It looks like Hurricane Irene will disrupt the "Rifleman" segments for the next few days here at Inner Toob. I do have the "As Seen On TV" spotlights set up through the 30th, and should be back at Toobworld Central in time to do the final one for the 31st. I have three last posts about the repeat castings of John Anderson, John Milford, and Dabbs Greer still to put up and I'll do that as soon as I can get back.
If you're in the path of this windy bitch, stay safe!
BCnU!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
"MAVERICK": OPENING AND CLOSING CREDITS
Just a quick look at how it all began for Brett Maverick and his brother Bart.....
AS SEEN ON TV: LBJ
PRESIDENT LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON
AS SEEN IN:
'Robert Kennedy And His Times'
AS PLAYED BY:
G.D. Spradlin
From Wikipedia:
Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States (1963–1969) after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States (1961–1963). He is one of only four people who served in all four elected federal offices of the United States: Representative, Senator, Vice President and President.
Johnson, a Democrat, served as a United States Representative from Texas, from 1937–1949 and as United States Senator from 1949–1961, including six years as United States Senate Majority Leader, two as Senate Minority Leader and two as Senate Majority Whip. After campaigning unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1960, Johnson was asked by John F. Kennedy to be his running mate for the 1960 presidential election.
Johnson succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, completed Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right, winning by a large margin in the 1964 Presidential election. Johnson was greatly supported by the Democratic Party and, as President, was responsible for designing the "Great Society" legislation that included laws that upheld civil rights, Public Broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protection, aid to education, and his "War on Poverty." He was renowned for his domineering personality and the "Johnson treatment," his coercion of powerful politicians in order to advance legislation.
Simultaneously, he greatly escalated direct American involvement in the Vietnam War. As the war dragged on, Johnson's popularity as President steadily declined. After the 1966 mid-term Congressional elections, his re-election bid in the 1968 United States presidential election collapsed as a result of turmoil within the Democratic Party related to opposition to the Vietnam War. He withdrew from the race amid growing opposition to his policy on the Vietnam War and a worse-than-expected showing in the New Hampshire primary.
Despite the failures of his foreign policy, Johnson is ranked favorably by some historians because of his domestic policies.
LBJ would have been 103 years old today. And his televersion marks the second Western-connected President played by the late G.D. Spradlin to be featured this month.....
BCnU!
Friday, August 26, 2011
THE ART OF "THE RIFLEMAN"
When a drunken artist gets charged with murder, Lucas uses the man’s creative abilities to sketch the true criminal.
From "The Rifleman Episode Guide List"
As a handy missing link to fill in some of the blanks in connecting TV Westerns, Toobworld Central would like to claim that whenever a portrait is shown in an episode of a Western, Jeremiah Crowley should be given credit as the artist.
At present the only example I can think of is that of the portrait of Tom Barkley which hangs over the fireplace in the Barkley mansion outside of Stockton, California (as seen in 'The Big Valley'.)
TED KNIGHT: ENTERTAINING THE CROWN HEADS OF EUROPE
 |
| "From one dog to another, eh?" |
But while doing research into some other roles played by Ted Knight (who passed away 25 years ago today), I remembered this role from 'Lassie' - Mr. Ventrilo.
If Professor Marvel did exist in Earth Prime-Time, Mr. Ventrilo could easily be his "Born To Rerun" reincarnation.....
God bless Ted Knight.....
BCnU!
TED KNIGHT: A WESTERN MEMORY
Since we're celebrating the TV Western this month, and since today marks 25 years since we lost Ted Knight, I decided to showcase one of his two* appearances in 'Bonanza'. It's not 'The Rifleman', which is our theme all month, but I'm sure there won't be any complaints......
Good night and may God bless. You're still missed here
BCnU!
* The IMDb claims that Ted Knight was Sgt. Brown in "A Place To Hide", but that's an actor named Edward Knight. Ted Knight's other episode was the flashback to Ben Cartwright's first wife, "Elizabeth, My Love".
Good night and may God bless. You're still missed here
BCnU!
* The IMDb claims that Ted Knight was Sgt. Brown in "A Place To Hide", but that's an actor named Edward Knight. Ted Knight's other episode was the flashback to Ben Cartwright's first wife, "Elizabeth, My Love".
AS SEEN ON TV: BILL DOOLIN
BILL DOOLIN
AS SEEN IN:
'The Legend Of Calamity Jane'
AS VOICED BY:
Mark Rolston
From Wikipedia:
William "Bill" Doolin (1858 – August 24, 1896) was an American bandit and founder of the Wild Bunch, an outlaw gang that specialized in robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas during the 1890s.
BCnU!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
"THE RIFLEMAN" - THE RATTLESNAKE BRIGADE PLOY
While being transported from Yuma Prison, seven desperate men on their way to the gallows escape the prison wagon in North Fork, and one is seeking revenge on Lucas McCain after Lucas hits him for grabbing Mark.
From "The Rifleman Episode Guide List"
Those seven prisoners knew of that ploy to gain release because it had happened before back in late 1871. (The incident was depicted in "The Rattlesnake Brigade", an episode of 'Bonanza'.)
Outside the box, the 'Bonanza' episode aired after 'The Rifleman' episode, but on the Toobworld timeline, it occurred first.
BCnU!
AS SEEN ON TV: ALT-TEDDY ROOSEVELT
TEDDY ROOSEVELT
AS SEEN IN:
'Voyagers!'
AS PLAYED BY:
Gregg Henry
STATUS:
Revised Timeline
In this parallel timeline, Teddy Roosevelt turned out to be the 27th victim of Billy the Kid. Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones had to work their time-traveling magic to prevent that.
BCnU!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
"DARK SHADOWS" OF "THE RIFLEMAN"
"The Coward"
Lucas becomes involved in a battle between an aspiring writer recently fired as cook for a trail outfit and a cocky, bragging trail hand who finds it fun to whip up on those weaker then himself.
From "The Rifleman Episode Guide List"
George Collins was an aspiring writer whose family hailed from back East. By "back East", it could be that he was from Maine, where his family founded the town of Collinsport.
If so, he may have seen this painting in his family's ancestral home of Collinwood.....
AS SEEN ON TV: WELLS-FARGO
HENRY WELLS & WILLIAM G. FARGO
AS SEEN IN:
'The Improbable History Of Mr. Peabody'
AS VOICED BY:
Paul Frees
From Wikipedia:
Henry Wells (December 12, 1805 – December 10, 1878) was an American businessman important in the history of both the American Express Company and Wells Fargo & Company.
William George Fargo (May 20, 1818 – August 3, 1881), pioneer American expressman, was born in Pompey, New York.
In March 1850, when through a consolidation of competing lines the American Express Company was organized, Wells became president and Fargo secretary. In 1851, with Wells and others, he organized the firm of Wells Fargo & Company to conduct an express business between New York and San Francisco by way of the Isthmus of Panama and on the Pacific coast, where it long had a virtual monopoly.
In 1861 Wells Fargo & Company. bought and reorganized the Overland Mail Co., which had been formed in 1857 to carry the United States mails, and of which Fargo had been one of the original promoters.
1852: Henry Wells and William G. Fargo (Mayor of Buffalo, NY from 1862–63 and again from 1864–65), the two founders of American Express, form Wells Fargo & Company to provide express and banking services to California.
1860: Wells Fargo gains control of Butterfield Overland Mail Company, leading to operation of the western portion of the Pony Express.
In the Tooniverse, however, Wells and Fargo were bitter rivals in 1850 for control of the Pony Express, with Wells being something of an evil prick about it....
BCnU!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
AS SEEN ON TV: ALT-BILLY THE KID
BILLY THE KID
AS SEEN IN:
'Voyagers!'
AS PLAYED BY:
Frank Koppala
STATUS:
Revised Timeline
In this parallel timeline, Billy the Kid gunned down Teddy Roosevelt. Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones had to work their time-traveling magic to prevent that.
BCnU!
"THE RIFLEMAN" - CULP-ABILITY
"The Hero"
A young stable hand becomes upset when the town people won’t give him the reward money he deserves for killing a notorious outlaw - because he was shot in the back.
"The Man From Salinas"
A young man comes to town to collect the body of his dead brother, but Lucas suspects the main isn’t who he says he is.
From "The Rifleman Episode Guide List"
Many of these posts about individual episodes of 'The Rifleman' are proving to be theories of relateeveety, and this is a tele-quickie along the same lines:
Hoby Gilman was a Texas Ranger (and a member of the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame) seen in the TV series 'Trackdown'.
BCnU!
Monday, August 22, 2011
"THE RIFLEMAN" - THE ASHFORD LINE
"The Young Englishman"
Lucas McCain accuses the young foreman of a neighboring ranch of rustling one of his calves.
From "The Rifleman Episode Guide"
Jeremy Ashford was maintaining the ranch for his older brother, who had inherited the title of Duke and all of its wealth. If that Duke had more than one son, those other children would have to find their own way in the world. And with each succeeding generation, that connection to the noble line would become more distant.
The previous Duke, father of the "current" Duke and of Jeremy, may have had a younger brother as well, so that by the time of World War II, the great-grandchildren Martin and Edith Ashford were leading simple lives as Quakers (as seen in an episode of 'Foyle's War' - "Bad Blood".)
You go far enough back, I suppose you can link plenty of TV characters to each other. And the great thing about the Toobworld timeline is that if you go far enough forward, you can do the same thing!
BCnU!
AS SEEN ON TV: WILD BILL HICKOCK
WILD BILL HICKOCK
AS SEEN IN:
'The Legend Of Calamity Jane'
AS VOICED BY:
Clancy Brown
From Wikipedia:
The dead man's hand is a two-pair poker hand, namely "aces and eights". This card combination gets its name from a legend that it was the five-card-draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok, when he was murdered on August 2, 1876, in Saloon No. 10 at Deadwood, South Dakota.
According to the popular version, Hickok's final hand included the aces and eights of both black suits. As Hickok's biographer, Joseph Rosa puts it: the "accepted version is that the cards were the ace of spades, the ace of clubs, two black eights (clubs and spades), and the queen of clubs as the "kicker". However, Rosa says no contemporary source for this exact hand can be found. The earliest detailed reference to the "dead man's hand" is 1886, where it was described as a "full house consisting of three jacks and a pair of tens."
In accounts that mention two aces and eights, there are various claims regarding the identity of Hickok's fifth card, suggestions that he had discarded one card and/or that the draw was curtailed by the shooting and Hickok therefore never received his fifth card.
In the HBO television historical drama series 'Deadwood', a nine of diamonds is depicted, although the show posits that another player concocted the hand, to further his own newsworthiness. An episode of 'Ripley's Believe it or Not' shows Hickok holding a queen of clubs.
BCnU!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
TEDDY ROOSEVELT: "THE DUDE" ABIDES......
To celebrate Teddy Roosevelt in the TV Universe, here's "The Dude" himself, as seen in 'Law Of The Plainsman', the spin-off from 'The Rifleman'....
BCnU!
BCnU!
AS SEEN ON TV: TEDDY ROOSEVELT
TEDDY ROOSEVELT
AS SEEN IN:
'The Law Of The Plainsman'
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was the 26th President of the United States (1901–1909). He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, leadership of the Progressive Movement, and his "cowboy" image and robust masculinity. Roosevelt's achievements as a naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician.
After the Republican Convention of 1884, Roosevelt said he had no further aspiration but to retire to his ranch in the Badlands of the Dakota Territory, which he had purchased the previous year while on a buffalo hunting expedition.Roosevelt built a second ranch, which he named Elk Horn, thirty-five miles (56 km) north of the boomtown of Medora, North Dakota. On the banks of the Little Missouri, Roosevelt learned to ride western style, rope, and hunt. He rebuilt his life and began writing about frontier life for Eastern magazines. As a deputy sheriff, Roosevelt hunted down three outlaws who stole his river boat and were escaping north with it up the Little Missouri.
Capturing them, he decided against hanging them (apparently yielding to established law procedures in place of vigilante justice), and sending his foreman back by boat, he took the thieves back overland for trial in Dickinson, guarding them forty hours without sleep and reading Tolstoy to keep himself awake. When he ran out of his own books, he read a dime store western that one of the thieves was carrying." While searching for a group of relentless horse thieves, Roosevelt met Seth Bullock, the famous sheriff of Deadwood, South Dakota. The two would remain friends for life.
After the uniquely-severe U.S. winter of 1886-1887 wiped out his herd of cattle (together with those of his competitors) and his $60,000 investment, Roosevelt returned to the East.
BCnU!
