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''The Californians'' is a half-hour
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 television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, set during the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
of the 1850s, which was broadcast by
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
from September 24, 1957, to May 26, 1959, for 69 episodes.


Cast

The series was set in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
Adam Kennedy Adam Thomas Kennedy (born January 10, 1976) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Washington National ...
starred in the first year in early episodes as Dion Patrick, an
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
man who helps the local
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
committee. Season one episodes also featured
Sean McClory Séan Joseph McClory (8 March 1924 – 10 December 2003) was an Irish actor whose career spanned six decades and included well over 100 films and television series. He was sometimes billed as Shawn McGlory or Sean McGlory. Early years M ...
as store owner Jack McGivern, who headed the vigilante committee and
Nan Leslie Nanette June Leslie (June 4, 1926 – July 30, 2000) was an American actress. She was known for playing Martha McGivern in the American western television series '' The Californians''. Life and career Leslie was born in Los Angeles, Cali ...
as his wife, Martha McGivern. Early season one episodes featured
Herbert Rudley Herbert Rudley (March 22, 1910 – September 9, 2006) was an American character actor who appeared on stage, films and on television. Early life Rudley was born in 1910 in Philadelphia and attended Temple University. He left Temple after winnin ...
as newspaper editor Sam Brennan but Jack McGivern later took over the newspaper. Due to sagging ratings,
Richard Coogan Richard Charles Potter Coogan (April 4, 1914 – March 12, 2014) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Captain Video in ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' from 1949 to 1950. Career Born in Madison, New Jersey, Coogan worked ...
was brought in in later season one episodes; his introduction boosted ratings, and led to the departure of Kennedy and McCrory. In season two, Coogan stars as Matthew Wayne, a
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
and then
marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
who organizes the city police, courts a young
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
, Wilma Fansler, portrayed by
Carole Mathews Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmothe ...
, and clashes with an ambitious attorney, Jeremy Pitt, played by Art Fleming, later the original host of ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
''. At the end of season two, Matt departs when the vigilante committee becomes active again, and the last episode has James Coburn as Matt's cousin, Anthony "(Pittsburgh)" Wayne, taking over as deputy marshal and series lead; however, the show was not renewed for a third season.


Guest stars

*
Charles Aidman Charles Leonard Aidman (January 21, 1925 – November 7, 1993) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Early life Aidman was born in Frankfort, Indiana, the son of George E. and Etta (Kwitny) Aidman. Aidman graduated from Frank ...
*
Frank Albertson Francis Healey Albertson (February 2, 1909 – February 29, 1964) was an American actor who had supporting roles in films such as ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) and '' Psycho'' (1960). Early life Albertson was a native of Fergus Falls ...
*
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 ...
*
Fred Aldrich Fred Aldrich (December 23, 1904 – January 25, 1979) was an American character actor of both film and television. Born in New York. He would break into the film industry in 1939, appearing in two films that year in small roles: ''My Son Is ...
*
John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...
* John Archer *
R.G. Armstrong Robert Golden Armstrong Jr. (April 7, 1917 – July 27, 2012) was an American character actor and playwright. A veteran performer who appeared in dozens of Westerns during his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with directo ...
*
Rayford Barnes Rayford Barnes (October 23, 1920 – November 11, 2000) was an American film and TV character actor from Whitesboro, Texas. Early years Barnes was born in Dallas, Texas, and attended the University of Texas. He acted in plays at the universit ...
*
Whit Bissell Whitner Nutting Bissell (October 25, 1909 – March 5, 1996) was an American character actor. Early life Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell and Helen Nutting Bissell. He was educated at the Allen-S ...
*
Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...
*
Willis Bouchey Willis Ben Bouchey (May 24, 1907 – September 27, 1977) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films and television shows. He was born in Vernon, Michigan, but raised by his mother and stepfather in Washington state. ...
*
George Brenlin George Henry Bredlinger (October 10, 1927 – August 21, 1986) was an American film and television actor. He was known for his starring role of Weasel Martin in the 1957 film ''Young and Dangerous''. Brenlin was born in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. ...
*
Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...
*
James T. Callahan James Callahan may refer to: Sports * James Callahan (ice hockey), founder of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925 *Nixey Callahan (1874–1934), also known as Jimmy Callahan, baseball pitcher and manager * Jim Callahan (baseball) (1881–1968), basebal ...
* James Coburn *
Fred Coby Frederick G. Beckner Jr. (March 1, 1916 – September 27, 1970) was an American character actor born in California. He was known for playing Pony Deal in the American western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'', which starre ...
*
Mike Connors Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975, a role which earne ...
*
Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's '' Dud ...
*
Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one ...
* Bill Coontz * Robert O. Cornthwaite * Ted de Corsia *
Robert L. Crawford, Jr. Robert Lawrence Crawford Jr. (born May 13, 1944) is an American actor who portrayed the character Andy Sherman on the NBC television series '' Laramie'' in 1959 and 1960. He was cast as the younger brother of Slim Sherman, portrayed by John Sm ...
*
Frank Dekova Frank de Kova (March 17, 1910 – October 15, 1981) was an American character actor in films, stage, and TV. Biography De Kova was born in New York City. He was a teacher at a school in New York before joining a Shakespeare repertory group. He ...
*
Troy Donahue Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor and singer. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Born in New York City, Donahue was ...
*
John Doucette John Arthur Doucette (January 21, 1921 – August 16, 1994) was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he ...
*
Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...
*
Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...
* Robert Fuller * Bruce Gordon *
Herman Hack Herman H. Hackenjos (June 15, 1899 – October 19, 1967) was an American film and television actor who appeared in over 500 films. Hack was born in Panola, Illinois. His screen debut was in the 1925 film ''The Big Parade'', which starred Joh ...
*
Don Haggerty Don Haggerty (July 3, 1914 – August 19, 1988) was an American actor of film and television. Early life and education Before he began appearing in films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University athlete and served in the United States Army ...
* James Hong *
Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in ''Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in '' Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, o ...
*
Allyn Joslyn Allyn Joslyn (July 21, 1901 – January 21, 1981) was an American stage, radio, television and film actor, known for his roles playing aristocratic wealthy snobs. Biography Allyn Joslyn was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the son of a mining en ...
*
Robert Karnes Robert Anthony Karnes (June 19, 1917 – December 4, 1979) was an American film, stage and television actor. Life and career Karnes was born in Kentucky. He served in World War II, where he had interest into acting and going to Hollywood, Cal ...
*
Stacy Keach, Sr. Walter Stacy Keach Sr. (May 29, 1914 – February 13, 2003), known professionally as Stacy Keach Sr. was an American actor whose screen career spanned more than five decades. Biography Keach was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was of English des ...
*
Ray Kellogg Edgar Ray Kellogg (November 15, 1905 – July 5, 1976) was an American special effects artist and film director from Iowa. Career During World War II, Kellogg was a US Navy Lieutenant with the O.S.S. Field Photographing Branch where he beca ...
*
Tommy Kirk Thomas Lee Kirk (December 10, 1941 – September 28, 2021) was an American actor, best known for his performances in films made by Walt Disney Studios such as '' Old Yeller'', '' The Shaggy Dog'', ''Swiss Family Robinson'', '' The Absent-Minded ...
*
Gail Kobe Gail Kobe (born Gabriella Kieliszewski; March 19, 1932 – August 1, 2013) was an American actress and television producer. Early years Kobe was born Gabriella Kieliszewski in Hamtramck, Michigan (near Detroit) to Benjamin and Theresa Kobe. She ...
*
Michi Kobi Michi Kobi (2 November 1924 – 1 March 2016), born Machiko Kobinata Okamoto, was an American actress. Life Kobi was born 2 November 1924 in Sacramento, California as Machiko Kobinata Okamoto. Her father, Rikikazu Okamoto, came to America at age ...
*
Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, between 1923 and 1962. Laidlaw was bor ...
*
Lyle Latell Lyle Latell (born Lyle Zeiem; April 9, 1904 – October 24, 1967) was an American character actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Pat Patton in the ''Dick Tracy'' film series. Biography Latell was born Lyle Zeiem on April 1904 in ...
*
Keye Luke Keye Luke (, Cantonese: Luk Shek Kee; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American film and television actor, technical advisor and artist and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He was known for playing Lee Chan, t ...
*
Patricia Medina Patricia Paz Maria Medina (19 July 1919 – 28 April 2012) was a British actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) and ''Mr. Arkadin'' (1955). Early life Medina was the daughter of Laure ...
*
Don Megowan Don Megowan (May 24, 1922 – June 26, 1981) was an American actor. He played the Gill-man on land in ''The Creature Walks Among Us'', the final part of the ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' trilogy. Early life Don Megowan was born in Inglewo ...
*
Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...
*
Jimmy Noel Herbert James Noel (May 15, 1903 – January 31, 1985) was an American actor, musician and stuntman. Life and career Noel was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was guitarist and singer with the trio The Rhythm Boys. Noel decided to leave ...
*
Robert Osborne Robert Jolin Osborne (; May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, television presenter, author, actor and the primary host for more than 20 years of the cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Prior to hosting at TCM, Os ...
* J. Pat O'Malley * Richard Reeves *
Stafford Repp Stafford Alois Repp (April 26, 1918November 5, 1974) was an American actor best known for his role as Police Chief Miles Clancy O'Hara on ABC's ''Batman'' television series. Career Soon after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, he ser ...
* Addison Richards * Carlos Romero *
Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...
*
James Seay James Seay (September 9, 1914 – October 10, 1992) was an American character actor who often played minor supporting roles as government officials. Early years Seay demonstrated an interest in acting at an early age, as he and his mothe ...
*
Alex Sharp Alexander Ian Sharp (born 2 February 1989) is an English actor. He is known for originating the role of Christopher Boone in the Broadway production of ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time''. After graduating from the Juilliard ...
*
Quentin Sondergaard Quentin Charles Sondergaard (January 11, 1925 – February 15, 1984) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Deputy Sheriff Quint in the American western television series '' Tombstone Territory''. Career Sonderga ...
*
Arthur Space Charles Arthur Space (October 12, 1908 – January 13, 1983) was an American film, television and stage actor. He was best known as Doc Weaver, the veterinarian, in thirty-nine episodes of the CBS television series '' Lassie''. Early years Bor ...
* Bob Steele * John Sutton *
Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor.The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...
*
Joan Tompkins Joan Swenson (July 9, 1915 – January 29, 2005), previously known as Joan Tompkins, was an American actress of television, film, radio, and stage. Career Tompkins performed with stock theater companies in Mount Kisco, New York and White Plains ...
*
Sammee Tong Sammee Tong (April 21, 1901 – October 27, 1964) was an American film and television character actor. One of Tong's more notable roles was that of Peter Tong on the sitcom '' Bachelor Father'', which aired on all three national networks fro ...
*
Audrey Totter Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter w ...
*
Maria Tsien Maria Lim Bi Yao (; February 4, 1925 – November 2, 2020), known professionally as Maria Tsien (sometimes also credited as Marie Tsien and Maria Tsien McClay) was an American film and television actress in the 1950s and 1960s. She was often cast ...
* Lurene Tuttle *
James Westerfield James A. Westerfield (March 22, 1913 – September 20, 1971) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Westerfield was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to candy-maker Brasher Omier Westerfield and his wife D ...
*
Peter Whitney Peter Whitney (born Peter King Engle; May 24, 1916 – March 30, 1972) was an American actor in film and television. Tall and heavyset, he played brutish villains in many Hollywood films in the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Whitney was born ...
*
Jean Willes Jean Willes (born Jean Donahue; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Willes was born Jean Donahue In Los Angeles. She spent pa ...
*
Marie Windsor Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Wi ...


Episode list


Season 1: 1957–58


Season 2: 1958–59


Production notes

''The Californians''
theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
was composed by
Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...
, with lyrics by
Harold Adamson Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980) was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born and raised in ...
, entitled "I've Come to California".
Ken Darby Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...
, of the
Ken Darby Singers Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...
, did some of the musical composition for the series. ''The Californians'' had competition from '' The West Point Story'', which was broadcast by the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
, and ''
The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' was an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...
'' by CBS. In its second season, the western competed with ''
The Garry Moore Show ''The Garry Moore Show'' is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talent ...
'' on CBS and the crime/police
reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
''
Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
'', hosted by
Jack Wyatt Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
, on ABC.1957–1958 and 1958–1959 American network television schedules.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Californians, The 1957 American television series debuts 1959 American television series endings Television series set in the 1850s NBC original programming 1950s Western (genre) television series Television shows set in San Francisco Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows California Gold Rush in fiction Television series by CBS Studios