''Bus Stop'' is a 26-episode American

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

which aired on ABC from October 1,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, until March 25,

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

, starring Marilyn Maxwell as Grace Sherwood, the owner of a

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

and

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a co ...

in the fictitious town of Sunrise in the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Rockies. The program was adapted from

William Inge William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...

's play, '' Bus Stop'', and Inge was a script consultant for the series, which followed the lives of travelers passing through the bus station and the diner. Maxwell's co-stars were

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. Among his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin ( Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers ( Lindsay Wagner) i ...

as District Attorney Glenn Wagner,

Rhodes Reason Rhodes Reason (April 19, 1930 – December 26, 2014) was an American actor who appeared in more than 200 roles in television, film, and stage. Film and television career Reason was born in Glendale in Los Angeles County, California, the ...

as Sheriff Will Mayberry, Joan Freeman as waitress Elma Gahrigner,

Bernard Kates Bernard Kates (December 26, 1922 – February 2, 2010) was an American actor on television, in movies and on the stage. Serving as a bomber pilot during World War II, Kates earned an Air Medal with three clusters and a Distinguished Flying Cros ...

as Ralph the coroner, and

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...

as Virge Blessing. Increasingly, as it became difficult to have guest stars be characters arriving by bus every week, the stories became more about people in the town which left little for Maxwell's character to do and led to her leaving the series after 13 episodes. She said, "There was nothing for me to do but pour a second cup of coffee and point the way to the men's room."

Episodes

Controversial episode

The episode "A Lion Walks Among Us", with guest star

Fabian Forte Fabian Forte (born Fabiano Anthony Forte, February 6, 1943), professionally known as Fabian, is an American singer and actor. Forte rose to national prominence after performing several times on ''American Bandstand''. He became a teen idol o ...

and directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

, was highly controversial because of its depiction of violence. Twenty-five ABC affiliates refused to air the program. It attracted negative comment from politicians in Washington. The episode was shown to a Congressional Committee discussing violence on TV.

References

External links

* {{Jon Cleary 1961 American television series debuts 1962 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by 20th Century Fox Television 1960s American drama television series Black-and-white American television shows Television shows set in Colorado Live action television shows based on films English-language television shows Television series created by Roy Huggins Buses in fiction Television series set in restaurants