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Date Posted: 18:19:38 05/10/12 Thu
Author: SWC
Subject: The Glory Era: 1956

The most prestigious western series to debut in 1956 was “Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theater”, like his other shows, (Four Star Playhouse, Dick Powell Theater), it was an anthology series hosted by and occasionally starring Powell. The show was, like a lot of lot of 50’s dramas, only a half hour show but it could pack a lot of story into that half hour. The show lasted until 1962, (145 episodes).

Here is the premiere with Robert Ryan as a rancher falsely accused of a crime who elects to confront the local committee of vigilance, led by John Hoyt, rather than run from them. The aggrieved father is played by Parley Baer, who was radio’s “Chester” on “Gunsmoke”, Ryan’s wife if played by Cloris Leachman, a generation before she was “Phyllis” and a half century before “Dancing With the Stars”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5EAcU1S8XM

“The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp”, (as well as the Davy Crockett segments of “Disneyland”), had popularized theme songs for westerns which not only gave them a romantic introduction but gave the production company records they could sell based on them one of the early ones was for “The Adventures of Jim Bowie”, starring Scott Forbes, (who was actually an English actor, full name Conrad Scott-Forbes, who returned to England after this series was over and can be seen in several British series of the 60’s, including “The Avengers”). The series was about Bowie’s adventures when he was living in Louisiana before he went to Texas. Here is the premiere, “The Birth of the Blade”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHbuVl7Ed_c

Michael Ansara became a star with the premiere of Broken Arrow, in which he played Cochise opposite John Lupton as Indian agent Tom Jeffords. The roles had been played by Jeff Chandler and James Stewart in the 1950 film the series was based on. Jeffords was real character who was removed as too sympathetic to the Indians when whites wanted to take away lands reserved for them because of copper and silver deposits found there. Ricardo Montelban had played Cochise in the 1956 pilots which aired on the anthology series “The 20th Century Fox Hour”, with Lupton as Jeffords. Ansara became famous for his portrayals of Native Americans, and a Klingon on Star Trek, but he was neither. He was born in Syria and grew up in Boston.

U-Tube doesn’t have an entire episode of the show but here is a clip from it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgJtxrMR_9w

The only other western series to debut in 1956 was a syndicated show based on the “Red Ryder” comic stripe starring Allan “Rocky” Lane, star of numerous 40’s and early 50’s “B” westerns and serials. U-Tube doesn’t have a clip of that series but here is a trailer for one of his last theatrical movies that must have been rather similar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbE4ULVBNT0

Lane never got a series of his own, guest starring on most of the other western shows, until he was hired to do the voice of “Mister Ed”. After that he retired. How could you follow that?

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Replies:

[> Re: The Glory Era: 1956 ( oh Wilber!) -- Joe H., 20:34:06 05/22/12 Tue [1]

Thanks SWC, for Allan Lane, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0485226/ as the voice of "Mister Ed".

"MISTER ED TV SHOW TRIBUTE"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VYkaHxFhCk
of: 1:16 minute with 24,520 views.


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