TV Westerns of the 50s & 60s - Part III Quiz

Answer: Andy Devine

Andy Devine (1905-1977) was an American character actor who had a raspy voice which became his trademark. He was active in movies from 1928 - 1973.

Surprisingly he was a competent football player while at Santa Clara University and went on to play semi-pro football. However, he is best remembered in his latter years as a rotund comic.

Answer: Rusty

Rusty was orphaned when his parents were killed in an indian raid. He and his dog were taken in and adopted by the troops of Fort Apache (Arizona). Rusty and his German Shepherd dog, Rin Tin Tin became part of the troop and assisted in helping the troops maintain law and order in the area.

Lee William Aaker appeared in a number of TV shows and movies in the 1950s but never really made the transition from child actor to adult actor.

Answer: Hugh O'Brian

Hugh O'Brian (b.1925) is best known for this role but also made guest appearances on a number of TV shows. He made a number of movies but usually as a supporting actor. He was the last person that John Wayne ever shot on the cinema in Wayne's last movie "The Shootist". O'Brian was a close friend of John Wayne and thought that this was an honour.
Pat Conway played Clay Hollister in "Tombstone Territory" and Gene Barry portrayed Bat Masterton in the series of the same name. John Russell played Marshal Dan Troop in "Lawman".

Answer: Dick Powell

The show was a western anthology series and was originally based on the short stories and novels of the western author, Zane Grey. The full title of the series was "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre". Dick Powell (1904-1963) was a versatile actor by starting out as a musical comedy performer and then later featuring in roles as a dramatic actor. He acted in movies from 1932 - 1954 and also directed four feature movies.

Lowell Thomas was a broadcaster, writer and traveller who introduced the world to T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) when he heard about his exploits during WWI. Fonda and Stewart appeared in many western movies during the 40s, 50s and 60s.

Answer: State Trooper

"State Trooper" starred Rod Cameron (1910-1983) as Rod Blake was a crime drama set in the American West in the 1950s. Many from Hollywood guested on the show
including Angie Dickinson, James Coburn, Mike Connors, Michael Landon, Lee Van Cleef, Robert Vaughn and Carolyn Jones just to name a few.

Answer: Robert Fuller

Both Fuller and John Smith (Slim Sherman) starred in al 121 episodes. Robert Crawford Jr played Andy Sherman and Hoagy Carmichael played Jonesy.

Robert Fuller (b.1933) spent five decades in television and also had starring roles in "Wagon Train" as Cooper Smith and in the medical drama "Emergency" as Dr. Kelly Brackett.

Answer: He was only ever known as The Virginian

Throughout the nine seasons of the show the character was only known as The Virginian. As the foreman of the Shiloh Ranch his real name was never revealed so this added mystery and intrigue to the character. This was the first western series that ran for 90 minutes (including 15 minutes for commercial breaks). In the last season of the series it was known as "The Men from Shiloh".

In the series Trampas was played by Doug McClure and the Judge Garth was played by Lee J. Cobb. The role of Deputy Sheriff Emmett Ryker was played by Clu Gulager.

Answer: Fess Parker

Before the "Daniel Boone" series, Fess Parker (1924-2010) also played Davy Crockett in a Walt Disney mini-series (1955-1956). Parker retired from acting in 1974 and devoted his time to his winery business called the Fess Parker Family Winery and Vineyards in Los Olivos, California. George O'Brien played Daniel Boone in the movie of the same name in 1936. John Wayne played Davy Crockett in the 1960 movie "The Alamo". Clint Walker played Cheyenne Bodie in the series "Cheyenne".

Answer: Artemus Gordon

West and Gordon were Secret Service Agents working for the government in the Old West equipped with all sorts of gizmos and gadgets. Gordon was also the
master of disguise. Martin (1920-1981) was born in Poland and played Andamo in the TV series "Mr. Lucky" (1959-1960). He played the character Baron Rolfe von Struppe in the 1965 movie "The Great Race" and the character Andre Fodor in the movie "Conquest of Space" (1955).

Answer: Named after the local shrub in the area

In the first episode, Annelee Cannon asked Big John the name of the green shrub that adorned the area. He said chaparral. Her response was then we will call this ranch The High Chaparral. Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant. Annelee Cannon was killed in the first episode which was a 2 hour pilot program.

The cast also included Cameron Mitchell (Buck Cannon), Mark Slade (Billy Boy), Henry Darrow (Manolito Montoya) and Linda Cristal (Victoria Cannon).

Victoria Cannon was Big John Cannon's second.