"THE RIFLEMAN" - "THE SHARPSHOOTER"

'The Rifleman'
"The Sharpshooter"

After wondering the country for four years, Lucas and Mark finally find the ranch they’d been looking for, but the ranch comes with a price, and Lucas may have to decide between the ranch and his son’s life! (9/30/58) ('Zane Grey Theatre'—3/7/58 - Season 2 — Episode #52)
- From "The Rifleman Episode Guide"

When Virgil Tippert's hand was injured in a gunfight, his days as a budding sharpshooter were over. But he would eventually be able to once again shoot a gun. So he may have devised a plan to still capitalize on what gun skills he still possessed, and yet avoid getting caught in shoot-outs against those looking to burnish their own reputations.

Virgil Tippert may have become one of the world's first professional celebrity impersonators.

Lucas and Mark McCain arrived in North Fork, New Mexico, in 1881, just in time for the annual turkey shoot contest. That year it was held in October, about 3½ months after the death of William Bonney, AKA "Billy The Kid".

From Wikipedia:
Billy the Kid, also known as William Henry McCarty, Henry Antrim and William H. Bonney (allegedly November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881) was a 19th-century American frontier outlaw and gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War. According to legend, he killed 21 men, but he is generally accepted to have killed between four and nine.

Virgil Tippert bore an uncanny resemblance to Billy the Kid, at least the one who was forced to back away from a gunfight with a 'Sugarfoot' lawyer named Tom Brewster. (The evidence for the resemblance between Virgil and Billy can be found in the pilot episode of 'Sugarfoot'.)

Here's what Wikipedia had to say about those claiming to be Billy the Kid:
Legends grew over time that Billy the Kid had somehow cheated death and survived, despite eyewitness accounts of his slaying. In 2004, researchers sought to exhume the remains of Catherine Antrim, McCarty's mother, "so her DNA could be tested and compared with DNA to be taken from the body buried under the Kid's gravestone". Ultimately, the case was bogged down in the courts, "much to the delight of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who knows all too well the value of Billy as a cultural icon and a draw for tourists". Several men have claimed to be McCarty over the years, and at least two became notable because they were successful in persuading a small segment of the public.

The Billy the Kid who arrived in Blue Rock was the cousin to the town mayor, Barney Turlock*. So he may have been Billy Turlock rather than Billy McCarty/Bonney. But he still decided to take on the moniker "Billy The Kid" to embellish his reputation.

But if this Billy the Kid was able to capitalize on the name, there would be plenty of people who would think he was the real Billy the Kid. And Virgil Tippert could cash in on that by impersonating that version of the legend. (At the time of the 'Sugarfoot' pilot, there was no notice [wanted poster] out on Billy according to Tom Brewster. So he hadn't gone very far yet in establishing his notoriety.)

A Wild West show - of which there were plenty in Toobworld, including Buffalo Bill's (as seen in 'The Murdoch Mysteries') - would have gladly paid Virgil Tippert to do dramatic recreations of Billy the Kid's life.

(Dennis Hopper played Billy the Kid in 'Sugarfoot', as well as Virgil Tippert in 'The Rifleman'.)

BCnU!

* In the real world, Barney Turlock may have been inspired, at least in name, by Doc Scurlock.

From Wikipedia:
Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock (January 11, 1849 – July 25, 1929) was an American Old West figure, cowboy and gunfighter. A founding member of the Regulators during the Lincoln County War in New Mexico, Scurlock rode alongside such men as Billy the Kid.

TVXOHOF REDUX - LUCAS & MARK McCAIN

With a month of posts dedicated to 'The Rifleman', the August induction into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame would have been the perfect time for Lucas and Mark McCain... if it weren't for the fact that they both are members of the Hall already.

Back in 2002, during the online hiatus between the Tubeworld Dynamic website and the Inner Toob blog, Lucas and Mark McCain were inducted together that summer. They were the Western pair in that year-long salute to TV duos. (Even though I didn't have an online presence from April 2002 until August 2004, I at least kept inducting new members into the TVXOHOF.)

The McCains were inducted along with Andy and Opie Taylor, with a hypothetical "Born To Re-Run" suggestion that the Mayberry sheriff and his son were the reincarnations of Lucas and Mark.

Lucas and Mark McCain easily filled the requirements to become members of the Hall, as they each had three separate appearances on TV. (They were the same three programs for both, but they didn't appear together in the third.)

"The Sharpshooter" episode is now shown as the first episode of the series, but it was originally broadcast in 1958 during the second season of 'Zane Grey Theatre', serving as a pilot for 'The Rifleman'. Then the actual show was launched and ran for five seasons.

Their third TV appearance is in one of the great hubs for Toobworld - the TV movie "Gambler IV - Luck Of The Draw". In it, gambler Brady Hawkes made a cross-country trek to San Francisco in 1906 for a big poker game. Along the way he ran into many of the greatest TV Western characters of all time, from shows like 'Cheyenne', 'The Virginian', 'Maverick', 'Wyatt Earp', 'Bat Masterson', 'Kung Fu', and 'The Westerner'.

(About the only ones missing were Matt Dillon, James West, the 'Sugarfoot', 'Hondo', 'Bronco', anybody from the 'High Chaparral' and Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes, 'Alias Smith and Jones'. Of course, for Toobworld purposes, it's a good thing those last two didn't appear, due to recastaway problems.)

Hawkes was rescued by Lucas McCain when he was ambushed near the McCain ranch in New Mexico. Since McCain was well-known as "The Rifleman" more than twenty years earlier (as often depicted in the series), it's not surprising that Brady Hawkes knew who he was.

Later in Colorado, Mark McCain was seen working on the set of a silent movie. He was drafted into performing as a stunt man for a scene and inadvertantly created the first fictional portrayal of the Lone Ranger. (Here's hoping that Mark McCain would have a bright future as a silent movie cowboy star in Toobworld.)

So there's the three requirements:

'Zane Grey Theatre'
'The Rifleman'
"The Gambler IV: Luck Of The Draw"

Chuck Connors died in 1992, not long after the "Gambler" TV movie, but John Ernest Crawford is still going strong as an actor and musician in the Los Angeles area. (I follow him as a Facebook friend.) So there's always a chance that Mark McCain might one day re-appear in Toobworld. It may seem like a long shot, given the status of TV Westerns in today's television landscape, but who knows?

After all, 'Cheyenne' Bodie showed up in an episode of 'Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: BLACK BART

To kick off our TV Western salute, we've got video of the legendary gunman Black Bart in "action"......

Last year we featured Black Bart, but he turned out to be an escape from a mental asylum in Colorado - as seen in 'Maverick'. The Black Bart seen in 'Stories Of The Century' (which was featured the year before) was more of a fabrication based on the stories dreamed up by a Texas Ranger who inserted himself into the legends of every outlaw in the Wild Wild West.


As for this guy? I'd say he's Black Bart... but the Black Bart from that same TV dimension that houses comical versions of real life Presidents - like those seen in 'That's My Bush!' and 'The Secret Files of Desmond Pfeiffer'.


Just an idea I'm throwin' out there......


A big thanks to Mick Clews and the British Phil Silvers Appreciation Society!

BCnU!

THE ANNUAL TOOBWORLD SALUTE TO TV WESTERNS - AN INTRODUCTION

As we have done since 1999, Toobworld Central is celebrating that classic TV genre, the Western, during the month of August. At one time, there was at least one Western on the air each night of the week, usually more. Nowadays, that pre-eminence is held by the police procedurals, but the Western hasn't completely died out. Attempts have been made to bring the genre back over the last two decades - 'Trinity', 'Ponderosa', 'Peacemakers', 'Legend', and HBO's under-rated 'Deadwood'. Long-form mini-series and TV movies like 'Lonesome Dove' and "Broken Trail" have proven to be well-received by both the critics and audiences alike. And this Fall, AMC - which has been mostly successful with TV series (I'm not counting you, 'The Killing'!) - will be adding 'Hell On Wheels' to the mix.

The TV Western is so beloved that producers of modern TV series try to invoke a Western motif into their shows on occasion. Examples would include 'The Brady Bunch', 'Psych', 'The Prisoner', 'One Life To Live', 'Doctor Who', 'Star Trek', and 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. 'McCloud' was about a cowboy cop in New York City, and 'Firefly' has been described as a Western in outer space.

In 1999, we launched this Western showcase with a specific theme - 'The Lone Ranger'. In later years we had other themes like 'The Wild Wild West' (mostly with a focus on my all-time favorite TV character, Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless), 'Alias Smith And Jones', and last year I got fourteen posts out of just two episodes of 'Maverick' to cover my vacation!

This year is no different. All month long, we'll be taking episodes of 'The Rifleman' and running posts on them - some long, most of them short takes. And there was so much to work with, we didn't even get to the end of the third season (out of five). Even with skipping a few that just didn't pique our interest, there was more than enough material to fill out the month.

Tuesdays will have two thematically connected posts as our "Two For Tuesday" feature. (That will take the pressure off the "As Seen On TV" gallery, which gets harder to do in August as we're running low on historical TV Western characters. Sundays will be the extra-long essays, including out theory that 'The Rifleman' can be connected to 'Doctor Who'... theoretically, that is.

And it would be remiss of me if I didn't point this out - these Inner Toob posts would not have been possible without the fantastic fansite dedicated to 'The Rifleman' - "The Rifleman Episode Guide List".

I've been watching the series in its Saturday morning marathons on AMC (speaking of which!), but this site has great synopses in the form of reminiscences by Lucas and Mark McCain - with links to pictures of the actors playing each character and a catalogue of the flubs from each episode. This salute would have been poorer without them.

So if you're a fan of 'The Rifleman' or TV Westerns in general, or of my theories of "relateeveety", "born to re-run" suggestions and other toobish ravings from Yours Truly, I hope you'll keep checking in all month long!

BCnU!

SKED ALERT - TONIGHT, ON "TRUE BLOOD"

I've been away on vacation the last couple of weeks, and will be leaving again shortly, so Toobworld Central is in a bit of a disarray. But the August TV Western salute is still on schedule, and hopefully so is the "As Seen On TV" showcase, although I may have to abandon the scheme to use all TV Western historical characters for it (since I've used so many of them over the last few years.)

In the meantime, I will try to maintain a business as usual approach, and that means posting a few preview clips from the 'True Blood' episode which will air tonight on HBO at 9 pm ET......

And here's a sneak peek at what's coming up later in this season of 'True Blood':

BCnU!

FELICITY KENDAL: TWO TRIBUTES

Princess Vicky was saved for last in this two-week tribute to historical figures in 'Edward The King' because Felicity Kendal, who played the Princess Royal, is one of my all-time favorite actresses.  She captures my heart with 'The Good Neighbours' and I've since looked for anything she might have appeared in.....

Here are two tribute videos to this lovely and gracious (yet mischievous) lady....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: PRINCESS VICKY

PRINCESS VICTORIA

AS SEEN IN:
'Edward The King'

AS PLAYED BY:
Felicity Kendal

From Wikipedia:
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa; 21 November 1840 – 5 August 1901) was the eldest child and daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III. After her husband's death, she became widely known as Empress Frederick (or, in German: "Kaiserin Friedrich").
Victoria was diagnosed with inoperable breast cancer in 1899 during a visit to her mother at Balmoral. By the autumn of 1900, the cancer spread to her spine and after much suffering, she died at Castle Friedrichshof on 5 August 1901, less than seven months after the death of her mother, Queen Victoria. She was buried in the royal mausoleum of the Friedenskirche at Potsdam on 13 August 1901. Her tomb has a recumbent marble effigy of herself on top. Next to her lies her beloved husband. Two of her eight children, Sigismund (died age 2) and Waldemar (died age 11), are buried in the same mausoleum.

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV ADDENDUM: LILLIE LANGTRY

We celebrated Lillie Langtry here at Inner Toob two years ago, but there's no harm in sharing a YouTube video about her in the midst of our salute to characters from 'Edward The King'.....
Here's a song about Lillie Langtry

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: VICTORIA'S MUM

THE DUCHESS OF KENT

AS SEEN IN:
'Edward The King'


AS PLAYED BY:
Allison Leggatt

From Wikipedia:
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Mary Louise Victoria; 17 August 1786 – 16 March 1861) was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

When Victoria became Queen, she relegated the Duchess to separate accommodations, away from her own.

When the Queen's first child, the Princess Royal, was born, the Duchess of Kent unexpectedly found herself welcomed back into Victoria's inner circle. It is likely that this came about as a result of the dismissal of Baroness Lehzen at the behest of Victoria's husband (and the Duchess's nephew), Prince Albert. It left the Queen wholly open to Albert's influence, and he likely prevailed upon her to reconcile with her mother.

The Duchess's finances were revived thanks to her daughter and her daughter's advisors. She became a doting grandmother, by all accounts, and was closer to her daughter than she ever had been.


BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: PRINCE ALBERT

PRINCE ALBERT

AS SEEN IN:
'Edward The King'

AS PLAYED BY:
Robert Hardy

From Wikipedia:
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (later The Prince Consort; Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

He was born in the Saxon duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to a family connected to many of Europe's ruling monarchs. At the age of 20 he married his first cousin, Queen Victoria, with whom he had nine children. At first, Albert felt constrained by his position as consort, which did not confer any power or duties upon him. Over time he adopted many public causes, such as educational reform and the abolition of slavery, and took on the responsibilities of running the Queen's household, estates and office. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Albert aided in the development of Britain's constitutional monarchy by persuading his wife to show less partisanship in her dealings with Parliament—although he actively disagreed with the interventionist foreign policy pursued during Lord Palmerston's tenure as Foreign Secretary.

He died at the early age of 42, plunging the Queen into a deep mourning which lasted for the rest of her life. Upon Queen Victoria's death in 1901, their son, Edward VII, succeeded as the first monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, named after the ducal house to which Albert belonged.

BCnU!