Paul Colt's Blog, page 32
August 3, 2019
Pancho
Pancho’s pairing with the Cisco Kid was something of a late arrival. The character we know as the Cisco Kid is based on an O. Henry short story The Caballero’s Way. He starts out as an outlaw killer without a sidekick. Short of being Hispanic, any resemblance to the Cisco we know ends there. Hollywood picked up the character for a 1914 silent film and turned him into a good guy. There is a controversy over who played the original part.
Cisco sidekicks first turn up in a 1939 film, The Return of the Cisco Kid, starring Warner Baxter with Cesar Romero as one sidekick “Lopez” and Chris-Pin Martin as “Gordito” (Fatty) the other. Romero later took over the Cisco role paired with Martin’s Gordito. They did six films before WW II interrupted.
In 1945 Monogram brought Cisco back in The Cisco Kid Returns with Duncan Renaldo and introduced “Pancho” played by Martin Garralaga. Some speculate the name may have its roots in the revolutionary bandit, Francisco Pancho Villa. “Cisco” is a diminutive sometimes given to the Hispanic name Francisco. Who better than to pair with a Cisco than a “Pancho”. Renaldo took a break; but returned to the Kid role in the late forties at age 46. He was paired with Leo Carrillo cast as the Pancho we came to know. They made five films with Cisco clad in what became the character’s signature fancy black duds in the last.
The Cisco Kid and Pancho rode our TV screens for 156 episodes from 1950 – 1956. It must have been the black suit or maybe Diablo, the black and white overo paint Cisco rode; because with all that going for it the TV series was the first to be shot in color. Leo Carrillo became the iconic sidekick we know as Pancho at the age of 70. I guess there’s hope for some of us yet. He rode a beautiful palomino horse named Loco when star quality mounts typically belonged to the sidekick’s hero.
Carrillo’s family roots ran deep in eighteenth century old Spanish California. He wed Edith Haeselbarth in 1913. They had one daughter and remained together until her death in 1953. Carrillo died of cancer in 1961 at age 81. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film and one for TV.
Next Week: Pat Buttram
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Ride easy,
Paul
Cisco sidekicks first turn up in a 1939 film, The Return of the Cisco Kid, starring Warner Baxter with Cesar Romero as one sidekick “Lopez” and Chris-Pin Martin as “Gordito” (Fatty) the other. Romero later took over the Cisco role paired with Martin’s Gordito. They did six films before WW II interrupted.
In 1945 Monogram brought Cisco back in The Cisco Kid Returns with Duncan Renaldo and introduced “Pancho” played by Martin Garralaga. Some speculate the name may have its roots in the revolutionary bandit, Francisco Pancho Villa. “Cisco” is a diminutive sometimes given to the Hispanic name Francisco. Who better than to pair with a Cisco than a “Pancho”. Renaldo took a break; but returned to the Kid role in the late forties at age 46. He was paired with Leo Carrillo cast as the Pancho we came to know. They made five films with Cisco clad in what became the character’s signature fancy black duds in the last.
The Cisco Kid and Pancho rode our TV screens for 156 episodes from 1950 – 1956. It must have been the black suit or maybe Diablo, the black and white overo paint Cisco rode; because with all that going for it the TV series was the first to be shot in color. Leo Carrillo became the iconic sidekick we know as Pancho at the age of 70. I guess there’s hope for some of us yet. He rode a beautiful palomino horse named Loco when star quality mounts typically belonged to the sidekick’s hero.
Carrillo’s family roots ran deep in eighteenth century old Spanish California. He wed Edith Haeselbarth in 1913. They had one daughter and remained together until her death in 1953. Carrillo died of cancer in 1961 at age 81. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film and one for TV.
Next Week: Pat Buttram
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Ride easy,
Paul
July 27, 2019
Tonto
Tonto and the Lone Ranger are fictional characters that have enjoyed multiple creative expressions. The Lone Ranger first appeared on WXYZ radio in Detroit in 1933. Tonto first appears in episode eleven. His part on the radio program was voiced by John Todd over the next twenty-one years. A book series followed along with movies, TV and comic books. Lone Ranger films cast various actors as Tonto, most recently Disney cast a dead crow wearing Johnny Depp in the role. For most of us though Tonto is personified by Jay Silverheels, who played the character through the long running TV series opposite Clayton Moore.
The origin of the relationship between Tonto and the masked man comes in two versions. By the original radio script Tonto was to be the fall guy in a mine swindle murder scheme foiled by the Lone Ranger. In the later version, Tonto comes upon a band of Texas Rangers ambushed and left for dead by the Butch Cavendish gang. Five rangers are indeed dead. One clings to life. Tonto nurses him back to health. They dig a sixth grave and the Lone Ranger dons his mask. Way better than the original, that story stuck.
Radio Tonto rode a horse named White Fella. Republic Pictures cast the horse as a paint in 1938, thinking two white horses confusing. It worked. White Fella became a paint, called Scout. Tonto had some Native American detractors for pidgin English some found demeaning. Somebody always does.
With all due respect to all those other fine actors who played the part, Jay Silverheels owns the character. A Mohawk, Silverheels was born Harold Preston Smith in Canada on Indian land near Hagersville Ontario. An accomplished Lacrosse player, his Silverheels stage name is adapted from his Lacrosse nickname. His film career played support to some of the brightest lights in feature film in the fifties and sixties; but the role that defined his career is sidekick to, “Who was that masked man?”
Next Week: Pancho
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Ride easy,
Paul
The origin of the relationship between Tonto and the masked man comes in two versions. By the original radio script Tonto was to be the fall guy in a mine swindle murder scheme foiled by the Lone Ranger. In the later version, Tonto comes upon a band of Texas Rangers ambushed and left for dead by the Butch Cavendish gang. Five rangers are indeed dead. One clings to life. Tonto nurses him back to health. They dig a sixth grave and the Lone Ranger dons his mask. Way better than the original, that story stuck.
Radio Tonto rode a horse named White Fella. Republic Pictures cast the horse as a paint in 1938, thinking two white horses confusing. It worked. White Fella became a paint, called Scout. Tonto had some Native American detractors for pidgin English some found demeaning. Somebody always does.
With all due respect to all those other fine actors who played the part, Jay Silverheels owns the character. A Mohawk, Silverheels was born Harold Preston Smith in Canada on Indian land near Hagersville Ontario. An accomplished Lacrosse player, his Silverheels stage name is adapted from his Lacrosse nickname. His film career played support to some of the brightest lights in feature film in the fifties and sixties; but the role that defined his career is sidekick to, “Who was that masked man?”
Next Week: Pancho
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Ride easy,
Paul
July 20, 2019
Fuzzy Q. Jones
Al St. John got his start in silent films in 1912. His uncle Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle recommended the young man to Mack Sennett Studios where he joined his uncle and Buster Keaton in Sennett’s iconic Keystone Cops cast. Part vaudevillian, part slap-stick stunt man, facial expressionist, St. John fit a variety of comedic short roles. The Keystone Cops all but trademarked chaotic slap-stick comedy. He stacked up in the lesser known second tier of silent film stars behind his uncle, Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
Al first got his boots dirty in Western work in a 1928 pair of oaters with Tom Mix. St. John hit his sidekick stride with the advent of talkies. His roles evolved to a crotchety, crusty, unkempt comedic character that collected the moniker Fuzzy Q. Jones along the way. He appeared in a Billy the Kid series opposite one of my favorite B Western stars, Bob Steele. He played Fuzzy in the Lone Rider series and in Billy the Kid/Billy Carson series with Buster Crabbe.
Crabbe and St. John made thirty-six films together, all low budget westerns. When Crabbe left PRC in a contract dispute he was cast as sidekick to a rising young Western star and favorite of many readers of these pages, Lash LaRue.
St. John is credited with creating the character Stony Brooks for the film The Law of .45’s. That character later appeared in the popular The Three Mesquiteers B Western series from Republic Pictures played by another up and comer, young John Wayne. Stony Brooks was my favorite Mesquiteer as a kid and my earliest recollection of John Wayne.
St. John’s last film released in 1952. He remained a popular celebrity, making personal appearances at rodeos and fairs. He died in 1963 of a heart attack while touring with a Wild West show.
Next Week: Tonto
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Ride easy,
Paul
Al first got his boots dirty in Western work in a 1928 pair of oaters with Tom Mix. St. John hit his sidekick stride with the advent of talkies. His roles evolved to a crotchety, crusty, unkempt comedic character that collected the moniker Fuzzy Q. Jones along the way. He appeared in a Billy the Kid series opposite one of my favorite B Western stars, Bob Steele. He played Fuzzy in the Lone Rider series and in Billy the Kid/Billy Carson series with Buster Crabbe.
Crabbe and St. John made thirty-six films together, all low budget westerns. When Crabbe left PRC in a contract dispute he was cast as sidekick to a rising young Western star and favorite of many readers of these pages, Lash LaRue.
St. John is credited with creating the character Stony Brooks for the film The Law of .45’s. That character later appeared in the popular The Three Mesquiteers B Western series from Republic Pictures played by another up and comer, young John Wayne. Stony Brooks was my favorite Mesquiteer as a kid and my earliest recollection of John Wayne.
St. John’s last film released in 1952. He remained a popular celebrity, making personal appearances at rodeos and fairs. He died in 1963 of a heart attack while touring with a Wild West show.
Next Week: Tonto
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Ride easy,
Paul
July 13, 2019
Max Terhune
Max Terhune was a multi-talented fellow. He got his start in vaudeville as a whistler who did barnyard animal imitations. If that resume doesn’t sound like a passport to film success it was good enough to get him a gig on the WLS Chicago radio program National Barn Dance. Barn. Get it? Oh the star of that show was a guy named Gene Autry. Guess where that goes.
Gene Autry introduced Max and his wooden pal Elmer Sneezeweed to Republic pictures. Republic cast him in their popular B western series The Three Mesquiteers as Lullaby Joslin. He made twenty-one pictures paired with Ray “Crash” Corrigan, Robert Livingston and later John Wayne. Those Mesquiteer films are my earliest recollection of Wayne as Stony Brooks before he became the iconic Duke we remember today.
Following the Mesquiteer series, Max signed with Monogram for The Range Busters series, again with Ray Corrigan. At Monogram Max morphed his Lullaby character into a character known as Alibi who would complete twenty-four pictures in The Range Busters series. Alibi would go on from there to work with Gene Autry at Republic before returning to Monogram to do eight films with Johnny Mack Brown.
Beyond his film career, Max continued his comedic work making personal appearances with Elmer. An accomplished magician, Terhune applied his skills to entertain with illusion.
Off screen, Max Terhune was a genuine good guy. In the category of lovable sidekicks, Max was a top hand. He married Maude Cassady and together they raised three children, two boys and a girl. He died of a heart attack in Cottonwood Arizona at age eighty-two.
Next Week: Fuzzy Q. Jones
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Ride easy,
Paul
Gene Autry introduced Max and his wooden pal Elmer Sneezeweed to Republic pictures. Republic cast him in their popular B western series The Three Mesquiteers as Lullaby Joslin. He made twenty-one pictures paired with Ray “Crash” Corrigan, Robert Livingston and later John Wayne. Those Mesquiteer films are my earliest recollection of Wayne as Stony Brooks before he became the iconic Duke we remember today.
Following the Mesquiteer series, Max signed with Monogram for The Range Busters series, again with Ray Corrigan. At Monogram Max morphed his Lullaby character into a character known as Alibi who would complete twenty-four pictures in The Range Busters series. Alibi would go on from there to work with Gene Autry at Republic before returning to Monogram to do eight films with Johnny Mack Brown.
Beyond his film career, Max continued his comedic work making personal appearances with Elmer. An accomplished magician, Terhune applied his skills to entertain with illusion.
Off screen, Max Terhune was a genuine good guy. In the category of lovable sidekicks, Max was a top hand. He married Maude Cassady and together they raised three children, two boys and a girl. He died of a heart attack in Cottonwood Arizona at age eighty-two.
Next Week: Fuzzy Q. Jones
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Paul
July 6, 2019
Slim Pickens
Slim Pickens arrived in the world as Louis Burton Lindley Jr. June 29, 1919 in Kingsburg California. He became an accomplished horseman as a child and took to bronc riding and steer roping rodeo competition in his teens. Louis’ father objected to his rodeo participation. To keep it secret, he adopted the pseudonym “Slim Pickens” after a rodeo manager, accepting his entry fee predicted that for his chances of success. Slim rode the name to winning that day.
Slim Pickens had a twenty year career as a rodeo performer, much of it as a clown before Hollywood called. He was a natural for western films, handling all his own horse work, much of it riding his own horses.
His work as sidekick to Rex Allen led to character roles in high profile feature films opposite some of Hollywood’s brightest stars. He appeared in One-Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando, Major Dundee with Charlton Heston, The Cowboys with John Wayne and Tom Horn with Steve McQueen. Stanley Kubrick cast Pickens as a comically ‘Gung-ho’ B-52 pilot in Dr. Strangelove. The role changed the trajectory of his career, leading to a wider range of more substantive roles.
TV beckoned with appearances in episodes of Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, The Lone Ranger, The Tall Man, Maverick, Bonanza, The Virginian and How the West Was Won. It wasn’t all western work either after Dr. Strangelove. Pickens appeared in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hee Haw and Love Boat.
Slim Pickens died in 1983 following treatment for a brain tumor. He was inducted into two Halls of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, one for Western Performers and the other for Rodeo performers.
Next Week: Max Terhune
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Paul
Slim Pickens had a twenty year career as a rodeo performer, much of it as a clown before Hollywood called. He was a natural for western films, handling all his own horse work, much of it riding his own horses.
His work as sidekick to Rex Allen led to character roles in high profile feature films opposite some of Hollywood’s brightest stars. He appeared in One-Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando, Major Dundee with Charlton Heston, The Cowboys with John Wayne and Tom Horn with Steve McQueen. Stanley Kubrick cast Pickens as a comically ‘Gung-ho’ B-52 pilot in Dr. Strangelove. The role changed the trajectory of his career, leading to a wider range of more substantive roles.
TV beckoned with appearances in episodes of Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, The Lone Ranger, The Tall Man, Maverick, Bonanza, The Virginian and How the West Was Won. It wasn’t all western work either after Dr. Strangelove. Pickens appeared in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hee Haw and Love Boat.
Slim Pickens died in 1983 following treatment for a brain tumor. He was inducted into two Halls of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, one for Western Performers and the other for Rodeo performers.
Next Week: Max Terhune
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Paul
June 29, 2019
Smiley Burnette
Lester Alvin (Smiley) Burnett (the ending e came later) was a brilliant song writer with over four hundred titles to his credit. He could play about any instrument you could name and a few you couldn’t name because he invented them. He did it all by ear. He couldn’t read a note of music. Burnett went to work at a small radio station in downstate Illinois where his professional persona began to emerge. He needed a character for an on-air kids program. He decided on Smiley, based on a character in Mark Twain’s Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. The moniker stuck.
Smiley’s musical ability in country radio got him discovered by Gene Autry. In 1933 Autry hired him to play the accordion on his National Barn Dance program on WLS in Chicago. The following year Gene and Smiley signed to do musical parts in two Ken Maynard films for Mascot Pictures. Their return to country radio was short lived when Mascot offered the pair 10 year film contracts. Gene and Smiley would go on to make sixty-four films together.
“Frog Millhouse” evoked a lovable, folksy, down-home, ‘awe-shucks’ comfortability that was Smiley Burnette. With a frog-in-the-throat for a voice, Smiley topped it off in a battered black hat with a turned up front brim, tablecloth checked shirt and baggy britches. Throw in a ring-eyed white horse and you had an unforgettable comedic package.
In 1936 Smiley met and married Dallas MacDonnell. The couple would raise four adopted children. The union would last the remainder of Smiley’s life.
World War II separated Gene and Smiley. Burnette went on to do nine films as Roy Rogers’ sidekick before paring with Charles Starrett from 1945 to 1952 in fifty-four Durango Kid series films. Columbia signed Burnette once again reuniting him with Gene Autry. With the decline of the B Western feature, Smiley turned to touring and personal appearances while pursuing his musical career. In the mid-sixties he appeared in the CBS TV comedy series Petticoat Junction as the railroad engineer Charlie Pratt.
Following his run on Petticoat Junction, Smiley Burnette was taken ill. He died of leukemia in February 1967. Smiley’s signature hat and shirt are part of the Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum collection. You can find his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Next Week: Slim Pickens
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Ride easy,
Paul
Smiley’s musical ability in country radio got him discovered by Gene Autry. In 1933 Autry hired him to play the accordion on his National Barn Dance program on WLS in Chicago. The following year Gene and Smiley signed to do musical parts in two Ken Maynard films for Mascot Pictures. Their return to country radio was short lived when Mascot offered the pair 10 year film contracts. Gene and Smiley would go on to make sixty-four films together.
“Frog Millhouse” evoked a lovable, folksy, down-home, ‘awe-shucks’ comfortability that was Smiley Burnette. With a frog-in-the-throat for a voice, Smiley topped it off in a battered black hat with a turned up front brim, tablecloth checked shirt and baggy britches. Throw in a ring-eyed white horse and you had an unforgettable comedic package.
In 1936 Smiley met and married Dallas MacDonnell. The couple would raise four adopted children. The union would last the remainder of Smiley’s life.
World War II separated Gene and Smiley. Burnette went on to do nine films as Roy Rogers’ sidekick before paring with Charles Starrett from 1945 to 1952 in fifty-four Durango Kid series films. Columbia signed Burnette once again reuniting him with Gene Autry. With the decline of the B Western feature, Smiley turned to touring and personal appearances while pursuing his musical career. In the mid-sixties he appeared in the CBS TV comedy series Petticoat Junction as the railroad engineer Charlie Pratt.
Following his run on Petticoat Junction, Smiley Burnette was taken ill. He died of leukemia in February 1967. Smiley’s signature hat and shirt are part of the Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum collection. You can find his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Next Week: Slim Pickens
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Ride easy,
Paul
June 22, 2019
Jingles Jones
Andy Devine grew up in Arizona and followed his acting dreams to Hollywood after college and a brief swing at semipro football. Andy was one of those unique talents who could move back and forth between character roles and serious parts; though we know him best for his sidekick side.
He spent fifteen years at Universal Studios and made over four hundred films alongside stars like Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne in movies like Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and How The West Was Won. He got his start as a sidekick, replacing Gabby Hayes as Cookie Bullfincher in nine films with Roy Rogers. (Never knew Cookie’s last name before researching this piece. Not sure I’m better off for having found out. Bull-fincher? Really?)
Devine hit his stride as a sidekick playing Jingles Jones to Guy Madison’s Wild Bill Hickok on the 1950’s TV series by the same name. You can almost hear that raspy wheezy noise he passed off for a voice. Said to be caused by childhood throat injury, Andy’s voice nearly cost him his career. He broke into silent pictures. No one thought that scratchy high pitched ‘fingernails-on-a-blackboard’ sound would make it in talkies. Undaunted Devine did. He made it his trademark. He even had it insured by Lloyds of London for half a million dollars. That voice and Betty Grabel’s legs? Go figure.
Andy Devine never went Hollywood. He and his wife Dorthy remained happily married ever after their vows. They raised two boys safely tucked away from movie tinsel and glitz. Andy Devine died of leukemia February 18, 1977 at the age of seventy-one. You can find his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Next Week: Smiley Burnette
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Paul
He spent fifteen years at Universal Studios and made over four hundred films alongside stars like Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne in movies like Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and How The West Was Won. He got his start as a sidekick, replacing Gabby Hayes as Cookie Bullfincher in nine films with Roy Rogers. (Never knew Cookie’s last name before researching this piece. Not sure I’m better off for having found out. Bull-fincher? Really?)
Devine hit his stride as a sidekick playing Jingles Jones to Guy Madison’s Wild Bill Hickok on the 1950’s TV series by the same name. You can almost hear that raspy wheezy noise he passed off for a voice. Said to be caused by childhood throat injury, Andy’s voice nearly cost him his career. He broke into silent pictures. No one thought that scratchy high pitched ‘fingernails-on-a-blackboard’ sound would make it in talkies. Undaunted Devine did. He made it his trademark. He even had it insured by Lloyds of London for half a million dollars. That voice and Betty Grabel’s legs? Go figure.
Andy Devine never went Hollywood. He and his wife Dorthy remained happily married ever after their vows. They raised two boys safely tucked away from movie tinsel and glitz. Andy Devine died of leukemia February 18, 1977 at the age of seventy-one. You can find his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Next Week: Smiley Burnette
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Ride easy,
Paul
June 15, 2019
Gabby Hayes
George Francis Hayes ran away from home at seventeen to join the circus. He got his start in vaudeville, married entertainer Olive Ireland and became successful enough to retire in 1928 at the age of forty-three. The market crash of ’29 put a crimp in the retirement plan. Olive convinced him to try his hand at film.
The couple moved to Hollywood where George found his way into a B Western role as Hopalong Cassidy’s sidekick Windy Halliday in 1935. The persona we know, love and remember today began to emerge from there; but first George had to learn to ride a horse. He was about as eastern as any westerner had ever been. William Boyd’s Hoppy and Windy rode together until George left Paramount for Republic in 1939.
Republic dubbed George “Gabby” for an eighty-six film run between 1939 and 1946. Besides the name change Republic polished the image we know as Gabby Hayes. Polished may not exactly capture the essence of the make-over. The beard never say barber. The well-spoken easterner learned a whole new range of expression, “Dagnabit”, “dadgummit”, “durn tooin’”, “whippersnapper” not to mention “persnickety female”, a derogatory reference to a woman, predating political correctness.
Along the way Gabby sidekicked with Roy Rogers for over half of those eighty six films, also appearing opposite Gene Autry, Wild Bill Elliott, Randolph Scott and the immortal John Wayne. Following his film career, Gabby made a move to the small screen, hosting the Gabby Hayes Show from 1950 to 1956. His appearances on the show were limited to whittling an introduction and an occasional shaggy dog yarn.
Gabby retired after his TV run. Olive passed away the following year. They had no children. Gabby died twelve years later of heart disease at the age of eighty-three. You can find his stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame along with his place in the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Next Week: Jingles Jones
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Paul
The couple moved to Hollywood where George found his way into a B Western role as Hopalong Cassidy’s sidekick Windy Halliday in 1935. The persona we know, love and remember today began to emerge from there; but first George had to learn to ride a horse. He was about as eastern as any westerner had ever been. William Boyd’s Hoppy and Windy rode together until George left Paramount for Republic in 1939.
Republic dubbed George “Gabby” for an eighty-six film run between 1939 and 1946. Besides the name change Republic polished the image we know as Gabby Hayes. Polished may not exactly capture the essence of the make-over. The beard never say barber. The well-spoken easterner learned a whole new range of expression, “Dagnabit”, “dadgummit”, “durn tooin’”, “whippersnapper” not to mention “persnickety female”, a derogatory reference to a woman, predating political correctness.
Along the way Gabby sidekicked with Roy Rogers for over half of those eighty six films, also appearing opposite Gene Autry, Wild Bill Elliott, Randolph Scott and the immortal John Wayne. Following his film career, Gabby made a move to the small screen, hosting the Gabby Hayes Show from 1950 to 1956. His appearances on the show were limited to whittling an introduction and an occasional shaggy dog yarn.
Gabby retired after his TV run. Olive passed away the following year. They had no children. Gabby died twelve years later of heart disease at the age of eighty-three. You can find his stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame along with his place in the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Next Week: Jingles Jones
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Ride easy,
Paul
June 8, 2019
Sidekicks
We idolized our western heroes from B Westerns to the big screen and on to the little screen in the 50’s and 60’s. They came to us mounted on co-star quality horses with looks, smarts and tack fit for a parade. Many of them came along with a sidekick, a partner playing a comic counter point to the dashing, daring good looks of our hero. So who were these supporting characters who made our heroes look good? A little prowling along our back trail shed some light on the answer to that question.
Sidekicks came in all shapes, sizes and shticks. From Slim Pickens to Jingles Jones you set the bar pound for pound. Little Beaver took the prize for kid kicker while looking up to Tonto. Take your comedic choice between Smiley Burnette and Pancho. Festus come along after Chester limped off. Surprised he found his way to the set. We forget Buddy Ebsen got his start side-kicking. So did Walter Brennan, carving out a crotchety niche along with the quintessential kick George “Gabby” Hayes. There are a few more lesser-knowns we’ll try to track down.
Sidekicks came mounted one way or another. Usually their horses didn’t have the star quality of their hero’s. Generally they were a pretty non-descript lot, though there were exceptions – Tonto’s Scout, Dale Evans’ Buttermilk, Pancho’s Loco. Pat Buttram showed up in a Jeep named Nelle Belle – how else you going to keep up with Trigger?
All things considered they’re a colorful cast of characters, which I suppose is the point of side-kicking. They followed our heroes through thick and thin, usually out of step or a step slow. They might get there in the nick of time to help our hero save the day; or just as well take a prat fall for a laugh that said everything’s gonna be OK. Let’s relive some of those laughs in coming weeks with this series. How better to start next week than with . . .
Next Week: Gabby Hayes
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Ride easy,
Paul
Sidekicks came in all shapes, sizes and shticks. From Slim Pickens to Jingles Jones you set the bar pound for pound. Little Beaver took the prize for kid kicker while looking up to Tonto. Take your comedic choice between Smiley Burnette and Pancho. Festus come along after Chester limped off. Surprised he found his way to the set. We forget Buddy Ebsen got his start side-kicking. So did Walter Brennan, carving out a crotchety niche along with the quintessential kick George “Gabby” Hayes. There are a few more lesser-knowns we’ll try to track down.
Sidekicks came mounted one way or another. Usually their horses didn’t have the star quality of their hero’s. Generally they were a pretty non-descript lot, though there were exceptions – Tonto’s Scout, Dale Evans’ Buttermilk, Pancho’s Loco. Pat Buttram showed up in a Jeep named Nelle Belle – how else you going to keep up with Trigger?
All things considered they’re a colorful cast of characters, which I suppose is the point of side-kicking. They followed our heroes through thick and thin, usually out of step or a step slow. They might get there in the nick of time to help our hero save the day; or just as well take a prat fall for a laugh that said everything’s gonna be OK. Let’s relive some of those laughs in coming weeks with this series. How better to start next week than with . . .
Next Week: Gabby Hayes
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Ride easy,
Paul
June 1, 2019
The Dakotas
When Clint Walker’s Cheyenne came to trail's end mid-way through the ’62-’63 season, ABC had a replacement waiting in the wings. Warner Brother’s production, The Dakotas fit right into the Cheyenne time slot.
The Dakotas starred Larry Ward as U.S. Marshal Frank Ragan and his battle to bring law and order to the Black Hills and badlands of Dakota Territory. A no nonsense lawman, Ragan was often tested to bend law to fit the order needed. He was assisted by a trio of deputies, J. D. Smith played by Jack Elam as a reformed gunfighter, Mike Green as Vance Porter and Chad Everett as Del Stark. Everett later played Dr. Joe Gannon on the hit series Medical Center.
To this day The Dakotas is critically acclaimed for its fast paced, hard hitting western action. From theme song to cast to one hour black and white episodes the series got high marks and good ratings. So what derails a winner after half a season and nineteen episodes? Sanctuary at Crystal Springs, that’s what.
Episode 18 by that title aired May 6, 1963. Ragan and Smith are on the trail of a vicious pair of murderous brothers. The brothers take sanctuary in a church with the pastor as hostage. Consistent with the series’ signature intense action, the standoff ends in a fiery gun battle with the bad guys gunned down in the church. These days such an ending would be seen for just cause and we move on. Not so in 1963. The fact the characters debated the moral dilemma of the action they took on haloed ground made no difference. Public outcry over the sacrilegious spectacle of violence in a church became so strident ABC had no choice but to cancel the show a week later.
Next Week: Sidekicks
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Paul
The Dakotas starred Larry Ward as U.S. Marshal Frank Ragan and his battle to bring law and order to the Black Hills and badlands of Dakota Territory. A no nonsense lawman, Ragan was often tested to bend law to fit the order needed. He was assisted by a trio of deputies, J. D. Smith played by Jack Elam as a reformed gunfighter, Mike Green as Vance Porter and Chad Everett as Del Stark. Everett later played Dr. Joe Gannon on the hit series Medical Center.
To this day The Dakotas is critically acclaimed for its fast paced, hard hitting western action. From theme song to cast to one hour black and white episodes the series got high marks and good ratings. So what derails a winner after half a season and nineteen episodes? Sanctuary at Crystal Springs, that’s what.
Episode 18 by that title aired May 6, 1963. Ragan and Smith are on the trail of a vicious pair of murderous brothers. The brothers take sanctuary in a church with the pastor as hostage. Consistent with the series’ signature intense action, the standoff ends in a fiery gun battle with the bad guys gunned down in the church. These days such an ending would be seen for just cause and we move on. Not so in 1963. The fact the characters debated the moral dilemma of the action they took on haloed ground made no difference. Public outcry over the sacrilegious spectacle of violence in a church became so strident ABC had no choice but to cancel the show a week later.
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Ride easy,
Paul
