When the West was TV's Best
What an era for Old West entertainment the extended Fifties was! (Extended meaning the cultural fifties from 1953-65.) With the memory help of my brother, Greg, (Rogers 65) we concocted a quick list of 14 popular programs that dominated television of that time. I have a 2-CD set of Songs of the West, and most of the songs contained are theme
songs from shows such as Johnny Yuma, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Wyatt Earp, Maverick, Wagon Train, and Bonanza.
James Arness was probably the most popular star of them all. William Conrad, who was the voice of Marshal Dillon on radio, would not have worked on TV if you know Conrad's appearance, built more like Andy Devine as the marshal in "Liberty Valance." Arness was tall, rugged, very manly, the personification of what a Western lawman should be--a body so big he was "The Thing" in the sci-fi movie of that name. (Note: contrary to popular opinion, "The Thing" was not Arness' first role. He played a GI in the 1948 war movie, "Battleground.")
Rawhide's best feature was Frankie Laine's singing of the theme song. No one, to my knowledge, has tried to duplicate it. Frankie might have been an Italian from the East, but he sure could sing Western songs with the right flair. Think of his "Mule Train," as another example. I have no memory of who was in Rawhide, other than Clint Eastwood, who
played a character with the perfect cowboy name, "Rowdy." Eastwood was, and still is, a guy women go for. So it was with my mom. She nearly swooned when Eastwood was in a scene.Of all the TV Westerns, Rawhide was probably the best of the two most-identifiable Western images-- cowboys and cattle.
"Wagon Train," had to be the other most realistic. With wagon masters John McIntyre, followed by Ward Bond, it was a must-see Western. An hour long, it always had a good story and one of the best theme songs. The theme was so picture-in-your-mind perfect that you could listen to it and see plodding oxen pulling a heavy covered wagon over the prairie.
I didn't particularly go for the shoot-em-ups: Rifleman, Johnny Yuma, Wanted Dead or Alive. Have Gun, Will Travel was a semi shoot-em-up...much more sophisticated, one with a neat twist. Pock-marked, rugged-faced Richard Boone played Paladin (Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam? Another great theme). Paladin passed out calling cards with a chess Trojan piece on it with the "have gun, will travel" sales line. He was based in San Francisco, a city of gentlemen, as Western cities went in those days, who would travel anywhere to do justice where the law wouldn't or couldn't.
Another Western of a sophisticate was Maverick. Too sophisticated for me, but my dad sure liked it. It was more appealing to the adult, more educated audience, I recall. Not a good kid show. James Garner had a very telegenic face and manner, though, the kind of guy one would feel comfortable around.
The standby regulars...Cisco Kid, Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers. Kid stuff. For the Texans and pseudo-Texans, "Stories of the Texas Rangers." Not for me.
Bonanza---interesting collection of an all-male family with a character for nearly every age and interest appeal. The Cartwright family, with the patrician, Ben Cartwright. Such an honest-looking stalwart that he went on to pitch insurance schemes on TV in his later years. The homely but lovable, teddy-bear character, "Hoss," played by Dan Blocker. (Could the name "Blocker" for a man his size be a stage name? Had to be.) The character Adam, for the women. Too handsome for description. Michael Landon as "Little Joe." who went on to have his own TV family on the later "Little House on the Prairie," popular in the mushy, sentimental 70s.
Remember the 1950s "Death Valley Days," with "The Old Ranger?" Remember that haunting, trudging mules theme song at the end of each show? Remember the guy who introduced the show, the Old Ranger...the one with the white hair and mustache? Much more convincing than his replacement, Ronald Reagan. The original OR made the show seem like it actually came from Death Valley. Reagan made it seem like just another studio show. It wasn't the same, and didn't last.
And then there was "Wyatt Earp," with that corny theme song and played by the too handsome Hugh O'Brian, looking nothing like the real Earp. That show embarrassed me so much, the theme in particular, that I didn't watch it, cringed if that song was on when I was with anyone else. "Wyatt" used to be an unusual name, and it never failed that every single time someone met me, they would have to relate my name to Wyatt Earp and make some, what they considered, a joke about the name. People no longer do that, since the name is more common, but if people don't hear me when I give them my name, I will say, "Wyatt, as in "Earp." How time can reverse matters.
Even thought the shows had to, by popular script and expectations, guns, the men who used them were good male role models, in one way or another employing superman goals of "fighting for truth, justice and the American way." Surely better role models than kids have today on most TV shows or worse, the NBA.
- Wyatt Newman