tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post4601201744944309852..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Early Western Stars of the Small ScreenAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-56360894670996644762011-06-15T23:59:17.478-04:002011-06-15T23:59:17.478-04:00Scott - great link. Glad to see Drexler saw things...Scott - great link. Glad to see Drexler saw things the way I did! I thought something of exploring the Roddenberry connection more, but there was really not enough room. HGWT was the connoiseur's western, to be sure. The show did really well, but somehow, "icon" status eluded Boone. Still, I liked it so much, I couldn't leave him out. No wonder I liked Star Trek!<br /><br />Yes, I was there when the curtain was raised on Star Wars! Still, many of the Commenterama readers are likening me to their grandpa. Ouch! ;-)Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-30243324517328307652011-06-15T23:40:35.484-04:002011-06-15T23:40:35.484-04:00Star Trek designer Doug Drexler did a nice write-u...<i>Star Trek</i> designer Doug Drexler did a nice <a href="http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/have-starship-will-travel-the-have-gun-will-travel-star-trek-connection/" rel="nofollow">write-up</a> on <i>Have Gun-Will Travel</i> and the Roddenberry connection.<br /><br />As the resident whippersnapper around these parts, all I'll say is, as great as TV is today, I kinda envy those of you who got in on the ground floor, so to speak, and were able to witness TV's first "golden age," in a similar way to how I envy the folks who saw <i>Star Wars</i> on opening night in 1977.<br /><br />There's a great line from Kelsey Grammar's "Old Prospector" character in <i>Toy Story 2</i> about the decline of the western: "Two words: Sput-nik. Once the astronauts went up, children only wanted to play with space toys."<br /><br />I'm sure they'll return to TV one day. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-70133128489015807152011-06-15T22:10:52.092-04:002011-06-15T22:10:52.092-04:00Joel - Born in 1948, I was of the age where the Di...Joel - Born in 1948, I was of the age where the Disney series was really my introduction to the character. I think there may have been multiple films prior to that (one with Tyrone Power comes to mind, in particular, though no doubt there were others). Later, of course, there were spoofs such as George Hamilton's "Gay Blade." More recently, I very much enjoyed the fine first film made with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, but their sequal was something much, much less in my view. (A topic discussed at Commenterama, no less ;DTennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-62542027590000178462011-06-15T21:37:40.982-04:002011-06-15T21:37:40.982-04:00Jed,
I can see that about Guy Williams. I grew u...Jed, <br /><br />I can see that about Guy Williams. I grew up mostly in New Mexico. Zorro was really big there.Joel Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856960977033430002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-30482784609164242742011-06-15T19:54:13.117-04:002011-06-15T19:54:13.117-04:00T-Rav: Christmas is a time for nostalgia. What a g...T-Rav: Christmas is a time for nostalgia. What a great story. Unlike Boyd, Clayton Moore had to fight hard to portray his character at charities, autograph shows, etc. I remembering seeing Moore in an old movie without the mask. It was his VOICE that made me realize who it was!<br /><br />Thanks, Ben. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I love this stuff as well. Randolph Scott will be featured in a future article about western icons of film (Riders of the Silver Screen.)<br /><br />I was so into Davy Crockett I simply couldn't watch Fess as Daniel Boone. That role apparently should have gone to Richard Boone l.o.l.Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-80311882157381837962011-06-15T19:33:17.177-04:002011-06-15T19:33:17.177-04:00Outstanding post, Jed!
I definitely remember the ...Outstanding post, Jed!<br /><br />I definitely remember the Lone Ranger and The Rifleman as a young boy along with The Pondeosa, Gunsmoke, High Chapperal, etc..<br />I was well aware of the others too, since my Grandpa loved westerns.<br /><br />One of my favorite westerns of the 70's was Laredo, with Neville Brand, Philip Carey, Peter Broen and William Smith.<br /><br />It was a spinoff of The Virginian but better IMO, although I watched both.<br /><br />Man, I had a lot of fun with those pop guns. I can still vividly recall the smell of gunpowder from them, lol.<br /><br />I also tried to split trees in half with a hatchet, like Daniel Boone did (or was that Davey Crockett? Well, they both had Fess Parker so he was the guy). <br />Needless to say, I couldn't repeat the results so I was probably doin' it wrong.<br /><br />I was gettin' ready to take my hat off and place it on my heart, and then look up, in case you mentioned Randolph Scott but <br />then I remembered he didn't have a tv series so I'll let that pass...this time. :^)USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-75530276518698152312011-06-15T19:31:36.969-04:002011-06-15T19:31:36.969-04:00That's not what I meant, Bev!! Jeez!
Jed, I ...That's not what I meant, Bev!! Jeez! <br /><br />Jed, I never claimed to have taste; however, I don't generally watch Letterman unless there are some real liberal windbags on Leno. But he has a good Christmas routine, with Darlene Love singing "Please Come Home" every year, and I enjoy watching that at least. Anyway, he also has on this former quarterback and DJ (Jay Thomas is his name) who always talks about the time back in the early '70s when Moore showed up in his Lone Ranger outfit for a promotion of some kind at the radio station Thomas worked at then. To make a long story short, Moore was riding in Thomas' car, still in the getup, when they got cut off by another driver, which led to an altercation with the other guy shouting at Thomas, "Who do you think the cops are gonna believe? Me, or you hippies?" At which point "The Lone Ranger" gets out of the car and says authoritatively, "They'll believe me, citizen!" I'm not sure what it has to do with Christmas but it's a funny story.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-86288901265081517712011-06-15T19:07:38.331-04:002011-06-15T19:07:38.331-04:00ria - great movie themes both:
Have Gun Will Trav...ria - great movie themes both:<br /><br />Have Gun Will Travel reads the card of a man,<br />A Knight without armour in a savage land,<br />His fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind,<br />A soldier of fortune is the man called Paladin;<br /><br />Paladin, Paladin where do you roam?<br />Paladin, Paladin, far, far from home.<br /><br />"Get 'em up, move 'em up Rawhide" A western about drovers launched the career of a young Clint Eastwood.Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-31725343143910094542011-06-15T19:00:39.551-04:002011-06-15T19:00:39.551-04:00continuing storms have knocked me off line. T-Tav ...continuing storms have knocked me off line. T-Tav and riaWTX. I joked with Andrew about how a lot of readers wouldn't remember any of this. More's the pity. T-Rav - You watch Letterman??? Here I thought you had taste lol!<br />ria - "he was innocent, not a word was true; but they say he ran away . . . branded, scorned as the one who ran, what do you do when your branded, and you know you're a man ;-)<br /><br />Andrew - I loved Wild, Wild, West as well. Ross Martin was a great side-kick, and Conrad super . . . bet you don't remember his first show "Hawaiian Eye" with Bob, Anthony Eisley, and Connie Stevens in a show about private investigators in Hawaii. What, you thought Hawaii Five-O and Magnum were the first???Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-66789434590522382462011-06-15T18:31:50.724-04:002011-06-15T18:31:50.724-04:00and because my dad liked them, a lot of the iconic...and because my dad liked them, a lot of the iconic phrases and songs ended up a part of our family lexicon (like "have gun will travel" and the many permutations one can create from it) even though I hadn't seen them... ("Raaaaaaaw-hiiiide!")rlaWTXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09319344164726195144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-60097169043406537982011-06-15T18:29:08.400-04:002011-06-15T18:29:08.400-04:00(sorry, Jed) My dad LOVED these, so even though I ...(sorry, Jed) My dad LOVED these, so even though I have only seen some of them a couple of times in syndication, I have fond memories of them from my dad. He was the late-boomer TV generation - and my grandparents allowed the house to be scheduled by the TV guide. <br /><br />Branded was another show with Chuck Conners ("what do ya do when you're branded, and you know your a man"). Saturdays were great for catching the old westerns! Dad liked that I liked watching them with him...<br /><br />while I was waiting for my stupid internet to go to the comments page, several of y'all commented about Wild, Wild West. I LOVED this show! Since we did not have a color TV til the late 80s, I didn't realize that it wasn't a "new" show in the late 70s-early 80s when I watched it everyday after school. I had the biggest crush on Conrad. And then he and his sons had "High Mtn Rangers" in the late 80's... sigh... (I graduated HS in 90); later I caught Black Sheep on TVLand - great show too! (didn't know he was an R!)<br /><br />And if you think about it, the original Battlestar Galactica was a "space western" (kinda like Firefly) - and I adored that show too... so, yeah, I can see the western genre being subsumed by modern-day shows.<br /><br />great article - I miss my dad...rlaWTXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09319344164726195144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-60437741584302673522011-06-15T17:50:47.771-04:002011-06-15T17:50:47.771-04:00Ed - you know thinking about your comment and my r...Ed - you know thinking about your comment and my response, I think it probable a lot of these characters probably tended to help shape my values. On the other hand, there are a lot of liberal weenies out there who probably watched the same stuff, but ended up in a decidely different place.Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-40238614963638696362011-06-15T17:49:54.291-04:002011-06-15T17:49:54.291-04:00Jed, Wild, Wild West was one of my favorite shows ...Jed, <i>Wild, Wild West</i> was one of my favorite shows growing up! i watched it every afternoon in syndication -- right before <i>Star Trek</i>! And learning that Robert Conrad was a Republican only made it that much better (plus, he was great in <i>Baa, Baa Black Sheep</i>)! :-)AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-66564165228590455522011-06-15T17:49:06.019-04:002011-06-15T17:49:06.019-04:00T-Rav - Your "grandpa"??? You are a mean...T-Rav - Your "grandpa"??? You are a mean person. I guess I'll just have to go get my shawl and rock for a while...;-)BevfromNYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14953050916932306270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-16657065552361619532011-06-15T17:38:41.567-04:002011-06-15T17:38:41.567-04:00Interesting article, Jed. Sadly, being a young whi...Interesting article, Jed. Sadly, being a young whippersnapper, I don't know much about any of these guys or the shows/movies they starred in. Although, I do enjoy it every Christmas Eve when that radio sports announcer (Dave Thomas or whatever the heck his name is) comes on Letterman and tells his story of meeting Moore as The Lone Ranger.<br /><br />Also, I second Bev, the Gene Autry Museum sounds like a great place for you to visit. My grandpa would probably get a kick out of it as well.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-30422894204645964802011-06-15T17:25:39.843-04:002011-06-15T17:25:39.843-04:00Bev - I have to believe the Autry trip would be sp...Bev - I have to believe the Autry trip would be special in the extreme!Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-89999384660918315942011-06-15T17:23:24.510-04:002011-06-15T17:23:24.510-04:00Ed - thanks, and I agree. One of the reasons I lov...Ed - thanks, and I agree. One of the reasons I love westerns is they mirror my own code to live by (so to speak.) They reflect the consevative values of morality and self-reliance.<br /><br />Joel - For sure both those guys belong. I even mentioned Maverick in the article. Zorro was a great, great show; can't miss television for those of us growing up in the 50's. Probably the only reason he wasn't on there was trying to keep it reasonable in terms of length, and maybe, just maybe, I never forgave Guy Williams for "Lost in Space." (lol)Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-77326543042039507532011-06-15T17:16:30.959-04:002011-06-15T17:16:30.959-04:00Bev - Sugarfoot was part of the Warner Brothers st...Bev - Sugarfoot was part of the Warner Brothers stable along with Maverick, Cheyenne, and Bronco Lane. I loved them all. "Sugarfoot . . Sugarfoot . . easy lopin' cattle ropin Sugarfoot . . ." You know what I'm talkin' about. :DTennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-17466747803661726542011-06-15T17:16:02.556-04:002011-06-15T17:16:02.556-04:00Jed,
I like your lists.
There are a couple that ...Jed,<br /><br />I like your lists.<br /><br />There are a couple that I think could be added. Maverick and Zorro. <br /><br />Zorro has been remade several times. And Maverick was made into a movie.Joel Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856960977033430002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-41499483674928989462011-06-15T17:13:23.643-04:002011-06-15T17:13:23.643-04:00Andrew - thanks on your reference to Firefly. I th...Andrew - thanks on your reference to Firefly. I think what happened in the 70's was traditional westerns vanished and the few that came after were infusing new elements be it modern urbanization (McCloud,) or Bond like gadgetry (Wild,Wild West,) Kung Fu (martial arts) or Dr. Quinn.<br /><br />After Lonsome Dove, the model seemed to shift towards the limited series or movies such as Conagher. That is one of the reasons I tried to limit the list to the old "classic" series. I think you will enjoy "Have Gun Will Travel." Of course, I was young then, and haven't seen it in so long, but at least watching the episodes of Cheyenne, I was amazed how well they stood up over time.Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-49918495397237297982011-06-15T17:06:36.607-04:002011-06-15T17:06:36.607-04:00Jed, Nice article! I've got to go with the Lo...Jed, Nice article! I've got to go with the Lone Ranger too as my favorite, though I really became a huge Clint Walker fan later in life. In fact, I thought all these guys were great and I have to say they influence the way I grew up. Westerns really had a lot of great values in them and they had a code more people should live by!Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18122308626703654554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-90654854476742301002011-06-15T17:04:47.478-04:002011-06-15T17:04:47.478-04:00Tenn - If you haven't already, you must, must,...Tenn - If you haven't already, you must, must, must go to the Gene Autry Museum in Gene Autry, Oklahoma. It is in the his birthplace near the Texas/Oklahoma border. It's great.<br /><br />http://www.cow-boy.com/musaut.htm#ti <br /><br />And may I add my personal favorite 'cause I had a giant crush when I was 3 years old - <b>Sugarfoot</b> with Will HutchinsBevfromNYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14953050916932306270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-14332300113319593922011-06-15T17:00:57.000-04:002011-06-15T17:00:57.000-04:00Hiyo Silver, Andrew--Hiyo. How could anyone not lo...Hiyo Silver, Andrew--Hiyo. How could anyone not love the Ranger. Plus, one of the great jokes was: Ranger to Tonto- "Tonto, you go to town!" Tonto to Ranger - "You go to hell, kimosabe!" ;-)Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-5669569629409048752011-06-15T16:58:14.657-04:002011-06-15T16:58:14.657-04:00Hawk - I also enjoyed Cisco and Pancho. His costum...Hawk - I also enjoyed Cisco and Pancho. His costume must have been the model for "3 Amigos" I was also a fan of Guy Madison (along with Andy Devine) in "Wild Bill Hickock. They just didn't make the cut with the others.<br /><br />As far as Gene Autry, I am like you. I kind of knew about him, but Roy vs. Gene was kind of like "Beatles vs. Stones." You tended to be either in one camp or the other. For a while, I was getting DirecTV's full monty package which included about every channel in the universe including STARZ's western channel. They were running Cheyenne plus Gene Autry, but after catching pretty much a;ll the episodes, I decided to cut back on my monthly bill and drop a bunch of stuff.Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-37806422929801255752011-06-15T16:57:20.524-04:002011-06-15T16:57:20.524-04:00Jed, Firefly is a science fiction story, but it...Jed, <i>Firefly</i> is a science fiction story, but it's premised on westerns. It's a short-lived series that became the film <i>Serenity</i>. They use a civil-war-like backdrop, small dusty town on remote planets, western-like costumes, and western-like speech. It truly is a western in space and it's very enjoyable. Sadly, it got canceled before it ever had a chance to take off.<br /><br />P.S. I had a Lone Ranger silver pistol as a kid (cap gun), but no hat or horse. Still, it was enough! LOL!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com