stephen Roberts (Stan Peeples on Mr. Novak) plays tannery owner Adam Crockett. 

Season 2, Episode 33, "The Legend of Dixie": Stanley Adams (Lt. Morse on Not for Hire and Gurrah on The Lawless Years) plays loafer Dixie Miller. Gregory Walcott (see the biography section for the 1961 post on 87th Precinct) plays bank robber Gar Logan. 

Season 2, Episode 34, "The Deathly Quiet": Johnny Cash (shown on the right, iconic country singer known as The Man in Black) plays Army deserter Bo Braddock. 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 Fort Hastings commander Col. Belknap. Chubby Johnson (Concho on Temple Houston) miner Stonewall Brown. Craig Duncan (Sgt. Stanfield/Banfield on Mackenzie's Raiders) plays mine owner Ed Walsh.

Season 2, Episode 35, "Brand of Honesty": George Dolenz (shown on the left, father of Micky Dolenz, appeared in The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler, Vendetta, Scared Stiff, and The Last Time I Saw Paris and played Edmond Dantes/The Count of Monte Cristo on The Count of Monte Cristo) plays ex-con saloon owner Ramon Ortega. 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 card sharp Miller.

Season 2 Episode 36, "Lorinda Belle": Claude Akins (Sonny Pruett on Movin' On and Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo on B.J and the Bear and on Lobo) plays mine owner Jason Getty. Frank Overton (starred in Desire Under the Elms, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fail-Safe and played Major Harvey Stovall on 12 O'Clock High) plays hauler Bill Corman. Andy Albin (Andy Godsen on Julia) plays headstone maker Zac Martinson. 

Season 2, Episode 37, "Lawman's Conscience": Russell Johnson (shown on the right, starred in It Came From Outer Space, This Island Earth, and Johnny Dark and played Marshal Gib Scott on Black Saddle, Professor Roy Hinkley on Gilligan's Island, and Assistant D.A. Brenton Grant on Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law) plays convicted killer Albee Beckett. Jason Robards, Sr. (father of Jason Robards, Jr.) plays his former empleyer Rufus Hayden. Roy Wright (Callahan on The Islanders) plays business owner Phil Briggs. Cyril Delevanti (Lucious Coin on Jefferson Drum) plays business owner Ozzie Brandon.