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Robert J. Wilke
Robert Joseph Wilke (May 18, 1914 – March 28, 1989) was an American film and television actor noted primarily for his roles as villains, mostly in Westerns. Early years Wilke was a native of Cincinnati. Before going into acting, he had a variety of jobs, including working in a high-dive act at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933–1934. Career Wilke started as a stuntman in the 1930s and his first appearance on screen was in ''San Francisco'' (1936). He soon began to acquire regular character parts, mainly as a heavy, and made his mark when, along with Lee Van Cleef and Sheb Wooley, he played one of the "three men waiting at the station" in ''High Noon'' (1952). Westerns Wilke appeared in many television Westerns, including seven episodes each of NBC's '' Laramie'' and CBS's ''Gunsmoke''. Wilke played a hired gun in '' The Far Country'' (1954) and continued to work steadily in films and television over the next 20 years. More Western credits followed in '' Man o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. From 1952 to 1970, it became a Broadcast syndication, syndicated Westerns on television, television series, with reruns (updated with new narrations) continuing through August 1, 1975. The radio and television versions combined to make the show "one of the longest-running Western programs in broadcast history." The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, makers of 20 Mule Team Borax and Boraxo, and hosted by Stanley Andrews ("The Old Ranger") (1952–1964), Ronald Reagan (1964–1966), Robert Taylor (American actor), Robert Taylor (1966–1969), and Dale Robertson (1969–1970). Hosting the series was Reagan's final work as an actor; he left the series in 1966 to run for governor of Californi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Days Of Heaven
''Days of Heaven'' is a 1978 American romantic period drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in 1916, it tells the story of Bill and Abby, lovers who travel to the Texas Panhandle for work harvesting crops for a wealthy grain farmer. Bill persuades Abby to claim the fortune of the dying farmer by tricking him into a sham marriage. ''Days of Heaven'' was Malick's second feature film, after ''Badlands'' (1973), and was produced on a budget of $3 million. Production was particularly troublesome, with a tight shooting schedule in Canada in 1976 and significant budget constraints. Film editing took Malick a lengthy two years, due to difficulty with achieving a general flow and assembly of the scenes. This was eventually solved by incorporating improvised narration from teen Linda Manz. The film was scored by Ennio Morricone and photographed by Néstor Almendros and Haskell Wexler. ''Days of H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squid
A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called ''squid'' despite not strictly fitting these criteria). Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, Symmetry (biology)#Bilateral symmetry, bilateral symmetry, and a mantle (mollusc), mantle. They are mainly soft-bodied, like octopuses, but have a small internal skeleton in the form of a rod-like gladius (cephalopod), gladius or pen, made of chitin. Squid diverged from other cephalopods during the Jurassic and occupy a similar Ecological niche, role to teleost fish as open-water predators of similar size and behaviour. They play an important role in the open-water food web. The two long tentacles are used to grab prey and the eight arms to hold and control it. The beak then cuts the food into suitable size chunks for swal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954 Film)
''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' is a 1954 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer, from a screenplay by Earl Felton. Adapted from Jules Verne's 1870 novel '' Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'', the film was produced by Walt Disney Productions. It stars Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre. Photographed in Technicolor, the film was one of the first feature-length motion pictures to be filmed in CinemaScope. It was the first feature-length Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' was a critical and commercial success, being especially remembered for the fight with a giant squid, as well as Mason's definitive performance as the charismatic anti-hero Captain Nemo. The film won two Academy Awards for its art direction and special effects. Plot In 1868, rumors spread of a sea monster attacking ships in the Pacific Ocean. Professor Aronnax and his assistant, Conseil, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
From Here To Eternity
''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American romantic Drama (film and television)#War drama, war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 From Here to Eternity (novel), novel of the same name by James Jones (author), James Jones. It deals with the tribulations of three United States Army soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed portray the women in their lives. The supporting cast includes Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, Mickey Shaughnessy, Claude Akins, and George Reeves. It won 8 Academy Awards out of 13 nominations, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), and Academy Aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rango (TV Series)
''Rango'' is an American Western sitcom starring comedian Tim Conway, which was broadcast in the United States on the ABC television network in 1967 and lasted 17 episodes. Synopsis Rango is an inept, bumbling Texas Ranger in the Old WestMcNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 683.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. 853. who has been assigned to the supply room at the quietest post the Rangers have, Deep Wells Ranger Station, so as to keep him from creating unnecessary trouble. He seems to bring his own trouble with him, however, as after his arrival, crime suddenly returns to the Deep Wells area, a place that had seen very little of it during the previous 20 years. Rango's assistant in the supply room is Pink Cloud, an overly assimi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rifleman
''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black and white, in half-hour episodes. ''The Rifleman'' aired on ABC from September 30, 1958, to April 8, 1963, as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first primetime series on American television to show a single parent raising a child. The program was titled to reflect McCain's use of a Winchester Model 1892 rifle (an anachronism, as the show was set in the 1880s) which had been customized to allow repeated firing by cycling its lever action. He demonstrated this technique in the opening credits, as well as a second modification that allowed him to cycle the action with one hand using a technique known as "spin-cocking". Overview The series centers on Lucas McCain, a Union veteran of the America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zorro (1957 TV Series)
''Zorro'' (also known as ''Disney's Zorro'') is an American action-adventure Spanish Western television series produced by Walt Disney Productions and starring Guy Williams. Based on the Zorro character created by Johnston McCulley in his 1919 novella, the series premiered on October 10, 1957, on ABC. The final network broadcast was July 2, 1959. Seventy-eight episodes were produced, and four hour-long specials were aired on the Walt Disney anthology series between October 30, 1960, and April 2, 1961. The series is set in Los Angeles of 1820, when it was still part of Spanish California and before Mexican independence. Zorro aids Hispanic settlers and indigenous peoples oppressed by the local rulers. A remastering, in which color was added, was released in 1992. Plot For most of its run, ''Zorros episodes were part of continuing story arcs, each about thirteen episodes long. It had a structure similar to a serial. The first of these chronicles the emergence of Zorro / ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanted Dead Or Alive (TV Series)
''Wanted Dead or Alive'' is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons from 1958–1961. The black-and-white program was a spin-off of a March 1958 episode of '' Trackdown,'' a 1957–1959 Western series starring Robert Culp. Both series were produced by Vincent Fennelly for Four Star Television in association with CBS.Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", '' West Texas Historical Review'', Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 103–104 The series made McQueen, known for the concept of "cool" in entertainment, a television star. He later became the first TV star to cross over into comparable status on the big screen. Synopsis Josh Randall is a Confederate veteran and bounty hunter with a soft heart. He often donates his earnings to the needy, and helps his prisoners if they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawman (TV Series)
''Lawman'' is an American Western television series originally telecast on ABC from 1958 to 1962, starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming, during 1879 and the 1880s. Warner Bros. already had several Western series on the air at the time. Prior to the beginning of production, Russell, Brown, and producer Jules Schermer made a pact to maintain the quality of the series so that it would not be seen as "just another Western". At the start of season two, Russell and Brown were joined by Peggie Castle as Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon, and a love interest for Dan. The main sponsor of the series was the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company through their Camel cigarettes brand. The alternate sponsor was General Mills. The two main stars did spots endorsing Camel cigarettes and Cheerios breakfast cereal. Premise Dan Troop leaves Abilene, Kansas, for the town of Laramie, Wyoming. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Westerner (TV Series)
''The Westerner'' is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 30 to December 30, 1960. Created and produced by Sam Peckinpah, who also wrote and directed some episodes, the series was a Four Star Television production. ''The Westerner'' stars Brian Keith as amiable, unexceptional cowhand/drifter Dave Blassingame, and features John Dehner as rakish Burgundy Smith, who appeared in three episodes. Overview Dave Blassingame is a cowboy and drifter who is handy with a gun and his fists, travelling through an often lawless country trying to get enough money together to buy his own ranch. His dog Brown is played by Spike, trained by Frank Weatherwax and best known for playing the title role in '' Old Yeller''. Brown figures prominently in a number of episodes, appears in all of them, and always appears following Blassingame during the end credits. Cast Main * Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame * Spike as Brown * Hank Gobble as Digger * Jimmy Lee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronco (TV Series)
''Bronco'' is a Western television series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Theodore Roosevelt, Belle Starr, Cole Younger, and John Wesley Hardin. Overview ''Bronco'' premiered in the fall of 1958 when Warner Bros. executives and actor Clint Walker clashed over Walker's contract on the series ''Cheyenne''. Walker had walked out on his show over such stringent clauses as a requirement that he return half of all personal appearance fees to Warner Bros., and that he only record for Warner music labels. When the two sides came to an impasse, the network hired newcomer Ty Hardin to play the new character of Bronco Layne, but kept the title of ''Cheyenne''. When Walker came back to his series, ''Bronco'' became a spin-off of ''Cheyenne''. ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
