''Klondike'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

series about life in an Alaskan town in the 1890s during the Klondike Gold Rush. It stars Ralph Taeger and James Coburn and aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

during the 1960–1961 television season.

Synopsis

Mike Halliday is a rugged outdoorsman who has come to

Skagway The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with ...

in the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

in search of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

and adventure during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896–1899.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 453.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. 556. Halliday often comes into conflict with Jeff Durain, a fast-talking adventurer prone to making money by illegal means. Durain owns and operates a hotel in Skagway which offers the miners and prospectors who have come to town for the gold rush the opportunity to gamble, but the games usually are rigged for Durain's benefit. Kathy O'Hara is the honest owner of another hotel in Skagway, and Halliday often works with her to block Durain from succeeding in his illegal schemes. Mike and Kathy have an affectionate relationship, but in his romantic life, Halliday plays the field, and is involved with a number of women, including Durain's girlfriend, the beautiful but greedy Goldie, who often is an accomplice in Durain's crimes.

Cast

* Ralph Taeger...Mike Halliday * James Coburn...Jefferson "Jeff" Durain * Mari Blanchard...Kathy O'Hara * Joi Lansing...Goldie

Production

Ziv-

United Artists Television United Artists Television (UATV) was an American television production/distribution studio of United Artists Corporation that was formed on New Year's Day (January 1), 1958. The company is remembered for producing series such as ''This Man Dawso ...

produced ''Klondike'' on a low budget.The Classic TV Archive Klondike (1960-61) Accessed 1 November 2020
/ref> William Conrad served as producer for the series.

Vic Mizzy Victor Mizzy (January 9, 1916 – October 17, 2009) was an American composer for television and movies and musician whose best-known works are the themes to the 1960s television sitcoms '' Green Acres'' and ''The Addams Family''. Mizzy also wrote ...

and

Mann Curtis Manny Curtis (born Emanuel Kurtz, Nov 15, 1911 – Dec 6, 1984) was an American songwriter. He wrote the lyrics for over 250 songs, including " In a Sentimental Mood" (1935) and " Let It Be Me" (1957). He was born in Brooklyn, New York, United ...

composed the show's theme music. The series was based on the book ''The Klondike Fever'' by

Pierre Berton Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular culture. He also wr ...

.''Klondike'' "The Hostages," (13 Feb. 1961)
/ref> After ''Klondike'' was cancelled in mid-season, Ralph Taeger and James Coburn immediately moved together to a new series, '' Acapulco'', in which they were cast as a pair of twentieth-century beachcombers in Acapulco,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. ''Acapulco'' aired in ''Klondike''′s time slot, beginning two weeks after the broadcast of ''Klondike''′s last new episode.

Broadcast history

Eighteen episodes of ''Klondike'' were produced. They aired on

on Mondays at 9:00 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

from October 10, 1960, to February 13, 1961.

Episodes

SOURCE ''San Bernardino Sun'', November 14, 1960, Page 16.
/ref>

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0053516
''Klondike'' opening credits on YouTube

''Klondike'' episode "The Hostages" on YouTube
1960s American drama television series 1960 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows NBC original programming Television shows set in Alaska English-language television shows