During the heyday of the Westerns in Toobworld, John Wesley Hardin was portrayed several times. Maybe he didn't get the exposure that Jesse James or Billy the Kid did (He certainly never got his own series like they did!), but he kept his hand in the game......
Working backwards through time:
"Streets of Laredo"
- Episode #1.1 (1999) TV episode, Played by Randy Quaid
Maverick (1994) Played by Max Perlich (as Johnny Hardin)
"The Virginian"
- The Sins of the Fathers (1970) TV episode, Played by Tim McIntire
"Vacation Playhouse"
- Luke and the Tenderfoot (1965) TV episode, Played by Charles Bronson
"Death Valley Days"
- Preacher with a Past (1962) TV episode, Played by Neville Brand
"Zane Grey Theater"
- Trouble at Tres Cruces (1959) TV episode, Played by Brad Johnson
"Maverick"
- Duel at Sundown (1959) TV episode, Played by James Griffith
"Tales of Wells Fargo"
- The Gunfighter (1958) TV episode, Played by Lyle Bettger
- John Wesley Hardin (1957) TV episode, Played by Lyle Bettger
"Bronco"
- The Turning Point (1958) TV episode, Played by Scott Marlowe
"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"
- The Time for All Good Men (1957) TV episode, Played by Phillip Pine
- John Wesley Hardin (1955) TV episode, Played by Phillip Pine
"Studio One in Hollywood"
- Dead of Noon (1957) TV episode, Played by Richard Boone
"Judge Roy Bean"
- Gunman's Bargain (1956) TV episode, Played by Lash La Rue
"Stories of the Century"
- John Wesley Hardin (1954) TV episode, Played by Richard Webb
Hardin's presence in 'Maverick', both the TV series and the 1994 theatrical release, were already splained away in a previous post last August.
As for the others....
Right off the bat I'm eliminating Richard Webb's portrayal of Hardin from consideration to be the official televersion. 'Stories Of The Century' - from the Toobworld Dynamic perspective - was nothing more than the tall tales spun by an old railroad detective named Matt Clark. According to his whoppers, Clark was responsible for the capture or deaths of just about every outlaw in the Old West. So Webb's embodiment of John Wesley Hardin is just the personification of Clark's "stories" (in much the same way as was seen with every episode of 'Jack Of All Trades'.)
I even have my doubts Matt Clark was ever a railroad detective!
With Randy Quaid in the Larry McMurtry adaptation, I'm placing that in another TV dimension since several of the characters were recast from the original adaptation of 'Lonesome Dove'. (And that's mostly due to the late James Garner as Woodrow Call.) In fact, better or for worse when it comes to quality, the two TV series based on the original novel have a stronger hold on a place in Toobworld. (As for the recasting of Newt? Allowances due to aging perhaps; maybe because of the hardships of the wild wild West.....)
"Vacation Playhouse"
- Luke and the Tenderfoot (1965) TV episode, Played by Charles Bronson
"Death Valley Days"
- Preacher with a Past (1962) TV episode, Played by Neville Brand
"Zane Grey Theater"
- Trouble at Tres Cruces (1959) TV episode, Played by Brad Johnson
"Studio One in Hollywood"
- Dead of Noon (1957) TV episode, Played by Richard Boone
These TV shows were anthology series with no regular cast each week. We could easily spread the wealth by placing each of these Hardin stand-ins into separate TV dimensions so they could be the official versions in their own little fictional TV worlds. If we keep them in Earth Prime-Time, then most of them might be the John Wesley Hardin impersonators I mentioned earlier. And if so, the psychotic gunman who truly believed he was Hardin might have gone gunning for each of them.
I toyed with the idea that perhaps Paladin of 'Have Gun Will Travel' was impersonating Hardin in "Studio One In Hollywood", but I wouldn't want to make such a claim without having seen the episode. For alls I know, as Stuart Best would say, "Dead of Noon" ends with the death of John Wesley Hardin at the hands of John Selman, Sr. in 1895, soon after Hardin's release from prison. And we can't have such a fate for Paladin - not when we expect to resurface in Oklahoma as 'Hec Ramsey'!
"The Virginian"
- The Sins of the Fathers (1970) TV episode, Played by Tim McIntire
"Tales of Wells Fargo"
- The Gunfighter (1958) TV episode, Played by Lyle Bettger
- John Wesley Hardin (1957) TV episode, Played by Lyle Bettger
"Bronco"
- The Turning Point (1958) TV episode, Played by Scott Marlowe
"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"
- The Time for All Good Men (1957) TV episode, Played by Phillip Pine
- John Wesley Hardin (1955) TV episode, Played by Phillip Pine
In these four TV series with a combined six episodes, each of these John Wesley Hardins met with TV characters who are definitely card-carrying citizens of Toobworld:
'The Virginian' & Clay Grainger
Jim Hardie
Bronco Layne
Wyatt Earp
We can eliminate Tim McIntire's presence in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, as being John Wesley Hardin, even though he had the youthful appearance to have been the Gentleman Killer before he was incarcerated. Unfortunately, 'The Virginian' takes place around 1898, with several timeline indicators spread throughout the series (gravestone markings, Oscar Wilde publications, etc.) Since Hardin died in 1895 at the age of 42, it's O'Bvious to me that this outlaw was just another impersonator.
Bronco Layne, like the actor who portrayed him, was about 28 years old when we first met him. He was a veteran of the Civil War, so the 'Bronco' series could have been taking place at any time from 1865 to 1874. I would lean towards the latter date so as to accommodate the crossovers with 'Sugarfoot', 'Cheyenne', and 'Maverick'.
In fact, it's probably 1870 as Hardin was already "credited" with six killings. (According to Wikipedia, he had killed four men by 1869.)
At that time it would be conceivable that Bronco Layne could have saved the life of John Wesley Hardin as a young man after he had been bitten by a rattlesnake. (When they first met, Hardin introduced himself as Gary Williams.) And Scott Marlowe does come closer than most actors hired to play the role in looking like the real gunfighter.
An added bonus to claiming him as Toobworld's John Wesley Hardin - Hardin's parents also show up in the episode. (Here they are Reverend Leslie and Emma Hardin, while in real life they were Reverend James Gibson and Mary Elizabeth Hardin.)
The temptation would be to choose either Bettger's or Pine's portrayal of Hardin since both of them played the role twice in 'Tales Of Wells Fargo' and 'The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp' respectively. But Bettger was too old to be the "real" Hardin on the Toobworld timeline. (Hardin was put away in prison when he was 25 and wasn't released until the year of his death when he was 42.)
And 'Tales Of Wells Fargo' took place in the 1870s - 1880s, so Bettger's Hardin was definitely an impersonator.
Here's the Wikipedia description of Wyatt Earp's encounter with Hardin in Toobworld:
Hardin arrives in Wichita to avenge Earp for having run out of a town a friend of Hardin's. The Hardin character unveils tricks he has learned with his revolvers. Earp is suspicious when Hardin kills a man in the saloon who drew first according to witnesses, including the unnamed man played by Glenn Strange. Barbara Bestar portrays Hardin's wife, Jane Hardin, who encourages him to head north to Nebraska.
This would have occurred at some point after October of 1874 when Earp became a lawman in Wichita. By May of 1876, he had accepted a lawman's position in Dodge City. So that's nearly a two year window for this episode to take place.
Hardin would later ride to Earp's aid with Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, and several other famous outlaws including Ben Thompson (who was also a lawman).
As with his appearance in the 'Bronco' episode, there was an added reason as to why this could be the true Hardin - the appearance of his wife Jane. This would be Jane Bowen, Hardin's first wife.
On the Toobworld timeline, this would be about four years on from his appearance in 'Bronco'. As a splainin for the change in physical appearance from Scott Marlowe to Philip Pine? Hard years on the trail, drinking, and a matter of perspective from the viewpoints of Bronco Layne and Wyatt Earp.
And since we're not averse to mixing genres in the Toobworld Dynamic, perhaps there was a sci-fi reason for the change in appearance. Perhaps the real John Wesley Hardin (from 'Bronco') had been dispatched in some way and this new interloper quantum leaped into his life and took his place.
Who could it have been? I would suggest Colonel Philip Greene, the tyrannical despot who caused the deaths of more than thirty-seven million inhabitants of Earth.
There doesn't appear to be any record of what happened to Greene, so perhaps he used quantum leap technology to escape into the distant past and took over the life of Hardin.
Like I said... just an idea.
So of all the appearances by John Wesley Hardin in the greater TV Universe, I'm going to declare the portrayals by Marlowe and Pine to be the official televersions.
Happy Trails To You!
