73-599: The Virginian (later renamed The Men from Shiloh in its final year) is an American Western television series starring James Drury in the title role, along with Doug McClure , Lee J. Cobb , and others. It originally aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971, for a total of 249 episodes. Drury had played the same role in 1958 in an unsuccessful pilot that became an episode of the NBC summer series Decision . Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute Western series (75 minutes excluding commercial breaks ). Cobb left
146-685: A science fiction Western called The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. , which lasted for only 27 episodes. In the fall of 1995, the UPN network aired its own science fiction Western, Legend , which ended after 12 episodes. Western TV shows from the 2000s included the Zorro-inspired, syndicated Queen of Swords , starring Tessie Santiago and filmed in Almeria , Spain; Louis L'Amour 's Crossfire Trail starring Tom Selleck ; Monte Walsh ; and Hillerman's Coyote Waits and A Thief of Time . DVDs offer
219-580: A Train" served as a backdoor pilot for the TV series Laredo . The cable channels of Encore Westerns, MoviePlex , and RetroPlex began airing complete, uncut commercial free episodes of The Virginian starting with a premier marathon in January 2010 and ending in December 2011. Seasons one through eight were shown. The Inspiration Network cable channel began a three-year agreement to run The Virginian starting with
292-575: A bonus disk with interviews from the actors. Euro Video of Germany released season one, part one, in Germany, on October 14, 2010. Season one, part two, was released June 16, 2011. The release is presented with original English audio with German subtitles, as well as a German-dubbed soundtrack. Acorn Media UK released the first season of The Virginian on DVD in the UK on April 4, 2011. The DVD also contains an interview with James Drury. Gold Key Comics published
365-1062: A children's audience; it was not until the near-concurrent debuts of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and the TV version of Gunsmoke in 1955 that adult Westerns appeared on television, and the genre became enormously popular. Notable TV Westerns include The Lone Ranger with Clayton Moore , The Gene Autry Show with Gene Autry , Gunsmoke with James Arness , Cheyenne with Clint Walker , Have Gun – Will Travel with Richard Boone , Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins , Wagon Train with Ward Bond and Robert Horton , Maverick with James Garner and Jack Kelly , Trackdown with Robert Culp , Wanted Dead or Alive with Steve McQueen , Bronco with Ty Hardin , Bat Masterson with Gene Barry , The Rifleman , Rawhide with Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood , Bonanza with Pernell Roberts and Dan Blocker , Laramie , The Virginian with James Drury and Doug McClure , The Big Valley with Barbara Stanwyck , The High Chaparral , and many others. By 1959, four years after
438-487: A co-starring horse such as Rogers' Golden Palomino, Trigger , who became a star in his own right. Other B-movie series were Lash LaRue and the Durango Kid . Herbert Jeffreys , as Bob Blake with his horse Stardust, appeared in a number of movies made for African American audiences in the days of segregated movie theaters. Bill Pickett , an African-American rodeo performer, also appeared in early Western films for
511-555: A cover of the theme song, backed with "One Summer in a Million", for Decca Records . In July 2003, Clarke and Drury, along with two other The Virginian co-stars, Roberta Shore and singer Randy Boone , were guests at the Western Film Fair in Charlotte , North Carolina . Clarke was a teenager when he married his first wife, Marilyn, and the couple had three boys within three years, Jeff, Dennis, and David. Clarke's second wife
584-587: A four-episode recurring role. His films in the 2010s include The Paperboy (2012) and Parkland (2013). In 2014, the production company L’Amoreaux/Bartlett/Race/Thomas sought actors for an independent TV pilot , Bandits and Tadpoles , written by Bartlett and Thomas and directed by Clarke, about a young boy whose daydreams put him in the American Old West of the Owen Wister novel The Virginian . It filmed June 26–30, 2014, near Austin , Texas , under
657-434: A good friendship off screen, and was loved by fans worldwide. Although he was with the show at the beginning, Clarke was being phased out of the show at the end of season two, but remained as a guest star for a few episodes in season three, before departing permanently. Played by Roberta Shore from seasons 1–4, Betsy was the only daughter of Judge Garth. Early in the series, she was made clear to be adopted, but nevertheless,
730-500: A late-era Western setting. The low-budget sitcom Dusty's Trail was an Old West adaptation of Gilligan's Island , complete with the star of the earlier show, Bob Denver . Little House on the Prairie was set on the frontier in the time period of the Western, but was essentially a family drama. Kung Fu was in the tradition of the itinerant gunfighter Westerns, but the main character
803-815: A marathon of episodes on September 22, 2012, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show. Cozi TV , the NBCUniversal classic television digital specialty network, began airing episodes in 2013. The show later returned to Encore Westerns and continues to air every weekday; a marathon of Drury-centric episodes was run shortly after his death in April 2020. Timeless Media Group (under license from NBCUniversal) has released all seasons of The Virginian on DVD in Region 1 . All episodes on all releases have been fully restored and digitally remastered in full color and are available in special collectors' edition tin cases. They also each include
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#1732906093887876-723: A more familiar tone. John Grainger (played by Charles Bickford) became the new owner. Elizabeth Grainger (played by Sara Lane ), was John Grainger's granddaughter. Her brother Stacey ( Don Quine ) rounded out this new cast. Although Price later left again, the series continued smoothly in the pattern he set. Due to Charles Bickford's sudden death in November 1967, season six saw Clay Grainger (John McIntire), take ownership of Shiloh after his brother John's apparent departure "on business". The sixth season also added Holly Grainger (played by Jeanette Nolan, McIntire's real-life wife, with whom he often worked professionally) as Clay's wife. Season seven had
949-462: A nearly all-Western format in 2022. Several Westerns have episodes that have lapsed into the public domain in the United States , allowing networks and stations to carry them without cost. Yellowstone , a neo-Western that debuted in 2018, jumped in ratings over the course of its third and fourth seasons to become one of cable television's most popular programs. Yellowstone , in turn, inspired
1022-549: A new character, Roy Tate, introduced in the fifth episode of the season. Granger said of his character: They had some idea of Colonel Mackenzie against the West. I wanted no part of that. Englishmen were running cattle here from the beginning. The English have this thing for land; for animals and crops... I said this old cocker's out of India and the colonies: he can take the American West on his own terms. In several countries, including
1095-456: A plot to destroy the judge's efforts to create a new town in the surrounding region. Other actors in the pilot, some of whom appeared in the series years later, included Andrew Duggan , Jeanette Nolan , and Dan Blocker (in a small, nonspeaking role). Set in the late 19th century, and loosely based on The Virginian, A Horseman of the Plains , a 1902 novel by Owen Wister, the series revolved around
1168-567: A second life to TV series like Peacemakers , and HBO's Deadwood . In 2002, a show called Firefly (created by Joss Whedon ) mixed the Western genre with science fiction. Breaking Bad , a neo-Western about crystal methamphetamine cooks in Albuquerque, NM , debuted in 2008 on AMC . Series with Western themes that debuted in the 2010s include Justified , about a Western-style vigilante U.S. Marshal based in modern rural Kentucky, which debuted in 2010 on FX ; Hell on Wheels , about
1241-461: A single issue of a comic book tie-in in summer 1963. Transogram published a board game in 1962. Westerns on television Television Westerns are programs with settings in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West , Western Canada and Mexico during the period from about 1860 to the end of the so-called " Indian Wars ". More recent entries in the Western genre have used
1314-549: A stern but loving grandfather to his two grandchildren, Stacey and Elizabeth. Although the Virginian and Mr. Grainger never quite had the father–son relationship that the Virginian and Judge Garth had, they got along well. Charles Bickford's death on November 9, 1967, was a shock to the cast. He was replaced by John McIntire as his brother Clay. Played by Don Quine , Stacey Grainger, the grandson of John Grainger, lived at Shiloh, beginning in season five. He worked alongside Trampas, and
1387-462: A touch of light comedy to the series to counterbalance the Virginian's serious manner. For part of season 9, the Trampas character wore a thick mustache and broader brimmed hat. Played by Gary Clarke , Steve was a good friend of both Trampas' and the Virginian's. He was constantly getting Trampas in and out of his usual scrapes. The on-screen chemistry that Gary Clarke and Doug McClure possessed reflected
1460-584: A traditionally-set Western prequel, 1883 , in 2021, and another series, 1923 , a year later, both of which were successes. Gary Clarke Gary Clarke (born Clarke Frederick L'Amoreaux ; August 16, 1933) is an American actor best known for his role as Steve Hill in the NBC Western television series The Virginian with James Drury and Doug McClure . Clarke was born in Los Angeles , California , of French and Mexican heritage, and grew up in
1533-446: A while, thus keeping a consistent story line; this differed from the book, where he was the deputy foreman, eventually promoted to foreman. The Virginian usually wore a black hat, black leather vest, black boots, a maroon red shirt and a single right-handed holster and revolver. He often ordered Monongahela brand whiskey in saloons. When making the show, the producers chose not to reveal the Virginian's real name, and little about his past
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#17329060938871606-541: The neo-Western subgenre, placing events in the modern day, or the space Western subgenre but still draw inspiration from the outlaw attitudes prevalent in traditional Western productions. When television became popular in the late 1940s and 1950s, TV Westerns quickly became an audience favorite, with 30 such shows airing at prime time by 1959. Traditional Westerns faded in popularity in the late 1960s, while new shows fused Western elements with other types of shows, such as family drama, mystery thrillers, and crime drama. In
1679-404: The soap opera genre and put it into a Western setting, with established TV Western star Jim Davis as patriarch Jock Ewing . The 1990s saw the networks filming Western movies on their own. These include Louis L'Amour's Conagher starring Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross , Tony Hillerman's The Dark Wind , The Last Outlaw , The Jack Bull , The Cisco Kid , The Cherokee Kid , and
1752-459: The 1958 film Dragstrip Riot , recalling that agent Byron Griffith, who had seen him perform in Glendale, arranged for an audition that eventually led to his filling the lead role. Clarke recalled: I drove from San Gabriel to Hollywood and read for the part, and I got in as a member of the good gang. I went back to work the next day and my agent called me again and he said, 'Gary, they have just lost
1825-509: The 1960-1961 season, he appeared as Dick Hamilton in the single-season NBC television series Michael Shayne , based on the fictional private detective character created by Brett Halliday , opposite Richard Denning as the title character. Afterward, he appeared as Tad Kimball, a friend of the character Jess Harper, played by Robert Fuller , in the episode "The Fatal Step" of the NBC Western series Laramie . Clarke played Steve Hill in
1898-560: The 1990s and 2000s, slickly packaged made-for-TV movie Westerns were introduced. The Saturday Afternoon Matinee on the radio were a pre-television phenomenon in the US which often featured Western series. Film Westerns turned John Wayne , Ken Maynard , Audie Murphy , Tom Mix , and Johnny Mack Brown into major idols of a young audience, plus " singing cowboys " such as Gene Autry , Roy Rogers and Dale Evans , Dick Foran , Rex Allen , Tex Ritter , Ken Curtis , and Bob Steele . Each cowboy had
1971-795: The 50th anniversary of The Virginian , at the Memphis Film Festival on May 31, 2012, the Western Legends Roundup on August 16, 2012, and the Autry National Center and Museum on September 22, 2012. During the 50th-anniversary event, INSP, the exclusive cable home to current reruns of "The Virginian" filmed content with the surviving cast to use in the "Cast Favorites Marathon", which continues to be aired several times each year. In 2017, INSP began airing The Men from Shiloh during their Saddle Up Weekends programming block. In April 1965, an episode of The Virginian titled "We've Lost
2044-583: The British/Australian Western Whiplash set in 1850/60's Australia with four scripts by Gene Roddenberry . Traditional Westerns began to disappear from television in the late 1960s and early 1970s as color television became ubiquitous. With the exception of the short-lived The Cowboys in 1974, 1968 was the last season any new traditional Westerns debuted on television; by 1969, after pressure from parental advocacy groups who claimed Westerns were too violent for television, all three of
2117-573: The NBC espionage sitcom Get Smart , which introduced the running character Hymie the Robot . All but one of his six produced scripts for the series("Appointment in Sahara") is about Hymie. In the 1980s and 1990s, he wrote and produced television public-service announcements including "Youth at Risk", narrated nonfiction short films including "Promoting Healthy Behavior", and appeared in TV series including Dynasty and The Young Riders , in which he had
2190-455: The NBC network to ABC, The Virginian was proposed to replace it. From the beginning, the 90-minute series was filmed in Technicolor on 35 mm movie film . The half-hour pilot in 1958 was filmed in black-and-white. The half-hour black and white pilot titled The Virginian aired in 1958 as part of the anthology series Decision , which in other weeks aired pilots for six other series. In
2263-427: The Plains , a 1902 Western novel by Owen Wister that Hollywood had previously adapted for movies. Percy Faith composed the show's original theme. The series ran for nine seasons, making it network television's third-longest running Western series, behind Bonanza at 14 seasons and 430 episodes, and Gunsmoke at 20 seasons and 635 episodes. When Revue Productions ' hour long series Wagon Train moved from
The Virginian (TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2336-465: The TV series Lonesome Dove . Zorro was remade with Duncan Regehr for The Family Channel filmed in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was an American Western/dramatic television series created by Beth Sullivan. It ran on CBS for six seasons, from January 1, 1993, to May 16, 1998, and won multiple Emmy awards. Walker, Texas Ranger was a long-running Western/crime drama series, set in
2409-465: The United Kingdom, the show went under the extended title The Virginian: Men from Shiloh. A new opening theme song was composed by Ennio Morricone , and the look of the show was changed reflecting a style similar to spaghetti Westerns , which were popular at the time. These changes brought a better ranking (number 18) in the top-30 primetime shows in the United States, after the previous year had
2482-682: The United States, Ireland, and several other countries, appearing in Western-themed conventions, festivals, celebrations, news programs, and TV specials to promote The Virginian. Along with Gary Clarke and Roberta Shore, he participated in interviews for the Encore Westerns channel. Drury also reunited with key cast members Randy Boone, Gary Clarke, and Roberta Shore at these events. In 2012, Drury also reunited with L. Q. Jones, Clu Gulager, Diane Roter, Sara Lane, and Don Quine in addition to Boone, Clarke, and Shore. Three events were held to celebrate
2555-572: The Virginian was the tough foreman of the Shiloh Ranch. Based loosely on the character in the Owen Wister novel, he always stood his ground firmly. Respected by the town citizens and the hands of the ranch, he was a prominent figure in Medicine Bow. In the series, the Virginian is the ranch foreman from the first episode. This way, the producers were able to establish a feeling that he had been there for
2628-512: The boom in TV Westerns began, thirty such shows were on television during prime time; none had been canceled that season, while 14 new ones had appeared. In one week in March 1959, eight of the top ten shows were Westerns, and an estimated $ 125 million in toys based on TV Westerns would be sold that year. Many were "four-wall Westerns", filmed indoors in three days or less with scripts of poor quality, and
2701-541: The cast of the long-running TV Western series The Virginian , remaining on the show from 1962 to 1964. His last series as a cast-member was the 1967 ABC Western Hondo , playing Captain Richards. Clarke said in an interview that his friend and co-star Steve Ihnat and he wrote the screenplay for director Ted V. Mikels ' film Strike Me Deadly (1963), though the film's credits list only Ihnat and Mikels. Later that decade, Clarke under his birth name wrote several scripts for
2774-537: The construction of the First transcontinental railroad across the United States, which debuted in 2011 on AMC ; and Longmire , about a modern-day Wyoming sheriff, which debuted in 2012 on A&E . The Mandalorian (2019) is a space Western set within the Star Wars franchise and universe, with its lead character, a Mandalorian , roaming the galactic frontier and borrowing character traits from Clint Eastwood . With
2847-452: The entire nine season run of The Virginian , with McClure the only other cast member to remain with the show for all nine seasons of The Virginian , though not in the initial pilot. Lee J. Cobb 's Judge Garth was portrayed as a stern man with a soft side to his personality, acting as a father figure to the Virginian. Respected by all the townspeople as well as his employees, Garth was often looked to as mediator for certain matters. Cobb left
2920-421: The entrance of David Sutton, played by David Hartman . Sutton was replaced in season eight with a younger hand, Jim Horn ( Tim Matheson ). In season 9 (1970–1971), the name of the program was changed to The Men from Shiloh and the look of the series was completely redesigned. Ownership of the Shiloh Ranch was changed once more, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie ( Stewart Granger ) took over. Also Lee Majors joined as
2993-460: The first four seasons (1962–1966), the owner of the ranch was Judge Henry Garth (Cobb). His de facto daughter Betsy ( Roberta Shore ) lived at the ranch with him, and had a sister relationship with the ranch hands. Ranch hand Steve Hill ( Gary Clarke ) joined in episode storylines. Randy Boone joined the show in the second season as a youthful ranch hand who played guitar and sang duets with Betsy. In 1965, Decca Records released an LP of songs from
The Virginian (TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3066-414: The first season indicate that setting is 1898: The series focused on the foreman's quest to maintain an orderly lifestyle at Shiloh Ranch. The ranch was named after the two-day American Civil War Battle of Shiloh , at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee . The show's white Appaloosa was named Joe D., and Trampas' buckskin horse was named Buck. Several cast changes were made throughout the program's run. In
3139-454: The foreman of the Shiloh Ranch, played by Drury. His top hand, Trampas (McClure), was the only character to remain with the show for the entire run, although Ross Elliott , as Sheriff Abbott, recurred throughout the run, appearing in 61 episodes over nine years. As in the book, the foreman went only by the name "the Virginian". The series was set in Medicine Bow, Wyoming . Various references in
3212-422: The four stars away from the ranch. Little seemingly could save it, as the final season brought in several big guest stars to the remaining episodes. The studio and network were set on ending the series, as evidenced by rivals CBS and ABC making demographic moves away from rural-oriented shows (see " rural purge "). The final episode aired on March 24, 1971, ending the show's nine-season run. Played by James Drury ,
3285-563: The genre's enormous popularity mystified even its creators; TIME quoted one of the about 100 writers for TV Westerns as wondering "I don't get it. Why do people want to spend so much time staring at the wrong end of a horse?" A horse cost up to $ 100 a day, compared to $ 22.05 for an extra; increasing production costs caused most action half-hour series vanishing in the early 1960s to be replaced by hour long television shows, increasingly in color. Two unusual Western series of this era are Zorro , set in early California under Spanish rule, and
3358-478: The growth of cable television and direct broadcast satellites , reruns of Westerns have become more common. Upon its launch in 1996, TV Land carried a block of Westerns on Sundays; the network still airs Bonanza and the color episodes of Gunsmoke to the present day, which make up several hours of their daytime schedule. Encore Westerns , part of the Encore slate of premium channels, airs blocks of Western series in
3431-445: The judge treated her as his own. Betsy and the ranch hands had a relationship similar to that of brother and sister. Trampas and Steve had a particular soft spot for her, often jumping to protect her, and looking out for her wellbeing. At the start of the series, Betsy was said to be 15 years old. In a season-four episode, "The Awakening", she married a minister ( Glenn Corbett ), and moved to Pennsylvania, reflecting Shore's departure from
3504-490: The lead in the movie. Can you get down here?' Yes! So I ... went home [from work] and changed and went down, and I read every day for five days. I didn't go back to work, I just kept calling in sick. He went on to work in other films, including How to Make a Monster , and Missile to the Moon (both 1958), Date Bait (1960), and Passion Street, U.S.A. (1964). He has said he was a contract player at Universal Pictures . In
3577-463: The lead role in Wagon Train upon the death of Ward Bond, assuming the role of the new wagonmaster. In season 9, The Virginian was revamped, and McIntire, along with Nolan, Lane, David Hartman, and Tim Matheson, left the show. The Virginian aired Wednesday at 7:30–9:00 pm on NBC for its entire run. Drury was an active advocate of the series since the end of the original airings. He traveled across
3650-419: The major networks ceased airing new Western series. Demographic pressures and overall burnout from the format may have also been a factor as viewers became bored and disinterested with the glut of Westerns on the air at the time. By 1971, production companies had acknowledged that "the Western idea is out." The two last traditional Westerns, Death Valley Days and Gunsmoke , ended their runs in 1975. While
3723-462: The modern era, in the United States, that starred and later was produced by Chuck Norris . It ran on CBS for nine seasons, from April 21, 1993, to May 19, 2001. For most of their time on air, Dr. Quinn and Walker aired on the same Saturday night lineup. Walker would receive a reboot in 2021, with a prequel, Walker: Independence , following in 2022. In the 1993–1994 season, the Fox network aired
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#17329060938873796-437: The morning and in the afternoon, while the channel airs Western films the rest of the day. MeTV , a digital broadcast channel, includes Westerns in its regular schedule as well, as does sister network Heroes & Icons . The family oriented INSP and Grit , another digital broadcast channel, also carry Westerns on its daytime schedules. INSP, previously a televangelism network, had such success with its Westerns that it adopted
3869-536: The pilot, unlike in the later series, the Virginian had a noticeable Southern accent and wore a belt buckle marked "CSA", indicating service in the Confederate States Army . The portrayal of him as a young American Civil War veteran would indicate that the time period of the pilot was decades earlier than that of the series. He arrived by invitation at the ranch of Judge Henry (Robert Burton) to be an accountant and manager. He soon becomes involved in unraveling
3942-581: The predominantly Chicano neighborhood of East Los Angeles . While in high school, he began pursuing the idea of an acting career, and after graduation won a role in a community theater play in San Gabriel, California . This led to work in a series of plays in Glendale . During this time, Clarke was working as a machinist in San Gabriel, as well as a newspaper deliveryman. Clarke began his screen career with
4015-524: The same audience. When the popularity of television exploded in the late 1940s and 1950s, Westerns quickly became a staple of small-screen entertainment. The first, on June 24, 1949, was the Hopalong Cassidy show, at first edited from the 66 films made by William Boyd . Many B-movie Westerns were aired on TV as time fillers, while a number of long-running TV Westerns became classics in their own right. The earliest TV Westerns were written primarily for
4088-416: The series after four seasons, and was replaced over the years by mature character actors John Dehner , Charles Bickford , John McIntire , and Stewart Granger , all portraying different characters. It was set before Wyoming became a state in 1890, as mentioned several times as Wyoming Territory, although other references set it later, around 1898. The series was loosely based on The Virginian: Horseman of
4161-415: The series near the end of season four. In the episode "Morgan Starr", the character was stated to have left Shiloh to become governor of Wyoming. Garth had previously said he would leave Shiloh to his daughter Betsy in "The Hero" (season three, episode four). Played by Doug McClure , the character of Trampas took on a completely different personality from the character in the novel. In Wister's book, Trampas
4234-400: The show for four seasons, leaving briefly at the beginning of season five, then returning for the rest of season five before leaving for good toward the end of season six. After Roberta Shore's departure, Diane Roter was brought in as the judge's niece. At the end of season four, along with Boone and Dehner, she left, making room for the new owners. Halfway through season four, Morgan Starr
4307-437: The show slip out of the top-30 rankings for the first time. (It was one of only four Western series shown in primetime.) The final season operated on a "rotating lead actor" basis of the four stars, with normally just one lead appearing each week. Two of the four lead actors (Lee Majors and Doug McClure) never appeared together in the last season. The ranch itself played a very nominal part in season 9, with most scripts featuring
4380-418: The show. Played by Randy Boone from seasons 2–4, Randy was a young ranch hand who played guitar and sang. He came into the show as Steve Hill was being phased out as a regular cast member. Before the new Grainger family was brought in for season five, his character was discontinued. At the beginning of season three, a new cast regular was introduced. Clu Gulager played the restless deputy Emmett Ryker. Ryker
4453-424: The spirit of the recently popularized James Bond franchise. F Troop was a satirical sitcom that made fun of the genre. The limited-run McCloud , which premiered in 1970, was essentially a fusion of the sheriff-oriented Western with the modern big-city crime drama. Its companion series Hec Ramsey was a lighthearted who-dunnit mystery series set in the late Western era, starring Richard Boone (previously of
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#17329060938874526-487: The title Billy and the Bandit , with a cast including James Drury and Roberta Shore , from Clarke's old series The Virginian ; 11-year-old Jordan Elsass as Billy; Ava L'Amoreaux and Donny Boaz as his parents; and Buck Taylor as a ranch foreman. While a cast-member of Michael Shayne , Clarke released the single "Tomorrow May Never Come", backed with "One Way Ticket", for RCA Victor Records . While on The Virginian , he sang
4599-440: The traditional Western Have Gun, Will Travel ; Boone described the characters in each series as very similar ) as a retired gunfighter turned detective. Cimarron Strip , a lavish 90-minute 1967 series starring Stuart Whitman as a U.S. Marshal , was canceled after a single season primarily because of its unprecedented expense. Nichols featured former Maverick star James Garner as a motorcycle-riding, unarmed peacemaker in
4672-589: The traditional Westerns mostly died out in the late 1960s, more modernized Westerns, incorporating story concepts from outside the traditional genre, began appearing on television shortly thereafter. A number of the new shows downplayed the traditional violent elements of Westerns, for example by having the main characters go unarmed and/or seek to avoid conflicts, or by emphasizing fantasy, comedy or family themes. The Wild Wild West , which ran from 1965 to 1969, combined Westerns with science fiction (what later would be termed steampunk ) and an espionage-thriller format in
4745-499: The two become good friends. Stacey's sister Elizabeth looked up to him as a big brother, and he filled the role more than competently. Quine's two seasons on The Virginian were the only ones that finished in the Nielsen rating top-15 year-end rankings. Stacey's younger sister Elizabeth ( Sara Lane ) was the granddaughter of John Grainger, starting in season five. Trampas, the Virginian, and Stacey all looked out for her wellbeing. Elizabeth
4818-456: The two singing actors. In the episode "First to Thine Own Self" (February 12, 1964), Boone's character sings " I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry ", written by Hank Williams in 1949. In the third season, Clu Gulager , who had previously guest-starred twice in earlier seasons, was added to the show as deputy Emmett Ryker. At the end of season three, executive producer Frank Price was replaced by Norman Macdonnell . Conversely, season four's production
4891-499: Was a Shaolin monk , the son of an American father and a Chinese mother, who fought only with his formidable martial art skill. Bruce Lee had proposed a series with a similar concept, The Warrior , but studios rejected it; it would eventually be produced over 40 years after Lee's death. The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams was a family adventure show about a gentle mountain man with an uncanny connection to wildlife who helps others who visit his wilderness refuge. Dallas took
4964-445: Was a villain throughout the story and at the end was shot by the Virginian. In the series, producers chose to make Trampas a fun-loving and rowdy character; McClure fit the part perfectly. Trampas, a sandy-haired, rowdy cowhand who eventually settled down on the ranch, was by far the most developed character in the series, as compared to the minimal history on the title character. Several episodes were made detailing his past. McClure added
5037-422: Was actually made known, making the Virginian an intriguing and mysterious character. The foreman worked under five ranch owners throughout the series: Judge Garth (Lee J. Cobb), Morgan Starr (John Dehner), John Grainger (Charles Bickford), Clay Grainger (John McIntire), and Colonel Alan Mackenzie (Stewart Granger). Drury was the only cast member to appear in the pilot (aired as an episode of the series Decision ) and
5110-453: Was brought in to run the ranch for Judge Garth because of Garth's appointment as governor of Wyoming. John Dehner played a tough and demanding man, who was hard to befriend, as the Virginian and Trampas soon found out. Fans disliked Dehner's character, and he left the show at the end of the season. At the beginning of season five, with Judge Garth, Betsy, and Jennifer gone, a new character was brought in to run Shiloh. Charles Bickford played
5183-439: Was cast as a teenage girl enjoying her life on the frontier. She loved horses, riding the range, and going to the ever-present Saturday-night dances. Sara Lane departed the series in season eight. After the death of Charles Bickford, John McIntire was hired as his brother, Liz and Stacey's great uncle. Clay had a wife, Holly ( Jeanette Nolan ), and was the ranch owner for seasons five through eight. McIntire had earlier taken over
5256-456: Was strained and troublesome. When Shore left the cast, Macdonnell added a new leading woman— Diane Roter , who played Jennifer, the judge's niece. When Cobb left the show in 1966, John Dehner , as Morgan Starr, was brought in as the manager of Shiloh when Judge Garth left to become the governor of Wyoming. Producer Frank Price returned for season five. The characters of Randy, Morgan Starr, and Jennifer were subsequently replaced with characters of
5329-405: Was the first cast regular not to live on Shiloh. A former lawman turned hired gun, because the pay was better, Ryker decided to settle in Medicine Bow before he took his new profession too far. He was hired by Sheriff Abbott, with whom he had been acquainted, after solving the murder of a prominent rancher in the introductory episode "Ryker". He became the sheriff in season four. Gulager remained with
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