''Kentucky Jones'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

starring

Dennis Weaver William Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weave ...

which centers around a widowed Southern California veterinarian and rancher raising an adopted Chinese boy. Original episodes aired from September 19, 1964, until April 10, 1965.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 449.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition)'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 552.Classic TV Archive Kentucky Jones (1964-65)
/ref>

Cast

....Kenneth Yarborough "Kentucky" Jones *Rickey Der....Dwight Eisenhower "Ike" Wong *

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959 ...

....Seldom Jackson *

Keye Luke Keye Luke (, Cantonese: Luk Shek Kee; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American film and television actor, technical advisor and artist and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He was known for playing Lee Chan, t ...

....Thomas Wong *

Cherylene Lee Cherylene Alice Lee (June 13, 1953 – March 18, 2016) was an American actress and writer. Life Lee was born and raised in Los Angeles, and was a fourth-generation Chinese-American. She had two sisters, Priscilla "Puggy" and Virginia. She beg ...

....Annie Ng *Arthur Wong....Mr. Ng *Nancy Rennick....Edith Thorncroft

Synopsis

Rickey Der Dennis Weaver Kentucky Jones 1964

Dr. Kenneth Yarborough Jones is a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

and former horse trainer in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

who owns a horse ranch and has the nickname "Kentucky" because his signature is "K.Y. Jones"Nostalgia Central KENTUCKY JONES
/ref>tv.com Kentucky Jones
/ref>imdb.com Kentucky Jones
/ref> and "Ky" is the postal abbreviation for

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

(and "Kenneth" and "Kentucky" share the same first syllable). His wife had started the process for the couple to adopt and raise an orphaned nine-year-old — or 10-year-old, according to some sourcestvguide.com Kentucky Jones
/ref> — Chinese boy, but when she dies suddenly, Kentucky tries to stop the adoption process. He is too late, however, and the boy — named Dwight Eisenhower Wong and nicknamed "Ike," like former

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...

— becomes his adopted son. Unexpectedly facing the challenge of raising Ike as a single father while continuing his veterinary practice and running his ranch, Kentucky is reluctant to bring Ike into his busy life at first, but he comes to love Ike. Helping him are his handyman, former

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Seldom Jackson, as well as members of the local

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

community. Edith Thorncroft is a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

who visits to look in on Kentucky and Ike and check on Ike′s welfare. Annie Ng is Ike′s friend, and Mr. Ng is Annie's father.

Production

After nine seasons portraying Deputy Chester Goode on ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'',

left ''Gunsmoke'' for ''Kentucky Jones''.Anonymous, "TV: 3 N.B.C. Premieres; Flipper, Magoo and Kentucky Jones in Debuts—A.B.C. Presents ‘Broadside’," ''The New York Times'', September 21, 1964, p. 63.
/ref> It was Weaver′s first starring role. ''Kentucky Jones'' originally was produced without a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...

, but after NBC threatened to cancel the show if it had no laugh track, its producers unwillingly added one.

Buzz Kulik Seymour "Buzz" Kulik (July 23, 1922 – January 13, 1999) was an American film director and producer. He directed 72 films and television shows, including the landmark CBS television network anthology series ''Playhouse 90'' and several ep ...

created and produced ''Kentucky Jones''. Vic Mizzy wrote the show′s theme music.

Critical reception

A review published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' on September 21, 1964, described Dennis Weaver as "not a performer of very extensive versatility," adding that in the role of Kentucky Jones he did "not ringmuch range of feeling or involvement." It credited Ricky Der with a sometimes-winning portrayal of Ike, but characterized ''Kentucky Jones'' as "mechanically constructed and far from well written," and the character of Ike as "exceptionally precocious."

Broadcast history

''Kentucky Jones'' premiered on September 19, 1964, and aired on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. through December 27, 1964. It moved to 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays — exchanging time slots with ''

The Famous Adventures of Mr Magoo ''The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo'' is an American animated television series produced by United Productions of America that aired for one season on NBC from September 19, 1964 to April 24, 1965. The television series was based on the original ...

'', which moved to 8:30 p.m. — on January 2, 1965, and remained there for the rest of its run. NBC cancelled it after only one season, and its last original episode aired on April 10, 1965. NBC rebroadcast 22 of the 26 episodes of ''Kentucky Jones'' as prime-time reruns in the show′s regular time slot at 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays beginning on April 17, 1965, a week after it aired the last new episode. The last prime-time rerun aired on September 11, 1965. The following week, ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...

'' replaced ''Kentucky Jones'' in its time slot.

Home media

A three-disc boxed set of ''Kentucky Jones'' dubbed in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

was released on Region 2 DVD on March 3, 2017.dvd-sucht.de Kentucky Jones
/ref> Twenty-one episodes of ''Kentucky Jones'' (episodes 1–8, 10–12, 14–16, 18–20, 22–24, and 26) dubbed in German were broadcast in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

beginning in September 1964,wunschliste.de Kentucky Jones Episodenliste
/ref> and the set includes them. The wording of reviews and promotional announcements does not make clear whether the other five episodes (9, 13, 17, 21, and 25), which were not dubbed in German, also are included in the DVD set, but implies that they are. The DVD set has no subtitle options, but includes the original trailer for the series, a short "trailer show," and a multi-page booklet with information about the show.

Episodes

Sources

References

{{reflist, 1

External links

''Kentucky Jones'' opening credits on YouTube

Scenes from ''Kentucky Jones'' on YouTube
(dubbed in

)
Vic Mizzy — Themes from ''The Addams Family'' and ''Kentucky Jones'' on YouTube
NBC original programming 1960s American comedy-drama television series 1964 American television series debuts 1965 American television series endings Television shows set in California