''The Dakotas'' is an
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
/
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
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 ...
starring
Larry Ward and featuring
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...
,
Chad Everett
Raymon Lee Cramton (June 11, 1937 – July 24, 2012), known professionally as Chad Everett, was an American actor who appeared in more than 40 films and television series. He played Dr. Joe Gannon in the television drama '' Medical Center'', wh ...
, and
Michael Greene
Michael Harris Greene (November 4, 1933 – January 10, 2020) was an American actor who was active from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Career
Greene was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Gladys () and Harry Greene. Early in his caree ...
, broadcast during 1963. The short-lived program is considered a
spin-off of
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker (May 30, 1927 – May 21, 2018) was an American actor. He played cowboy Cheyenne Bodie in the ABC/Warner Bros. western series ''Cheyenne'' from 1955 to 1963.
Early life
Clint Walker was born Norman Eugene Wal ...
's ''
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
''.
''The Dakotas'' was cancelled one week after heavy viewer protest over an objectionable scene.
Synopsis
The series follows the efforts of U.S. Marshal Frank Ragan (
Larry Ward) and his three deputies, J. D.Smith (
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...
), Vance Porter (
Mike Greene), and Del Stark (
Chad Everett
Raymon Lee Cramton (June 11, 1937 – July 24, 2012), known professionally as Chad Everett, was an American actor who appeared in more than 40 films and television series. He played Dr. Joe Gannon in the television drama '' Medical Center'', wh ...
) as they try to keep order in the
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...
during the
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...
prior to statehood in 1889.
Series history
All four characters initially appeared in an April 23, 1962 episode of ''Cheyenne'' entitled "A Man Called Ragan", directors Richard C. Sarafian and Robert Sparr (uncredited), and writers Anthony Spinner (teleplay) and Harry Whittington (story).
However, the degree to which this episode makes ''The Dakotas'' a spin-off of ''Cheyenne'' is debatable. In the pilot on ''Cheyenne'', the titular character of Cheyenne Bodie never appears. Also, the episode had followed five consecutive weeks of ''
Bronco
A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock.
The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...
'' episodes, broadcast as a part of the
wheel series
A wheel series, wheel show, wheel format or umbrella series is a television series in which two or more regular programs are rotated in the same time slot. Sometimes the wheel series is given its own umbrella title and promoted as a single unit ins ...
that ''Cheyenne'' had effectively become. Moreover, the length of time between pilot and series—almost eight months—further weakened the link between ''Cheyenne'' and ''The Dakotas''. The biggest tip-off to viewers as to the parentage of the series was that it had assumed the Monday 7:30 p.m. ET time slot previously occupied since 1959 by ''Cheyenne''.
Guest stars
Among the many guest stars,
George Macready
George Peabody Macready Jr. (August 29, 1899 – July 2, 1973) was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains.
Early life
Macready was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 29, 1899. He graduated ...
appeared as Captain Ridgeway, with
Jeanne Cooper
Wilma Jeanne Cooper (October 25, 1928 – May 8, 2013) was an American actress, best known for her role as Katherine Chancellor on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (1973–2013). At the time of her death, she was eighth on the ...
as Rebecca Ridgeway, in the third episode, "Mutiny at Fort Mercy".
Chris Robinson was cast as Chino in "Red Sky over Bismarck", with
Andrew Duggan
Andrew Duggan (December 28, 1923 – May 15, 1988) was an American character actor. His work includes 185 screen credits between 1949 and 1987 for roles in both film and television, as well a number more on stage.
Background
Duggan was born in ...
as Colonel Winters and
Kevin Hagen
Kevin Hagen (April 3, 1928 – July 9, 2005) was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Hiram Baker on NBC's ''Little House on the Prairie (TV series), Little House on the Prairie.''
Early life
Hagen was born in Chicago, Illinois, t ...
as a preacher.
Warren Stevens
Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor.
Early life and career
Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...
and
Karen Sharpe
Karen Kay Sharpe (born September 20, 1934) is an American film and television actress. She is known for playing Laura Thomas in the American western television series ''Johnny Ringo''.
Life and career
Sharpe was born in San Antonio, Texas, th ...
played Cain and Angela Manning in the episode, "Crisis at High Banjo";
Robert J. Wilke
Robert Joseph Wilke (May 18, 1914 – March 28, 1989) was an American film and television actor noted primarily for his roles as villains, mostly in Westerns.
Early years
Wilke was a native of Cincinnati. Before going into acting, he h ...
was cast in the same episode as Judge Markham.
Other guest stars included:
*
Claude Akins
Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series ''B.J. and the Bear'', and l ...
*
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 I ...
*
Edward Binns
Edward Binns (September 12, 1916 – December 4, 1990) was an American actor. He had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for hi ...
*
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 ...
*
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.
...
*
Lane Bradford
Lane Bradford (born John Myrtland Le Varre, Jr., August 29, 1922 – June 6, 1973) was an American actor, who appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predomin ...
*
Stewart Bradley
Stewart Harris Bradley (born November 2, 1983) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft and also played for the Arizona Ca ...
*
John Brandon
*
Diane Brewster
Diane Brewster (March 11, 1931 – November 12, 1991) was an American television actress most noted for playing three distinctively different roles in television series of the 1950s and 1960s: confidence trickster Samantha Crawford in the Weste ...
*
Steve Brodie
*
Joe Brooks
*
Spencer Chan
*
Michael Constantine
Michael Constantine (born Gus Efstratiou (Ευστρατίου); May 22, 1927 – August 31, 2021) was an American actor. He is most widely recognized for his portrayal of Kostas "Gus" Portokalos, the Windex bottle-toting Greek father of Toula ...
*
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 ...
*
Elisha Cook, Jr.
*
Ted de Corsia
*
Susanne Cramer
Susanne Cramer (3 December 1936 – 7 January 1969) was a German film and television actress. She was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and died in Hollywood, California, of pneumonia, at age 32.
Biography
At the age of 20, Cramer married the 37-year- ...
*
Audrey Dalton
Audrey Dalton (born 21 January 1934) is an Irish-born former film and television actress who mostly worked in the United States during the Golden Age of Hollywood, when she arrived at Paramount Pictures, columnist Erkstine Johnson, stated she st ...
*
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic L ...
*
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 ...
*
Bill Erwin
William Lindsey Erwin (December 2, 1914 – December 29, 2010) was an American film, stage and television actor and cartoonist with over 250 television and film credits. A veteran character actor, he is widely known for his 1993 Emmy Award-nomi ...
*
William Fawcett William or Bill Fawcett or ''variation'', may refer to:
People
* William Fawcett (actor) (1894–1974), American actor who was awarded the ''Légion d'honneur''
* William Fawcett (author) (1902–1941), English journalist and writer on horses, hun ...
*
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 ...
*
Joan Freeman
*
Victor French
Victor Edwin French (December 4, 1934 – June 15, 1989) was an American actor and director. He is remembered for roles on the television programs ''Gunsmoke'', ''Little House on the Prairie'', ''Highway to Heaven'', and ''Carter Country''.
...
*
Beverly Garland
Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action or science-fiction movie ...
*
Coleen Gray
Coleen Gray (born Doris Bernice Jensen; October 23, 1922 – August 3, 2015) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles in the films '' Nightmare Alley'' (1947), '' Red River'' (1948), and Stanley Kubrick's '' The Killing'' ...
*
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 ...
*
Carl Held
Carl Held (born September 19, 1931), sometimes credited as Karl Held and Christopher Held, is an American actor who has worked extensively in both American and British television.
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Held is best known for his role as Garth in the 1980s s ...
*
Rex Holman
Rexford George Holman (born 1935) is an American film and television actor.
Holman was born in Oklahoma. He began his screen career in 1959, appearing in the anthology television series '' The Millionaire''. In 1960 he made his film debut in ' ...
*
Richard Jaeckel
Richard Hanley Jaeckel (October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominatio ...
*
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, on ...
*
I. Stanford Jolley
*
Don Keefer
Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...
*
DeForest Kelley
Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999), known to colleagues as "Dee", was an American actor, screenwriter, poet, and singer. He was known for his roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the in the televisio ...
*
Don Kennedy
Donald J. Kennedy (born March 2, 1930) is an American radio and television personality and voice talent, whose career began in the late 1940s with a radio announcer spot on Pennsylvania station WPIC.
In the mid-1950s, Kennedy was a contributo ...
*
Werner Klemperer
Werner Klemperer (March 22, 1920 – December 6, 2000) was an American actor. He was known for playing Colonel Wilhelm Klink on the CBS television sitcom ''Hogan's Heroes'', for which he twice won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...
*
Nolan Leary
George Nolan Leary (April 26, 1889 – December 12, 1987) was an American actor and playwright.
Leary was born in Rock Island County, Illinois. His acting career started in France during World War I, providing entertainment for United States Tr ...
*
Norman Leavitt
Norman Turner Leavitt (December 1, 1913 – December 11, 2005) was an American film and television actor.
Life and career
Leavitt was born in Lansing, Michigan. He began his stage career in 1935, appearing as a wedding guest in the Broadway ...
*
Dayton Lummis
Dayton Lummis (August 8, 1903 – March 23, 1988) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the role of General Douglas MacArthur in the 1955 film ''The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell''. Lummis d ...
*
Strother Martin
Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (March 26, 1919 – August 1, 1980) was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. Among Martin's memorable pe ...
*
Ken Mayer
Ken Mayer (June 25, 1918 – January 30, 1985) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Major Robbie Robertson in the 1950s television series, '' Space Patrol''.
Following service in the United States Army Air Corps' intelligen ...
*
Mercedes McCambridge
Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress." She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...
*
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 ', ' ( ...
*
Joanna Moore
Joanna Moore (born Dorothy Joanne Cook, November 10, 1934 – November 22, 1997) was an American film and television actress, who, between 1956 and 1976, appeared in 17 feature films and guest-starred in nearly a hundred television series episod ...
*
Ed Nelson
Edwin Stafford Nelson (December 21, 1928 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Michael Rossi in the television series '' Peyton Place''.
Nelson appeared in episodes of many TV programs, more than 50 mov ...
*
Dennis Patrick
Dennis Patrick (born Dennis Patrick Harrison; March 14, 1918 – October 13, 2002) was an American character actor, primarily in television.
Early years
Patrick was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Career
Patrick is known for his work in ...
*
Sue Randall
Sue or SUE may refer to:
Music
* Sue Records, an American record label
* ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus
* " Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie
Places
* Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits isla ...
*
Joseph Ruskin
Joseph Ruskin (born Joseph Richard Schlafman; April 14, 1924 – December 28, 2013) was an American character actor.
Also appeared in several underworld character roles on the tv series The Untouchables (1959-1963)
Early life
Ruskin was born ...
*
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...
*
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 ...
*
Robert F. Simon
Robert Frank Simon (December 2, 1908 – November 29, 1992) was an American character actor.
Earlier years
Simon began acting with Mansfield's Community Players organization when he worked as a clerk in a meat market. Following that experience ...
*
Everett Sloane
Everett H. Sloane (October 1, 1909 – August 6, 1965) was an American character actor who worked in radio, theatre, films, and television.
Early life
Sloane was born in Manhattan on October 1, 1909, to Nathaniel I. Sloane and Rose (Gers ...
*
Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne.
*
Harry Townes
Harry Rhett Townes (September 18, 1914 – May 23, 2001) was an American actor who later became an Episcopalian minister.
Early life
Harry Townes was born in Huntsville, Alabama. the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Townes. He had a brother and ...
*
Lee Van Cleef
Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, partic ...
*
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 ...
*
Gregory Walcott
Gregory Walcott (born Bernard Wasdon Mattox, January 13, 1928 – March 20, 2015) was an American television and film actor. Although he had roles in many Hollywood films and television series, he is perhaps best known for having appeared in th ...
Cancellation
When viewers saw the program's eighteenth episode, "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs", they were shocked by a scene that depicted the lawmen killing two outlaws in a church, one of whom had caused injury to a pastor, played by Charles Irving, before dying. Calls for ''The Dakotas'' to end its run were answered virtually overnight. After just one more episode, the show was pulled. A twentieth episode, entitled "Black Gold", was completed, but was never shown.
Episodes
Several episode titles refer to geographic place names in the Dakotas.
Home media
On March 24, 2015,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
released ''The Dakotas- The Complete Series'' on DVD via their
Warner Archive Collection
The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...
. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.
DVDs for 'The Complete Series' of the Abruptly-Ended 1963 Western
References
* ''The Boys Western Television and Film Annual'' (Purnell & Sons Ltd 1963)
Footnotes
External links
*
''The Dakotas'' show intro: YouTube video
Cast photo of ''The Dakotas'' series stars Michael Greene,Jack Elam,Larry Ward, and Chad Everett
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dakotas, The
1963 American television series debuts
1963 American television series endings
Black-and-white American television shows
English-language television shows
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
American television spin-offs
1960s Western (genre) television series
United States Marshals Service in fiction
Dakota Territory