1960
season promotion, this western series was reminiscent of 'The
Rifleman', leading actor John Russell even resembled Chuck Connors.
Began in 1958 and ran until 1962 on ABC Sunday nights.
Follows
the adventures of Marshall Dan Tropp, Sheriff of the wild western
town of Laramie. Peter Brown co-starred as his young Deputy Johnny
McKay.
Did
you know that Kurt Russell was a child star? He played the title
role in this hour-long Sunday night western adventure about a
boy (Russell), his rascally father (Dan O'Herlihy) and the wagon
train they travelled with.
The
Osmond Brothers were seen as the little Kissel Brothers.
This
1960 spot attempts to position this western series as relevant
to "today's youth". We're talking the Beatnick Generation - whatever
happened to them?
Nick
Adams starred as Johnny Yuma, former Confederate soldier who went
from town to town seeking acceptance and finding a hostile reception
to his peacekeeping attempts.
'Where
The Action Is' lasted two years. The soap opera 'A Time To Us'
lasted two years beginning in 1964 (then titled 'A Flame In The
Wind').
ABC
had nothing but flops in their futile attempts to get an afternoon
schedule going in the Sixties, until they picked up a game show
in 1968 that NBC canceled - 'Lets Make A Deal'.
One
of those great Universal shows, before they slid into self-parody
in the Seventies.
Robert
Wagner at his best as Alexander Mundy, a retired theif blackmailed
into working for the government to catch other slippery characters.
Malachi Throne was SIA Chief Noah Bain and Fred Astaire played
Mundy's father in several episodes (he was also a master thief).
Based
on a highly-rated TV-movie called Thief that ran
during the 1967-68 season.
Ran
for four years starting in 1963, thanks to strong storylines and
an unbeatable concept. Dr. Richard Kimble's wife as murdered by
a one-armed man, but Kimble is unjustly convicted of killing her.
He escapes, running from place to place using assumed identities,
searching for the real killer - always just a step away from his
pursuer, Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse).
Shows
that borrowed the same basic concept include 'Run For Your Life',
(and adding a sci-fi flavor) 'The Invaders' and 'The Incredible
Hulk'.
"The
new year begins tonight. Turn on the excitement!" - ABC fall slogan,
1965
The
King Family, Lawrence Welk (with new regulars, The Lennon Sisters)
and The Hollywood Place were the Saturday Night offerings. Great
if you were already old in 1965!
Voyage
To The Bottom Of The Sea, The FBI and The Sunday Night Movie made
for a great night of viewing. Intro by FBI star Efrem Zimbalist,
Jr. The networks unleashed 33 new shows in 1965, 60% of the network
broadcasts were in color - there were 3,600,000 color sets in
use.
Inger
Stevens introduces an exciting night of television - 12 O'Clock
High, The Legend Of Jesse James, A Man Called Shenandoah, The
Farmer's Daughter and Ben Casey
Inger
Stevens was the beautiful star of 'The Farmer's Daughter', a series
that ran from 1963-66. After filming "Hang 'Em High" in 1970 with
Clint Eastwood, Stevens was set to star in a new series. Despondent
over personal problems, she combined pills with booze to kill
herself.
These
clips come from
the collection of
Jeff Vilencia.
Thanks, Jeff!
Debuted in 1964 and ran until 1968. Produced by disaster
master Irwin Allen.
Noted
science fiction author Harlan Ellison was on the writing staff
for a short time, but left after attacking an ABC censor during
a heated story conference. "He said, "Writers are toadies, you'll
do as your told." And I went bananas." Ellison said in 1980, "...I
saw blood red and I just wanted him then! I didn't want to have
to go around anything, so I just took the straightest route, which
was right down the middle of the fuckin' table. ...I tagged him
a good one right in the pudding trough and zappo! over he went,
ass over teakettle, windmilling backwards, and fell down, hit
the wall and Irwin had this big, six-foot long model of the Seaview,
which I guess they had used as a miniature on the series, and
it came off its brackets and dropped on top of him and just busted
this dude's pelvis."
"Voyage
to the Bottom of the Sea has gotten a bum rap. It was a great
show, and had a bundle of spy / intriuge / 'Mission Impossible'
type stories in addition to the later monster shows. Even they
were made believable, due to the superb acting of the entire cast,
especially David Hedison and Richard Basehart. Unfortunately,
the show is currently being shown in a 'chopped up' version.
If
you could have seen the episodes as originially aired, you would
see inter-character personalities, mental anguish, joy, laughter,
romance, suspense, drama, and imaginative special effects... Voyage
had it all. It was Irwin Allen's masterpiece, but because of just
a few bad monster eps (that could have been better) it was judged
as a monster of the week show - and that is just not true. By
the way, one TV's best writers, William Reed Woodfield, later
left Voyage and went to 'Mission Impossible', and his Voyage eps
are fantastic!
Please don't give this wonderful show a bad rap because of a few
bombs. All series have bombs, but loyal viewers ignore them."
- Sincerely, Carol Foss
Steamy
prime-time soap that eventually ran three nights a week, but for
most of its run just Tuesdays and Thurdays. Launched the careers
of Mia Farrow and Ryan O'Neal among others. People still use the
term "Peyton Place" to describe a tawdry community or unseemly
affairs. Here's your chance to see what the show was like in this
fall, 1964 promo.
Cartoon
adventures of Dorothy and the gang frame films that ran theatrically
along with nature shows.
This
incredible promo shows scenes from 'Clarence The Cross-Eyed Lion',
'Zebra In The Kitchen' and more - these were popular movies for
kids from a few years earlier.
One
of those great Universal shows, before they slid into self-parody
in the Seventies.
Debuted in 1964 and ran until 1968. Produced by disaster
master 
