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Tales of Wells Fargo (view source)
Revision as of 20:41, February 12, 2020
, 20:41, February 12, 2020Created page with " '''''Tales of Wells Fargo''''' is an American western television series starringOklahoma native Dayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson (1923-2013) that..."
'''''Tales of Wells Fargo''''' is an [[United States|American]] [[western]] [[television]] series starring[[Oklahoma]] native Dayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson (1923-2013) that aired on [[NBC]] for five and a half seasons from March 18, 1957, to June 2, 1962.
A Revue Production, the series was set in the 1870s and 1880s and filmed in Old Tucson, [[Arizona]]. It aired in a half-hour format with Robertson cast as Wells Fargo investigative agent Jim Hardie until its final season when it expanded to an hour, switched to color, and focused on Hardie's ranch near [[San Francisco]], [[California]]. In the last season, William Demarest (1892-1983), Virginia Christine (1920-1996), and Jack Ging (born 1931) joined the cast.<ref>{{IMDb title|0050066|Tales of Wells Fargo</ref>}}
==Premise==
The Jim Hardie character is based on a [[biography]] of Frederick J. "Fred" Dodge (1854-1938), a Wells Fargo detective who worked in Arizona, California, and [[Nevada]]. In the series story line, Hardie seemed to appear suddenly nearly anywhere in the West while engaged in Wells Fargo business.
Two other western series similarly focused on detectives. These programs, both syndicated, were ''Pony Express," which stars Grant Sullivan (1924-2011) as detective Brett Clark, which aired in the 1959-1960 season to coincide with the centennial of the [[Pony Express]]. Earlier, from 1954 to 1955, Jim Davis (1909-1981) had starred as railroad investigator Matt Clark in the syndicated ''Stories of the Century.'' Davis and Robertson each voiced the narration for their respective series. Robertson's narration was especially essential to the success of the series. He voiced a self-reliant, traditional, and wholesome message in his narrations always landing on the side of truth and justice.
And Robertson and Davis later landed roles in the 1980's prime-time soap operas, ''Dynasty' and ''Dallas,'' respectively.
Jim Hardie seemed to cross paths with nearly all of the well-known western "badmen" and occasional law enforcement officers, including
*Clay Allison (Warren Stevens)
*Sam Bass (Chuck Connors)
*Tom Bell (Edward Platt)
*[[Billy the Kid]] (Robert Vaughn)
*Butch Cassidy (Charles Bronson)
*Ike Clanton (Kelo Henderson)
*Kid Curry (Phillip Pine)
*The Daltons (Don Kelly, Harry Harvey, Jr., and Jeannette Nolan as their mother)n
*Robert "Bob" Ford (Bobby Jordan)
*Luke Frazer (Charles Quinlivan)
*John Wesley Hardin (Lyle Bettger)
*Pearl Hart (Beverly Garland)
*John H. "Doc" Holliday (Martin Landau)
*Tom Horn (Les Johnson)
*[[Jesse James]] (Hugh Beaumont)
*Bill Longley (Steve McQueen)
*Johnny Ringo (Paul Richards)
*Belle Starr (Jeanne Cooper)
*Ben Thompson (awman) (Don Megowan)
*Tiburcio Vasquez (Cesare Danova)
*Cole Younger (Royal Dano)<ref>{{tv.com show|tales-of-wells-fargo|Tales of Wells Fargo}}</ref>
In the 1957 [[Christmas]] episode entitled "Laredo" and set in [[Laredo]], [[Texas]], Jim Hardie must track gunrunners across the United States/[[Mexico|Mexican]] border, a quest which keeps him from spending the holiday with friends as he had intended.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0717163/|title=Laredo; Tales of Wells Fargo|publisher=Internet Movie Database|date= December 23, 1957|accessdate=February 12, 2020}}</ref>
===Other guest stars===
{{col-begin|width=54%}}
{{Col-2}}
* Nick Adams
* Claude Akins, five times, once as boxer John L. Sullivan
* Eddie Albert
* [[Chris Alcaide]]
* Morris Ankrum
* Roscoe Ates
* Roy Barcroft
* Dan Blocker
* Lane Bradford
* Edgar Buchanan
* James Coburn
* [[Russ Conway]]
* Ben Cooper
* Ellen Corby
* Walter Coy
* [[Dennis Cross]]
*Jim Davis
* John Dehner
* Buddy Ebsen
* Frank Ferguson
*Paul Fix, three times, once as General Philip Sheridan
* Anthony George
* Bruce Gordon
* Dabbs Greer
* Ron Hayes
* Anne Helm as Nellie Bly
* [[Peter Helm]]
{{Col-2}}
* DeForest Kelley
* Michael Landon, three times, twice as a Wells Fargo rider
* Tina Louise
* Barton MacLane
* Frank McGrath
* Robert Middleton, four times
* Ewing Mitchell
* [[Read Morgan]]
* Ed Nelson
* Jack Nicholson
* Leonard Nimoy
* Simon Oakland
* Warren Oates
* J. Pat O'Malley
* [[Gregg Palmer]], four times
* [[Dennis Patrick]]
* John M. Pickard
* Addison Richards as Lew Wallace, [[New Mexico]] territorial governor
* [[Quintin Sondergaard]]
* Guy Stockwel]
* [[Barbara Stuart]]
* Olive Sturgess
* Lee Van Cleef
*Adam West
* Peter Whitney
* Robert J. Wilke<ref>{{epguides|TalesofWellsFargo|Tales of Wells Fargo}}</ref>
{{Col-end}}
==Broadcast history==
The pilot for ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' premiered on December 14, 1956, as an episode, "A Tale of Wells Fargo," on the anthology series ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars,'' then on CBS.''
In the 1960-61 season, ''Wells Fargo'' was scheduled opposite ABC's detective serie, "Surfside 6" and [[CBS]]'s new sitcom ''Bringing Up Buddy,'' starring Frank Aletter. ''Wells Fargo'' and ''Surfside 6'' survived another year, but ''Bringing Up Buddy'' was cancelled. ''Wells Fargo'' was the lead-in that year to a new NBC western, ''Klondike,'' but that series, set in the [[gold rush]] town of [[Skagway, Alaska]], survived only seventeen episodes.
For its first two years, the series was in the top ten Nielsen Ratings, No. 3 in 1957-58 and No. 7 in 1958-59.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classictvhits.com/tvratings/1957.htm|title=TV Ratings: 1957-1958|publisher=classictvhits.com|accessdate=Feburary 12, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classictvhits.com/tvratings/1958.htm|title=TV Ratings: 1958-1959|publisher=classictvhits.com|accessdate=February 12, 2020}}</ref>
The series can still be seen weekdays on the GRIT cable television channel.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tales of Wells Fargo]]
[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:Westerns]]
[[Category:Greatest Conservative TV Shows]]