''Destry'' is a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

starring

John Gavin John A. Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–73), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–86). Among the films he appeared ...

that originally aired on ABC from February 14 until May 8, 1964. Destry was based on the classic James Stewart Western, ''

Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey ...

'', and a subsequent remake, '' Destry'', starring

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

. This series was a midseason replacement for ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

''.

Premise

In the original films the main character is Tom Destry, a Western lawman who is expert with a gun but still prefers to use non-violent means to settle problems with outlaws. In the television series John Gavin portrays Harrison Destry, son of Tom, who had been a lawman until he was framed for a crime and jailed. ''Destry'' therefore follows Harrison after his release from prison as he wanders the West in search of the people who framed him. As in the earlier feature films, many comedic situations arise as Destry goes to great lengths to avoid violence whenever troubles confront him. Gavin, in describing his character, stated, "To Destry, a hero is a man who thinks slower than a coward. While his father died with his boots on, Destry believes it is better to live with his boots on."

Episodes

Production

In October 1963, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that ''Destry'' would be rushed into production to use John Gavin. The new series was assigned the broadcast timeslot of the recently cancelled ''

''. Some of the guest stars cast for ''Destry'' included

Chris Alcaide John Thomas Berger (October 22, 1923 – June 30, 2004) was an American film and television actor. He mostly appeared on western television shows including, ''Gunsmoke'', ''Bonanza'', '' Rawhide'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', ''Trackdown'', ...

Med Flory Meredith Irwin Flory, known professionally as Med Flory (August 27, 1926 – March 12, 2014), was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and actor. Early years Flory was born in Logansport, Indiana, United States. His mother was an organist a ...

Ron Hayes Ronald G. Hayes (February 26, 1929 – October 1, 2004) was an American television actor who, as an activist in the environmental movement, worked for the establishment of the first Earth Day, observed on April 22, 1970. He was a member of t ...

Roger Mobley Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, Susan Oliver, Stuart Randall, Barbara Stuart, and

Olive Sturgess Olive Sturgess (born October 8, 1933) is a Canadian former actress who worked in films, television shows, and theatre in the 1950s and 1960s. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Sturgess. Leonard hosted his own radio show. She came to Hollywood ...

. Gavin in his role as the son of Tom Destry, was the fifth actor to play the character "Destry", following the film stars

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

, James Stewart, Audie Murphy, and

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

. In a 1963 interview, Gavin described the character's personality and reflected on the role's importance within the context of his acting career:

When I came to Universal, they were making 40 pictures a year. I walked through the gate, was given a contract, and immediately the number of pictures dropped to eight or nine a year. I'm not complaining because I was given good roles... roles with scope and breadth. But I wish I could have been put in 40 or 50 roles before making my 'first' picture, do you know what I mean? Doing a series now is like putting the cart before the horse. I'm glad to be doing 'Destry' now though because of the experience. My gosh, I've shot more film in the last five weeks than I have in my entire life... It's a role I can play with a great deal of naivete. Destry is the sort of man who if he sees trouble will ride around it. He says the difference between a hero and a coward is that a coward can think faster.... Hopefully Destry is not always a fool or a clown. He's wandering the west for a few years and he's pretty wise, not brilliant or intelligent but he's been kicked in the head a few times and he knows what's going on.

Reception

During the original broadcast of the series, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' described ''Destry'' as "lacklustre...a routine, second-grade hoss opry", while ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' judged it to be the "pedestrian telling of an awkward adventure". Television audiences apparently agreed with those assessments, for ''Destry'' never attracted a sizable audience and was cancelled after just 13 episodes. Gavin blamed that lack of success, at least in part, to the departure of the network executive who had commissioned the show.

Home media

On September 6, 2011,

Timeless Media Group Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released ''Destry- The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1.

References

Additional reading

* McNeil, Alex. ''Total Television''. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. * Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle. ''The Complete Directory To Primetime Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–present''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999.

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0057743, Destry 1960s Western (genre) television series 1964 American television series debuts 1964 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Live action television shows based on films Television series by Universal Television