Joel McCrea Mike Dunbar Wichita Town 1959

''Wichita Town'' 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, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

starring

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 ...

Jody McCrea Joel Dee "Jody" McCrea (September 6, 1934 – April 4, 2009) was an American actor. He was the son of actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. Early life McCrea was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. ...

, Carlos Romero, and George Neise that aired on

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 30, 1959, until April 6, 1960. Joel McCrea played Marshal Mike Dunbar, in charge of keeping the peace in the booming cattle town of Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. His deputies were Ben Matheson, played by McCrea's real life son, Jody, and Rico Rodriquez, portrayed by Carlos Romero. Making occasional appearances were the town doctor, Nat Wyndham (played by George Neise), the blacksmith, Aeneas MacLinahan (played by Robert Anderson), and the bartender in the local saloon, Joe Kingston, played in six episodes by Robert Foulk. The model for shows such as these had already been laid out by other western programs such as '' Gunsmoke'', '' Lawman'', and '' The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'', so ''Wichita Town'' may not have been unique in its plotting and structure. The two most unusual features about the series were the presence of Joel McCrea, a favorite of Western film audiences for his performance in such films as ''

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

'', '' Buffalo Bill'', and '' Ramrod'', and the fact that his real life son was in ''Wichita Town'', but did not play his son. ''Wichita Town'' was produced by

Mirisch Company The Mirisch Company was an American film production company owned by Walter Mirisch and his brothers, Marvin and Harold Mirisch. The company also had sister firms known at various times as Mirisch Production Company, Mirisch Pictures Inc., Miris ...

and Joel McCrea's Production company for

Four Star Television Four Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Joel McCrea, it was insp ...

and aired for a single season.

Guest stars

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 ...

, formerly of NBC's '' The Californians'', was cast as the Reverend Nichols in "The Devil's Choice" (1959). *

Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in '' Life With Father'' (1939). He debuted in ...

, as Tom Warren in "Passage to the Enemy" *

Dennis Cross Dennis Cross (December 17, 1924 – April 6, 1991) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of Commander Arthur "Tex" Richards in the American syndicated television series '' The Blue Angels''. Life and car ...

, as Fred Keever in "Second Chance" (1960) *

Gene Evans Eugene Barton Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, television films, and feature films between 1947 and 1989. Background Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona and raised i ...

, earlier of ''

My Friend Flicka ''My Friend Flicka'' is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his mustang horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by ''Thunderhead'' (1943) and ''Green Grass of Wyoming'' (1946). The p ...

'', as Otis Stockert in "The Frontiersman" (1960) *

Yvonne Lime Fedderson Yvonne is a female given name. It is the feminine form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupatio ...

, as Fran in "Biggest Man in Town" (1959) *

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish ...

, as Mayor Eric Holbein in "The Night the Cowboys Roared" (1959) and "The Frontiersman (1960) * Jock Gaynor's first acting appearance was as Joe Malone in ''Wichita Town''. Later that year he landed a supporting role on another NBC western, '' Outlaws''. *

Ron Hagerthy Ronald F. Hagerthy (born March 9, 1932) is an American actor on television and in films. Early years Hagerthy was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, but moved to Glendale, California, before he started school. He attended Glendale City College and ...

, formerly of ''

Sky King ''Sky King'' was an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. King usually captured criminals and spies and found lost hikers, ...

'', as Tod in "Biggest Man in Town" (1959) * Ron Hayes, as Scotty in the episode "Sidekicks" * I. Stanford Jolley, as Smokey, and John McIntire, as Frank Matheson prior to his Chris Hale starring role in ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

'', were cast together in the episode "Paid in Full". *

Keith Larsen Keith Larsen (born Keith Larsen Burt, June 17, 1924 – December 13, 2006) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer who starred in three short-lived television series between 1955 and 1961. Background Larsen was born in Salt ...

, star of NBC's ''

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

'', appeared on ''Wichita Town'' in the role of the Indian, Blue Raven, in "Seed of Hate" (1960). *

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 ...

, formerly of NBC's ''The Californians'', cast on ''Wichita Town'' as Margaret Cook in "Day of Battle" (1959) * Suzanne Lloyd, as Laura in "Afternoon in Town" and "Sidekicks" (1960) *

Mort Mills Mort Mills (born Mortimer Morris Kaplan; January 11, 1919 – June 6, 1993) was an American film and television actor who had roles in over 150 movies and television episodes. He was often the town lawman or the local bad guy in many popular w ...

, as Pete Bennett in "Man on the Hill" (1959) * John M. Pickard, formerly of '' Boots and Saddles'', appeared twice in episodes "Wyndham's Way" and as a character named Bain in the episode "Second Chance". *

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 ...

, as Walt McCloud in "Second Chance"

References

* McNeil, Alex. ''

Total Television Total Television was an American animation studio founded in 1959 by Buck Biggers, Chester "Chet" Stover,p.478 Erickson,Hal ''Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003'' McFarland & Co., 2005 Joe Harris, and Trea ...

'' (1996). New York: Penguin Books * Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1999). New York: Ballantine Books

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0052525, Wichita Town 1959 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows NBC original programming Television series by Four Star Television Television series by MGM Television Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows set in Kansas 1950s Western (genre) television series 1960s Western (genre) television series