''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, until March 25, 1962, starring Marilyn Maxwell as Grace Sherwood, the owner of a

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

and

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

in the fictitious town of Sunrise in the

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Rockies. The program was adapted from William Inge's play, ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

'', 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. One of his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in ...

as District Attorney Glenn Wagner, Rhodes Reason as Sheriff Will Mayberry, Joan Freeman as waitress Elma Gahrigner, Bernard Kates 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. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillb ...

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 Anthony Forte (born 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 of the late 1950s ...

and directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

, 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 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 American English-language television shows Television series created by Roy Huggins Fiction about buses Television series set in restaurants American Broadcasting Company television dramas