Yep, this was James Garner's finest hour. I'm tempted to say his finest 124 hours, because there were that many episodes, but according to IMDb Garner (Bret) appeared in only 58, Jack Kelly (Bart) in 80, Roger Moore (Beau) in 17 and Robert Colbert (Brent) in 3.
I was just thinking about James Garner the other day and how he is one of those marvelous actors that many of us (me included) seem to have taken for granted over the years.
Hmm, I wonder who Laurie Powers is? I've seen most episodes in the past few years and some of the ones from the first two seasons, when Roy Huggins was producing, remain the most entertaining film shot during the sound era. Period. The youtube video here is extremely odd and almost disturbing in that there are no screen captures of the two Maverick brothers together even though these were all from "Pappy" and the legendary "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres" (check that last one out on Wikipedia), featuring both James Garner and Jack Kelly as Bret and Bart Maverick.
Garner appeared in fewer episodes than Kelly because Garner quit the show in a contract dispute. None of the attempted replacements worked out, so the last season had first-run episodes starring Jack Kelly, alternating with lots of reruns of Garner episodes.
Some of my favorite episodes were "Gunshy" (a spoof of Gunsmoke), "Three Queens Full" (a parody of Bonanza), and "Hadley's Hunters" (which had cameo appearances by most of Warner Brothers' TV Western stars).
I liked Maverick although I never saw many of the episodes.
ReplyDeleteIsn't james garner the protagonist?
ReplyDeleteOne of the greats.
ReplyDeleteYep, this was James Garner's finest hour. I'm tempted to say his finest 124 hours, because there were that many episodes, but according to IMDb Garner (Bret) appeared in only 58, Jack Kelly (Bart) in 80, Roger Moore (Beau) in 17 and Robert Colbert (Brent) in 3.
ReplyDeleteFall in the temptation. Sometimes is fun ;)
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking about James Garner the other day and how he is one of those marvelous actors that many of us (me included) seem to have taken for granted over the years.
ReplyDeleteBoy, did I love this show! It was sophisticated when few other cowboy shows were.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I wonder who Laurie Powers is? I've seen most episodes in the past few years and some of the ones from the first two seasons, when Roy Huggins was producing, remain the most entertaining film shot during the sound era. Period. The youtube video here is extremely odd and almost disturbing in that there are no screen captures of the two Maverick brothers together even though these were all from "Pappy" and the legendary "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres" (check that last one out on Wikipedia), featuring both James Garner and Jack Kelly as Bret and Bart Maverick.
ReplyDeleteGarner appeared in fewer episodes than Kelly because Garner quit the show in a contract dispute. None of the attempted replacements worked out, so the last season had first-run episodes starring Jack Kelly, alternating with lots of reruns of Garner episodes.
ReplyDeleteBTW, several Warner Brothers/ABC TV stars quit after contract disputes, including Clint Walker (Cheyenne) and Wayde Preston (Colt .45).
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorite episodes were "Gunshy" (a spoof of Gunsmoke), "Three Queens Full" (a parody of Bonanza), and "Hadley's Hunters" (which had cameo appearances by most of Warner Brothers' TV Western stars).
ReplyDelete