''Stagecoach West'' is an American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

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 ...

about stagecoach drivers on the American frontier. It stars

Wayne Rogers William Wayne McMillan Rogers III (April 7, 1933 – December 31, 2015) was an American actor, known for playing the role of Captain "Trapper" John McIntyre in the CBS television series ''M*A*S*H'' and as Dr. Charley Michaels on '' House Calls ...

Richard Eyer Richard Ross Eyer (born May 6, 1945) is an American former child actor who worked during the 1950s and 1960s. He then became a teacher and taught at elementary schools in Bishop, California until he retired in 2006. He is the older brother of R ...

, and

Robert Bray Robert E. Bray (October 23, 1917 – March 7, 1983) was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series ''Lassie'', He also starred in ''Stagecoach West'' and as Mike Hammer in the mo ...

, and originally aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. It premiered on October 4, 1960 and ended on June 27, 1961, with a total of 38 episodes over the course of one season.

Synopsis

Luke Perry and Simon "Sime" Kane are veterans of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

who own and operate a stagecoach line on the American frontier.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 783.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, , pp. 967–968.The Classic TV Archive Stagecoach West (1960-61) Accessed 4 November 2020
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/ref> They share driving duties during stagecoach runs, and Sime′s courageous and resourceful son Davey often accompanies them on their trips. Based in the remote, unincorporated frontier town of Outpost in the

Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The bou ...

, they have many adventures — involving murders, robberies, swindles, hijackings,

range war A range war or range conflict is a type of usually violent conflict, most commonly in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the American West. The subject of these conflicts was control of " open range", or range land freely used for cattle grazing ...

s, and attacks by renegade Indians, renegade soldiers, and Mexican revolutionaries — during their stagecoach journeys as they transport passengers and baggage across the Old West. Although the characters never age, the events depicted in the episodes of ''Stagecoach West'' appear to take place at various times between the mid-1860s and the 1890s. Dan Murchison is the kind and genial proprietor of the general store in Outpost, which also doubles as a bank. Zeke Bonner operates a

way station 250px, Layover for buses at LACMTA's Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles ">Los_Angeles.html" ;"title="Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles">Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles In scheduled transportation, a layover (also waypoint, way ...

called The Halfway House, at which Luke, Sime, and Davey′s stagecoach often makes a stop. Cal is the clerk in the stagecoach line′s office in the town of Timberline. Hugh Strickland is the

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforc ...

in Timberline, and he eventually makes Luke and Sime deputy U.S. marshals. Doc Apperson is a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

whose practice includes the area where the stagecoach line operates. When the series begins, Davey has a dog named Hannibal; in Episode 6, it is announced that Hannibal has run away, but Davey adopts another dog from a stagecoach passenger, and the new dog becomes Hannibal II.

Cast

as Luke Perry *

as Davey Kane *

as Simon "Sime" Kane * James Burke as Zeke Bonner *

John Litel John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor. Early life Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...

as Dan Murchison *

Olan Soule Olan Evart Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films. Soul ...

as Cal *

Robert J. Stevenson Robert J. Stevenson (October 10, 1915 – March 4, 1975) was an American politician and former actor who served on the Los Angeles City Council for the Los Angeles City Council District 13, District 13 from 1969 to 1975. As a film and television a ...

as Marshal Hugh Strickland * J. Pat O'Malley as Doc Apperson (two episodes) * Sydney Smith as Doc Apperson (one episode)

Production

Four Star-Hilgarde produced ''Stagecoach West'' and

Vincent M. Fennelly Vincent M. Fennelly (July 5, 1920 - December 4, 2000) was an American film and television producer.Lyons & Lyons p.84 He worked as a sales manager for Monogram Pictures before graduating in 1950 to produce pictures for the studio and its sist ...

served as producer for the series. George Blair directed two episodes, and Harry Harris, Jr., directed one, and Donald McDougall or Thomas Carr directed the rest. D.D. Beauchamp and Mary M. Beauchamp wrote many the episodes. Other episode writers included Bob Barbash,

Martin Berkeley Martin Berkeley (August 21, 1904 − May 6, 1979) was a Hollywood and television screenwriter who collaborated with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the 1950s by naming dozens of Hollywood artists as Communists or Communist s ...

, Will C. Brown, John K. Butler, Roy Chanslor, Herman Epstein, Kenneth Gammet,

Ward Hawkins Ward Hawkins (29 December 1912 – 22 December 1990) was an American author, who wrote from the 1940s through the 1980s. His later works seem to have been science fiction, but earlier he wrote serial stories for the ''Saturday Evening Post'' i ...

, Paul King, Frederick J. Lipp, Frank L. Moss, William D. Powell, John Robinson, Joe Stone, and N. B. Stone, Jr.

Skip Martin Lloyd Vernon "Skip" Martin (May 14, 1916, in Robinson, Illinois – February 12, 1976, in Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and music arranger. Background Martin was active principally as an arranger for some ...

and

Terry Gilkyson Terry Gilkyson (June 17, 1916 — October 15, 1999) was an American folk singer and songwriter. Biography Gilkyson was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and graduated from St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island in 1935. By his early ...

composed the show's music. Bud & Travis sang the theme song over the closing credits.

Broadcast history

''Stagecoach West'' premiered on October 4, 1960, and 38 episodes were produced. They aired on

on Tuesdays 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 ...

. The show was cancelled after a single season, and its last new episode was broadcast on June 27, 1961. Prime-time reruns of ''Stagecoach West'' then aired in its regular time slot until September 26, 1961.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0053537
''Stagecoach West'' opening and closing credits on YouTube
1960s American drama television series 1960 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows American Broadcasting Company original programming Television shows set in Wyoming English-language television shows 1960s Western (genre) television series