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81-595: The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on the CBS network from 1965 to 1969. During its four-season run a total of 104 episodes were broadcast. The Wild Wild West blended Westerns – hugely popular on television at the time ( Gunsmoke , Bonanza , Wagon Train , Rawhide , etc.) – with spy adventure , which came into vogue in the wake of the highly successful James Bond films , resulting in such spy-oriented series as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. , The Avengers and Secret Agent . The Wild Wild West

162-464: A Bond TV series. Fleming later contributed ideas to NBC 's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. . In 1955, Ratoff and Michael Garrison formed a production company to make a Casino Royale film, with Ratoff set to direct and 20th Century Fox set to distribute. Production stalled when Ratoff and Garrison could not obtain financing. In 1960, Hedda Hopper reported that Ratoff's film would star Peter Finch as Bond. But Ratoff died that December and his widow sold

243-1629: A Drama Series for her performance in the episode "The Night of the Vicious Valentine". Guest stars: Victor Buono (Count Carlos Mario Vincenzo Robespierre Manzeppi), LeGrand Mellon (Miranda), Michael Masters (Titan), Richard Pryor (Villar), Anthony Eisley (Deadeye), Frank Sorello (Pres. Juarez), Andi Garrett (Nurse), Roy Jenson (Vance Markham), Harry Ellerbe (Colonel Armstrong), Paul Wallace (Tony) Guest stars: Boris Karloff (Mr. Singh), Audrey Dalton (Veda Singh), Jose De Vega (John Mountain-Top), James Westmoreland (Chandra), Michael York (Cupta), Morgan Farley (Mudjaz), Asoka (Dancer), Sujata (Dancer), John Alonzo (Sarrkan), Simon Scott (Colonel Stanton Mayo) Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Phyllis Newman (Princess Wanakee), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Howard Hoffman (War Eagle), Sandy Josol (Chawtaw) Guest stars: Ida Lupino (Dr. Faustina), Patsy Kelly (Prudence Fortune), Mala Powers (Lily Fortune), Robert Miller Driscoll (Lyle Peters), Melville Ruick (Attorney General), Rita D'Amico (Carmen), Michael McCloud (Miklos) Guest stars: Sammy Davis Jr. (Jeremiah), Peter Lawford (Carl Jackson), Hazel Court (Elizabeth Carter), Frank Wilcox (Bill Mott), Alan Baxter (Ned Briggs), Ken Lynch (Tom Kellogg) Guest stars: William Windom (Ben Victor), Leslie Parrish (Morn), Whitey Hughes (Jerry), Ford Rainey (Simon), Pitt Herbert (Byron Pettigrew), Woodrow Chambliss (Wingo), Cindy Taylor (Pan), Arlene Charles (Alna) The Wild Wild West The Wild Wild West

324-414: A behind-the-scenes power struggle. Garrison was replaced by Phillip Leacock, the executive producer of Gunsmoke , and Freiberger was supplanted by John Mantley, an associate producer on Gunsmoke . The exchange stunned both cast and crew. Garrison, who owned 40% of The Wild Wild West , knew nothing about the changes and had not been consulted. He turned the matter over to his attorneys. Freiberger said, "I

405-410: A chandelier onto the stage floor and suffered a concussion . "A little gymnastics — chandelier work," he later explained. "I didn't chalk up properly and I went 15 feet to the concrete and fractured my skull. I was in intensive care for 72 hours, with a six-inch lineal fracture of the skull and a high temporal concussion." As a result, production of the series ended two weeks early. Conrad spent weeks in

486-536: A different role in "The Night of the Simian Terror". Antoinette vanished after her sixth episode due to demands by Dunn's jealous real-life wife. According to the television film The Wild Wild West Revisited , Loveless eventually dies in 1880 from ulcers , brought on by the frustration of having his plans consistently foiled by West and Gordon. (His son, played by Paul Williams in the TV film, subsequently seeks revenge on

567-429: A member of Four Star Television though not an owner), Elsa Martinelli , Walter Matthau , Darren McGavin , Dina Merrill , Susan Oliver , George Sanders , Telly Savalas , Gia Scala , Everett Sloane , Raquel Welch and Marie Windsor . Four Star President David Charnay announced a feature film revival to star David Niven and Charles Boyer, scheduled for 1968, but nothing came of it. In 1989, Blake Edwards optioned

648-610: A parody of Henry Kissinger . Agnes Moorehead won an Emmy for her role as Emma Valentine in "The Night of the Vicious Valentine". Other villains were portrayed by Ed Asner , Christopher Cary , Yvonne Craig , Robert Duvall , Anthony Eisley , Boris Karloff , Harvey Korman , Martin Landau , Delphi Lawrence , Robert Loggia , Ida Lupino , Burgess Meredith , Ricardo Montalbán , Leslie Nielsen , Ramon Novarro , Carroll O'Connor , Susan Oliver , Percy Rodrigues , Jo Van Fleet , Sam Wanamaker , William Windom , and H. M. Wynant . While

729-503: A secret agent named Jim West who would perform secret missions for President Ulysses S. Grant . Ralston later sued Warner Bros. over the 1999 theatrical film Wild Wild West , which was based on the series. As indicated by Robert Conrad on his DVD commentary, the show went through several producers in its first season. This was apparently due to conflicts between the network and Garrison, who had no experience producing for television and had trouble staying on budget. At first, Ben Brady

810-456: A story around it. In 1954, director/producer Gregory Ratoff purchased the film rights to Ian Fleming 's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale , for $ 600. CBS, meanwhile, bought the TV rights for $ 1,000, and on October 21, 1954, the network broadcast an hour-long adaptation on its Climax! series, with Barry Nelson playing American agent "Jimmy Bond" and Peter Lorre playing the villain, Le Chiffre. CBS also approached Fleming about developing

891-622: A substantial capacity. Niven briefly appears in a number of episodes (often toward the beginning of the show), but took the lead in only three out of the series' thirty episodes because of his film schedule. Many of his scenes were shot separately in other locations, especially later in the series. Additional continuity was provided by the presences of Gladys Cooper as Auntie Margaret St. Clair and Robert Coote as Timmy St. Clair, appearing in their supporting roles in most episodes. Guest stars included Eddie Albert , Tol Avery , Broderick Crawford , John Dehner , Sally Kellerman , Ida Lupino (also

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972-527: A unique way. The series' pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno", was filmed in December 1964. It was produced by Garrison and, according to Robert Conrad, cost $ 685,000. The episode was scripted by Gilbert Ralston , who had written for numerous episodic TV series in the 1950s and 1960s. (Western novelist and screenwriter Clair Huffaker also worked on the concept. ) In a later deposition, Ralston explained that he

1053-520: A vein similar to what would later be called steampunk ), in one case horror ("The Night of the Man Eating House") and humor. Episodes were also inspired by Edgar Allan Poe , H. G. Wells and Jules Verne . In the tradition of James Bond , there were always beautiful women, clever gadgets and delusional arch-enemies with half-insane plots to take over the country or the world . The title of each episode begins with "The Night" (except for "Night of

1134-676: A wall-to-wall lease on the lot starting in May 1963 and produced Gunsmoke and Rawhide there, as well as Gilligan's Island . The network bought the lot from Republic in February 1967 for $ 9.5 million. Beginning in 1971, MTM Enterprises (headed by actress Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker) became the Studio Center's primary tenant. In the mid-1980s the Western streets and sets were replaced with new sound stages and urban facades, including

1215-540: Is West's partner, a master of disguises and also the inventor of the many gadgets that the two of them use in the course of their adventures. The two men travel about in a private train and use their talents to vanquish the many dastardly villains that threatened the United States – among them, disgraced ex-soldiers seeking revenge against President Grant, power-hungry megalomaniacs , and mad scientists with their brilliant but diabolical inventions. The last group includes

1296-411: Is an American Western , spy , and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels were made with the original stars in 1979 and 1980 and the series was adapted for a theatrical film in 1999. Developed at a time when the television Western was losing ground to

1377-621: Is no pretense, and his reputation as the foremost Secret Service agent often precedes him. According to the later TV movies, West retires from the Service by 1880 and lives on a ranch in Mexico. When he retires, Gordon, who was a captain in the Civil War, returns to show business as the head of a troupe of traveling Shakespeare players. The show incorporated classic Western elements with an espionage thriller, science fiction / alternate history ideas (in

1458-549: Is set in the 1870s and deals with the exploits of James West (played by Robert Conrad ) and Artemus Gordon ( Ross Martin ), two agents of the United States Secret Service who work directly under the command of President Ulysses S. Grant . James West is presented as a sort of " James Bond of the West ," i.e. the handsome, muscular action-hero who is handy with his fists, as well as a dashing "ladies' man." Artemus Gordon

1539-564: Is the only episode in which the center panel of the hero is replaced by a sketch of the final scene of an act; he is replaced by the villainous General Cassinello ( Nehemiah Persoff ) at the end of the third act. The Rogues (TV series) Niven and Boyer were two of the co-owners of Four Star Television , which produced the show. Although sometimes appearing together, the three lead actors tended to rotate appearances as their schedules permitted. This resulted in Young helming more episodes because

1620-688: The Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. The express car (No. 21) and passenger car (No. 4) are also at the museum. Another veteran V&T locomotive, the Reno (built in 1872 by Baldwin), was used in the two Wild Wild West TV movies. The Reno, which resembles the Inyo, is located at Old Tucson Studios . The 1999 Wild Wild West film adaptation used the Baltimore & Ohio 4–4–0 No. 25, one of

1701-408: The 1970s series Switch ). Young also claimed to have added the wry second "Wild" to the series title, which had been simply "The Wild West" in its early stages of production. Young's episodes (2–4) featured a butler named Tennyson who traveled with West and Gordon, but since the episodes were not broadcast in production order, the character popped up at different times during the first season. Conrad

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1782-673: The Casual Killer" in the first season). This followed other idiosyncratic naming conventions established by shows such as Wagon Train (1957–1965), where nearly every episode was titled "The (Name) Story" or "The Story of (Name)"; Rawhide (1959–1965), in which a majority of episode titles began with "Incident"; and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–1968), whose episodes were titled "The (Blank) Affair". Before The Wild Wild West , Robert Conrad played private detective Tom Lopaka in ABC's Hawaiian Eye for four seasons (1959–63). In November 1964, he

1863-457: The Fair", aired April 27, 1966, and "Days of Wrath", aired January 8, 1968). All three series were filmed at CBS Studio Center and shared other exterior and interior sets. Additionally, the train interior was used for an episode of Get Smart ("The King Lives?", aired January 6, 1968) and the short-lived Barbary Coast ("Funny Money", aired September 8, 1975). After its run on The Wild Wild West ,

1944-582: The Grand Emir" and "The Night of the Gypsy Peril"). He finally received "theme by" credit on both of the TV movies, which were scored by Jeff Alexander rather than Markowitz (few personnel from the series were involved with the TV movies). The animated title sequence was another unique element of the series. Created by Michael Garrison Productions and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, it was directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng and animated by Ken Mundie, who designed

2025-466: The Inyo and The William Mason appeared in the Disney film The Great Locomotive Chase (1956). The main title theme was written by Richard Markowitz , who previously composed the theme for the TV series The Rebel . He was brought in after the producers rejected two attempts by film composer Dimitri Tiomkin . In an interview by Susan Kesler (for her book The Wild Wild West: The Series ) included in

2106-636: The Inyo participated in the Golden Spike Centennial at Promontory, Utah, in 1969. The following year it appeared as a replica of the Central Pacific's "Jupiter" locomotive at the Golden Spike National Historical Site. The State of Nevada purchased the Inyo in 1974; it was restored to 1895 vintage, including a wider smoke stack and a new cowcatcher (pilot) without a drop coupler. The Inyo is still operational and displayed at

2187-701: The New York streets seen in Seinfeld . In 1995, the lagoon set that was originally constructed for Gilligan's Island was paved over to create a parking lot. Among iconic locations used for filming were Bronson Canyon ("Night of the Returning Dead" S02 E05) and Vasquez Rocks ("Night of the Cadre" S02 E26). The TV movies used Old Tucson Studios and Apacheland Studios in Tucson, Arizona, and Gold Canyon, Arizona, respectively. For

2268-544: The President, and solved crimes. The show featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries. The combination of the Victorian era time-frame and the use of Vernean technology has led several steampunk web sites to cite the show as a pioneering influence on the genre. This aspect was accentuated even more in the 1999 film adaptation. Despite high ratings,

2349-584: The United States from all manner of dangerous threats. The agents traveled in luxury aboard their own train, the Wanderer , equipped with everything from a stable car to a laboratory. James West had served as an intelligence and cavalry officer in the American Civil War (1861–1865) on Grant's staff; his "cover", at least in the pilot episode, is that of "a dandy, a high-roller from the East". Thereafter, however, there

2430-502: The agents.) Although several actors appeared in different villainous roles, only one other character had a second encounter with West and Gordon: Count Manzeppi, played flamboyantly by Victor Buono . Manzeppi was a diabolical genius of "black magic" and crime, who—like Dr. Loveless—had an escape plan at the end. Buono played a different villain in the pilot episode, and also returned in More Wild Wild West as "Dr. Henry Messenger",

2511-457: The basic format of first season, but also made some changes. The most notable of these was that the series was now shot in color, which enhanced the Victorian ambiance of the 1870s setting. Both Robert Conrad and Ross Martin were given modified wardrobes, with Conrad wearing short bolero jackets and tight-fitting pants (he wore bolero jackets through the first season as well. There was also a shift in

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2592-475: The cartoon art in one of the corner panels. The style of freeze-frame art changed over the course of the series. In all first-season episodes other than the pilot, the panels were live-action stills made to evoke 19th-century engravings. In season 2 (the first in color) the scenes dissolved to tinted stills; from "The Night of the Flying Pie Plate" on, however, the panels were home to Warhol -like serigraphs of

2673-680: The cartoon effects and for West's getting himself out of trouble, and the heraldic western outdoor theme over that, so that the two worked together." Session musicians who played on the theme were Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Bud Shank , Ronnie Lang , Plas Johnson and Gene Cipriano (woodwinds); Vince DeRosa and Henry Sigismonti (French horns); Uan Rasey , Ollie Mitchell and Tony Terran (trumpets); Dick Nash , Lloyd Ulyate, Chauncey Welsch and Kenny Shroyer (trombones); Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman (guitars); Carol Kaye (Fender bass); Joe Porcaro (brushes) and Gene Estes, Larry Bunker and Emil Richards (timpani, percussion). Markowitz, however,

2754-480: The choreography of the fight scenes, changing the emphasis from karate (largely used in the first season) to boxing. As in the first season, Dr. Loveless was featured in four episodes. Meanwhile, an attempt was made to establish another recurring villain with the character of Count Manzeppi (played by Victor Buono , who had appeared in the pilot episode). However, the Count was dropped after only two episodes. Again, as in

2835-462: The course of the series. He sketched his ideas for his characterizations and worked with the makeup artists to execute the final look. Martin told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe , "In the three years of the show, I have run a wider gamut than even those acknowledged masters of disguise, Paul Muni and Lon Chaney . Sometimes I feel like a one man repertory company. I think I've proven to myself and to

2916-466: The film rights to producer Charles K. Feldman for $ 75,000. Feldman and director Howard Hawks were interested in making Casino Royale with Cary Grant as Bond. Eventually Feldman was offered $ 500,000 and a percentage of the profits to let Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli make the film with Sean Connery. Feldman turned them down, and eventually produced the spoof Casino Royale in 1967. By then, Garrison and CBS had brought James Bond to television in

2997-474: The final three episodes to be filmed. The show's most memorable recurring arch- villain was Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless , a brilliant but petulant and megalomaniacal dwarf portrayed by Michael Dunn . Initially he had two companions: the towering 7'2" Voltaire, played by Richard Kiel ; and the beautiful Antoinette, played by Dunn's real-life singing partner, Phoebe Dorin. Voltaire disappeared without explanation after his third episode, but Kiel returned in

3078-442: The first season DVD boxed set, Markowitz recalled that the original Tiomkin theme "was very, kind of, traditional, it just seemed wrong." Markowitz explained his own approach: "By combining jazz with Americana, I think that's what nailed it. That took it away from the serious kind of thing that Tiomkin was trying to do...What I did essentially was write two themes: the rhythmic, contemporary theme, Fender bass and brushes, that vamp, for

3159-479: The first season, 28 episodes were produced for the season. Initially, Michael Garrison continued in the dual capacity as producer and executive producer. However, after seven episodes, the producing chores were handed to Bruce Lansbury . Garrison returned to working solely as the series' executive producer. Garrison died on August 17, 1966, when he fell down a flight of stairs at his home in Bel Air. The breakdown between

3240-441: The freeze-frames. The end credits were displayed over each episode's unique mosaic of scenes. In the final season, however, a generic design was used under the end credits. Curiously, in this design, the bank robber is unconscious, the cardsharp has no card and the lady is on the ground, but the six-shooter in the upper left-hand panel has returned. The freeze-frame graphics were shot at a facility called Format Animation. The pilot

3321-452: The hospital and had a long convalescence slowed by constant dizziness. The episode was eventually completed and aired early in the fourth season, with footage of the fall left in. Conrad later told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe , "I have the whole scene on film. It's a constant reminder to be careful. It also bolstered my determination to make this my last year with the series. Four seasons are enough of this sort of thing." Thereafter, Conrad

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3402-521: The industry that I am the No. 1 character lead in films today." The industry acknowledged Martin's work with an Emmy nomination in 1969. Martin broke his leg in a fourth-season episode, "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary", when he dropped a rifle, stepped on it, and his foot rolled over it. Martin told Percy Shain, "In the scene where I was hurt, my stand-in tried to finish it. When the shell ejected from

3483-538: The new season's ninth episode, "The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse", Garrison fell down a flight of stairs in his home, fractured his skull and died. CBS assigned Bruce Lansbury , brother of actress Angela Lansbury , to produce the show for the remainder of its run. In the early 1960s Lansbury had been in charge of daytime shows at CBS Television City in Hollywood, then vice president of programming in New York. When he

3564-700: The oldest operating steam locomotives in the U.S. Built in 1856 at the Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Massachusetts , it was later renamed The William Mason in honor of its manufacturer. For its role as "The Wanderer" in the film, the engine was sent to the steam shops at the Strasburg Rail Road for restoration and repainting. The locomotive is brought out for the B&;O Train Museum in Baltimore's "Steam Days". Both

3645-428: The other two were engaged on other projects; Boyer and Niven were still major film stars (Niven had received an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1958). Larry Hagman was brought aboard for the last two episodes to help fill in for Young, who had been the lead in most of the episodes. The only episode in which Niven and Boyer had more or less equal roles was "Bless You, G. Carter Huntington," which also featured Young in

3726-469: The passenger car was constructed on Stage 6 at CBS Studio Center . Designed by art director Albert Heschong, the set reportedly cost $ 35,000 in 1965 (over $ 290,000 in 2021 dollars). The interior was redesigned with lighter wood when the show switched to color for the 1966–67 season. The train interior was also used in at least one episode of Gunsmoke ("Death Train", aired January 27, 1967) and in at least two episodes of The Big Valley ("Last Train to

3807-737: The passenger car, originally served the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Nevada. They were among the V&;T cars sold to Paramount Pictures in 1937–38. The Inyo appears in numerous films including High, Wide, and Handsome (1938), Union Pacific (1939), the Marx Brothers ' Go West (1940), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Red River (1948), Disney 's The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) and McLintock! (1963). For The Wild Wild West , Inyo's original number plate

3888-433: The period. And then there was that old Dutch sea captain, leaning in the corner of the swill-hole of a bar, who inexplicably winked at Jim as he entered … Artemus, of course, in one of his thousand disguises." Ten years after the series was cancelled a made-for-television revival movie , The Wild Wild West Revisited, aired and was successful enough to warrant a follow-up entitled More Wild Wild West (1980), thus bringing

3969-686: The pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno", the producers used Sierra Railroad No. 3 , a 4-6-0 locomotive that was, fittingly, an anachronism : Sierra No. 3 was built in 1891, 15 to 20 years after the series was set. Footage of this train, with a 5 replacing the 3 on its number plate, was shot in Jamestown, California . Best known for its role as the Hooterville Cannonball in the CBS series Petticoat Junction , Sierra No. 3 probably appeared in more films and TV shows than any other locomotive in history. It

4050-458: The producers had promised to rewrite the scripts for his new character, but this simply amounted to scratching out the name "Artemus Gordon" and penciling in "Jeremy Pike" (his character's name). Pat Paulsen (one episode as Agent Bosley Cranston) is frequently thought of as a Martin substitute, but he appeared in one of Aidman's episodes, and his character would have been present even if Martin had appeared. Martin returned in mid-December to work in

4131-8289: The ratings for the 1965–1966 season. One episode of this season, "The Night of the Howling Light", received an Emmy nomination for Best Cinematography. Guest stars: Suzanne Pleshette (Lydia Monteran), Victor Buono (Juan Manolo/Wing Fat), Nehemiah Persoff (Juan Manolo/General Cassinello), Walter Woolf King (Colonel Shear), James Gregory (President Ulysses S. Grant ), Bebe Louie (Mei Mei), Phil Chambers (Train Captain), Tom Reese (The Driver), Warren Parker (The Engineer), Clint Ritchie (The Lieutenant), Alberto Morin (The Majordomo) Guest stars: J. D. Cannon (Flory), Barbara Luna (Gatita), Don Diamond (Bartender), Danica d'Hondt (Roxanne), Anna Shin (Marguerita) Guest stars: Michael Dunn ( Dr. Miguelito Loveless ), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), William Mims (Governor), Harry Bartell (Professor Nielsen), Sigrid Valdis (Miss Piecemeal), Leslie Parrish (Greta), Richard Kiel (Voltaire), Michael Masters (Wrestler) Guest stars: Robert Loggia (Warren Trevor), Joel Fluellen (Chief Vanoma), Bill Cassidy (Sterling), Don Gazzaniga (Hotel Clerk), Henry Hunter (Boone), Elisa Ingram (Cosette), Julie Payne (Corinne Foxx), Antoinette Bower (Janet Coburn), Sandy Kenyon (Hugo) Guest stars: John Dehner (John Avery), Ruta Lee (Laurie Morgan), Dub Taylor (Guard), Bill Williams (Marshal Kirby), Charles Davis (Tennyson), Curtis Taylor (Captain Davis), Ed Gilbert (Hendrix), Mort Mills (Harper), Len Lesser (Mason) Guest stars: Jeff Corey (Captain Ansel Coffin), Linda Ho (Oriana), Victor French (Arnold), E. J. André (Proprietor), Donald O'Kelly (Poavey), Jeanne Vaughn (Glory), Janine Gray (Crystal), Barney Phillips (Captain Tenney), Jack Searl (Pilot), Diane McBain (Jennifer Wingate) Guest stars: Oscar Beregi (Dr. Ormont), Kipp Hamilton (Cluny Ormont), Jayne Massey (Cecile), Louise Lawson (Blonde), Frank Delfino (Barker), Ron Whelan (Consul-General Potez), Marion Thompson (Amelie Charlemont), Charles Horvath (Ironfoot), Phillip E. Pine (Lt. Armand Renard) Guest stars: Peter Mark Richman (Prince Gio Carlotica), Eva Soreny (Baroness), Wolfe Barzell (Landgrave), Booth Colman (Perkins), Arthur Batanides (Marius Ascoli), Francoise Ruggieri (Nola), Byron Murron (Major-Domo), Leslie Brander (Princess Gina Carlotica), Lynn Carey (Imposter), Ilze Taurins (Marianna) Guest stars: Katharine Ross (Sheila Parnell), Leslie Nielsen (General Ball), John Barrymore Jr. (American Knife), Elisha Cook Jr. (Mike McGreavy), Jackie Joseph (Girl at General Ball's Camp), Susan Silo (Little Willow), Ed Peck (Merritt), Tyler McVey (Parnell), Vaughn Taylor (Adamson), Harry Townes (Penrose), Charles Davis (Tennyson) Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Miguelito Loveless), Jean Hale (Marie), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Joe Hooker (Mr. Abernathy), Jordan Shelley (Baron Colinelcy), Richard Kiel (Voltaire), Chuck O'Brien ( Janus ) Guest stars: Martin Landau (General Grimm), Ray Kellogg (Captain O'Brien), Gregg Martell (Otto), Nelson Olmsted (Senator Rawls), Ted Markland (Jack Talbot), Marianna Case (Cloris), Shary Marshall (Jenny), Joan Huntington (Sgt. Musk) Guest stars: Burgess Meredith (Professor Orkney Cadwallader), Kathie Browne (Faith Cadwallader), Michael Masters (Hercules Cadwallader), Dick Winslow (Piano Player), C. Lindsay Workman (Bartender), Gregg Palmer (Thaddeus Cadwallader), Bill Henry (Sheriff), Robert I. McCord (Sidney), Hank Patterson (Mr. Porter), Vernon Scott (Clerk), Virginia Sale (Aunt Martha), Robert Phillips (Sam), James Jeter (Harry) Guest stars: Alfred Ryder (Professor Horatio Bolt), Henry Beckman (Governor Bradford/Sam Jameson), H. M. Wynant (Durand), Sigrid Valdis (Miss Piecemeal), Nadia Sanders (Helva), Viviane Ventura (Angelique) Guest stars: Sam Wanamaker (Dr. Arcularis), Linda Marsh (Indra), Dan Riss (Naval Officer), Ralph Moody (Ho-Tami), Kay E. Kuter (Caged Man), Roy Barcroft (Sikes), Clancy Cooper (Trowbridge), Ottola Nesmith (Maggie), E. J. André (Superintendent), Scott Marlowe (Ahkeema) Guest stars: Ron Randell (Col. Francisco Vasquez), Joanna Moore (Linda Medford), Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. (Sgt. Gomez), Don Briggs (Sheriff Cantrell), Dal Jenkins (Luke Dawson), Alan Sues (Matt Dawson), Christian Anderson (Mark Dawson), Joseph Ruskin (Viper Black), Walker Edmiston (Charlie), Charles Davis (Tennyson) Guest stars: John Dehner (Colonel "Iron Man" Torres), Sue Ane Langdon (Nina Gilbert), Roy Engel ( President Grant ), John Pickard (R.L. Gilbert), Sara Taft (Maria), Allen Jaffe (Lopez), Arthur Malet (Dr. Meyer), S. John Launer (Mayor), Phyllis Davis (Saloon Girl) Guest stars: Ben Wright (Col. Allenby-Smythe), Nancy Hsueh (Tsu Hsi), Benson Fong (Mo Ti), Richard Loo (Wang Chung), Paul King (Oriental), Beulah Quo (May Li), Vince Eder (Lieutenant), Pilar Seurat (Princess Ching Ling), Philip Ahn (Quong Chu) Guest stars: John Doucette ( John Obediah Brown ), Robert Ellenstein (Luis Vasquez), Lynn Loring (Carma Vasquez), Karen Sharpe (Barbara Bosley), Charles Wagenheim (Shukie Summers), Harry Bartell (Will Glover) Guest stars: Yvonne Craig (Ecstasy LaJoie), Richard Jaeckel (Christopher Cable), Robert Middleton (Emir El Emid), Arlene Charles (Emid #1 Girl), Phyllis Davis (Emid #2 Girl), Don Francks (T. Wiggett Jones), Arthur Gould-Porter (George), James Lanphier (Dr. Mohammed Bey) Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Pamela Austin (Priscilla Ames), Barbara Nichols (Bessie Bowen), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Val Avery (John Crane), Norman Fell (Jeremiah Ratch), Richard Kiel (Voltaire), Jesse White (Governor Lewis), Jason Wingreen (Policeman), Sam Flint (Clerk), Chanin Hale (Flo), Richard Reeves (Bailey), Elena Martone (Hostess) Guest stars: Lloyd Bochner (Zachariah Skull), Imelda de Martin (Vivid), John Hoyt (Justice Vincent Chayne), Janis Hansen (Waitress), Wayne Albritton (Harlequin), Walter Painter (Caveman), Jack Tygett (Butler), Len Rogel (Sign Man), Sara Taft (Mrs. Chayne), Nelson Olmsted (Dr. Lake) Guest stars: Arthur O'Connell (Theophilus Ragan), Indus Arthur (Jennifer McCoy), Elisha Cook Jr. (Gideon McCoy), Mickey Golden (Gate Guard), Russ McCubbin (Mr. Quincannon), Whitey Hughes (Prison Guard), Roy Sickner (Driscoll), Paul Genge (Kross), Robert Herron (Borg), Jeni Jackson (Kitten), Milton Parsons (Executioner), Chet Stratton (Adams), Shawn Michaels (Convict Painter) Guest stars: Nick Adams (Prince), Dana Wynter (Lady Beatrice Marquand-Gaynesford), Robert Emhardt (Claude Duchamps), Paul Comi (Vittorio Pellagrini), Clint Ritchie (1st Bandit) Guest stars: Sam Wade (Robert Perry), Rhys Williams (Dr. Tristam), Don Rickles (Asmodeus), Ann Elder (Astarte), Emanuel Thomas (Butler), Don Beddoe (Professor Robey), Simon Scott (Colonel Fairchild), Bartlett Robinson (Senator Clay Waterford), Susan Browning (Nurse) Guest stars: Keenan Wynn (Thorald Wolfe), Maggie Thrett (Rita Leon), William Campbell (Bender), James Connell (Richard Henry), James Gammon (Egan), Robert Matek (Oldfield) Guest stars: Robert Drivas (Morgan Midas), Christiane Schmidtmer (Lucretia Ivronin), Vito Carbonara (Serbian Minister), Whitey Hughes (Rudd), Calvin Brown (Clive), Chuck O'Brien (Serbian Guard), Dan Tobin (Thaddeus Baines) Guest stars: Michael Dunn (Dr. Miguelito Loveless), Phoebe Dorin (Antoinette), Jenie Jackson (Kitten Twitty), Leonard Falk (Attendant) Guest stars: Theodore Marcuse (Dr. Vincent Kirby), Eddie Durkin (Frank Doyle), Mark Baker (Barber), Robert Phillips (Lafe), Harvey Levine (Hobson), Nobu McCarthy (Anna Kirby), H. M. Wynant (Coley Rodman), Elliott Reid (Governor Marcus Hawthorne) The second season of The Wild Wild West continued

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4212-613: The recurring character of Dr. Miguelito Loveless , played by 3'11" Michael Dunn . As series producer Bruce Lansbury stated: "Jim [West]'s world was one of two-faced villainy, male and female, countless ' Mickey Finns ,' and needle-tipped baroque pinkie rings that put him to sleep even as he embraced their dispensers. There were inevitable trap doors, hotel walls that ground their victims to dust or revolved into lush Aubrey Beardsley settings next door, lethal chairs that tossed occupants skyward or alternatively dumped them into dank sewers that subterraneously crisscrossed countless cow towns of

4293-513: The remainder of the season. The 28 first-season episodes of The Wild Wild West , all of which were photographed in black and white , were not broadcast in the order that they were filmed. Notably, the early ones produced by Collier Young were moved back in the broadcast schedule in favor of the Fred Freiberger- and John Mantley-produced episodes. The breakdown in broadcast order is thus: During this season, The Wild Wild West placed at #23 in

4374-608: The rifle, it caught him in the eye and burned it. We still haven't finished that scene. It will have to wait until I can move around again." A few weeks later, after completing "The Night of Fire and Brimstone", Martin suffered a heart attack on August 17, 1968 (this was exactly two years after the show's creator, Michael Garrison, died). Martin's character was replaced temporarily by other agents played by Charles Aidman (four episodes as Jeremy Pike), Alan Hale Jr. (as Ned Brown) and William Schallert (two episodes as Frank Harper), and West worked solo in two other episodes. Aidman said

4455-414: The roles they played, and a brief plot synopsis. Also, the various disguises that Ross Martin used in his Artemus Gordon character are listed. The Wild Wild West was created by Michael Garrison , a movie producer ( Peyton Place , The Long, Hot Summer , An Affair to Remember ) who had, at one time, co-owned the rights to Ian Fleming 's first James Bond novel , Casino Royale . Garrison produced

4536-412: The series pilot episode himself but, once the series was approved by the CBS network, it became necessary to find a more experienced producer to handle the subsequent episodes. Garrison, in the meantime, was moved into the position of Executive Producer. Collier Young, who hitherto had produced a series entitled The Rogues , was assigned to The Wild Wild West but, after overseeing only three episodes,

4617-402: The series was cancelled near the end of its fourth season as a concession to Congress over television violence. The Wild Wild West told the story of two Secret Service agents: the fearless and handsome James West (played by Robert Conrad ), and Artemus Gordon (played by Ross Martin ), a brilliant gadgeteer and master of disguise. Their mission was to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and

4698-480: The series. "For the first few episodes we tried stuntmen," Conrad explained, "but the setup time slowed production down, so I volunteered. Things started moving quicker when I took the jumps and the spills. We started meeting the budget." Early on, he was doubled by Louie Elias or Chuck O'Brien. On January 24, 1968, however, during filming of "The Night of the Fugitives" near the end of the third season, Conrad fell from

4779-462: The show as a Bond spoof laid in 1870, and we all knew where we stood. Each new producer tried to put his stamp on the show and I had a terrible struggle. I fought them line by line in every script. They knew they couldn't change the James West role very much, but it was open season on Artemus Gordon because they had never seen anything like him before." On August 17, 1966, however, during production of

4860-516: The show became noticeably campier. The Wild Wild West was filmed at CBS Studio Center on Radford Avenue in Studio City in the San Fernando Valley. The 70-acre lot was formerly the home of Republic Studios , which specialized in low-budget films, including Westerns starring Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and Saturday morning serials (which The Wild Wild West appropriately echoed). CBS had

4941-624: The show was a fantastic success. And that's how it started, because he saw the nightclub act." Loveless was introduced in "The Night the Wizard Shook The Earth", the show's sixth produced, but third televised episode. The character became an immediate hit and Dunn was contracted to appear in four episodes per season. Because of health problems, however, Dunn only appeared in 10 episodes instead of 16. After 10 episodes (5–14), Freiberger and executive producer Michael Garrison were, according to Variety , "unceremoniously dumped," reputedly due to

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5022-409: The show's writers created their fair share of villains, they often started with the nefarious, stylized and sometimes anachronistic inventions of these madmen (or madwomen) and then wrote the episodes around the devices. Henry Sharp, the series' story consultant, would sketch the preliminaries of the designs (eccentrically numbering every sketch "fig. 37"), and give the sketch to a writer, who would build

5103-410: The show. In the three seasons shot in color, the overall backdrop was an abstracted wash of the flag of the United States , with the upper left panel colored blue and the others containing horizontal red stripes. The original animation sequence is: Each episode had four acts. At the end of each act, the scene, usually a cliffhanger moment, would freeze, and a sketch or photograph of the scene replaced

5184-399: The spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison , as " James Bond on horseback." Set during the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877), the series followed Secret Service agents James West ( Robert Conrad ) and Artemus Gordon ( Ross Martin ) as they foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over part or all of the United States, protected

5265-420: The titles for the film The Great Race and the TV series Secret Agent , I Spy , Rawhide and Death Valley Days . The screen was divided into four corner panels abutting a narrow central panel that contained a cartoon "hero". The hero looked more like a traditional cowboy than either West or Gordon, and from each corner panel encountered cliché western characters and situations that never appeared in

5346-464: The total number of episodes up to 106. However, the movie was more campy compared to the serious tone of the television series. The death of Ross Martin in 1981 ended any plans for another film. In 1999, the theatrical film Wild Wild West , loosely based on the TV series, was released. The complete run of the series is present below in broadcast order. Included are the episode titles, directors, writers, broadcast dates, production codes, guest stars and

5427-540: The two producers, as broadcast, is: However, the series continued to be listed as "A Michael Garrison Production in association with the CBS Television Network" in the end credits for the rest of the run. The Wild Wild West slipped in the ratings during the second season, falling to 53rd in the Nielsens for the 1966-67 season. However, guest star Agnes Moorehead won an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actress in

5508-467: Was approached by Michael Garrison, who "said he had an idea for a series, good commercial idea, and wanted to know if I could glue the idea of a western hero and a James Bond type together in the same show." Ralston said he then created the Civil War characters, the format, the story outline and nine drafts of the pilot script that was the basis for the television series. It was his idea, for example, to have

5589-685: Was built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works in Paterson, New Jersey . When The Wild Wild West went into series production, however, an entirely different train was employed. The locomotive, a 4-4-0 named the Inyo, was built in 1875 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. Originally a wood-burner, the Inyo was converted to oil in 1910. The Inyo, as well as the express car and

5670-610: Was doubled for the dangerous stunts, but still participated in fight scenes. Prior to The Wild Wild West, Ross Martin co-starred in the CBS series Mr. Lucky from 1959 to 1960, portraying Mr. Lucky's sidekick, Andamo. The series was created by Blake Edwards , who also cast Martin as villains in his films Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Great Race (1964). Martin once called his role as Artemus Gordon "a show-off's showcase" because it allowed him to portray over 100 different characters and perform dozens of different dialects during

5751-515: Was fired for accomplishing what I had been hired to do. I was hired to pull the show together when it was in chaos." Conrad said, "I was totally shocked by it. Let's face it, the show is healthy. I think Fred Freiberger is totally correct in his concept of the show. It's an administrative change, for what reason I don't know." Mantley produced seven (15–21) episodes, then returned to his former position on Gunsmoke and Gene L. Coon took over as associate producer. By then, Garrison's conflict with CBS

5832-546: Was in New York. Garrison said to himself, 'Michael Dunn would make the most extraordinary villain. People have never seen anything like him before, and he's a fabulous little actor and he's funny as hell.' And, Garrison felt, if Michael Dunn sang on every show, with the girl, it would be an extraordinary running villain. He came backstage and he told us who he was and he said he was going to do a television show called The Wild Wild West and we would be called. We thought, 'Yeah, yeah, we've heard all that before.' But he did call us and

5913-478: Was making the film Young Dillinger (1965) with Nick Adams , Victor Buono and John Ashley (all of whom would later guest star on The Wild Wild West ) when his agent sent him to CBS to audition for the West role. Conrad claimed to be the 17th actor to test for the part. Others tested included Robert Horton , Ray Danton and James "Skip" Ward. Conrad also claimed that John Derek left the audition without testing. Conrad performed nearly all of his own stunts in

5994-421: Was named producer, but he was shifted to Rawhide , which had its own crisis when star Eric Fleming quit at the end of the 1964–65 season. Rawhide lasted another 13 episodes before it was cancelled by CBS. The network then hired Collier Young . In an interview, Young said he saw the series as The Rogues set in 1870 ( The Rogues , which he had produced, was about con men who swindled swindlers, much like

6075-502: Was never credited for his theme in any episode; it is believed that this was due to legal difficulties between CBS and Tiomkin over the rejection of the latter's work. Markowitz did receive "music composed and conducted by" credits for episodes he had scored (such as "The Night of the Bars of Hell" and "The Night of the Raven") or where he supplied the majority of tracked-in cues (such as "The Night of

6156-558: Was not sorry to see Young go: "I don't mind. All that guy did creatively was put the second 'wild' in the title. CBS did the right thing." Young's replacement, Fred Freiberger , returned the series to its original concept. It was on his watch that writer John Kneubuhl , inspired by a magazine article about Michael Dunn , created the arch-villain Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless . Phoebe Dorin, who played Loveless' assistant, Antoinette, recalled: "Michael Garrison came to see [our] nightclub act when he

6237-508: Was replaced by John Mantley , reputedly due to a behind-the-scenes power struggle. Mantley, who had been associate producer on Gunsmoke , produced seven episodes before he too was replaced. Mantley returned to his former position on Gunsmoke while Gene L. Coon took over the production reins for of The Wild Wild West . However, Coon left after six episodes to take a screenwriting assignment at Warner Bros. , leaving Michael Garrison to take on double-duty as producer and executive producer for

6318-475: Was replaced due to "a difference in concept between the network and [him]." Fred Freiberger , his replacement, brought the series back on track with adventures featuring beautiful women, strong adversaries, and "something very bizarre." Also under Freiberger the character of Dr. Loveless was created. Loveless became an immediate hit, resulting in actor Michael Dunn being contracted to do four episodes per season. However, after producing ten episodes, Fred Freiberger

6399-502: Was resolved and he returned to the executive producer role. Coon left after six episodes (22–27) to write First to Fight (1967), a Warner Bros. film about the Marines. Garrison produced the last episode of season 1 and the initial episodes of season 2. Garrison's return was much to the relief of Ross Martin, who once revealed that he was so disenchanted during the first season that he tried to quit three times. He explained that Garrison "saw

6480-408: Was tapped for The Wild Wild West , Lansbury was working with his twin brother, Edgar , producing legitimate theater on Broadway. The first season's episodes were filmed in black and white and they were darker in tone. Cinematographer Ted Voightlander was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on one of these episodes, "The Night of the Howling Light". Subsequent seasons were filmed in color and

6561-400: Was temporarily changed from No. 22 to No. 8 so that footage of the train could be flopped horizontally without the number appearing reversed. Footage of the Inyo in motion and idling was shot around Menifee, California , and reused in virtually every episode. Stock footage of Sierra No. 3 occasionally resurfaced as well. These trains were used only for exterior shots. The luxurious interior of

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