''Custer'', also known as ''The Legend of Custer'', is a 17-episode

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

- Western television series which ran on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

from September 6 to December 27, 1967, with

Wayne Maunder Wayne Ernest Maunder (December 19, 1937 – November 11, 2018) was a Canadian-born American actor who starred in three American television series between 1967 and 1974. Three television series From September 6 to December 27, 1967, Maunder sta ...

in the starring role of then Lieutenant Colonel

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

. Criticizing the series as "glamorizing Custer," a concerted protest headed by the Tribal Indians Land Rights Association successfully halted broadcast of the series under the FCC fairness doctrine.

Format

Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 190 Robert F. Simon played Custer's commanding officer, U.S.

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Alfred H. Terry.

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens took up acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV sho ...

starred as

California Joe Milner Moses Embree Milner (May 8, 1829 – October 29, 1876), also known as "California Joe", was an American miner and frontier scout. Biography Moses Embree Milner was born in Stanford, Kentucky on May 8, 1829. At age 14 he moved west to St. Louis, M ...

Michael Dante Michael Dante (born Ralph Vitti, September 2, 1931) is an American actor and former professional minor league baseball player. Early life Dante was born Ralph Vitti in Stamford, Connecticut on September 2, 1931. Growing up, he would sneak into a ...

appeared as Sioux Chief

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( , ; – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota people, Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by White Americans, White American settlers on Nativ ...

. Peter Palmer played Sergeant James Bustard, a former Confederate soldier. Grant Woods appeared as Captain

Myles Keogh Myles Walter Keogh (25 March 1840 – 25 June 1876) was an Irish soldier. He served in the armies of the Papal States during the war for Italian unification in 1860, and was recruited into the Union Army during the American Civil War, servin ...

Read Morgan Read Lawrence Morgan (January 30, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Sergeant Hapgood Tasker in the American western television series '' The Deputy''. Life and career Mo ...

appeared in the episode "Spirit Woman" in the role of a

medicine man A medicine man (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwinini'') or medicine woman (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwininiikwe'') is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Each culture has its own name i ...

. Guest stars included

Lloyd Bochner Lloyd Wolfe Bochner (July 29, 1924 – October 29, 2005) was a Canadian film, TV and voice actor. He appeared in many Canadian and Hollywood productions between the 1950s and 1990s, including the films '' Point Blank'' (1967), '' The Detecti ...

(as James Stanhope),

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...

(as Zebediah Jackson),

Philip Carey Philip Carey (born Eugene Joseph Carey, July 15, 1925February 6, 2009) was an American actor, well-known for playing the role of Asa Buchanan on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'' for nearly three decades. Early life and education On July 15 ...

(as Benton Conant), James Daly (as John Rudford),

Alexander Davion Alexander Davion (March 31, 1929 – September 28, 2019) was a French-born British actor. He was perhaps best known in the UK for his starring role in ''Gideon's Way'' as Detective Chief Inspector David Keen. He was born in Paris, France. He die ...

(as Capt. Marcus A. Reno),

Burr DeBenning Burris Franklin DeBenning (September 21, 1936 – May 26, 2003) was an American character actor who worked in both film and television. Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. M.J. DeBenning, he was born in Seminole, Oklahoma, and grew up in Stil ...

(as Uvalde),

Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film star and sex symbol in the 1940s a ...

(as Vanessa Ravenhill),

Gene Evans Eugene Barton Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, television films, and feature films between 1947 and 1989. Early life Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona and raised i ...

(as Deedricks),

Arthur Franz Arthur Sofield Franz (February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade H. Paynter Jr. in ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Early life Franz was born in Perth Amboy, N ...

(as Grey Fox and Bledsoe), Billy Gray (as Billy Nixon),

Barbara Hale Barbara Hale (April 18, 1922 – January 26, 2017) was an American actress who portrayed legal secretary Della Street in the dramatic television series ''Perry Mason (1957 TV series), Perry Mason'' (1957–1966), earning her a 1959 Emmy Award ...

(as Melinda Terry),

Stacy Harris Stacy Harris (July 26, 1918 – March 13, 1973) was an American actor with hundreds of film and television appearances. His name is sometimes found misspelled Stacey Harris. Early years Harris was born on July 26, 1922, in Big Timber, Q ...

(as John Glixton),

Earl Holliman Henry Earl Holliman (September 11, 1928 – November 25, 2024) was an American actor, animal rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award ...

(as Dan Samuels),

Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...

(as Lt. Carlos Moreno),

Darren McGavin Darren McGavin (born William Lyle Richardson; May 7, 1922 – February 25, 2006) was an American actor. McGavin began his career working as a set painter for Columbia Pictures. In 1954, he originated roles in Broadway productions of '' My Three ...

(as Jeb Powell),

Ralph Meeker Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988) was an American film, stage, and television actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of '' Mister Roberts'' (1948–1951) and ''Picnic' ...

(as Kermit Teller),

Mary Ann Mobley Mary Ann Mobley (February 17, 1937 – December 9, 2014) was an American actress, television personality, and Miss America 1959. Career Mobley was born in 1937 in Biloxi, Mississippi. After her reign as Miss America 1959, Mobley embarked on a ...

(as Ann L'Andry),

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning five decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary '' Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

(as Watoma),

Edward Mulhare Edward Mulhare (8 April 1923 – 24 May 1997) was an Irish actor whose career spanned five decades. He is best known for his starring roles in two television series, '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir'' and ''Knight Rider''. Early life and career Mulha ...

(as Col. Sean Redmond),

Kathleen Nolan Kathleen Nolan (born Joycelyn Schrum; September 27, 1933) is an American actress and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. From 1957 to 1962, she played Kate McCoy, a housewife, on the television series ''The Real McCoys''. Early years B ...

(as Nora Moffett),

Larry Pennell Lawrence Kenneth 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 half a centu ...

(as Chief Yellow Hawk),

Paul Petersen Paul Petersen (born September 23, 1945) is an American actor, singer, novelist and activist. He rose to prominence in the 1950s playing Jeff Stone on '' The Donna Reed Show''. Petersen pursued a singing career in the 1960s. In the 1980s and 1 ...

(as Lieutenant Cox),

Donnelly Rhodes Donnelly Rhodes Henry (December 4, 1937 – January 8, 2018) was a Canadian actor. He had many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convict Dutch Leitner on the soap opera spoof ' ...

(as War Cloud), Chris Robinson (as Lt. Tim Rudford),

Ned Romero Ned Romero (December 4, 1926 – November 4, 2017) was an American actor and opera singer who appeared in television and film. Early childhood and education Romero was born on December 4, 1926, in Franklin, Louisiana, the seat of St. Mary P ...

(as Running Feet),

Barbara Rush Barbara Rush (January 4, 1927 – March 31, 2024) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. In 1954, she won the Golden Globe Award for most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film ''It ...

(as Brigid O'Rourke),

Albert Salmi Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. Early life Salmi was born and raised ...

(as Capt. John Mark Charrington),

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

(as Chief Tall Knife),

Dub Taylor Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr. (February 26, 1907 – October 3, 1994)Dub Taylor, 87, Actor in Westerns, The New York Times, October 5, 1994, Section B, Page 12 was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extensiv ...

(as Trader),

Ray Walston Herman Ray Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor. He started his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Mr. Applegate in ''Damn Yankees'' (1956 ...

(as Ned Quimbo),

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

(as Eldo), Terry Wilson (as Brownsmith), and

William Windom William Windom may refer to: * William Windom (politician) (1827–1891), U.S. representative from Minnesota * William Windom (actor) (1923–2012), his great-grandson, American actor See also * William Windham (disambiguation) {{hndis, Wi ...

(as Clark Samson). In the last episode entitled "The Raiders", Custer enlists the aid of

Kiowa Kiowa ( ) or Cáuigú () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colora ...

Indians to help him to locate the parties responsible for a series of

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

raids. Maunder was twenty-eight when he was cast as the 28-year-old Custer. The show was canceled due to poor reviews and protests by Native American tribes throughout the United States.Brian W. Dippie, ''Custer's Last Stand: The Anatomy of an American Myth''. Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1994 , (p.120) Two episodes, No. 1 and No. 6, were later combined and released as a feature length film, entitled ''"Crazy Horse and Custer, The Untold Story"''. On June 7, 2016,

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

released ''Custer: The Complete Series (Collector's Edition)'' on DVD.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0061244, Custer 1960s Western (genre) television series 1967 American television series debuts 1967 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company television dramas Cultural depictions of George Armstrong Custer Cultural depictions of Crazy Horse Television shows set in Kansas Television series by 20th Century Fox Television