The real 5th had served in the Civil War with the Army of the Potomac and afterwards in Kansas and Nebraska against Cheyenne and Sioux. Its proud ranks once included Lt. Lee and Buffalo Bill Cody as chief scout. Graham Wesley Hays (Patrick Mc. Vey), a West Pointer with 3. Ft. Lowell to break the backbone of Apache resistance. The true star of the series was Captain Shank Adams (John Pickard). Ed Binning, an inexperienced new officer; Michael Emmett as Corp. Britt Davis, a former Confederate officer; Michael Hinn as civilian scout Luke Cummings; Gardner Mc. Kay as Lt. Dan Kelly; James Dobson as the cook, Pvt. Hatfield and Johnny Western as Pvt. The historic 5th Cavalry came to TV in the Fall of Captain Shanks Adams is in charge of the fictional Ft. A beautiful display of original cowboy memorabilia includes a western saddle, lariat, hats, and well worn boots, and Winchester rifle (non-firing). In 1. 99. 1, Tennessee born John Pickard (billed Jack Pickard in the series) recalled for us, “These were good guys. He’d been in lots of movies, lots of experience on the stage. A wonderful guy to work with. Dave, I guess he did a thousand bellhops, got in with Cliff Arquette and worked with him in a show that Cliff’s character, Charlie Weaver, was doing (“Dave and Charley” 1. Dave finally got away from bellhops and into westerns. He was a barrel of fun and a wonderful guy. He passed away not long ago (1. Boots and Saddles – western TV show. There are only 38 episodes of this rarely seen western series. WESTERNS TV COULD ONLY FIND THIS ONE EPISODE TO POST HERE.One more that was learning at the time, that didn’t always know his lines, Gardner Mc. Kay. Gardner was under contract to 2. He (came to us) because he was supposed to be the romantic character. He was tall and thin and had a very good face on him, photographically, but he had big feet. He’d trip over his feet, that sort of thing. And he was not a very good actor. It isn’t that he didn’t try. It just didn’t work out. I think his mother was a socialite or something like that. That’s the story I got years ago. You couldn’t learn much from Gardner because he wouldn’t reveal anything. He took some pretty good pictures of me and everybody in the cast. Afterward, he was writing reviews of plays and things for the L. A. He did the best he could.” Mc. Kay died November 2. There was sort of a change in higher echelons along about the end of the first year. Executives were leaving and new people were coming in. We were syndicated and had a high rating all over the country, knocking around in fourth, fifth and sixth place all the time. The producer in the early part of the show was Robert Levitt, who at the time was married to Ethel Merman. He came out to see us on location in Kanab. Trouble was, we were shooting in black and white; and to not take advantage (in color) of the scenery was just sickening. NBC was going to buy us, put us on prime time and convert to color. RCA was crying for color. What happened in the meantime was, a man walked in with his story about an old rancher and three sons. Plus the fact California National was going to be sued for plagiarism; some people claimed . So maybe that held us back a little when word got around. Anyway, we only went one season. The last two I was away on personal appearances in Atlanta and Louisville.” John Pickard died in a freak accident with a bull on his farm in Tennessee 8/4/9. Singer/actor Johnny Western’s total recall memory tells us much about the series and the men who worked in it. So about the time Gardner Mc. Kay came to replace Michael Emmett, who was referred to as the great stone face, we went back to town and did interiors for that bunch. When they went back up, I was no longer in the show. The interiors were done at California National on Melrose, down the street from Paramount. John Pickard was a tremendous physical specimen. He worked out, had a tremendous physique. No ego at all.” Mc. Vey began his film career, after becoming a successful Broadway actor, in 1. They Died With Their Boots On”. He died in New York in 1. As to what became of Michael Emmett when he was replaced by Mc. Kay, Western thinks, “Somebody told me he went into the insurance business. When Gardner Mc. Kay came in, the very first episode Gard did, he’s in a ditch out in the boonies with Indians attacking. The close up is on Gard giving two or three guys some orders. Director Bill Hole gets ready to do the thing and Gard holds up his hand, and with this real New York look on his face, says, . Hole, before we start shooting, what is my motivation for these lines?’ Hole was just incredulous! He looked at him, and I quote exactly, . Now get back in the ditch.’ All the stunt guys just fell apart. Gardner was no horseman either. He was just handsome. He found his niche on . After the whole thing was over, I find out Dobson is gay, although he never made a move on me.” (Dobson died in . Michael also directed and produced the short subject, . That was actually a pilot for a docudrama to be based on a different song each week. Then he made a pilot called . Western smiles, “John Alderson was the clown in the group. He was the greatest storyteller. He was a funny guy.” Alderson, born in England in 1. August 4, 2. 00. 6. Among his many credits are “Shootout at Medicine Bend”, “No Name On the Bullet” and “Last Stagecoach West”. When we interviewed Alderson he told us, “There were two pilots made (both with John Pickard as star) prior to its acceptance by CNP. They had to replace me for the first six shot in Kanab because I was working in Paris on . CNP insisted on using me, so I was concerned with all future episodes. Pat Mc. Vey was eased out after the first 1. Gardner Mc. Kay. No reflection on Pat’s ability. He was a great guy and had more experience than anyone. Gardner’s advent into the series was a disaster. I was the recipient of all his lines whenever he was featured. I guested on three episodes. Unfortunately, his big feet were his undoing. In one episode, despite me telling him he was standing too close, he hauled off and punched me plum in the face and broke my nose pretty badly. Gard was sincere enough in his own way. He came over to my place the following day and presented me with a new copy of something he knew I adored. I miss him enormously. It was shown twice on the BBC. In fact it got me a job. Who’ hired me to play Wyatt Earp in two consecutive episodes. Kids over there greeted me as Sgt. Bullock.” The series employed top stuntmen for the dangerous riding and Indian fighting—Henry Wills (who also played trooper Benedict), Al Wyatt, Boyd . Most of the scripts were written by prolific actor turned writer Tony Barrett, although Gene (“Star Trek”) Rodenberry contributed several. Directorial reins were in the alternating capable hands of William “Bill” Hole and Bernard Kowalski. Hole later helmed “Four Fast Guns” w/James Craig and low budget fare such as “Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow”. Kowalski also garnered a rep as a director of low budget horror schlock (“Attack of the Giant Leeches”, “Night of the Blood Beast”) but fared better on the tube, directing hundreds of hours of episodic TV— “Rawhide”, “Broken Arrow”, “Wild Wild West”, “Monroes” as well as “Baretta”, “Rockford Files” and other non- westerns.
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