FRIDAY HALL OF FAMERS -- BEAU MAVERICK

When Sir Roger Moore died in May of 2017, I wanted to honor him in some way here at Inner Toob.  And my first inclination was the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  But it didn’t feel as though there really wasn’t any option in which he could even be hypothetically qualified.

On paper, it looks like Simon Templar AKA ‘The Saint’ might have the three separate appearances to qualify, but the two movies – “The Fiction Makers” and “Vendetta For The Saint” – were both cobbled together from episodes from the TV series.

And then there’s Lord Brett Sinclair (‘The Persuaders!’), Silky Harris (‘The Alaskans’), and Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe (‘Ivanhoe’).  Each of them was limited to just the short-lived series in which they appeared.  But at least they were all a longer, more visible presence than a regular role he took late in his career – ‘The Dream Team’.

Maybe with Lord Bret or Sir Wilfred at least, I could work through allusions to them in other TV shows; well, at least for ‘Ivanhoe’, certainly.  But hey.  I’m getting older and my interests are more focused on Life in Wayside, Connecticut.  I just don’t want to extend that sort of time any longer on Toobworld.

But there is one glimmer of hope and I’ve got some splainin to do which will cover it, at least….

BEAU MAVERICK!

From Wikipedia:
Though very popular, Garner quit over a contract dispute with the studio after the series' third year in order to graduate to a much anticipated movie career, and was replaced by Roger Moore as cousin Beau, nephew of Beau "Pappy" Maverick. It is unclear if Beau was supposed to be the son of Bret and Bart's uncle Bentley. Sean Connery turned down the role, but accepted a free trip to America; the following decade, Moore would replace Connery as James Bond in the 007 film series based upon Ian Fleming's spy novels.

Beau's first appearance was in the season four opener, "The Bundle From Britain", in which he returns from an extended stay in England to meet cousin Bart. Moore had earlier played a completely different role in the episode "The Rivals", a drawing room comedy episode with Garner in which Moore's character switched identities with Bret.

Beau's amusingly self-described "slight English accent" was explained by his having spent the last few years in England. Moore was exactly the same age as Kelly and brought a flair for light comedy and a physical similarity to Garner fitting the show—Moore even looked like the profile drawing (apparently based on Garner) of the card player at the beginning of each episode. Moore noted in his autobiography that the producers told him he was not being brought in to replace Garner. However, when he got to wardrobe, all of his costumes had the name "Jim Garner" scratched out on the tags. Moore also mentioned in the book that he, Garner, Kelly, and their wives would regularly gather at the Kelly home for what they called "poker school".

There was also a dispute between the cast and producers during this time over the long hours they were putting in each day. The producers placed a time clock in the makeup department and required the actors to punch in. Moore brought his own makeup, and refused to do so. Moore wrote in his book that Kelly was "similarly minded, and one day took the time clock and used it as a football."

Moore had already played ‘Maverick’ dialogue written for Garner in his earlier series, ‘The Alaskans’. The studio had a policy of recycling scripts through their various television series to save money on writers, changing as little dialogue as possible, usually only names and locations. Recycled scripts were often credited to "W. Hermanos" (Spanish for W. Brothers).

One of Moore's episodes, "Bolt From the Blue," was written and directed by Robert Altman.

Moore quit due to what he felt was a declining script quality (without having to resort to legal measures as Garner had); Moore insisted that if he had gotten the level of writing Garner had enjoyed during the first two years of the show's run, he would have stayed.

So how did I get the splainin to do which could qualify Beau to join his ‘Maverick’ cousins Bart (inducted first) and Bret  (but NOT Brent!) in the TVXOHOF?

A theory of relateeveety – Beau was responsible for the family trees which led to Simon Templar and Lord Bret Sinclair.

Here’s how it works:

During his banishment to England after the Civil War, Beau became romantically entwined with several women of British society… and probably with a few outside that social strata.

Lord Brett Sinclair
&
Danny Wilde

In one case, Beau carried on an affair with the young wife of the heir apparent to the Sinclair title, probably Bret’s great-grandfather.  And so the line of succession then passed down from Beau Maverick, but was passed off as a Sinclair.  And ironically, probably coincidentally, Beau’s great-great-grandson would be named after Beau’s first cousin, Bret Maverick.

In the other theory, Beau probably didn’t mingle and tumble with a young lass found in the pages of Burke’s Peerage.  Instead, she was probably more on a par with his own social standings in America.  She may have already been a Templar and not ever married, bringing scandal to her name.  That’s more in keeping with fanfic, not theories of relateeveety.  But it might be she had a totally different name and over the next few generations a daughter or granddaughter married into the Templars.

We can carry the family line forward directly for Beau Maverick which can be partially verified by the show itself.  Bret and Bart had an uncle named Bentley and it assumed (by others beside me) that he was the father of Beau, naming him after his older brother, Beauregard.  In turn, Beau eventually had a son of his own, whom he named after his own father.  (But the lad chose to be known as Ben rather than Bentley.)

Getting back to the Templar lineage, when a new version of ‘The Saint’ was broadcast in the late 1970s, star Ian Ogilvie claimed during one of the publicity sessions that his Simon Templar was the son of Moore’s original (as far as Toobworld goes, of course.)  And that’s good enough for me.  I’ve built theories of relateeveety on far less.  In fact, I’m going to do so right now!

In his travels around the world, Simon Templar II was just as indiscreet as his forefathers with the distribution of his seed.  And it’s my contention that one of his dalliances yielded a son -  in Weld, New Zealand.

“I went by the petrol station and Ollie's dad told me that Ollie has moved to Stafford to live with mum.”
Siouxie MacNamara
‘800 Words’

I chose this character as a possible, illegitimate, member of the Templar family because there were times during the show’s run where I could see a resemblance two generations back to Simon Templar I.  And if Simon Templar II did have a quickie relationship with Ollie’s Mom back in 1993, it looks as though the father who raised Ollie might have found out and that’s why Ollie’s parents broke up.

Unfortunately it's a fluid resemblance.  Frozen in a screencap, it's hard to see any similarity to Roger Moore.  But not all telegenetics lead to exact copies.  Otherwise, Noah Beery would never have been hired to play Joseph Rockford on 'The Rockford Files'. 

As for Ben Maverick continuing the lineage of “The Maverick Line”, it’s pozz’ble, just pozz’ble, that a young cowboy in Greenwich Village might be able to count ‘Young Maverick’ in his family tree.

Like I said, it’s a theory of relateeveety.  But I think it holds up.  And as I always point out, what can’t be proven can’t be disproven either.

There is one more reason to consider Beau Maverick for induction into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.  This doesn’t fall into the category of Theories of Relateeveety; it’s more along the lines of Game of the Name.

‘Maverick’
“Bolt From The Blue”

From the IMDb:
Beau and an old man riding with him are both captured and accused of being horse thieves, in Beau's case, one Benson January. Despite the efforts of a young lawyer (who may or may not be Tom Brewster), Beau is sentenced to hang. His fate may depend on a young woman - the sister of the girl January was engaged to. But will she be willing to help?  

I’m making the claim that Will Hutchins was indeed playing Tom Brewster from ‘Sugarfoot’.  So Beau was responsible for at least one crossover for the series.

Welcome to the Hall, Beau!  You’ll find your cousins Bret and Bart in the gaming room, along with other poker players… like Bat Masterson, Brady Hawkes, and Wes Craven…

SHOWS CITED:
‘Maverick’‘The Saint’ (1)‘The Saint’ (2)‘Young Maverick’‘Sugarfoot'‘800 Words’
'Barney Miller'

Happy Trails!

THURSDAY THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY - HANDSOME HANSEN MEN

'MAVERICK'
"THE CACTUS SWITCH"






From the IMDb:
After falling prey to a con game involving a diamond necklace, Bart ends up in a jail cell with an old but treacherous outlaw. With the help of his son, the
cell mate breaks out but leaves Bart behind. After being released, Bart plots to recover his loss from the con with help from the outlaw's son and friends.  Bart plans to split the recovery with the son, but the elder outlaw has other plans.  






Theory of relateeveety - 
Once Lawrence Deville and his wife Lana Cane got the necklace back, they decided to go back East, where they figured Life would be somewhat safer even if they were living the life of confidence tricksters.  They settled in Port Charles, NY, on the shores of the St. Lawrence Seaway and there they raised a family, two daughters, one of whom married a man named Baldwin.  That union led to a grandson being born in 1920 by the name of Lee Baldwin. 

'GENERAL HOSPITAL'






From Wikipedia:
Lee Baldwin is a fictional character on the daytime dramas 'General Hospital' and 'Port Charles'.

Ross Elliott originated the role on 'General Hospital' in 1963. Peter Hansen inherited the role in 1965 and played it until 1986 and again from 1989 to 1990 before returning permanently from 1992 to 2004. Lee Baldwin is the adoptive father of Scott Baldwin.






A recovering alcoholic, Lee [Baldwin] was a pillar in the community and had a thriving law practice.  

At Scotty's encouragement, Lee ran for Mayor in 1983, and his opponent was Luke Spencer, the man who ruined Scotty and Laura's marriage. Scotty was managing Lee's campaign and using smear tactics to discredit Luke. Scotty even threatened to expose Luke's sister's past as a prostitute to get him to drop out of the race. When Lee found out what Scotty was up to, Lee fired Scotty and Scotty left town. Luke won the election, and in a surprise move, asked Lee to serve as his Deputy Mayor, an appointment that Lee accepted. After Laura was revealed to be alive, Luke resigned and Lee took over, serving until the 2-year term of Mayor expired in December of 1985 and [then left] town with Gail to travel.  





They returned to town for good in 1992 and supported Scotty when he married Dominique Taub who was dying. They were present at his wedding to Katherine Bell in late 1983 which was broken off when Lucy Coe revealed lies about Katherine's past. Scott left town shortly afterwards. 

Lee and Gail were surprised to learn they were grandparents, when it was revealed in 1994 that Scott fathered high school graduate Karen Wexler with his secretary Rhonda Wexler when he was a law student.  






Lee worried his loved ones in 1999 when he suffered a pulmonary embolism that nearly claimed his life, but with the love and support of his family rallying around him, Lee pulled through and [went] back to being a vital part of Port Charles. 

The sources of joy for Lee were his beloved wife Gail and granddaughter, Serena. Highly respected by everyone in the community, Lee always came down on the right side of the Law. 

On July 13, 2017, Lucy [Coe] came to Scott to report Lee's passing.






O'Bservation - 

There is one point of televisiology in all of that about Lee Baldwin that must be addressed - that from his birth in 1921 until 1965, he looked like somebody else.






The original actor in the role was Ross Elliott, perhaps best known for playing Sheriff Mark Abbott on ‘The Virginian’.  But in the ‘Maverick’ episode “The White Widow” he appeared as Mayor Ben Cosgrove (town unknown.)  I think it best to keep this all central to ‘Maverick’, so I’m going to make the claim that Lana Cane and Ben Cosgrove were siblings, which introduced their shared their shared genetics into the mix with those of her husband Lawrence Deville to produce the mother of Lee Baldwin.






When Lee was born, he favored his great-uncle Ben in looks and may have continued to do so had it not been for an unfortunate accident in 1965 which “somehow” was never broadcast to the audience viewing in the Trueniverse.  [Funny how that sort of thing happens.  It left him seriously disfigured.]

Off-screen, Lee underwent plastic surgery to fix the damage.  The plastic surgeon followed the basic contours of his face which were so structured that he could have looked like his great uncle or his grandfather depending on the surgeon’s technique with the scalpel.  As it turned out, with his new face Lee Baldwin now looked like his grandfather, Lawrence Deville.

Another Recastaway Zonk disabled!

Happy Trails!

WIKI TIKI WEDNESDAY - ADAH MENKEN

'MAVERICK’
“KIZ”

“This place hasn’t been as empty as this
since Adah Menken played 

McGuire’s Theatre...

in tights!”

Hank, 

Virginia City bartender

From Wikipedia:

Adah Isaacs Menken (June 15, 1835 – August 10, 1868) was an American actress, painter and poet, and was the highest earning actress of her time.   She was best known for her performance in the melodrama “Mazeppa”, with a climax that featured her apparently nude and riding a horse on stage. After great success for a few years with the play in New York and San Francisco, she appeared in a production in London and Paris, from 1864 to 1866. After a brief trip back to the United States, she returned to Europe. However, she became ill within two years and died in Paris at the age of 33.
Menken told many versions of her origins, including her name, place of birth, ancestry, and religion, and historians have differed in their accounts. Most have said she was born a Louisiana Creole Catholic of mixed race, with European and African ancestry. A celebrity who created sensational performances in the United States and Europe, she married several times and was also known for her affairs. She had two sons, both of whom died in infancy.
Though she was better known as an actress, Menken sought to be known as a writer. She published about 20 essays, 100 poems, and a book of her collected poems, from 1855 to 1868 (the book was published posthumously). Early work was devoted to family and after her marriage, her poetry and essays featured Jewish themes. However, beginning with work published after moving to New York, with which she changed her style, Menken expressed a wide range of emotions and ideas about women's place in the world. Her collection “Infelicia” went through several editions and was in print until 1902.
[Her husband Alexander Isaac Menken] began to act as her manager, and Ada Menken performed as an actress in the Midwest and Upper South, also giving literary readings. She received decent reviews, which noted her "reckless energy," and performed with men who became notable actors: Edwin Booth in Louisville, Kentucky and James E. Murdoch in Nashville, Tennessee.
Menken wore her wavy hair short, a highly unusual style for women of the time. She cultivated a bohemian and at times androgynous appearance. She deliberately created her image at a time when the growth of popular media helped to publicize it.
In 1859, Menken appeared on Broadway in New York City in the play “The French Spy”. Her work was not highly regarded by critics. The New York Times described her as "the worst actress on Broadway." The Observer said, "she is delightfully unhampered by the shackles of talent." Menken continued to perform small parts in New York, as well as reading Shakespeare in performance, and giving lectures.
In 1860, Menken wrote a review titled "Swimming Against the Current," which praised Whitman's new edition of “Leaves of Grass”, saying he was "centuries ahead of his contemporaries."  She identified with the controversial poet, and declared her bohemian identity through her support for him. That year, Menken also wrote an article on the 1860 election, an unusual topic for a woman, which further added to her image.
She appealed to her business manager Jimmie Murdock to help her become recognized as a great actress. Murdock dissuaded Menken from that goal, as he knew she had little acting talent.  He offered her the "breeches role" (that of a man) of the noble Tartar in the melodrama “Mazeppa”, based on the poem of that title by Lord Byron  (on the life of Ivan Mazepa). At the climax of this hit, the Tartar was stripped of his clothing, tied to his horse, and sent off to his death.  The audiences were thrilled with the scene, although the production used a dummy strapped to a horse, which was led away by a handler giving sugar cubes. Menken wanted to perform the stunt herself. Dressed in nude tights and riding a horse on stage, she appeared to be naked and caused a sensation.  New York audiences were shocked but still attended and made the play popular.

Menken took the production of “Mazeppa” to San Francisco. Audiences again flocked to the show. She became known across the country for this role, and San Francisco adopted her as its performer.
As usual, she attracted a crowd of male admirers, including such prominent figures as the writer Charles Dickens.
Playing in a sold-out run of “Les pirates de la savanne” in Paris in 1866, Menken had an affair with the French novelist Alexandre Dumas, père, considered somewhat scandalous as he was more than twice her age.

She was believed to have died of peritonitis and/or tuberculosis,. Late twentieth-century sources suggest she had cancer. She was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery.

O'Bservation:
It could be that Beau Maverick had met Adah Menken while he was in London, banished there by his Uncle, Beauregard “Pappy” Maverick, for whom he was named.  I’m sure fanficcers could have a field day with Beau meeting prominent historical figures there, like Mr. Dickens, who have televersions, and fictional characters like the young Violet Crawley who was married to the Earl of Grantham before 1860.

Adah Menken:
“I have always believed myself to be possessed of two souls, one that lives on the surface of life, pleasing and pleased; the other as deep and as unfathomable as the ocean; a mystery to me and all who know me.”

Happy Trails!

TWO FOR TUESDAY - WHEN JACK KELLY MET JACK KELLY

This great picture from ‘Maverick’ was colorized by Sharon Viljoen and the character is NOT Bart Maverick.  It’s Rod Claxton and he’ll be the topic of our Two For Tuesday post.  Along with Bart….
I’ve often called upon my concept of tele-genetics in the past to explain how characters can share the same looks.  In Toobworld, the combination patterns of DNA can often be repeated, unlike in the Real World.  This is how fathers and sons or grandfathers and grandsons (sometimes mothers and daughters as well) can look exactly alike with just the difference caused by age.
In the past I brought up this topic but it brought me no joy – that Bart Maverick was not the blood relation son of Beauregard “Pappy” Maverick and that he was only the half-brother of Bret Maverick… which would mean that their mother had cheated on Pappy at one time.  Pappy seems to be a shrewd fellow; I’m sure he knew Bart wasn’t his, yet he raised the boy as his own.  Bret may not have ever found out the truth.

We wouldn’t have to look too far for the scoundrel who cuckolded Pappy – it would have been his own brother, Bentley.  Just as Bret was the spitting image of Pappy, Bart looked just like Uncle Bent.
Earlier this month I set up the premise that Bart Maverick dallied with several of the ladies he met in his travels through the wild, wild West.  And from those short-lived unions, the family trees for several TV characters played by Jack Kelly were planted.

I don’t think the apple fell far from that particular family tree.  I believe Mrs. Maverick, his own sister-in-law, was not the only woman Bentley Maverick had a rendezvous with.
If there wasn’t a woman with either the married name or maiden name of Claxton among Bentley’s conquests, than it could be a notorious outlaw was using the alias of “Rod Claxton” as his name.  Whatever his true name was, he was the son of Bentley Maverick.
‘MAVERICK’
“THE DEADLY IMAGE”
(Doesn’t that sound like it should be the title of an episode from a Quinn Martin production?)

From the IMDb:
On his way to Cheyenne, Bart happens upon a man who was just in a gun battle and helps him and buries another. When the Army shows up, he's arrested and mistaken for a wanted man -- someone who the man he just befriended knows very well. 

Bart Maverick eventually faced off against his half-brother without even knowing they were related and not just incredible look-a-likes.

Luckily for him, the decision of their fates was taken out of his hands…..
My apologies to those who dislike that notion that Bret’s sainted mother could have cheated on Pappy.  But it’s a splainin that best serves the Toobworld Dynamic….

Happy Trails!

MONDAY MEMORIAL TVXOHOF TRIBUTE - LURSA, HOUSE OF DURAS

We interrupt our regularly scheduled showcase for the TV Western to conduct another Monday Memorial TVXOHOF Tribute.  Sadly, actress Barbara March has passed away, so we’re going to honor her by inducting her most famous character into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

LURSA DURAS

From Star Trek. Com
The fierce Klingon, Lursa, sister of B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh), in the ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ episodes "Redemption," "Redemption, Part II," and "Firstborn," the ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ entry “Past Prologue,” and the TNG feature “Star Trek Generations”. March also provided Lursa's voice for the video game “Star Trek: The Next Generation — Klingon Honor Guard”, and, frequently alongside Walsh, was a fan favorite at Trek conventions worldwide. March's husband, Alan Scarfe — himself a three-time Trek guest star — confirmed on Facebook that she passed away on August 11 at the age of 65.

March was best known for her Trek work, and she relished both the Lursa role and the fan base's enduring embrace of her character. "It's amazing," she told Ian Spelling in 1994, during an interview for the official “Star Trek Generations” magazine. "We were really surprised by how popular Lursa and B'Etor are. I think it's because, in one sense, these women have a great deal of power. They're very emotional, almost a bad Laurel and Hardy team. They're rebellious, strong, and can kick butt, and there just aren't that many female characters on television who control things like the Duras sisters try to do. I think all of these aspects, and the chemistry between Gwynyth and I, have helped the characters really catch on. It was wonderful to create a character on ‘Star Trek’ because she wasn't a stereotypical cardboard cutout."
From Treknews. Net
Another 'Star Trek' celebrity has ascended to Sto-vo-kor.

We have learned that Barbara Scarfe (credited as Barbara March), the actress who played the magnificently evil Lursa, one of the Duras sisters, passed away after a battle with cancer.
Together with her Klingon sister B’Etor, she wreaked havoc in episodes of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (“Redemption” – part I and II, “Firstborn”) and ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ (“Past Prologue”). She also starred in the feature film “Star Trek: Generations”.
From Memory Alpha;
Lursa was a female Klingon officer of the 24th century Klingon Empire and member of the House of Duras. She was the elder of the two Duras sisters, herself and B'Etor, sister of Duras and daughter of Ja'rod. Through Duras, she had a nephew, Toral. She was the mastermind behind her family's fight to head the Klingon Empire.
Together with Be'tor, she was responsible for the beginning of the Klingon Civil War in 2367. With the assistance of the Romulans, Lursa and B'Etor plotted to install Toral, the illegitimate son of Duras, on the throne of the Klingon High Council. She attempted to persuade Jean-Luc Picard, who was the Arbiter of Succession, to rule in favor of Toral. When Picard supported Gowron, she and her sister took up arms against Gowron. Their attempt was defeated when the Federation blockaded delivery of supplies from the Romulans. When the Romulan involvement was exposed, Lursa's support evaporated. (TNG: "Redemption", "Redemption II")

The Duras sisters were also responsible for selling bilitrium to Bajoran Kohn-Ma terrorists in 2369. This plot was revealed through investigation by Elim Garak and Julian Bashir. They did this in order to obtain capital to rebuild their forces. (DS9: "Past Prologue") Another capital-raising scheme had them seizing a Pakled magnesite mine on Kalla III, overseen by the Dopterian Gorta, and selling its explosive ore to a Yridian, Yog. In 2370, they were also falsely accused of plotting to kill Worf and his son. During that same year, she was pregnant with her first child. (TNG: "Firstborn")
In 2371, the sisters worked with El-Aurian scientist Tolian Soran and raided a Romulan outpost to acquire trilithium in exchange for Soran's trilithium weapon. Lursa died above Veridian III when her Bird-of-Prey was destroyed by the USS Enterprise-D. (“Star Trek Generations”)
It may not be Sto-Vo-Kor, but you are welcome in the TVXOHOF, Lursa of the House Duras.