''The Alaskans'' is a 1959–1960 ABC/

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

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 ...

set during the late 1890s in the port of Skagway,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. The show features Roger Moore as "Silky Harris" and

Jeff York Jeff York (March 23, 1912 – October 11, 1995) was an American film and television actor who began his career in the late 1930s using his given name, Granville Owen Scofield. He was also sometimes credited as Jeff Yorke. Career York served in ...

as "Reno McKee", a pair of adventurers intent on swindling travelers bound for the Yukon Territories during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush.Episode World's synopsis of ''The Alaskans''
/ref> Their plans are inevitably complicated by the presence of singer "Rocky Shaw" (

Dorothy Provine Dorothy Michelle Provine (January 20, 1935 – April 25, 2010) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she first ...

), "an entertainer with a taste for the finer things in life". The show was the first regular work on American television for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

actor Roger Moore.

Relationship with ''Maverick''

''The Alaskans'' is closely related to the ABC/WB series '' Maverick'' through broadcast and production. ''Maverick'' was the most prominent of ABC's Sunday night of western dramas. For the 1959–60 season, Sundays began with '' Colt .45'' and ''Maverick'', then John Russell's '' Lawman'' and Nick Adams' '' The Rebel'', and concluded with ''The Alaskans''. The same year that ''The Alaskans'' was canceled,

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

left ''Maverick''. Moore became, under protest, Garner's replacement, playing

Bret Maverick ''Bret Maverick'' is an American Western television series that starred James Garner in the title role, a professional poker player in the Old West. The series aired on NBC from December 1, 1981 to May 4, 1982. It is a sequel series to the 1957- ...

's cousin Beau Maverick in the fourth season of ''Maverick''. Because of the 1960

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

as well as an ongoing Warner Bros. policy to save money on writers, ''The Alaskans'' inherited a certain amount of scripted material from ''Maverick''. Moore bristled at the lack of originality in scripts: "An old ''

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

'' script would interchange with an ''Alaskans'' or ''Maverick''. In some cases, even the dialogue stayed unchanged." In 2007, Moore noted, "Quite often I realized that we were filming ''Maverick'' scripts, with the names changed." This made it simple for Jack L. Warner to envision Moore as Maverick, since Moore had literally delivered Garner's dialogue while reshooting the same scripts with different names and locales. Since the show has not been available to home audiences for more than forty years, independent verification of either claim is difficult. However, ''The Alaskans'' may have drawn from other series as well. One viewer has detailed which specific ''Maverick'', ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and ''Bronco'' (second season); and ...

'' and ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

'' episodes spawned clones on ''The Alaskans''. Cannibalizing scripts was standard operating procedure at Warner Bros. television. Their first big hit in the detective genre, ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'', was copied in analogous series such as '' Bourbon Street Beat'', ''

Surfside 6 ''Surfside 6'' is an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and featured Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield II; Van Williams as Kenny Madison (a character recyc ...

'', and '' Hawaiian Eye'', with only the locations changed –

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Miami Beach, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. The basic characters were identical with only the character parts which spoke in jargon being re-written e.g. horse racing tout to jazz slang. This pre-dated the troubles with the Writers Guild.WBTV Posse forum thread, giving parent episodes on other programs and their children on ''The Alaskans''. Free registration required to view.
/ref>

Roger Moore's views

For Roger Moore, the series was memorable for being "my most appalling television series ever". In particular, he found that attempting to recreate Alaskan exteriors on a studio

backlot A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction. Uses Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

made for disagreeably hot work days. Moore, Roger and Ken Roche. "The Roger Moore Story". ''TV Times Extra''. Independent Publications, Ltd. 1972. The show also caused some marital strife for the actor when he had to admit to wife

Dorothy Squires Dorothy Squires (born Edna May Squires, 25 March 1915 – 14 April 1998) was a Welsh singer. Her early successes were achieved with " The Gypsy", " A Tree in the Meadow" and " I'm Walking Behind You" by her partner Billy Reid, and " Say It w ...

that he had fallen in love with co-star

. Moore, Roger and Ken Roche. "The Roger Moore Story". ''TV Times Extra''. Independent Publications, Ltd. 1972.

Cast

* Roger Moore as Silky Harris *

as Rocky Shaw *

as Reno McKee * Ray Danton as Nifty Cronin *

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

in two episodes each as Cornish and Soapy Smith

Guest stars

Julie Adams Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...

* Claude Akins *

Don Beddoe Donald Theophilus Beddoe (July 1, 1903 – January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. Early years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe was the son of Dan Beddoe, a Welsh classical singer, and his wife Mary. He graduated from the ...

* Jacqueline Beer * Steve Brodie *

Walter Burke Walter Lawrence Burke (August 25, 1908 – August 4, 1984) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television whose career in entertainment spanned over a half century. Although he was a native of New York, Burke's Irish ances ...

* Frank Cady *

Robert Colbert Robert Colbert is an American actor most noted for his leading role portraying Dr. Doug Phillips on the ABC television series ''The Time Tunnel'' and his two appearances as Brent Maverick, a third Maverick brother in the ABC/Warner Brothers ...

Tris Coffin Tristram Chockley Coffin (August 13, 1909 – March 26, 1990) was a film and television actor from the latter 1930s through the 1970s, usually in westerns or other B-movie action- adventure productions. Early years Coffin's mother was act ...

Jerome Cowan Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early years Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...

Frank DeKova Frank de Kova (March 17, 1910 – October 15, 1981) was an American character actor in films, stage, and TV. Biography De Kova was born in New York City. He was a teacher at a school in New York before joining a Shakespeare repertory group. He ...

Troy Donahue Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor and singer. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Born in New York City, Donahue was ...

* Don Dubbins *

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish ...

* Arthur Franz * Leo Gordon * Alan Hale, Jr. *

Myron Healey Myron Daniel Healey (June 8, 1923 – December 21, 2005) was an American actor. He began his career in Hollywood, California during the early 1940s and eventually made hundreds of appearances in movies and on television during a career spa ...

John Hoyt John Hoyt (born John McArthur Hoysradt; October 5, 1905 – September 15, 1991) was an American actor. He began his acting career on Broadway, later appearing in numerous films and television series. He is perhaps best known for his film and TV ...

* I. Stanford Jolley * Allyn Joslyn *

Andrea King Andrea King (born Georgette André Barry; February 1, 1919 – April 22, 2003) was an American stage, film, and television actress, sometimes billed as Georgette McKee. Early life Andrea King was born Georgette André Barry on February 1, 1919, ...

* Werner Klemperer *

Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is an American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama '' Witness for ...

Diane McBain Diane J. McBain (May 18, 1941 – December 21, 2022) was an American actress who, as a Warner Brothers contract player, reached a brief peak of popularity during the early 1960s. She was best known for playing an adventurous socialite in the 1960 ...

* Robert McQueeney *

Mort Mills Mort Mills (born Mortimer Morris Kaplan; January 11, 1919 – June 6, 1993) was an American film and television actor who had roles in over 150 movies and television episodes. He was often the town lawman or the local bad guy in many popular w ...

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

Simon Oakland Simon Oakland (August 28, 1915 – August 29, 1983) was an American actor of stage, screen, and television. During his career, Oakland performed primarily on television, appearing in over 130 series and made-for-television movies between ...

* Joan O'Brien *

Jerry Paris William Gerald Paris (July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', and for directing the majo ...

Emory Parnell Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career. Early years Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...

Lee Patterson Lee Patterson (March 31, 1929 – February 14, 2007) was a Canadian film and television actor. Life and career Patterson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, as Beverley Frank Atherly Patterson. He attended the Ontario College of Art and ...

Larry Pennell Lawrence Kenneth "Larry" Pennell (February 21, 1928 – August 28, 2013) was an American television and film actor, often remembered for his role as "Dash Riprock" in the television series ''The Beverly Hillbillies''. His career spanned ha ...

Louis Quinn Louis Quinn (born Louis Frackt; March 23, 1915 – September 14, 1988) was an American television and film actor, best known for his role as Roscoe, the comic relief racetrack tout, from 1958 to 1963 in the ABC/ Warner Bros. detective tele ...

Gilman Rankin Gilman Warren Rankin (April 17, 1911 – October 31, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Deputy Charlie Riggs in the first season of the American western television series ''Tombstone Territory'', and for pla ...

* Rex Reason *

Mike Road Mike Road (born Milton Brustin;The Boston Advertiser, June 29, 1958 March 18, 1918 – April 14, 2013) was an American voice actor and Warner Bros. television series contract player whose television career dates back to the 1950s and in f ...

Madlyn Rhue Madlyn Soloman Rhue (née Madeline Roche, October 3, 1935 – December 16, 2003) was an American film and television actress. Personal life - youth and education Rhue was born in Washington, D.C., graduated from Los Angeles High School, and st ...

* Bing Russell *

Walter Sande Walter Sande (July 9, 1906 – November 22, 1971) was an American character actor, known for numerous supporting film and television roles. Films Born in Denver, Colorado, he was one of those stern, heavyset character actors in Hollywood no pe ...

Dick Sargent Richard Stanford Cox (April 19, 1930 – July 8, 1994), known professionally as Dick Sargent, was an American actor, notable as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on ABC's fantasy situation comedy ''Bewitched''. He took the name ''Dick ...

* Pippa Scott *

Fay Spain Lona Fay Spain (October 6, 1932 – May 8, 1983) was an American actress in motion pictures and television. Early years Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Fay Spain was the younger of two daughters born to Robert C. Spain and Arminta Frances "Mick ...

* Karen Steele *

Warren Stevens Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. Early life and career Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...

* Harold J. Stone *

Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor.The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, parti ...

* Gary Vinson * Richard Webb *

James Westerfield James A. Westerfield (March 22, 1913 – September 20, 1971) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Westerfield was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to candy-maker Brasher Omier Westerfield and his wife D ...

* Peter Whitney *

Marie Windsor Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Wi ...

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Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alaskans, The American Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios 1959 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings Television series set in the 1890s Television shows set in Alaska 1950s Western (genre) television series 1960s Western (genre) television series Black-and-white American television shows Klondike Gold Rush in fiction