BONANZA (1959-73) 430 EPISODES Few TV westerns were as successful and as long-running as Bonanza (1959-73). In fact, only Gunsmoke outdid it both in episodes (635) and seasons (20). Initially, Bonanza was screened on Saturday nights, but the figures were so dismal that thought was given to cancelling […]
BAT MASTERSON (1958-61) – 108 Episodes Gene Barry (1919-2009) New Yorker Barry started out as a fine baritone singer, landing several parts in Broadway musicals during the forties before Paramount signed him in the early fifties. Despite carrying a couple of successful TV series – Bat Masterson and […]
ALASKANS, THE 1959-60 (37 episodes) Roger Moore (1927 – 2017). Moore played the lead in The Alaskans, a character with the unlikely name of Silky Harris. The first episode aired on October 4, 1959, but in January 1960 the Screen Writers Guild went on strike and […]
For all those baby-boomers (like myself) who grew from childhood to adolescence to adulthood watching innumerable western series on television throughout the 50s, 60s & 70s, below is a list of pretty much every series that graced our home screens during those formative years. The only omissions are […]
Part two of this article looks at the 25 television westerns from the 1949-69 era that were the most successful, according to the number of episodes in each. There may be a few surprises, although number one will come as no surprise at all to anyone who remembers the […]
There was a time, back in the fifties when television suddenly took off, that saw the western genre dominating the box. Scores of series were launched throughout the late forties, the fifties and sixties. Many of them lasted only a single season (even less), but others made a fortune for […]
From 1957 until 1965 the prairie schooners of TV’s Wagon Train series rolled over 284 episodes. Throughout those eight seasons only eight actors (no actresses) appeared in fifty or more episodes. A minor actress named Kay Stewart popped up in eleven episodes from 1958 to 1964, playing eleven different women. […]
This immensely popular series commenced shooting in late 1963. In the very first shot of the opening credits, the American flag is quite evident, flying at half-mast. Not long before filming began, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in November. Back in 1961, Newton Minow was head of […]
The hugely successful M.A.S.H. series on TV ran from 1972 to 1983, 251 episodes. There were twelve regular players over that time. Five of them have since died. Only two of the dozen appeared in all 251 episodes – Alan Alda and Loretta Swit. Two others made over 200 appearances […]
‘DAD’S ARMY’ (1968-77) The BBC hit series Dad’s Army ran for nine seasons, from 1968 until 1977. It started rather lamely and it must have been a touch and go decision to continue with it after the first season. The acting was so-so, the screenplays generally quite poor, and the […]
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