Charles Bronson The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters 1963

''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' is an American

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 based on

Robert Lewis Taylor Robert Lewis Taylor (September 24, 1912 – September 30, 1998) was an American writer and winner of the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Education Born in Carbondale, Illinois, Taylor attended Southern Illinois University for one year. The un ...

's 1958 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and starring

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (19 ...

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (May 1, 1919 – February 17, 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television, and radio. With a distinguished appearance and rich, resonant speaking voice, O'Herlihy's best known-roles included his Oscar-nominated portraya ...

and (in the final 13 episodes)

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...

. The series aired on

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 ...

for one season, 1963–64, and was produced by

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...

Synopsis

The series was aimed at teenaged boys and young families. It was known for the breakthrough performances of the 12-year-old

in the title role and

as Linc Murdock, the second wagon master in the last 13 episodes. Bronson began his role in the episode "The Day of the Toll Takers" (January 5, 1964). Each episode begins with the title "The Day of ..." Although it started out with an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

, by the end of the run, the cast had largely been reduced to the characters of Jaimie and Linc. The original cast included

in the role of Jaimie's father, Sardius "Doc" McPheeters, who often yields to alcohol and gambling.

Donna Anderson Donna Anderson (born September 5, 1939) is an American character actress, active primarily in television during the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Anderson was born Donna Knaflich in Gunnison, Colorado, the daughter of Wenona Hanly-Knaflich and Lo ...

played Jenny, a young pioneer woman who befriends Jaimie during the perilous journey westward. Mark Allen was cast in 19 episodes as Matt Kissel, with

Meg Wyllie Margaret Gillespie Wyllie (February 15, 1917 – January 1, 2002) was an American actress who appeared primarily on television. Best known as Mrs. Kissel in '' The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (1963-1964). Early years Born in Honolulu, H ...

in 18 segments as Mrs. Kissel. In 9 episodes, real-life child barbershop quartet The Osmond Brothers portrayed the singing sons of the Kissel family, all with given names of books of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

Alan Osmond Alan Ralph Osmond (born June 22, 1949) is an American former singer and musician. He is best known for being a member of the family musical group The Osmonds, who were discovered in 1961 by Jay Emerson Williams, Andy Williams's father, at a perf ...

as Micah Kissel,

Merrill Osmond Merrill Davis Osmond (born April 30, 1953) is an American musician, singer, and occasional actor. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and bassist of the family music group The Osmonds and The Osmond Brothers, as well as an occasional so ...

as Deuteronomy Kissel,

Jay Osmond Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) is an American musician. He is best known for being a member of the Osmond family of performers. He was the drummer for the group although has now retired from performing continues to work in other areas, ...

as Lamentations Kissel, and

Wayne Osmond Melvin Wayne Osmond (born August 28, 1951) is a retired American musician and singer. He is the second oldest of the original Osmond Brothers singers and the fourth oldest of the nine Osmond children. Life and career Osmond was born in Ogden, ...

as Leviticus Kissel.

Michael Witney Michael Witney (born Whitney Michael Armstrong; November 21, 1931 – November 30, 1983) was an American film and television actor. Career In 1963–64, Witney's first screen-acting role was a recurring part as the first wagon master, Buck Cou ...

in 14 episodes portrayed the first wagon master, Buck Coulter, with his last appearance in "The Day of the Pawnees, Part 2" (December 29, 1963). Witney was replaced by Bronson in the next episode.

Hedley Mattingly Hedley Howard Mattingly (May 7, 1915 – March 3, 1998) was a British actor who appeared in many American films and television series. Career Hedley Mattingly was born in London, England. He began his career as a stage actor before the ou ...

was cast eight times as Coe, and

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 ...

appeared seven times as John Murrel. Other recurring roles were filled by

Sandy Kenyon Sandy Kenyon (born Sanford Klein; August 5, 1922 – February 20, 2010) was an American actor of film and television. He appeared as a guest actor on numerous television series, including a recurring role on ''The Americans''. He was also the orig ...

in five episodes as Shep Baggott, stuntman Paul Baxley four times as Tracey, and Mike DeAnda in five assorted roles. Vernett Allen, III, was cast as Othello in nine episodes. Guthrie Thomas, the now-veteran singer-songwriter, was also included in the cast of character actors as a "double" for Kurt Russell when horses were involved. Thomas and Russell were only months apart in age and the TV producers did not want Russell harmed because of insurance liabilities. Thomas had been raised on several ranches, one of which was owned by film actor Francis Lederer, and fulfilled the age and horse-riding requirements of Russell's role as Jaimie McPheeters. Thomas was accustomed to the film business, as several motion pictures, one being John Ford's ''

Sergeant Rutledge ''Sergeant Rutledge'' is a 1960 American Technicolor Western film directed by John Ford and starring Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Woody Strode and Billie Burke. Six decades later, the film continues to attract attention because it was one ...

'', had been filmed at Lederer's Mission Stables, now an historical California landmark. Veteran Western actor

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

, a close friend of Thomas' family, was responsible for his getting a screen test and subsequent roles.

Episodes

Guest stars

Ed Ames Ed Ames (born Edmund Dantes Urick; July 9, 1927), who also recorded as Eddie Ames, is an American singer and actor. He is known for playing Mingo in the television series ''Daniel Boone'', and for his pop hits of the mid-to-late 1960s including " ...

Dehl Berti Dehl Berti (January 17, 1921 – November 26, 1991) was a Chiricahua ApacheSandy Greer. 1990. "Native Americans Still Battling Stereotyping". Broadcast Weekly. April 21, 1990. accessed a/ref> actor who often appeared in Westerns. One of his mor ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

* Barry Cahill *

Howard Caine Howard Caine (born Howard Cohen; January 2, 1926 – December 28, 1993) was an American character actor, probably best known as Gestapo Major Wolfgang Hochstetter in the television series ''Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–71). He also played Lewi ...

Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan (October 16, 1900 – November 5, 1969) was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually ...

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 Li ...

* Leif Erickson *

Carl Esmond Carl Esmond (born Karl Simon; June 14, 1902– December 4, 2004) was an Austrian-born American film and stage actor, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Although his age was given as 33 in the passenger list when he arrived in the USA in January 19 ...

Kathy Garver Kathleen Marie Garver is an American actress most remembered for having portrayed the teenaged orphan, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s CBS sitcom, ''Family Affair''. Before that, she was cast by Cecil B. DeMille in the film ''T ...

Mariette Hartley Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for work with Bill Bixby on '' The Incredible Hulk'' (1978) and ''Goodnight, Beantown'' (1983–1984), an original ''Star Trek'' episode (1 ...

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...

Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is an American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama ''Witness for th ...

David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCallum ...

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

Barbara Nichols Barbara Marie Nickerauer (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976), known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life and career Nichols was b ...

Susan Oliver Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

Roy Roberts Roy Roberts (born Roy Barnes Jones, March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen. Life and career Born in Tampa ...

* Chris Robinson *

Albert Salmi Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. Early life Salmi was born and raised ...

Frank Silvera Frank Alvin Silvera (July 24, 1914 – June 11, 1970) was a Jamaican-born American character actor and theatrical director. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Boston, Silvera dropped out of law school in 1934 after winning his first stage ...

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 ...

Doodles Weaver Winstead Sheffield Glenndenning Dixon "Doodles" Weaver (May 11, 1911 – January 17, 1983) was an American character actor, comedian, and musician. Born into a wealthy West Coast family, Weaver began his career in radio. In the late 1930s, he p ...

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...

Reception

The program faced stiff competition on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

at 7:30 Eastern on Sundays from ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totaling ...

'' and the first half of ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

''.

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

aired ''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'' in the same time slot.Adams, Val. "TV's 'M'Pheeters' Ends on March 15 / A.B.C. to Replace Dramas With Reruns of 'Empire'" (The New York Times, January 16, 1964, p.71)
/ref>

Film

After the series was cancelled, Kurt Russell and Charles Bronson reprised their roles of Jaimie McPheeters and Linc Murdock in the 1964 theatrical movie called ''

Guns of Diablo ''Guns of Diablo'' is a Metrocolor 1965 Western film directed by Boris Sagal and produced by Boris Ingster, starring Charles Bronson, Susan Oliver and Kurt Russell. It follows a wagon train master, who runs into difficulties when he meets ...

'', an expanded color version of the series' final episode, "The Day of the Reckoning" (March 15, 1964).

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 ...

appeared in the film as "Doc" McPheeters, replacing Dan O'Herlihy in new sequences.

References

External links

*
''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters''
at CTVA {{DEFAULTSORT:Travels Of Jaimie McPheeters, The 1960s American drama television series 1960s Western (genre) television series 1963 American television series debuts 1964 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Television series by MGM Television Television shows based on American novels