Western Series


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

Westerns describe series featuring recurring characters usually situated in the early American frontier.

Highlights
James Garner on starring on the series Maverick
17:33
James Arness on the concept of Gunsmoke as the first TV Western geared more to adults than children, and on the process of filming an episode 
03:14
Barbara Eden on one of her first television jobs, on Gunsmoke
00:58
Fred Silverman on how CBS Chair William S. Paley insisted on keeping his favorite show, Gunsmoke, on the air
01:00
Thomas W. Sarnoff on NBC's development of Bonanza 
04:41
Meta Rosenberg on developing Daniel Boone
01:13
Who talked about this genre

Howard Anderson, Jr.

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Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening titles for Daniel Boone
00:56
Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening titles for Little House on the Prairie  and working on Bonanza
02:13

John Aniston

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John Aniston on guest-starring on The Virginian
04:51

James Arness

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James Arness on the concept of Gunsmoke as the first TV Western geared more to adults than children, and on the process of filming an episode 
03:14
James Arness on the amount of violence on Gunsmoke
01:42
James Arness on actor Milburn Stone, who played "Doc" on Gunsmoke, who was very important in setting the tone of the show, as he had grown up in a western town; on the character of Matt Dillon
02:42
James Arness on playing "Marshall Matt Dillon" on Gunsmoke
30:42
James Arness on How the West Was Won
04:54
James Arness on doing several Gunsmoke reunion movies
07:23

John Astin

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John Astin on appearing on Maverick
02:16

Richard L. Bare

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Richard L. Bare on working with producer Roy Huggins on the TV show, Cheyenne
08:41
Richard L. Bare on directing Clint Walker in Cheyenne
05:23
Richard L. Bare on working with Bill Orr on the show Cheyenne
09:25
Richard L. Bare on directing Maverick
08:11
Richard L. Bare on his working style with Roy Huggins on The Virginian
03:50

Earl Bellamy

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Earl Bellamy on directing Annie Oakley
01:50
Earl Bellamy on directing The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
01:47
Earl Bellamy on directing Mike Hammer and The Lone Ranger
06:13
Earl Bellamy on directing Wagon Train
01:30
Earl Bellamy on directing U.S. Marshall and Rawhide
06:01
Earl Bellamy on directing Laramie and Laredo
02:53
Earl Bellamy on directing The Virginian, and on filming stunts for Westerns
05:32
Earl Bellamy on directing Daniel Boone
02:14

William Blinn

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William Blinn on the elements and formula of Westerns on television, the "horse-operas" and on the quality of Gunsmoke
05:10
William Blinn on his earliest television writing jobs for the westerns Maverick, Laramie, Rawhide, and others
03:15
William Blinn on being hired to be on the writing staff of Bonanza, and on learning from the older writers there
05:34
William Blinn on writing for Bonanza
04:29

Haskell Boggs

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Haskell Boggs on acting as director of photography for Bonanza
01:42
Haskell Boggs on acting as director of photography on Bonanza
27:41
Haskell Boggs on acting as director of photography on Bonanza
14:50
Haskell Boggs on acting as director or photography on The High Chaparral
01:21
Haskell Boggs on acting as director of photography for Bonanza and on working with Michael Landon on Highway to Heaven
12:16

Tom Bosley

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Tom Bosley on guest-starring on The Virginian and Bonanza
04:07

Harvey Bullock

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Harvey Bullock on writing for The Real McCoys with  Walter Brennan 
01:10

David Canary

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David Canary on his recurring role as "Candy Canaday" on Bonanza
28:35
David Canary on acting in Western roles
02:24

Philip Carey

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Phil Carey on the challenges of acting in a western
01:38

Leo Chaloukian

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Leo Chaloukian on the challenges of doing sound for Gunsmoke
02:28

Irma Kalish with Emerson College

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Rocky and Irma Kalish on the popularity of westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s, on being prolific writers, and the kind of people who write comedy
02:56
Rocky and Irma Kalish on the popularity of westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s, on being prolific writers, and the kind of people who write comedy
02:56

Robert Conrad

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Robert Conrad on auditioning for The Wild, Wild West
02:33
Robert Conrad on his character "James T. West" on The Wild, Wild West
01:38
Robert Conrad on The Wild, Wild West stunts
06:33
Robert Conrad on the violence on The Wild, Wild West
01:46
Robert Conrad on the legacy of The Wild, Wild West
01:04

John Conte

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John Conte on guest-starring on Bonanza
01:55

Richard Coogan

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Richard Coogan on playing "Matthew Wayne" in The Californians
08:21

Hal Cooper

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Hal Cooper on directing Death Valley Days
12:57

Jeanne Cooper

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Jeanne Cooper on working on Western series television
17:20

Richard Crenna

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Richard Crenna on playing "Luke McCoy" on The Real McCoys
09:52
Richard Crenna on playing "Luke McCoy" on The Real McCoys
18:37

Robert Culp

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Robert Culp on the Western genre
03:11
Robert Culp on writing for the Western genre
01:59
Robert Culp on writing and starring in Trackdown
13:17
Robert Culp on meeting and working with Sam Peckinpah on The Westerner episode "Line Camp"
11:09

Ossie Davis

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Ossie Davis on guest-starring on Bonanza with Michael Landon
01:12

John Debney

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John Debney on composing for The Young Riders
06:08

Richard Donner

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Richard Donner on directing Wanted: Dead or Alive
12:26
Richard Donner on directing the series Wagon Train
07:56
Richard Donner on directing Have Gun, Will Travel
03:32

David Dortort

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David Dortort on writing and producing The Restless Gun  
24:13
David Dortort on creating and writing Bonanza
29:09
David Dortort on creating and writing for Bonanza
28:06
David Dortort on creating and writing for Bonanza
23:13
David Dortort on creating The High Chaparral
06:14
David Dortort on creating the Bonanza prequel Ponderosa 
02:52

Charles S. Dubin

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Charles S. Dubin on directing The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Virginian, The Meanest Man in the West, Tarzan, and The Big Valley
03:34

Barbara Eden

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Barbara Eden on one of her first television jobs, on Gunsmoke
00:58
Barbara Eden on guest-starring on Rawhide
01:48

Peter Ellenshaw

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Peter Ellenshaw on working as a matte artist on Davy Crockett
01:23
Harrison Ellenshaw on his father working on Davy Crockett
03:27

Jeannie Epper

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Jeannie Epper on being Linda Evans' stunt double on The Big Valley and still maintaining a home life
04:32

Rod Erickson

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Rod Erickson on working on Hopalong Cassidy
04:32

George Faber

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George Faber on doing publicity for Gunsmoke
00:28

Dorothy Fontana

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Dorothy Fontana on the first story she sold for television on The Tall Man
01:19
Dorothy Fontana briefly on writing scripts for Shotgun Slade and Frontier Circus
02:25
Dorothy Fontana on writing three scripts for Bonanza
01:10
Dorothy Fontana on writing for The Big Valley
02:15
Dorothy Fontana on writing for Here Come the Brides
01:03

Chuck Fries

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Chuck Fries on Ziv Television producing The Cisco Kid
05:54

Arthur Gardner

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Arthur Gardner on the genre of Westerns in the late 50's
00:44
Arthur Gardner on the number of episodes and production schedule of The Big Valley
02:00
Arthur Gardner on his involvement in the TV show The Rifleman
08:57

James Garner

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James Garner on starring on the series Maverick
17:53
James Garner on acting on the series Maverick
12:58
James Garner on acting on the series Nichols
07:53
James Garner on almost being cast in the title role of Cheyenne
01:19

Betty Garrett

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Betty Garrett on guest-starring on Harts of the West with Beau Bridges
01:52

Herschel Burke Gilbert

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Herschel Burke Gilbert on composing for The Rifleman
04:11
Herschel Burke Gilbert on composing for features produced by Levy-Gardner-Laven, and on them going into television with The Rifleman
06:44
Herschel Burke Gilbert on supervising the music for Black Saddles
02:33
Herschel Burke Gilbert on supervising the music for The Westerner, directed by Sam Peckinpah
01:40
Herschel Burke Gilbert on supervising the music for Dick Powell's Zane Gray Theatre, and for various other Four Star shows
04:17
Herschel Burke Gilbert on supervising music for The Wild Wild West and Rawhide
06:52

Sandra Gimpel

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Sandra Gimpel on being the stunt coordinator and second unit director on Harts of the West
04:12

Leonard H. Goldenson

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Leonard H. Goldenson on ABC's success with Westerns
05:03

Jerry Goldsmith

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Jerry Goldsmith on being under contract for FOX and composing music for The Loner
02:15

Earle Hagen

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Earle Hagen on using library music for Guestward Ho!
00:45

Earl Hamner, Jr.

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Earl Hamner on developing the show The Young Pioneers
02:00

Jeffrey Hayden

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Jeffrey Hayden on his affinity for the western genre, having directed for such series as The Men from Shiloh and Alias Smith and Jones
00:42
Jeffrey Hayden on the difficulty in location shooting on Alias Smith and Jones
00:42

Albert Heschong

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Albert Heschong on returning to CBS and art directing various shows including Gunsmoke and Pete and Gladys
03:39
Albert Heschong on being hired on Gunsmoke as the production designer
10:39
Albert Heschong on art directing for The Wild Wild West and Hawaii Five-O
06:58
Albert Heschong on being involved with creating special effects on shows, and on some memorable effects from The Wild Wild West
01:48

Arthur Hiller

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Arthur Hiller on directing Gunsmoke
03:51
Arthur Hiller on directing The Rifleman
03:52
Arthur Hiller on directing The Rifleman
04:18
Arthur Hiller on directing Gunsmoke starring James Arness
07:53

Lee Holdridge

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Lee Holdridge on an experience on the music scoring stage for a Hec Ramsey TV movie
02:27
Lee Holdridge on scoring episodes of Hec Ramsey
01:28

Roy Huggins

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Roy Huggins on writing and producing Cheyenne
04:05
Roy Huggins on writing Cheyenne
12:11
Roy Huggins on creating Maverick
13:51
Roy Huggins on creating Maverick (Part 2)
24:18
Roy Huggins on leaving Maverick
02:17
Roy Huggins on creating The Fugitive 
11:03
Roy Huggins on writing and producing The Virginian 
02:05

Kim Hunter

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Kim Hunter on working with Clint Eastwood on Rawhide
01:14

Frank Inn

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Frank Inn on acting as animal trainer for The Roy Rogers Show
04:03

Seaman Jacobs

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Seaman Jacobs on writing for The Real McCoys
05:22

Alan Jaggs

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Alan Jaggs on editing The Wild, Wild West
01:50

Joseph Jennings

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Joseph Jennings on acting as art director for The Wild, Wild West starring Robert Conrad
05:53
Joseph Jennings on acting as art director for The Wild, Wild West
05:34
Joseph Jennings on being art director for Gunsmoke
23:06

Geri Jewell

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Geri Jewell on how she came to be cast on Deadwood
07:35
Geri Jewell on her character on Deadwood, "Jewel," and the fact that she wrote "Jewel's" backstory
08:15
On working with her castmates on Deadwood and a particularly challenging scene where she had to dance
03:40
Geri Jewell on the Deadwood episode "Jewel's Boot Is Made for Walking"
05:56
Geri Jewell on how she learned that Deadwood had been cancelled and her career following the cancellation
04:28

Lamont Johnson

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Lamont Johnson on directing several episodes of Have Gun - Will Travel and Naked City
06:26
Lamont Johnson on directing various western series and features
04:41

Russell Johnson

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Russell Johnson on appearing in early television Westerns as the "heavy"
03:28

Rita Lakin

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Rita Lakin on writing the Daniel Boone episode "The Reunion"
03:02

Richard Lewis

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Richard Lewis on producing Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars and Tales of Wells Fargo
02:04
Richard Lewis on producing Wagon Train
10:55
Richard Lewis on producing Wagon Train
06:03
Richard Lewis on producing Laramie, Riverboat and various other shows
11:28
Richard Lewis on testifying to Congress about violence in television Westerns
02:33

A.C. Lyles

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A.C. Lyles on the terminology of the Western genre, and on the cultural importance of the Western
02:49
A.C. Lyles on associate producing Rawhide
11:06
A.C. Lyles on why he liked working in the Western genre, and on working with John Wayne and John Ford
05:42
A.C. Lyles on Michael Landon doubling DeForest Kelley on Rawhide
04:08

Leslie H. Martinson

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Leslie H. Martinson on directing The Roy Rogers Show
02:00
Leslie H. Martinson on directing The Roy Rogers Show (Part 2)
17:55
Leslie H. Martinson on directing Maverick  and winning an Emmy
12:48
Leslie H. Martinson on directing Cheyenne
02:17
Leslie H. Martinson on directing Tales of Wells Fargo
06:03
Leslie H. Martinson on directing Colt .45
02:18
Leslie H. Martinson on directing Bronco and The Lawman
03:02

Kent McCray

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Kent McCray on being production manager for Bonanza
04:46
Kent McCray on associate producing The High Chaparral
09:09
Kent McCray on the decline of the western as a television genre, and on the end of Bonanza
05:19
Kent McCray on working on Bonanza and The High Chaparral
20:12
Kent McCray on working on Little House on the Prairie, Father Murphy, and Highway to Heaven
40:40

David Milch

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David Milch on creating and writing Deadwood   (Part 1) 
24:31
David Milch on co-creating and writing Deadwood (Part 2)
08:32

Nolan Miller

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Nolan Miller on working for Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
05:00
Nolan Miller on designing for Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck on Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
05:46

Ricardo Montalban

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Ricardo Montalban on his Emmy-winning performance as an American Indian in How the West was Won (1978)
03:54

Thomas W. Moore

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Thomas W. Moore on programming and developing The Real McCoys
02:25

Diana Muldaur

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Diana Muldaur on working on Gunsmoke
02:07

Hal Needham

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Hal Needham on his early stunt work on Have Gun Will Travel
03:50
Hal Needham on doing stunts for Gunsmoke, The Wild, Wild West and Wells Fargo
07:15

Anne Nelson

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Anne Nelson on doing the deal for Gunsmoke
03:16

Hugh O'Brian

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Hugh O'Brian on getting the starring role in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
28:46
Hugh O'Brian on his co-stars on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp; on fan mail he received and why the show went off the air
09:09
Hugh O'Brian on his favorite episodes of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp; on the violence on the program and the show's legacy
06:36
Hugh O'Brian on reprising the role of Wyatt Earp in Paradise
01:54

Fess Parker

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Fess Parker on starring in Davy Crockett
15:17
Fess Parker on starring in Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone
28:51
Fess Parker on starring on Davy Crockett
29:29
Fess Parker on starring on Davy Crockett
14:19
Fess Parker on starring on Daniel Boone
12:13

Pam Polifroni

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Pam Polifroni on casting Gunsmoke
22:24

Frances Reid

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Frances Reid on appearing on several episodes of Wagon Train and on working on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:22

Del Reisman

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Del Reisman on Hotel De Paree
00:53
Del Reisman on working on Rawhide during its last years
05:00

John Rich

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John Rich on directing Gunsmoke
16:09
John Rich on directing Gunsmoke and James Arness
01:43

Rita Riggs

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Rita Riggs on saving the Universal costume stock, and on costuming for various westerns
05:56

Meta Rosenberg

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Meta Rosenberg on developing Daniel Boone
01:13
Meta Rosenberg on developing the series Nichols for James Garner
04:22
Meta Rosenberg on producing Nichols for James Garner
05:56

Barney Rosenzweig

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Barney Rosenzweig on taking over as producer of Daniel Boone in its fourth season
05:08
Barney Rosenzweig on why he's proud of his work on Daniel Boone
02:12
Barney Rosenzweig on how he transformed Daniel Boone in its fourth season (by "introverting" the show)
10:52

Marion Ross

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Marion Ross on her guest roles (and stunts) on Rawhide
01:23

Joseph Sargent

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Joseph Sargent on directing Gunsmoke
02:50
Joseph Sargent on directing Gunsmoke  (Part 2)
09:17

William Schallert

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William Schallert on working on TV Westerns
01:45

William Self

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William Self on developing The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Daniel Boone, and 12 O'Clock High
03:57

Ralph Senensky

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Ralph Senensky on directing The Wild, Wild West starring Robert Conrad
02:57

David Shaw

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David Shaw on writing for The Defenders and Shane
01:25

Sid Sheinberg

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Sid Sheinberg on shepherding various shows at Universal Television including The Virginian and Wagon Train
04:02

James Sheldon

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James Sheldon on learning how to direct a Western television show while directing Zane Grey Theater
01:47
James Sheldon on directing The Virginian
01:27

Doris Singleton

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Doris Singleton on working on Frontier Doctor with Rex Allen
00:47
Doris Singleton on working on Gunsmoke
01:18

Howard Smit

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Howard Smit on doing makeup for The Virginian
09:01

Herbert F. Solow

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Herbert F. Solow on how Bonanza was shot in color
00:33

Lynn Stalmaster

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Lynn Stalmaster on casting Gunsmoke
04:30
Lynn Stalmaster on casting Sam Peckinpah's The Westerner starring Brian Keith
02:06

Fred Steiner

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Fred Steiner on composing for Gunsmoke
05:21
Fred Steiner on scoring several episodes of Bonanza
00:42
Fred Steiner on scoring several episodes of Hec Ramsey
03:19
Fred Steiner on scoring O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
02:00

Richard Thomas

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Richard Thomas on appearing on Bonanza
02:05

Daniel J. Travanti

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Daniel J. Travanti on his guest appearances on Gunsmoke
03:58

Clint Walker

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Clint Walker on winning the starring role in Cheyenne; on the setting, premise, and theme song  
05:14
Clint Walker on his approach to playing "Cheyenne Bodie"; on the ins and outs of the character, and shooting the first episode of Cheyenne
13:41
Clint Walker on Cheyenne being one of the first successful Westerns; on Westerns as a format
03:48
Clint Walker on his ensemble, format, guest stars, and stunts on Cheyenne; on a typical production day
27:33
Clint Walker on the producers, directors, and showrunners on Cheyenne; on shooting on location and on the backlot; on how he stayed in shape
09:41
Clint Walker on Ty Hardin becoming the lead in Cheyenne when Walker had a contract dispute and Hardin spinning off in Bronco
09:17
Clint Walker on the popularity and subsequent demise of television Westerns
00:51
Clint Walker on favorite episodes, storylines, and fan reactions to Cheyenne
09:53

George Watters

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George Watters on working with Frank Pierson on Have Gun, Will Travel
00:59
George Watters on editing Rawhide
03:25
George Watters on his first job as an editor on Rawhide, starring Clint Eastwood and the challenges of editing a western
07:11
George Watters on editing The High Chapparal and Bonanza for producer David Dortort
08:33

Dennis Weaver

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Dennis Weaver on how the western genre will always be with us
00:30
Dennis Weaver on playing "Chester" on Gunsmoke
11:40
Dennis Weaver on playing "Chester" on Gunsmoke
16:16
Dennis Weaver on appearing in Lonesome Dove: The Series
01:11
Dennis Weaver on appearing in The Virginian
02:27

Adam West

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Actor Adam West on his first TV appearance on Colt .45
01:22

Frederic Ziv

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Frederic Ziv on the premiere of Cisco Kid, his first original programming for television
18:14
Frederic Ziv on producing Bat Masterson starring Gene Barry
02:01