Sunday, August 15, 2010

SILKY SMOOTH SPLAININ

"Red Dog" was the last time we ever saw Beau Maverick in Toobworld... as Beau Maverick.

It's the theory of Toobworld Central that by the early 1890's, Beau had found himself up north in Skagway, in the Alaskan territories. But for one reason or another, he needed to lay low; so he used an alias - Silky Harris.

The name "Silky" he chose in tribute to the late, great swindler, Silky O'Sullivan. Although the audiences of the Trueniverse only saw Silky in connection to Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, "Alias Smith And Jones", it's likely that he had dealings with the Maverick family as well.

In fact, he may have taught Beauregard "Pappy" Maverick - Beau's uncle - everything he knew when it cames to confidence games.
As for "Harris", that may have been a tip of the hat to a young woman who would sometimes pass herself off as "Melanie Blake" or "Modesty Blaine" or "Flo Baker". But her real name was Kiz Bouchet, and Beau came to her aid in Virginia City... which probably didn't sit well with the powerful Cartwright family. As influential citizens of Virginia City, they must have been friends with the powerful men prepared to have Kiz declared insane so that her cousin Melanie could claim Kiz's fortune. (Most of that fortune had been augmented by investments from Kiz's life as a confidence grifter.)
When Beau Maverick turned the tables on them, the Cartwrights probably didn't take kindly to that - especially when they realized Kiz had been "Quick Buck Kate" in San Francisco, who helped shanghai a couple of the Ponderosa ranch hands. But by the time Ben and his boys figured that out (Kiz would always dye her hair blonde when working a scheme.), Beau was long gone from Virginia City.* As for the name of "Harris": when Kiz Bouchet first encountered the Maverick clan, she was posing as "Daisy Harris". "Daisy" almost got Bart Maverick killed because of "The Jeweled Gun". If Beau thought the Cartwrights were still after him after all those years, it wouldn't be safe to go calling himself "Silky Bouchet" in a small mining town like Skagway. (Especially when it appeared they had a few investments in town, like the hotel.) So he chose the first surname used by Kiz as a grifter, "Harris".
And so Silky Harris was "born"... and would live for as long as Beau decided to remain among 'The Alaskans'.....
I get the feeling that all of these Kathleen Crowley characters - and many more! - could eventually land Kiz Bouchet as a special guest in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, don't you?

BCnU!

* Of course, the involvement by the Cartwrights just happened to be unavailable for the Trueniverse audience to see.....

And that concludes my vacation salute to "Seed Of Deception" and "Red Dog", two episodes of 'Maverick'

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