‘Daniel Boone’ Western episodes veer from historical reality

Continuing to delve into favorite television Westerns that originated in the 1950s and 1960s, the trail leads to the homestead of legendary pioneer Daniel Boone in the settlement of Boonesborough, Ky., situated on the Kentucky River in the Inner Bluegrass region.

Here, Fess Parker’s portrayal of the title character in the “Daniel Boone” (1964-70) appealed to viewers young and old, but the show strayed considerably from depicting the “life and times” of the real Daniel Boone (1734-1820).

 

Daniel Boone was a nomadic, frontier woodsman whose hunting grounds extended from North Carolina and Virginia westward into Tennessee and Kentucky. He was particularly active during the 1770s and 1780s, just before, during and after the American Revolution.

The TV show is a collection of Boone’s adventures that occur in and around Boonesborough. Nearly all of the aspects of the show were “less than historically faithful,” which caused the Kentucky legislature to condemn the inaccuracies.

 

In 1966, state lawmakers passed a resolution declaring the show an “inexcusable farce” and “an insult” to millions of Kentuckians and the state’s history.

Parker’s supporting cast included his wife Rebecca Boone (Patricia Blair) and children Israel Boone (Darby Hinton) and Jemima Boone (Veronica Cartwright).

 

Actor Ed Ames played the role of Mingo, Boone’s half-Cherokee trail companion, who was educated in British academies.

 

One of the most controversial aspects of the TV series was Daniel Boone’s headgear.

Fess Parker’s choice of a coonskin cap appears to be a “carry over” from his days as the title character in “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier” (1955), the American Western adventure Disney film that took the entire country by storm.

The real Dan’l Boone never wore a coonskin cap, according to Boone family descendants. Rather, Dan’l preferred a “practical, wide-brimmed felt or beaver hat to protect against sun and rain.”

 

In 1999, Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., celebrated its 150-year anniversary. An alumnus from Kentucky presented the school with this bronze statue of Daniel Boone in camp with his hunting dogs. 

The bronze sculpture was modeled and cast by the late Sherry Edwards, an art department faculty member. It was placed almost at the spot where one of Boone’s cabins once stood.

 

Fess Parker, who was born in Fort Worth, Texas, served during World War II as a radio operator with the U.S. Marine Corps and saw action in the South Pacific. After the war, he used GI Bill benefits to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin and pursue a master’s degree in theater history at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Parker began his show business career in the summer of 1951 and eventually signed a film contract with Warner Bros., which opened doors of opportunity as an actor.

After his acting days were over, Parker opened the Fess Parker Family Winery and Vineyards in Los Olivos, Calif., in 1989. 

The family business operation now includes more than 1,500 acres of vineyards as well as a tasting room and visitor center along the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail.

 

Robert Fuller: The consummate TV Westerns actor?

Robert Fuller was an immensely popular character actor, who guest-starred in dozens of Westerns and other television programs as well as films produced during the 1950s.

In 1959, he auditioned for the “role of Lorne Greene’s youngest, cocky, impish son, Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright’” on “Bonanza.” 

Robert Fuller came in second, as producers selected Michael Landon for the part.

Fuller quickly found work, however, moving into the role of Jess Harper on “Laramie” (1959-63). 

Harper was described as “an immature, hot-headed drifter” when he showed up at the Sherman Ranch, owned by Slim Sherman (John Smith).

The two actors, as co-stars, formed “an onscreen partnership that was enhanced by their off-screen friendship,” according to TV historians.

Located near Laramie, Wyo., the Sherman ranch became a key stagecoach relay station for the Great Central Overland Mail Company. Episodes generally focused on Slim Sherman and Jess Harper dealing with outlaws, land grabbers and the dangers of the frontier in the post-Civil War era.

 

Storylines took an interesting twist in 1961, when young Mike Williams (Dennis Holmes), as an orphan, joined the cast to be raised by Sherman and Harper. 

Arriving at the ranch to serve as a matronly housekeeper and surrogate grandmother for the boy was Daisy Cooper (Spring Byington).

 

Byington was 74 years old at the time. (Her final role was in 1968 as Mother General on “The Flying Nun,” starring Sally Field.)

 

After “Laramie” ended, Robert Fuller joined the cast of “Wagon Train” in 1963 as trail scout Cooper Smith, working alongside wagon master John McIntire.

 

In 1972, TV producer Jack Webb convinced Robert Fuller to move to an “urban environment” (Los Angeles) to play Dr. Kelly Brackett, head of emergency medicine at Rampart General Hospital in “Emergency!” (1972-79). 

Co-stars were Bobby Troup, Julie London and the firefighters and paramedics assigned to “Fire Station 51.”

 

Fuller’s performance in “Emergency!” cemented his legacy as a versatile television star.

 

‘Tales of Wells Fargo’ gets ‘honorable mention’

Worthy of an “honorable mention award” in the listing of the top 10 television Westerns from the 1950s and 1960s is “Tales of Wells Fargo” (1957-62).

Based on the biography of Wells Fargo undercover detective Fred J. Dodge (1854-1938), the story followed special agent Jim Hardie, who helped save Wells Fargo stagecoaches from outlaws and other violence.

 

The actor selected for the leading role was Dale Robertson, who did all his own stunts…and even provided his own horse, named Jubilee.

“Tales of Wells Fargo” was a Western anthology series set in the 1870s and 1880s and narrated by Robertson.

 

Throughout the series, Jim Hardie would travel across the West, coming in contact with historical figures and legendary outlaws, including Butch Cassidy, Doc Holliday and Billy the Kid.

Dale Robertson of Harrah, Okla., graduated from the Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore, Okla., which prepared him to join the U.S. Army. During World War II, he was a combat engineer and tank commander, serving in North Africa and Europe. Robertson received a Purple Heart and other military honors.

After the war, Robertson made his way to Hollywood to seek his fortune as an actor. He worked his way up and was signed by 20th Century Fox. 

His movie credits began to pile up, appearing opposite artists such as Anne Baxter, Betty Grable, Virginia Mayo and Debra Paget.

 

Robertson said he enjoyed doing films but said he “found a home” with the TV series “Tales of Wells Fargo.”

Real ‘Western heroes’ got their own TV shows in the 1950s

Real heroes from the Old West – Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson – were memorialized with television Westerns that debuted in the 1950s.

“The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” (1955-61) featured actor Hugh O’Brian as the “brave, courageous and bold” lawman in what is widely recognized as television’s first “adult Western.”

 

Wyatt Earp was depicted as a tough but principled frontier lawman, always carrying his trademark long-barreled Colt Buntline Special revolver, which became a symbol of the show.

 

The story followed Earp’s life, from Dodge City, Kan., to the final episodes in Tombstone in the Arizona Territory. The show included dramatizations of major historical events like the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

 

Hugh O’Brian as Wyatt Earp and Adele Mara (1961)

The TV show “Bat Masterson” (1958-61) featured actor Gene Barry in the title role. 

Sporting a derby hat, carrying a gold-topped cane and equipped with a dapper wardrobe, Masterson rode throughout the West looking for adventure…and lovely ladies who he could dazzle with his charm. (His cane was actually a weapon that contained a hidden sword.)

 Gene Kelly as Bat Masterson and Allison Hayes (1958)

In real life, Earp and Masterson worked together for a time in the late 1870s as law enforcement officers in Dodge City and forged a friendship for life. They were known for their exploits throughout the frontier lands of the Old West.

 Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (1848-1929), shown below, hailed from Monmouth, Ill., and he held various “occupations.” Some listed were: “Lawman, buffalo hunter, saloon keeper, miner, brothel keeper and boxing referee.”

Bartholemew William Barclay “Bat” Masterson (1853-1921), shown below, was born in Quebec, Ontario, Canada. His resume listed work experience as: “U.S. Army scout, lawman, buffalo hunter, gunfighter, professional gambler and journalist.”

Historians say Bat Masterson penned a column in 1908 that revealed: “Wyatt Earp is one of the few men I personally knew in the West in the early days, whom I regarded as absolutely destitute of physical fear. Wyatt Earp’s daring and apparent recklessness in time of danger is wholly characteristic; personal fear doesn’t enter into the equation.”

Wyatt…“was not one of those human tigers who delighted in shedding blood just for the fun of the thing. He never, at any time in his career, resorted to the pistol, excepting in cases where such a course was absolutely necessary. Wyatt could scrap with his fists, and he often took all the fight out of bad men, as they were called, with no other weapons than those provided by Nature.”

“There were few men in the West who could whip Wyatt in a rough and tumble fight 30 years ago, and I suspect he could give a tough youngster a hard tussle right now” (at age 60).

“He always arrayed himself on the side of law and order, and on a great many occasions, at the risk of his life, rendered valuable service in upholding the majesty of the law in those communities in which he lived. Wyatt’s reputation for courage and coolness was well known….”

“I have…always found him a quiet, unassuming man, not given to brag or bluster, but at all times and under all circumstances, a loyal friend….”

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was a close friend of the real Bat Masterson, who received a federal appointment as a deputy U.S. Marshal for the southern district of New York. His job was to “keep the peace in the grand jury room whenever the U.S. Attorney in New York held session.”

Actor Hugh O’Brian was born in Rochester, N.Y., and joined the Marines during World War II. He became a drill instructor at age 17. After the war, he was living in Hollywood and was discovered by director Ida Lupino.

She asked O’Brian to read lines for an actor who had failed to show up for a rehearsal, which led to a contract with Universal Pictures.

O’Brian had a long and productive career appearing in a variety of television shows and films. He established the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Foundation in 1958 to benefit high school scholars. It continues in operation today.

 

Gene Barry, a native of New York City, earned a voice scholarship to attend the Chatham Square School of Music in Greenwich Village and proceeded to make his Broadway debut in 1942. He transitioned to television and movie roles in the early 1950s.

In 1955, Barry joined the cast of the TV situation comedy “Our Miss Brooks” as the high school physical education teacher Gene Talbot, a character who had a romantic interest in the series star Eve Arden, an English teacher. The show embellished Barry’s reputation as an actor with expensive tastes who saw himself a ladies’ man.

Popular TV Westerns from the ‘50s & ‘60s just keep on rollin’

Next in line within the listing of favorite television Westerns originating during the 1950s and 1960s are “Maverick” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.” These two shows tied for the final spot in our “top 10” listing.

“Maverick” (1957-62) featured brothers Bret and Bart Maverick, who had “eyes for style and hearts for gambling,” remarked freelance journalist Meagan Drillinger. “The series followed the Mavericks migrating from town to town and frequenting riverboats in the Old West during the 1870s and early 1880s.

 

“Unlike other Westerns, the Maverick brothers didn’t adhere to strict macho stereotypes or possess the ‘quickdraw’ personalities typical of Western heroes,” she said.

Joe Leydon of Cowboys & Indians magazine said the “rambling gamblers Bret (James Garner) and Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) preferred dealing cards to shooting straight. They relied on smooth talk more than fast draws, resorting to gunplay only when they couldn’t charm or bluff their way out of trouble.”

 

“Maverick stood out from the multitude of other prime-time westerns during the 1950s and ‘60s by taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to cowboy conventions.” Leydon added. “The overall tone wasn’t entirely satirical – serious shootouts sporadically figured into the mix.”

When Garner quit over a contract dispute with the studio after the series’ third year, he was replaced by Roger Moore as cousin Beau Maverick. Actor Sean Connery was originally offered the role but turned it down. (Famously, the following decade, Moore would replace Connery as James Bond in the 007-film series.) 

During the fourth season, for a brief period...Garner lookalike Robert Colbert was cast as Brent Maverick, a brother to Bart and Bret. 

James Garner, who was born in Norman, Okla., had a difficult childhood and dropped out of high school to join the U.S. Merchant Marine at age 16 near the end of World War II. After the war, he tried living with his father in Los Angeles and re-enrolling in high school. Neither worked out.

Garner enlisted in the California Army National Guard and was deployed to Korea during the Korean War as a rifleman in an infantry division. He was wounded on two occasions and received two Purple Hearts as well as several other military awards. Following his discharge, he found work making TV commercials and eventually transitioned into acting roles for both TV and movies.

After “Maverick,” Garner had great success playing Jim Rockford in the TV series “The Rockford Files.”

 

Jack Kelly of Queens, N.Y., grew up in Hollywood where his father was a real estate broker. Kelly began acting in films at age 12 and tended to gravitate toward Westerns. Once his acting days were over, Kelly entered local politics in 1980 in Huntington Beach, Calif., serving on the city council and then as mayor.

 

“Wanted Dead or Alive” (1958-61) starred Steve McQueen as Josh Randall, a Confederate Civil War veteran who became a bounty hunter. He roamed the dusty roads of the Old West in the 1870s and ‘80s looking for outlaws to turn in.

Joe Leydon said: “As Josh Randall, McQueen ignited his superstardom, allowing him to showcase the charismatic qualities that would eventually earn him the nickname ‘The King of Cool.’”

“He was formidably armed with his trademark weapon of choice, a customized, sawed-off Winchester carbine rifle, affectionately referenced as his ‘Mare’s Leg.’”

 

“Randall usually worked alone and often preferred to capture rather than kill his quarry. But when shooting was necessary, he didn’t aim to please,” Leydon quipped.

Steve McQueen, who was born in Beech Grove, Ind., was basically raised by his grandparents and an aunt and uncle on a farm near Slater, Mo. He spent much of his early teenage years in an all-boys reform school for troubled adolescents in Chino Hills, Calif., near his mother’s home.

After leaving school and several run-ins with the law, McQueen joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He credited the service for turning his life around.

In 1952, with financial assistance from the GI Bill, McQueen began studying acting in New York City. He began to land minor roles in stage productions, leading to his Broadway debut in 1955. He soon moved to Hollywood and began to make his mark as a film actor.

Critics generally agree that McQueen’s most popular movies were: “The Great Escape” (1963), “The Magnificent Seven” (1960), “Bullitt” (1968), “The Sand Pebbles” (1966) and “Love with the Proper Stranger” (1963).

Here are more top TV Westerns from ‘50s & ‘60s

In slots 7-9 on the list of “top 10” Western television series originating during the 1950s and 1960s, are: “Cheyenne,” “The Rifleman” and “The Big Valley.”

“‘Cheyenne’ (1955-63) told the story of Cheyenne Bodie, a kind-hearted cowboy wandering the Old West in the years following the American Civil War,” wrote TV critic Meagan Drillinger.

 

Joe Leydon of Cowboys & Indians magazine, said: “‘Cheyenne’ showcased Clint Walker in an irresistibly appealing portrayal of the title character, a broad-shouldered, good-humored cowboy who was raised by Cheyenne Indians (after losing his parents) and dedicated himself to doing good” in search of “frontier justice.”

 

Bodie was “an imposing but gentle cowboy,” wrote John Witiw of Movieweb.com. “Effectively a nomadic drifter, Cheyenne gets by, taking on various odd jobs and going on different adventures.” Cheyenne’s various occupations included: Army scout, deputy U.S. marshal, county sheriff, prospector, cattleman, hunter and city constable.

 

Clint Walker was born in Hartford, Ill. He dropped out of high school and joined the U.S. Merchant Marine at the age of 17. He worked an assortment of jobs as a factory hand, carnival roustabout, golf caddy, hotel doorman and security officer, before becoming an actor.

His first film role was in Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” (1956) where Walker played the part of a Sardinian Captain of the Guard, positioned by the throne next to the Pharaoh (Yul Brynner).

 

“The Rifleman” (1958-63) revolved around the “trials and tribulations” faced by widowed rancher Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors), while raising his son Mark (Johnny Crawford) near the fictional North Fork in the New Mexico Territory during the 1880s, reported Meagan Drillinger.

Joe Leydon said: “Unfortunately, bad people just kept making their way to North Fork. And, even more unfortunately, Marshal Micah Torrance (Paul Fix) simply wasn’t up to the task of dealing with the undesirables on his own.”

“So, it frequently fell to Lucas to provide law enforcement back-up. The show endeavored to extol traditional family values while offering up heaping helpings of Wild West action,” Leydon said.

John Witiw commented: “‘The Rifleman’ was one of the first American prime-time series to revolve around a single parent. Though Lucas was no stranger to violence (thanks to his trademark souped-up Winchester rapid-fire rifle), a big theme of the series was ‘second chances,’ with Lucas often giving hard-on-their-luck souls jobs at his ranch.”

Chuck Connors, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., to play varsity baseball and basketball. He left college after two years, when he signed a professional baseball contract in 1940.

He was playing in the minor leagues when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942, during World War II. He served as a tank-warfare instructor at Fort Campbell, Ky., and later at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

After the war, Connors returned to professional sports. He is one of only 13 athletes in history to have played in both the National Basketball Association (Boston Celtics) and Major League Baseball (Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs).

Connors made his Hollywood debut in 1955, and his performance in Walt Disney’s “Old Yeller” (1957) is what led to his selection over about 40 other actors to be cast in “The Rifleman.”

Chuck Connors and Dorothy McGuire

Johnny Crawford, who was born in Los Angeles, was a child actor. At age 9, he was selected as one of Disney’s original Mouseketeers to form the Mickey Mouse Club. He appeared in several early Western films and TV shows. At age 12, he was chosen to play Mark on “The Rifleman.” We watched him grow up over the course of 168 episodes.

 

Later, Crawford had modest success as a rock’n’roll artist in the 1960s. In 1992, he formed the Johnny Crawford Orchestra, a vintage dance band.

“The Big Valley” (1965-69) was set between 1884-88 and became a “popular television series that blended good drama with plenty of action,” wrote Joe Leydon. “Barbara Stanwyck had a knack for working well in a frontier setting, and she found her best Western role not in movie theaters but on television.”

 

“Striking the perfect balance of stately dignity and feisty resourcefulness, Stanwyck starred to perfection in ‘The Big Valley’ as Victoria Barkley, owner of a massive ranch in the San Joaquin Valley near Stockton, Calif.”

 

John Witiw commented: “As Victoria was the main character of the series, ‘The Big Valley’ was one of the first Western series with a strong female lead.”

 She was surrounded by sons Jarrod (Richard Long), a local attorney, and Nick (Peter Breck), who managed the ranch, and daughter Audra (Linda Evans). 

Joining them was Heath (Lee Majors), the ranch foreman, who was an illegitimate son of Victoria’s late husband, adding to the intrigue of the family dynamics.

Barbara Stanwyck was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., orphaned at age 4, and partially raised in foster homes. She chose to pursue a career in show business rather than attend high school. She made her stage debut in the chorus line with the Ziegfeld Follies as a teenager.

 

From there she performed on Broadway and transitioned into films. Barbara Stanwyck appeared in 86 movies in 38 years before turning to television.

 

She was 58 when she debuted in “The Big Valley.”

Original members of “The Big Valley” cast who are still living, Linda Evans and Lee Majors, enjoyed success in other TV roles after “The Big Valley” faded away.

Evans, now 83, was born in Hartford, Conn., and raised in Los Angeles. Entertainment writer Jeremy Smith said Evans’ greatest “television triumph” occurred in 1981 with “Dynasty,” where she “torched the screen as the fiery Krystle Carrington.”

 

Majors, now 86, was born in Wyandotte, Mich. He was orphaned as a toddler and adopted by an aunt and uncle who raised him in Middlesboro, Ky. Jeremy Smith said Majors “found his ideal role in 1973 as NASA astronaut Col. Steve Austin in ‘The Six Million Dollar Man.’” 

(Majors’ wife at the time, model and actress Farrah Fawcett, made guest appearances in four episodes.)