Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines
Finishing up my series on some of the old TV Westerns I watched or perhaps missed growing up. Thanks to the internet some of those shows are now available for our enjoyment.
Have you seen or heard of "Cowboy G-Men" with Russell Hayden and Jackie Coogan? How about "Johnny Ringo" with Don Durant?
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| Photo from the show Cowboy G-Men from westernsontheweb.com |
If the name Russell Hayden sounds familiar, he was in the "Hopalong Cassidy" films and was the producer of "26 Men", another old Western TV show about the Arizona Rangers. Jackie Coogan was the child actor who sued his mother and step-father over his earnings as a child actor. He is the one responsible for the 'California Child Actors Bill'. He also was in the film "The Champ" with Charlie Chaplin and later played Uncle Fester in "The Adams Family" TV show.
The show had a number of writers, some you may have heard of, Buckley Angell, Todhunter Ballard, William R. Cox, Michael Raison to name a few. The stories took place in the West during the 1870s.
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| Cast of 'Johnny Ringo' from Wikipedia |
Don Durrant got his start as a singer and sings the title song to the show. The show itself was one of the first shows produced by Aaron Spelling, who later went on to fame for such shows as Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Dynasty, and Charmed.
The premiss of "Johnny Ringo" is that gunfighter Ringo leaving the gunfighting profession to become the sheriff of a small Arizona town. Of course, there is the love interest, played by actress Karen Sharpe.
There are many other shows from the late 40s through the 60s that I've not covered. I'll save those for another time. I do hope this series has brought back some fond memories. I know it has for me. Below are links to an episode of each show and to the other posts in this set. Until the next time, maybe these shows will be the germ for the next great story you will read or write.
and the other posts in this series
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| Photo property of the Author |
Colorado and Women's History
Doris, what a great post. I thought I'd seen all the westerns, but I missed these. I have heard of Johnny Ringo, but I think it was as a movie. Now I'll have to watch these to see what I missed. Ones I remember are Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Maverick, and Big Valley. Earlier, I loved Roy Rogers, Sky King, Lone Ranger, and Hoppalong Cassidy. I still make fun of the big rock of the set for Lone Ranger. That must have been filmed on a small stage for the most part.
ReplyDeleteCaroline, I remember watching Johnny Ringo, but I'd not heard of Cowboy G-Men. I'm finding all kind of shows on YouTube and other free internet options. It's been great fun. I"m glad you've enjoyed this posts. Doris
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