I'm watching "Bonanza," and I can't help but wonder if all of the cowboys in the 1860's had hairpieces as good as Adam Cartwright's?

Seriously, though, does anyone have any favorites? Because when I was growing up there were westerns on all the time.

I guess "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza" ran the longest, but my personal favorite was "The Rifleman." Chuck Connors road a good horse for an Irish guy from Brooklyn. And Johnny Crawford? Man, could that kid ride!

Pb, I guess you had on the episode with the orthodox Jewish peddler (MeTV is king!)?

I'm pretty surprised at how often those shows took on tolerance issues. I know the Rifleman had situations where Asians and Mexicans came in and were bullied, and ended up being accepted and beating the hell out of the bullies, to boot.

Mark McCain is my prime candidate for TV-PTSD. Saw his old man kill someone every week, and got kidnapped himself several times a season.

We don't get METV in the Bronx. My brother gets it upstate, though. Great channel!!!!

Love them collect them mostly from the 50s early 60s.

Rifemen, zorro, Jim Bowie, branded, cheyanne, bat mastersinger, lawman, Cisco kid, 26 men, colt 45, the one with nick Adam the rebel,Yancy derringer I could go on and on.

But my favorite even though it only lasted a season was The dokotas. It was cancelled because they had a shooting in a church believe it or not.

Not too many people know this but the fastest draw of all the actors was Jack Elam

He was a gunmen who some how became one of the Marshall's deputies. He was the fastest of all of them. If the law did not work he just killed the bad guy. He really did not give a shit about the law.

Buy that box set if you can find it. I don't even remember who I bought it from

Almost forgot one wild bill Hickok , and Wyatt Earp

God, did Elam do a lot of westerns!

Sometimes he'd be in three or four straight episodes of "Gunsmoke," playing a different character each time.

Same goes for Victor French (the "Highway to Heaven" guy). He was CONSTANTLY on those shows.

If you can get good copies of The Dokatas get it. It's real good definately an adult western

I'll look for it.

Jack Elam and Victor French are both in Wayne's "Rio Lobo." Worlds are colliding!

Victor French was in one of the dokotas episodes

Like I said, Pete. At least one of those guys was in every other episode of "Gunsmoke" .

I'd recommend the mini-series Lonesome Dove. One of the best made-for-TV westerns ever.

Never watched any old western shows that have been mentioned here, but i might try a few of them out because i love some old western movies. One i'd suggest to you PB if you haven't seen it already is, Deadwood . It actually got cancelled after three seasons, but that's not a testament to it's quality, it's clearly one of those shouldn't have been cancelled shows that noone watched when it was on.

The writing and acting are superb. Especially Ian Mcshane and whoever plays Calamity Jane imo. It even has Timothy Olyvant in practically the same role he plays in Justified .

Tho westerns have never been my favorite type of film, I grew up watching them. Gunsmoke was a regular family viewing night. I guess if I had to pick a favorite, it'd be Bonanza because I thought Little Joe (Michael Landon) was so cute.

I remember my great-uncle loved Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger and we all would watch too.

Oh, if Zorro is considered a western, I really liked that show for some reason.


TIS

I remember a show when i was a kid called THE HIGH CHAPARRAL. I used to enjoy it.

Is "Walker, Texas Ranger" a western?

It's on TV Land now twice a day. I'd forgotten just how ridiculous it was .

No.

Hey was sky king a western?

I watched it. But it did not interest me enough to buy the bx set if they even sell the box set.

Hey was Spenser for Hire a western? I dug Hawk and his shot gun and the big gun of his. Spppppppenserrrrr that is how he said spensers name.

What was Spenser's first name.

Even though it was not a western.mi have been looking to buy the complete box set for years. No one is selling the complete set as yet.

No. And when I asked about Walker, I was being sarcastic because it was set in Texas. Plus, Walker was so bad, that it was almost good .

I'm watching the old "Lone Ranger" right now. And I have to say, Clayton Moore was a TERRIBLE actor. And I mean TERRIBLE .

What you mean, "We", kimosabe?

... in place of The Andy Griffith Show which ticks me off to no end!

I never liked the Western t.v. shows but I did like the movies. My old man watched them all the damn time and still does, some are just so horrible I can't watch.

My favorite Westerns:

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Lee Van Cleef was a great actor in all Westerns, Eli Wallach was great in this too)

Hang Em High

Fistful Of Dollars

For A Few Dollars More

The Comancheros

El Dorado

Big Jake

so on and so on.

Those are movies not western tv shows.

But I will tell you some of mine.

Red River John Wayne.
Searchers John Wayne
Gun fight at the ok corral with Burt and kirk
Unforgiven Clint Eastwood
Alamo with John Wayne
Valdez is comming with Burt

Stuff like that

I know they were movies, I even mentioned that......lol

It took place in the west but I wouldn't classify it as a western. Same for "Fury" (with Peter Graves).

I used to love "Wanted - Dead or Alive". How could anyone not love a tv show with Steve McQueen?

Back in the late 1950's, my wife liked an obscure series called Tombstone Territory. A number of years ago, I was able to track down a couple of episodes on eBay. I don't think that series ever gets rerun these days.

As far as pb's OP, I always thought Bonanza was a masterpiece of hairstyling: can you imagine Ben and Adam Cartwright throwing their toupees into the air and having a little target practice? And let's not forget Hoss - in a lot of the early episodes they would paint his scalp brown to make his thinning hair look thicker.


Signor V.

Fury I think too place in modern times if I recal.

In westerns a lot of the shows had gimmicks. What was mcQueens gimmick?

Got a good western movie for you. "The fastest gun alive" I liked that movie.

He used a sawed-off shotgun.

Yes, I think it had a quick release from his holster, but I could be wrong on that.

There was this western movie someone killed the guys father. The son was afraid to take revenge. Some guy had a quick release holster the gun broke off without taking out of the holster. So gun from holster to hand was super fast.

That is all I remember about it. Any takers?

Best $80.00 you'll ever spend, Oli. And when I bought it, I paid over $125.

What's nice is, you get the original backdoor pilot from "Make Room for Daddy," which is never shown in syndication. No Barney, no Aunt Bee (although Frances Bavier plays a different character).

You also get "Return to Mayberry, which is about the only "reunion" movie ever made that was halfway decent.

http://www.amazon.com/Andy-Griffith-Show...complete+series

There's a competitor to MeTV called Cozi TV, which is showing Make Room for Daddy, and had this episode a couple of weeks ago.

You know who else was a staple guest star on those shows, MP? Tom Skerritt.

Most people remember him as the sheriff on "Picket Fences," or as Mr. Drake on "Cheers." But back in the '60s he had to be in a dozen or so episodes of "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza."

Good character actor. He had that rugged, outdoor look. A natural for a cowboy .

Six different episodes of the Virginian! He was one of those guys who could turn out to be surprisingly twisted.

I've always liked Skerritt. Since "River Runs through It" is set in Montana, I'm going to call it a Western and link this:



At about 1:20, there's one of my favorite scenes in any movie, between Skerritt and Craig Sheffer.

Good stuff, MP. I agree about Skerritt. He's pretty versatile .

So did Nick Adams..."The Rebel". I played golf in Berwick, PA, at a course that bordered a cemetery. The locals told me that Nick Adams was buried there.

Our family liked "Wanted Dead or Alive", "Bonanza", "Maverick" and "Cheyenne". As a kid I was impressed by Clint Walker (Cheyenne Bodie, cool name) BIG MUSCLES. I'll never forget the episode with the killer Grizzly and Cheyenne killed it with a knife....at least that's my memory.

How about Paladin? Remember "Wire Paladin, San Francisco".

I always wanted to see a fight between him and Chuck Connors. The two BIG cowboys. (I guess you could throw in James Arness).

"Have Gun, Will Travel".

I'll take the Brooklyn boy.

Right. Remember when after the first two or three seasons, they introduced words to the show's theme:

Have Gun Will Travel reads the card of a man.
A knight without armor in a savage land.
His fast gun for hire head's the calling wind.
A soldier of fortune is the man called Paladin.
Paladin, Paladin
Where do you roam?
Paladin, Paladin,
Far, far from home.

Paladin was very slow on the draw. But when he did fire he hit what he pointed at.

In the beginning where he pulled the gun pointed it at the camera and you heard him talk. Then he would slam the gun back in the holster. I always thought the gun would get stuck in the holster when he tried to draw.

Richard Boone who played Paladin was a method actor. He never went out of character for all the seasons he did the show.

Check out when he was on "what's my line"
Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LREIkfPPsuA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

And why does my almost 85 year old father get so angry when I tell him that Miss Kitty (from "Gunsmoke") had to have been a hooker?

"Saloon Girl" = Prostitute .

No miss kitty was not a hooker when the show started. She owned the saloon the long branch. She was a madam yes the long branch was a gambling hall, saloon and a whore house.

It was protected by Matt Dillion miss kitty was his girl friend and partner in the place.

They both died shortly after the series ended from venereal desease. Miss kitty retired from being a whore when she took over the long branch. But the VD was already in her and in Matt.

So is Gunsmoke worth watching i guess? Is there any particular movies you could compare it to, or is it pretty much a bit of everything?

I thoroughly recommend Gunsmoke for your viewing. It's one of the best westerns ever (for that matter, one of the best tv programs ever). I don't think I missed any of its episodes when it was in its original run. It was decent and wholesome, something the kids could watch also. It was about heroism, bravery, justice, and defending the defenseless. Also, I think you'll enjoy the character of Chester.

I did not like gun smoke, but I did like a character named festis especially when he got pissed off.

My version of gun smoke was probably the way it was if the show was real. They made in nice and wholesome fuck that

Thanks for the response Olivant. I'll try it out in the next few days, and will post my thoughts after a few eps. Out of interest have you or anyone else here watched Deadwood, and if so what did you think of it?

I didn't see Deadwood. However, Gunsmoke may be comparable to the movie Silverado. or Wyatt Earp. Of course, those movies contained alot more violence than Gunsmoke, but they have comparable qualities.

I wholeheartedly agree, Oli. And I also loved the Chester character. Festus was fun, too. But in a much more comic way. And don't forget Burt Reynolds as Quint!

As an Andy Griffith Show fan, you might remember the episode where Goober is introduced and does his Chester impression.

Judy Judy Judy.

Oops. That was Cary Grant. But it was the same episode .

It was. But don't forget Edward G. Robinson: "OK, you guys. Come on, you guys. All right, you guys. Beat it, you guys."

You know who else you can add to that guest star list, MP?

John Saxon. Remember him, from "Enter the Dragon"?

He's actually Italian American from Brooklyn (real name Carmine Orrico). Anyway, I saw him in three different episodes of "Gunsmoke" in this past week alone.

Oh, yeah. Another was Michael Ansara (Barbara Eden's ex), who was of Syrian descent and thus eligible to play Mexicans, American Indians, or any other non-whites who might turn up.

Ansara was a good character actor. He just passed away last year. 91 years old.

And another western actor was Guy Williams (coincidentally, also Italian American from New York, real name Armand Catalano). He quit show business after "Lost in Space," but he did plenty of those westerns. He was actually supposed to be Pernell Roberts's replacement on "Bonanza," but it fell through at the last minute.

I was watching an episode of The Rifleman (remember it?) when I recalled another Chuck Conners' series: Branded. Do any of you recall it? It lasted just two seasons though.

Chuck Conners and Michael Landon made wholesome tv shows.

At the end Conners made a bad one about were wolves.

"The Rifleman" was my favorite television western. Unfortunately, there's isn't a complete dvd set available yet. Just a couple of cheap bootleg individual dvds. But it's on AMC every Saturday morning for about three hours, so I usually get up early to watch.

What amazes me about that show more than anything was how well Johnny Crawford rode a horse for such a little kid. He was a real runt those first couple of seasons. And even as an adult, I doubt he made it past 5 foot 6. But he could ride that horse!

Branded was great! "What do you do when you're Branded and you know you're a Man!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Mnp6VAmEc

I was hooked on Bonanza and Paladin, have gun will travel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjdRgBAY278

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgvxu8QY01s

How about Rin Tin Tin? When I was a kid I actually had several dreams that I was part of the cast.

Human or canine?

Stallion.

If anyone has TV Land, Charles Bronson is on an old "Bonanza" right now.

He killed more guys then the Iceman.

This is a great YouTube

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrOPVo5GFY4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'm watching "Gunsmoke" right now. Why do they even bother to draw on Matt Dillon?

Tell you guys what I am in a good mood right now. I am sure it won't last.

So who ever is the first to put down their full real name and address in the United States on this thread, and not a Po box address.

I will send you my box set of the series western The Dakotas starring Jack Elam via UPS. Very very hard to find.

They only shot one season because of the public up roar of a shooting in a church.

Nice right who knows I might even deliver it myself just kidding I think?

But either way you will get it

A generous offer, but as your consigliere I would advise everyone not to take it.

I remember Branded.

this might be pushing the limits but couldn't Kung Fu be considered a western?

Warren Oates is on an old "Gunsmoke" right now. Most of you guys only remember him as Sergeant Hulka in "Stripes." But he was a pretty good character actor earlier in his career, especially in western roles. He passed away fairly young from what I remember.

I think that definitely it could. Also, it is probably the slowest motioned program ever presented rivaled only by the Six Million Dollar Man.

Don't forget Baywatch. Never forget Baywatch.

Baywatch was a western? Oh California is in the west I get it. It is amazing how all the girls on the show ran in slow motion.

have gun will travel. great western. Richard boone fine actor.

I think you will appreciate this

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSW9NLEnU4s&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'm watching "Bonanza." Little Joe is teaching a deaf mute girl how to communicate. Now I liked Landon. He was a Queens guy and very likable. But he had to be one of the most melodramatic actors in the history of television. I mean, did he ever do an episode of "Little House" or "Highway to Heaven" where he didn't cry?

Does "Kung Fu" with David Carradine qualify as a western? I used to love that show.

What was that other western made in the 70's that was a takeoff of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid? The one actor committed suicide and they had to replace him. I forget the name but i used to watch that one too.

Yes, and Alias Smith and Jones.

Yep, thats the show i was thinking of. Thanks Olivant.

I used to watch reruns of The Rifleman when i was a kid. Good show. I always wanted to get a rifle just like the one Lucas McCain had. I still do.

paladin was always the best. I loved that holster of his with the chess piece on it. Richard boone was in another western called "hec ramsey" anyone remember that one.

Wasn't Harry Morgan on that show?

bean, yes, he was I think he played the sherriff. didn't last long. but great western.

Yes it was

I was never a huge western fan but watched a few as I noted.

Many westerns had great theme songs tho no?? Paladin, Bonanza to name a couple. Of course Gunsmoke is immediately recognizable. Anyone remember "Johnny Yuma was a rebel" theme song? I think the show was "The Rebel."


TIS

TIS is this the song?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZhKjB67jzM

Starring Nick Adams.

TIS here is Johnny Cash's version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCcPvQh7hk

Yep, that's the theme song. Dang, so ancient. Ha ha. Johnny Cash singing right?

Btw, at end of song the voice saying "This has been a Mark Godsen Bill Toddman production" certainly rings a lot of bells. Can't name all the specific shows, but it was very common hearing those names at the end of some shows.

Just like (and it just came to my head), remember after "The Fugitive", a voice would always say, "This has been a Quinn Martin Production." Don't know why I remember it, but I do. Ha ha Commonplace back in the olden days.


TIS

They produced a lot of shows in the '50s/'60s. (Goodson/Todman)

I love "The Rifleman," too, Benny. When I started this thread that's the show I had in mind. Unfortunately, there isn't a high quality dvd set available just yet. But there's a mini-marathon every Saturday morning on AMC. I set the alarm to watch it sometimes. Mrs. Pizzaboy thinks I'm crazy. But I'm not. My Mother had me tested.

I just watched a few episodes recently. One of them was about a group of people on a stagecoach who were stranded at Chuck Connors' home during a blizzard. One of the characters was portrayed by none other than Mike the Cop (from 'Abbott & Costello').

Yup, that episode was on recently .

The actor was Gordon Jones. He died fairly young from what I remember. He had that stone face that was perfect on the old A&C Show.

I don't remember too much of him (the actor) but you're right. He was PERFECT as the cop on the show.

Back to "The Rifleman". The show became too goody-goody for me after a year or so. All that preaching to the son wore thin. I wanted to see Chuck Connors kick some ass. LOL

You gotta admit, though. For an Irishman from Brooklyn he could ride the f*** out of a horse .

Not really. He was so big that his feet touched the ground on either side of the horse. He just walked along with the horse under him.