‘DICK JONES – WHERE THE ACTION WAS’ REVIEWED, PLUS REMEMBERING ROBERT HORTON, PETER BROWN

Dick Jones, Gene Autry, Jock Mahoney

DICK JONES – WHERE THE ACTION WAS, by Ann Snuggs - A Book Review

I was sad when Dick Jones passed away, in the summer of 2014, not just because he was a very nice guy and a fine talent, but because, although we’d met a half-dozen times, and discussed doing it, I’d never convinced him to sit down for an interview about his remarkable career.  I was relieved to learn that Maxine Hansen, Executive Assistant to Mrs. Gene Autry, had interviewed Dick for her Western Television Oral History Project at The Autry (you can read more about that HERE ).

And now I’m delighted to learn that Dick also gave extensive interviews to author Ann Snuggs, which have resulted in the highly readable and informative book DICK JONES – WHERE THE ACTION WAS, from Bear Manor Media.  In the early days of television, in his twenties, Dick starred in a pair of TV series for producer Gene Autry, THE RANGE RIDER, and BUFFALO BILL JR.  Those series are the focus of Snuggs’ book; she’s writing another volume about his early career, and some of his later films.

Dick Jones creating the voice of Pinnochio

Texas-born Dick Jones – he was known as Dickie Jones when he was younger – was discovered by cowboy-turned-stuntman-turned-Western star Hoot Gibson, who billed the four year-old as ‘The World’s Youngest Trick-Rider and Trick Roper’.  Hoot told the kid he ‘oughta be in pitchers’, and Dickie’s mom said, “Whoopee!,” recalled Dick.  “And away we went to Hollywood.”  Dickie was busy in the movies from the mid-1930s, quickly graduating from unbilled bits in OUR GANG comedies to good roles in Republic serials like BLAKE OF SCOTLAND YARD (1936), and parts in major films like THE BLACK LEGION (WB-1936), working with Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan.  But he really made a splash in 1940, as the voice of the wooden boy in Walt Disney’s PINNOCHIO.  After a stint in the Army during World War II, Jones returned to acting, and did five features with Gene Autry. 

That association with Autry led to Jones starring in his two TV series.  THE RANGE RIDER, a fictional western hero, was played by stuntman-turned-actor Jock Mahoney, and Dick played his enthusiastic young wingman Dick West.  The show lasted from 1951 until 1953, producing 78 half-hour episodes.  There were several other kid or family-aimed action Western series at the time; the GENE AUTRY SHOW, THE ROY ROGERS SHOW, THE LONE RANGER, HOPALONG CASSIDY, CISCO KID and RIN-TIN-TIN to name some of the best.  But what set RANGE RIDER apart was the action.  In addition to being likeable personalities and competent actors, Mahoney and Jones were both spectacular athletes, horsemen and stuntmen.  The stars of many of the other shows were starting to show their years, requiring a lot of make-up, and the constant use of stunt doubles.  But when other shows’ cameras would pull back to a long-shot, the RANGER RIDER’s could move in for close-ups as Jock and Dick rode, brawled, tumbled, crashed through windows, and generally destroyed the sets, gleefully producing the kind of choreographed mayhem that made life worth living to kids watching at home.     

In 1955 and 1956, Dick Jones, sans Jock Mahoney, starred as BUFFALO BILL, JR., for 42 equally action-packed episodes.   Here, in shows often built around historical characters,  Jones was the definite lead, with Nancy Gilbert as his kid sister Calamity (and no, they weren’t really supposed to be related to Cody or to Calamity Jane), both being raised by Judge Ben ‘Fair and Square’ Wiley (character actor Harry Cheshire).  

Ann Snuggs’ book details the history of both series.  She looks at not only the star casts, but Gene Autry’s Flying A Productions’ ‘stock company’ of actors – the Lee Van Cleefs and Denver Pyles – and the writers and directors, many from the B-Western world, who made their series so entertaining.  Snuggs examines both series episode by episode, but no surprise, the best parts are the insights from Jones himself, often extensive quotes, about how the shows were made, memories of particular episodes and guest stars, and his adventures with Jocko both on- and off-screen. 

It’s hilarious to learn that Jones always hated the opening trick-riding footage of him in the RANGER RIDER credits because the horse wasn’t moving fast enough – it’s sure fast enough to scare the heck out of me!  And it’s fascinating to learn some of the clever secrets behind Autry’s production approach.  For instance, they shot two episodes a week simultaneously, so any guest star would do two episodes instead of just one. 

In the 1970s, Gene Autry was in the process of acquiring the rights of all his feature films, and in order to raise the money, he made an understandable, but to my mind regrettable, decision.  He retained the rights to THE GENE AUTRY SHOW, but sold off the rights to his other series, both RANGE RIDER and BUFFALO BILL, JR., as well as THE ADVENTURES OF CHAMPION and ANNIE OAKLEY.  RANGE RIDER and BUFFALO BILL, JR. have both since lapsed into the public domain.  The good news is that episodes of both series are readily available on DVD from a number of companies; the bad news is that the condition and selection varies greatly.  The good folks at Alpha Video have several volumes of each series, each volume a 4-episode disk.  I checked out the first two volumes of each series; the quality is variable, and some have a bit of ‘hiss’ on the soundtrack, but all are perfectly watchable, and the shows are great fun.  While the mix of episodes is random, volume 1 of BBJ includes the premiere episode, FIGHT FOR GERONIMO; volume 2 includes THE DEATH OF JOHNNY RINGO, aired in the second season but believed to be the pilot that sold the show, and featuring Angie Dickinson and James Best.  You can find them HERE.

Dick Jones at the  Silver Spur Awards

The book includes an introduction by Western music legend Johnny Western, the man who wrote and sang the theme for HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL, among many others.  He credits his career to Dick Jones.  You can buy DICK JONES – WHERE THE ACTION WAS, HERE.

REMEMBERING ROBERT HORTON AND PETER BROWN

Peter Brown and John Russell in LAWMAN

It seems so wrong to lose them; they were the young ones.  On WAGON TRAIN, Robert Horton was Flint McCulloch, the young and cocky scout, the only man not intimidated by the wagon-master, portrayed by Ward Bond .  On LAWMAN, Peter Brown was Johnny McKay, the brave but insecure deputy, opposite John Russell. 

Diane Baker with Robert Horton in

THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF KIOWA JONES

Brown went on to another great Western TV success, LAREDO, first as one of a trio, then a quartet, of Texas Rangers.  Horton next starred in a series that was, in a way, a prototype for the continuing dramas of today, starring as A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH, a man beaten so badly that he develops amnesia, and searches for his identity, and the reason for the attack.

Both men continued to make Westerns, but neither restricted themselves to the form.  Brown did many features, TV movies, and soap operas.  Horton did film and television, and a great deal of theatre.  One particularly interesting Western project Horton starred in was THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF KIOWA JONES (1966), where he played a drifting cowboy ‘guilted’ by a dying lawman into transporting a pair of killers.  A TV movie meant as a series pilot, it’s a shame it didn’t sell.

Both Horton and Brown made frequent appearances at Western film events in recent years, and seemed happy to meet their fans.  You can catch Robert Horton in WAGON TRAIN on ME-TV, and in A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH on GET-TV.  Peter Brown’s LAREDO is also shown on GET-TV, and the Warner Archive recently released all seasons of LAWMAN.  All the shows hold up well.  Like their stars, they’ve stood the test of time.  Not a bad legacy.

THAT’S A WRAP!

Kind of a short Round-up this time out, but I hope to have more time to fill out the next one a bit more.  Check the April TRUE WEST on newsstands now.  It’s our LONESOME DOVE issue, and features my interview with the great Robert Duvall, and my rundown of all the DOVE-related events happening in Texas this spring!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Material Copyright March 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

‘KILL OR BE KILLED’ REVIEW, PLUS MILES SWARTHOUT TRIBUTE, ‘WORD ON WESTERNS’, ‘HIGH CHAPARRAL’ REUNION!

Justin Meeks

KILL OR BE KILLED – A Movie Review

It’s not by chance that, although it was shot in Texas, filmmakers Duane Graves and Justin Meeks have the main credits playing over vista shots chosen to look like Almeria, Spain locations impersonating Texas.  The titles themselves are in the Spaghetti Western style, and the fine score by John Constant and Nick Durham, while not blatantly imitative, is surely influenced by Ennio Morricone.  KILL OR BE KILLED is a Texas Western with roots in Tabernas. 

Graves and Meeks have co-directed and co-written, and Justin Meeks stars as Claude ‘Sweet Tooth’ Barbee, in this story of the aftermath of a train robbery.   It seems the robbery went well, and everyone escaped except for ‘Slap’ Jack Davis (Paul McCarthy-Boyington), who managed to hide the loot near Galveston before his capture.  The gang – to call them a company of rogues is to put it generously – springs ‘Slap’ Jack from a prison railroad construction gang, and they head back to Galveston to claim their booty. 

They have many adventures along the way, with messengers, ventriloquists, parsons, whores, lawmen, children, families, doctors – many of whom they kill.  But then, the gang members themselves start being killed off in eerie ways.  Will any of them be left to find the hidden cache of gold? 

A low-budget indie Western that belies its small cost, the film is highly professional in all technical aspects, with convincing production design.  It’s beautifully shot by Brandon Torres, who makes full use of the richly varied landscape of Texas, from mountain to desert to ocean to forest.  A Horror film as well as a Western, it is unflinchingly brutal: the camera goes in, not away, for dangling entrails and bullet-hits to the head. 

The cast, though largely unfamiliar, are convincing in their roles, and there are a couple of well-known faces: Pepe Serna as a man who runs a strange family business out of his home, and Michael Berryman – the terrifying gargoyle from THE HILLS HAVE EYES – as a kindly town doctor! 

There is a growing, creepy fascination to the tale as it wends its way.  But the story has one striking flaw: with absolutely nothing redeeming about any members of the gang, there is no one for the viewer to care about, or root for, except for some of the victims. 

Michael Berryman

KILL OR BE KILLED is available on Amazon and other VOD services, and on DVD from RLJ Entertainment. 

WEDNESDAY’S COWBOY LUNCH – WESTERNS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

Wednesday, March 16^th Rob Word again presents A Word on Westerns at the Autry’s Crossroads West Café, his every-other-month luncheon, get together and discussion of Western movies, featuring the folks the folks who made ‘em.  This time the topic is Westerns You Might Have Missed,  and his guests include actor Tom Bower, whose Westerns include BALLAD OF GREGORIO CORTEZ (1982) ,  Louis L’Amour’s SHAUGHNESSY (1996), and APPALOOSA (2008).  Also on board is Mitch Ryan, who starred with Lee Marvin and Jack Palance in MONTE WALSH (1970), THE HUNTING PARTY (1971), and THE HONKERS (1972) with James Coburn.  Rand Brooks Jr., whose father was Scarlet O’Hara’s first husband in GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) will be there to discuss his father’s career as Lucky Jenkins in the HOPALONG CASSIDY movies. And for your musical entertainment, there will be Will Ryan and the Saquaro Sisters.  As always, the event is free – you just have to buy your own lunch.  The fun starts at noon, and if you plan to attend, get there early, because they always have a packed house for Rob’s events! 

Rob attended, and recorded, the ceremony where composer Ennio Morricone received his much-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Take a look.  And incredibly, he shot this on his I-phone!

‘HIGH CHAPARRAL’ REUNION STARTS THURSDAY MARCH 17^TH!

March 17^th through the 20^th, Old Tucson Studios, the original home of the HIGH CHAPARRAL series, where Big John Cannon’s ranch-house still proudly stands, will be the site of the HIGH CHAPARRAL REUNION 2016!  Returning to their old galloping-grounds will be series stars Don Collier, Rudy Ramos and BarBara Luna.  They’ll be joined by a posse of stars from other Western series, including Robert Fuller from LARAMIE and WAGON TRAIN, Darby Hinton from DANIEL BOONE and the recent TEXAS RISING, Roberta Shore from THE VIRGINIAN, frequent John Wayne co-star Eddie Faulkner, and Stan Ivar from LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE.  Also on-board are HIGH CHAPARRAL producers Kent and Susan McCray, and writers and historians Boyd Magers, Charlie LeSueur, Neil Summers, and Joel McCrea’s son Wyatt McCrea. 

Even if you haven’t made your reservations in advance, you can still attend!  You can find your options by visiting the official site HERE.

And here’s something special for all HIGH CHAPARRAL fans, and it’s free!  Last year the Reunion inaugurated a live Webcast of the event.  It was not cheap, but it was very entertaining and informative.  HIGH CHAPARRAL REUNION Top Hand Penny McQueen has decided that this year’s Webcast will be FREE!  You’ll be able to watch it HERE starting Thursday! 

‘THE SHOOTIST’ SCRIPTER MILES SWARTHOUT DIES

Me interviewing Miles at the Cowboy Festival

All of us in the Western writing community were stunned and saddened to learn of the death of Miles Swarthout.  A Western novelist in his own right, most recently with the fine THE LAST SHOOTIST, Miles was also the son of legendary authors Glendon and Kathryn Swarthout.  He was a man of humor, and of strong opinions, and mentor to a number of now-successful writers.  I’m re-posting the interview I had with Miles at 2014’s Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival at Melody Ranch, at the OutWest Buckaroo Bookstore. 

MILES SWARTHOUT INTERVIEW

HENRY: It gives me great pleasure to introduce Miles Swarthout, a very talented author whose writing about 90% of you have appreciated, even though you haven’t read it.  Because he’s a screenwriter.  This is the man who wrote the screenplay for THE SHOOTIST, John Wayne’s final film, and one of his finest.  And in scripting THE SHOOTIST, he had the rare challenge not only of adapting a great novel, but a great novel that his own father, Glendon Swarthout, had written.  Glendon wrote sixteen novels, and several became movies, including 7^TH CAVALRY, starring Randolph Scott; THEY CAME TO CORDURA, starring Gary Cooper; BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN, WHERE THE BOYS ARE, and premiering this May at the Cannes Film Festival, THE HOMESMAN, directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones, and starring Hilary Swank and Meryl Streep.  Welcome, Miles.  Can you tell us a little about THE HOMESMAN?

MILES: THE HOMESMAN was a novel that my dad wrote, and came out in 1988.  That year it swept the Western genre  awards, winning The Wrangler Award, from the Western Heritage Association, affiliated with the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, and the WWA Spur Award for the Best Western Novel of 1988.  Paul Newman was the original director who bought the film rights to THE HOMESMAN.  I worked on the original drafts, adaptations for Paul Newman.  But Paul jumped around studios; the Writer Guild Strike intervened in 1988 for about six months, and several other screenwriters later on got attached to the project doing different drafts.  Paul became too old to play the title role any more, as the rugged frontiersman, and had different stars attached to play the lead role.  It just didn’t happen.  He sold the rights back to SONY PICTURES/COLUMBIA, when he had Bruce Willis attached to play the homesman, but it fell into what’s called ‘development Hell.’  Nothing happened to it for a number of years – they couldn’t get it financed.  Paul Newman died of cancer a few years after that.  But Tommy Lee Jones was looking around to direct and star in another Western, and he had the same talent agency (as Paul Newman), Creative Artists, that remembered this book that Paul Newman had tried a number of times to get made with different stars.  Tommy got the financing from his buddy, the French director Luc Besson, who has his own films studio outside of Paris, and his own film distribution company.  Luc also financed Tommy Lee’s last western that he directed in 2005, THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA.  That was a contemporary western shot down in Texas.  That won a couple of awards at Cannes in 2005.  Creative Artists helped Tommy put together the cast for THE HOMESMAN.  It’s fantastic: Hilary Swank, the two-time Oscar winner is Tommy’s co-star.  Tommy Lee Jones is an Oscar winner for THE FUGITIVE with Harrison Ford, Best Supporting Actor.  And they’ve got Meryl Streep in the movie – she’s got a cameo role.  And Streep’s youngest daughter, her name is Grace Gummer; she has a bigger part in the film.  John Lithgow, two-time Oscar nominee is in it.  James Spader, who’s in the NBC hit THE BLACK LIST is in the film.  They’ve got an Oscar-nominated cinematographer, and a two-time Oscar-nominated composer, Marco Beltrami, has done the music.  

HENRY:  Speaking of the cast, I understand that Barry Corbin is in the film.  Hasn’t he worked with Tommy Lee Jones before?

MILES: He was in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, playing Tommy Lee’s father in that. 

HENRY:  The premise of THE HOMESMAN is a little outrageous.  Could you give us a summary of it?

MILES:  The Homesman is a claim jumper.  It’s set in the 1850s, the Great Plains state of Nebraska.  He’s a claim jumper, and some of the local residents take offense that he’s sitting on one of their buddy’s claims, while their buddy has gone back east to find a wife.  They blast him out of this sod home that he’s roosting in, and almost hang him, and a spinster woman, Hilary Swank, comes along.  She decides to let him go, because she’s just been chosen by a lottery system by the community, in this small frontier farming town on the Great Plains, to drive back east four women who have gone insane after this very hard winter.  They’ve gone crazy, and they can’t take care of them in this remote area, so someone has to drive them across the Missouri River, the Big Muddy, and back to civilization.

HENRY: Have you run into any complaints about sexism – why do the women go crazy, and not the men?

MILES: Historically some of the men went crazy, too.  They became raving alcoholics; they couldn’t keep them in the local jails.  If they were disruptive and making people angry or uncomfortable, somebody’d just shoot them, but they wouldn’t do that to a woman.  This is a very unusual story, a female-oriented Western, a mismatched couple running this wagon east with some women who have gone insane. 

HENRY: Let’s talk about THE SHOOTIST.  What was it like to adapt a novel to a screenplay with a man, not just the author, but your father, looking over your shoulder?

MILES: Well, that was my first screenplay adaptation, and you’re talking with the creative genius who made up the story in the first place, so he’s got a lot of good input.  My dad did not write screenplays.  He worked on the very first one for six months at Columbia Pictures, his best-selling novel, THEY CAME TO CORDURA.  He was out in Hollywood, and he got job offers after that, to work for Burt Lancaster’s company Hecht, Hill and Lancaster, but he turned them down.  He said no, I’m going back to Michigan State in East Lansing, to teach honors English.  And I’m going to write other books, and I don’t want people telling me how to make changes and how to write stuff.  So he gambled, and that turned out very well for him.  His second novel was WHERE THE BOYS ARE, 1960, and it was a big hit for MGM, with Connie Francis singing the theme.  But your question was about adapting THE SHOOTIST.  And of course I showed him drafts, and we discussed stuff.  I did get a screen credit on that.  They did make a lot of changes.  Don Siegel, the director, had another writer that he’d worked with before, a guy named Scott Hale, who was making changes on the set constantly, for Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne, and big stars with big egos who wanted things adjusted and changed.  So he wrote just enough of the rewritten script to get screen credit on the film.  But luckily, it turned out, even though it was a very difficult shoot, in Carson City, Nebraska, and on the backlot at Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank.  They had a lot of problems; Wayne came down with the flu and an ear infection.  And he was in the hospital for a couple of weeks.  They shut down filming, and he came back and got sick again, and they put him back in the hospital.  They didn’t know if he was going to live, and if they could even finish the movie.  So a lot of stuff had to be adjusted.  It was the last film he ever made.  His health deteriorated after that, and about two years later, John Wayne died.  But the movie, even though he was feuding all the time of the filming with this tough director, Don Siegel, turned out very well.  They had a great supporting cast.  John Wayne was playing a gunfighter who was dying of cancer in the film.  It was prostate cancer in the film.  But Wayne had lost one lung a couple of years ago to lung cancer, and he knew at the time of shooting THE SHOOTIST that his cancer had come out of remission, and he didn’t tell the doctors and he didn’t tell the filmmakers.  So he was obviously in some pain while making this movie.  He’s playing a gunfighter dying of cancer, and he’s got cancer at the same time: talk about a movie that was hand-tailored for a famous actor as his last film.  It just turned out very well.

HENRY:  It certainly did.  As you said, your father did not write for the screen, but by the time he wrote THE SHOOTIST, he was well aware that he had a real good chance of having his novels filmed.  He’d had several movies already done very successfully.  Do you think he had a movie in mind as he was writing the book?  Do you think he thought of John Wayne?

MILES:  No, he didn’t think of John Wayne.  The original guy that the two producers, Bill Self and Mike Frankovich wanted to play the Shootist, was George C. Scott.  And George C. Scott read the book and screenplay and said, “I’d love to do this.  Don’t change one word of the script.”  We thought that sounds great.  But the producers took it around to all the studios with George C. Scott attached as the shootist.  And all the studios went, ‘No, General Patton can’t be a cowboy.’  He’d already won his Oscar playing Patton, and they wouldn’t bankroll it.  But Wayne at the same time had heard about this story, and he started lobbying for the role, because he was the right age, and with Wayne attached as the shootist, they got half of the eight million dollar budget from Paramount Pictures, for the North American rights.  And they got the other half of the money from the famous Italian producer Dino de Laurentiis.  He made that big monkey movie with Jessica Lange – KING KONG, and a whole bunch of other movie.  Dino didn’t speak English very well, so he couldn’t read it; they had to tell him the story.  And he said, “John Wayne, cowboy?  Ya, he be good.”  The Duke was cast, and then a whole bunch of really good ‘name’ supporting actors – Jimmy Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, Hugh O’Brien, all worked at lower than their normal salaries to be in this, because word had gotten around that Wayne’s health was pretty shaky, and it might be his last picture.  Hollywood supports its own – particularly its legends like John Wayne.  So that’s how they got a great cast, and the rest is film history.   It’s now considered to be one of his five best Westerns.  It’s past the test of time.  

HENRY:  I was just reading where Harry Carey Jr. was saying that while John Wayne got his Oscar for TRUE GRIT, and deserved it, he deserved it even more for THE SHOOTIST. 

‘THE SHOOTIST’ SPOILER ALERT!

HENRY: The book is a very tight 158 pages, but still, no book reaches the screen without edits.  What sort of changes needed to be made, to make it into a movie? 

MILES:  You have to cut out some of the characters.  You have to trim it to get about a 120 page script – about a page a minutes.  The ending of the novel is different than the ending of the movie.  John Wayne dictated the ending of the movie, and there was a lot of controversy over this.  In the ending of the movie, John Wayne has this big shootout in this fancy saloon.  And he shoots Hugh O’Brien, and he shoots Richard Boone – who was a late addition.  That was a different character than the character in the book.  And John Wayne, after shooting these guys, and being wounded, and already knowing he’s dying of cancer – sort of committing suicide – the bartender comes out with a shotgun and shoots him – blows him in the back.  So he’s dying, when Ron Howard comes into the saloon, the bartender is reloading.  Ron takes Wayne’s Remington .44, and shoots the bartender, and kills the guy who shot John Wayne.  And then, as dictated by the Duke, Ron throws the gun away.  This is a kid, the Shootist is his hero, and he wants to be a gunfighter, too.  But now that he’s killed a man, he throws the gun away, renounces violence, and goes home with his mother, played by Lauren Bacall.  The problem with this ending is there’s no possible sequel.  Hollywood loves sequels.  In the book, John Wayne is dying.  The kid doesn’t shoot the bartender, but John Wayne asks Ron Howard to kill him, ‘Finish me off.’  And the Ron Howard character says ‘okay,’ and he shoots him – it’s a mercy killing, and Wayne asked for it.  And they had already made a deal in advance that Ron gets his two Remington .44 pistols.  He takes them, and walks outside of the saloon – it’s a great ending passage.  And people are asking if they can buy the guns, and what happened in there.  The Shootist has killed all the hard-cases in El Paso, and suddenly, the kid is the one who killed The Shootist.  And that’s the sequel –

HENRY: If I ever heard one!  Somebody should write it!

MILES:  (laugh) My new novel is called THE LAST SHOOTIST, and it’s coming out in October from Forge Books-MacMillan in New York City.  And it’s the next six months in this kid’s life.  The Shootist is dead, but this kid has got John Wayne’s matched pistols, and he’s got to flee 1901 El Paso, because the sheriff is after him.  The sheriff wants those guns because they’re very valuable.  The kid’s on the run, and he goes through various adventures in New Mexico with a wannabe novelist, and then on to Bisbee, Arizona, which was a copper-mining boom-town at that time.  The character of the Shootist, my dad loosely based on John Wesley Hardin, who killed 44 men, and was a real gun-spinner.  Hardin in real life had a special vest made up with leather pockets, so that he could cross-draw his guns.  They tried to do that for John Wayne in the movie, made a special vest for him, but Wayne was overweight and too big, and couldn’t get the guns out easily from under his overcoat, so they had to go back to the six-guns in holsters on his waist. But I’ve changed that in my sequel.  The kid is eighteen years old and has terrific hand-eye coordination, and he is the last Shootist.  If you like the original, hopefully you’ll like my sequel.       

 

HENRY: Speaking of your novels, I notice you have another, THE SERGEANT’S LADY. 

MILES:  That was my first novel.  That was based on an extension of one of my dad’s short stories for the old Saturday Evening Post, and that won a Spur back in 2004 as the Best First Western Novel of the Year, from the Western Writers of America.

THE LAST SHOOTIST is now available, and if you’d like a preview, go HERE, to Miles Swarthout’s site, where you can read the end of THE SHOOTIST and the start of THE LAST SHOOTIST.

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Just as I was going to post, I heard that Robert Horton, who played scout Flint McCullough on 187 episodes of WAGON TRAIN, has died at age 91.  He was a fine actor, with an amused twinkle in his eye, and the only one who was never intimidated by Ward Bond’s Seth Adams.  I’ll have more to say about this versatile actor, and his other roles, in the next Round-up.

Happy trails,

Henry

All Original Content Copyright March 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

‘HONDO’, ‘NICHOLS’, ‘SHENANDOAH’ RETURN, PLUS SILVER SPURS HONOR ‘GUNSMOKE’ AND MUCH MORE!

GET-TV BRINGS BACK ‘HONDO’, ‘NICHOLS’ AND ‘MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH’!

Robert Horton is A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH

Three Western series from the sixties and early seventies, two of which haven’t been seen since their original airdates, will be returning starting September 12^th on GET-TV, a SONY-owned antenna company in some markets, and cable or satellite in others.  

For years, series that had less than a hundred episodes were not considered worth syndicating.  All three series had just one season each: A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH (1965) produced 34 segments, NICHOLS (1971) had 24, and HONDO (1967) just 17.  But the recent success of very short-lived programs, particularly ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (2003), whose production was actually revived after a seven-year hiatus, has proved there is life in a good show no matter how few the episodes.  

SHENANDOAH was developed by writer-producer E. Jack Neuman, who previously created MR. NOVACK (1963), and would go on to develop THE BLUE KNIGHT (1973), POLICE STORY (1973) and PETROCELLI (1974). It starred Robert Horton – still going strong at 91 – who’d starred for years on WAGON TRAIN as head scout Flint McCulloch.  When he left the series in 1962, he announced that he would not do a Western series again, but was tempted back by the tale of a man who awakens from a savage beating with no memory of who he is, or why anyone would want to kill him.  As he travels the West looking for answers, his adventures involve a stellar group of guest stars: Oscar winners Cloris Leachman, Martin Landau and George Kennedy, as well as Bruce Dern, John Ireland, Warren Oates, Sally Kellerman, L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin.

James Garner as NICHOLS

Between his great TV successes MAVERICK (1957-1962) and THE ROCKFORD FILES (1974-1980), James Garner starred as the lead character in NICHOLS, one of his personal favorites.  Set in the early 20^th century, Garner plays a career soldier now tired of fighting, who comes home to the town named for his family, and is bullied into becoming its lawman, a job he does without packing a gun, and riding an Indian chopper instead of a horse.  Created by Frank Pierson, writer Juanita Bartlett wrote several episodes before moving with Garner to ROCKFORD FILES, and NICHOLS shares its humorously savvy tone.  Margot Kidder plays Ruth, the Miss Kitty of the town, and unlike at the Longbranch, you have no doubts about what goes on upstairs.

Ralph Taeger as HONDO

Of the three series, only HONDO had exposure after cancellation.  In 1988, Ted Turner bought MGM’s library, and created TNT.  HONDO started getting a lot of play.   A.J. Fenady, who created and produced HONDO, as well as the just DVD-released THE REBEL starring Nick Adams, recalls those early cable days.  “Ted Turner and I became pals.  He loved THE REBEL, but next to THE REBEL he loved HONDO.  When he was there at TNT, they played that thing time and again.  I saw him one time and I said, ‘For God’s sake, how long are you going to keep playing those same seventeen episodes of HONDO?’  And he said, ‘As long as I’m there.’” 

An unusually cheerful HONDO moment.

Ralph Taeger had the unenviable job of taking on a role that John Wayne made famous.  Fenady thought he was up to the challenge.  “You couldn’t draw a picture of a leading man any better than Ralph.  He had the build of Tarzan, he was handsomer than Randolph Scott, and he had a voice like Humphrey Bogart.  If that isn’t a combination for a western, I don’t know what the Hell is.” Even John Wayne was a fan of the show.  “Now Duke used to watch the series, and he said to me, ‘Ralph Taeger is as good a Hondo as I was.’  Parenthetical pause, ‘Almost.’  Well I loved Ralph Taeger.  I talked to him at least once a month until last year, when he died.  And doing the series HONDO led to (my) doing the movie CHISUM with John Wayne and his son Michael Wayne.” 

In addition to Taeger, the cast included Kathie Browne, Noah Beery Jr., and Aussie-playing-Indian specialist Michael Pate.  Among the guest cast did Fenady have a favorite?  “Without doubt, it’s Robert Taylor.  See, I’m the first guy who did a two-hour (theatrical) western, HONDO AND THE APACHES, and used it as a pilot.  MGM said, if you could get Robert Taylor to be in it, we’ll do it.  And I got Robert Taylor, and he was the gentleman of all gentlemen; he was a consummate actor, and a fine, fine man.  And, I’m still making money from that damned thing, because it’s still being featured overseas.”

Each series will be re-introduced with a ‘mini-marathon’, starting at noon on Saturday, September 12^th with five episodes of NICHOLS; September 19^th with five HONDOS; then September 26^th with ten episodes of A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH. After, they’ll be getting regular spots on Saturdays.  Saturday has always been an all-Western feature day for getTV, showcasing a lot of Tim McCoys and Durango Kid films from the Columbia Pictures vault, as well as big-budget oaters.   Jeff Meier, getTV’s senior veep of programming is excited about adding the shows to the line-up.  “Although each of these series originally had a short run, they all feature classic Old West action that will have viewers agreeing that they were cancelled far too soon.”

60^TH GUNSMOKE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED BY REEL COWBOYS SEPT. 18!

On Friday, September 18^th, the 18^th annual Silver Spur Awards, presented by The Reel Cowboys, will honor the 60^th anniversary of the Western TV classic GUNSMOKE!  The event, to be held at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, will be attended by many Western stars who can trace the start of their careers to GUNSMOKE.  The event will benefit United Cerebral Palsy and The National Day of the Cowboy.  Those planning to attend, subject to their availability, include members of the James Arness Family, Bruce Boxleitner, Morgan Brittany, Angie Dickinson, Ed Faulkner, Mariette Hartley, Earl Holliman, Bo Hopkins, L.Q. Jones, Martin Kove, Martin Landau, Michael Learned, Gerald McRaney, Mihaly 'Michu' Meszaros, Mayf Nutter, Jacqueline Scott, Jon Voight, Johnny Whitaker, and Morgan Woodward – GUNSMOKE’s most frequent guest star!

There will be a silent auction, an elegant Delmonico’s-worthy dinner, musical entertainment, a panel discussion and Q&A led by Bruce Boxleitner, and the awards presentation – and a chance to clink spurs with some of your favorite Western stars.  Tickets are $125, $175 for VIP seating, and $250 for premium seating.  For tickets, call 818-395-5020.  To learn more, go to the official website HERE.

There you can also listen to a radio interview with the two folks who are running the event, Reel Cowboys president Robert Lanthier, and historian and event coordinator Julie Ann Ream, cousin of Glenn Strange, aka Sam the bartender at the Longbranch. 

‘SANTA FE TRAIL’ SAT., SEPT 12^TH AT THE AUTRY

On Saturday, September 12^th, as part of The Autry’s long-running ‘What is a Western?’ monthly series, SANTA FE TRAIL (WB 1940) will be presented at 1:30 pm at the Wells Fargo Theatre.  Admission is free with your admission to the museum.  Directed by Michael Curtiz, it stars Errol Flynn as Jeb Stuart, and Ronald Reagan as George Custer, West Point Cadets in the days leading up to the Civil War, with Olivia de Havilland, with Van Heflin, Alan Hale, and Raymond Massey as John Brown. 

One big change is that Jeffrey Richardson, The Autry’s Gamble Curator of Western History, Popular Culture, and Firearms, who has for years informatively and entertainingly introduced the films, will not be there; he’s left the Autry for a curatorial job in New Mexico.  Instead, the film will be introduced by screenwriter, director, Western scholar and author C. Courtney Joyner, who is very excited about the opportunity.  “I consider this one of Curtiz' best westerns - and it’s the last of the Flynn/de Havilland team-ups.  There’s lots of history about it - and how far it strays from the truth!”  In compliment to the current, fascinating exhibition at the Autry, Empire and Liberty: The Civil War and the West, this and the next pair of films will have Civil War themes.  GLORY (1989) will screen on October 10th, and THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (1976) will screen on November 14^th – I’ll be introducing that one!

‘REEL STORIES’ OF THE CIVIL WAR AT SEPT. 23^RD COWBOY LUNCH!

Following an always delicious lunch in the Autry’s Crossroad Café, Rob Word’s ‘A Word on Westerns’ interview program will focus on how the Civil War has been portrayed on film, from Keaton’s THE GENERAL to GONE WITH THE WIND and beyond.  Confirmed guests include Bruce Boxleitner and Alex Hyde-White of GODS AND GENERALS and esteemed historian Phil Spangenberger.  The program begins at 12:45, but get there early for lunch, and to make sure you get a seat, because these events always fill up.  But don’t get there a week early – the Autry’s ‘What’s Next? calendar incorrectly says this event is September 16^th – it’s definitely the 23^rd!

ROY AND DALE’S APPLE VALLEY FORMER HOME FOR SALE!

Thanks to author Martin Grams  for posting about this in the Rick’s Place  site. The former home of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans in Apple Valley, California, is up for sale.  It sold in 2012 for $645,000, and is now being offered for $770,000.  Want to take an on-line tour?  The realtor has made a ten-minute video, showing not only how the property looks today, but how it used to look.

ALEX CORD LOOKING TO SELL HIS HOME IN TEXAS!Alex

Norman Rockwell's portrait of 

Alex Cord for STAGECOACH

And speaking of desirable cowboy properties, Alex Cord who, among many other roles, played the Ringo Kid in the 1966 version of STAGECOACH, and starred in the spaghetti Western A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE (1968), is looking to sell his home in Texas.  He says, “Quail Run Ranch (is) 30 acres with three fenced pastures, run-in sheds, a pond and a creek running through a wooded area. A custom covered arena with Bob Kiser footing, 200 feet long and 80 wide, built by Butch Reddish. Charming house on a hill, 3 bdrms, 2 bth, granite counters, hardwood floors, Jacuzzi tub, storm shelter. Insulated shop, 40 x 40 ft. Horse barn, 4 indoor stalls and 4 sheltered runs, large tack room, feed room and hay storage, wash rack. Three connected round pens, 125 feet, 50 ft, and 25 ft. The place is dead quiet, surrounded by 3 cattle ranches owned by the finest neighbors in the world. It is secluded but not isolated. Twenty minutes to Denton, one hour to DFW airport, ten minutes to Gainesville, Walmart, Home Depot, Tractor Supply.” 

If you’re in the market, or know someone who is, you can contact Alex through his official website, HERE.

THAT’S A WRAP!

I’ve decided to make a change to the Round-up.  Instead of publishing every weekend, I’m going to publish every other weekend, or bi-weekly.  The fact is, between writing the Round-up, being the Film Editor for TRUE WEST, and teaching full-time, I’m not devoting any time to a screenplay I’ve been trying to finish for months – and that’s the job that’s supposed to make me rich and famous!  With that in mind, if you have any good tips to pass along to me, or know of events that I should be covering, please let me know a little earlier! 

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright September 2015 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved