'' The Cowboys '' is a short-lived

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 i ...

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 ...

based on the 1972 motion picture of the same name. It aired on the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an Television in the United States, American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the Disney General Entertainment Content#Current assets, ...

(ABC)

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

from February 6 to June 27, 1974. The television show starred Jim Davis,

Diana Douglas Diana Love Webster (née Dill; formerly Douglas and Darrid; January 22, 1923 – July 3, 2015) was an American actress who was known for her marriage to actor Kirk Douglas from 1943 until their divorce in 1951. She was the mother of Michael and ...

Moses Gunn Moses Gunn (October 2, 1929 – December 16, 1993) was an American actor of stage and screen. An Obie Award-winning stage player, he is an alumnus of the Negro Ensemble Company. His 1962 off-Broadway debut was in Jean Genet's ''The Blacks,'' and ...

A Martinez Adolfo Larrue Martínez III (born September 27, 1948) is an American actor and singer with roles in the daytime soap operas '' Santa Barbara'', '' General Hospital'', '' One Life to Live'', ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', and ''Days of Our Live ...

Robert Carradine Robert Reed Carradine ( ; born March 24, 1954) is an American actor. A member of the Carradine family, he made his first appearances on television Western series such as ''Bonanza'' and his brother David's TV series, '' Kung Fu''. Carradine's f ...

, and

Clay O'Brien Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay parti ...

David Dortort David Dortort (born David Solomon Katz; October 23, 1916 – September 5, 2010) was a Hollywood screenwriter and producer, widely known for his role as producer in two successful NBC television series: ''Bonanza'' (1959–73) and ''The High Chap ...

, best known for ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'' and ''

The High Chaparral ''The High Chaparral'' television series, which was broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971, is an American Western action adventure drama set in the 1870s. It stars Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell. The series was made by Xanadu Productions in ...

'', produced the series. The television show followed the exploits of seven boys who worked on a ranch in 1870s

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. ''The Cowboys'' was conceived as an hour-long series, but ABC decided to reduce the running time to a half-hour format. The format change did not lead to increased viewers, and the show was the victim of early cancellation. As a traditional television Western, it was an aberration compared to most television trends of the 1970s (as most had ended production several years prior and only ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'' was still in production by then). Guest stars included Cal Bellini as Wa-Cha-Ka in "The Indian Givers",

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.'' Early life Hagen was born in Chicago, Illinois, to professional ballroom dancers, Haakon O ...

as Josh Redding in "Death on a Fast Horse", and

Lurene Tuttle Lurene Tuttle (August 29, 1907 – May 28, 1986) was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile a ...

as Grandma Jesse in "Many a Good Horse Died".

Cast

as Annie Andersen * Jim Davis as Marshal Bill Winter *

as Jebediah Nightlinger *

as Cimarron (Cowboy) *

as Slim (Cowboy) *Sean Kelly as Jimmy (Cowboy) *Kerry MacLane as Homer (Cowboy) *

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such a ...

as Steve (Cowboy) *Mitch Brown as Hardy (Cowboy) *Clay O'Brien as Weedy (Cowboy)

Guest stars

Each guest star made only one appearance. *

Ted Gehring Theodore Edwin Gehring Jr. (April 6, 1929 – September 28, 2000) was an American film and television actor. He is known for playing the recurring role as "Charlie" on 16 episodes of the American sitcom television series ''Alice''. Life and car ...

as Eben Graff *

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 televisi ...

as Jack Potter *Cal Bellini as Wa-Cha-Ka *Kevin Hagen as Josh Redding *Lurene Tuttle as Grandma Jesse *

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 ...

as Army Captain *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a ...

as Padre *John McKee as Foley *

Walter Brooke Walter Brooke (born Gustav William Tweer Jr., October 23, 1914 – August 20, 1986) was an American actor. Career Brooke's film career stretched from '' You're in the Army Now'' (1941 to '' Jagged Edge'' (1985). One of his best-remembered roles ...

as Reager *

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

as Oscar Schmidt * Jack Perkins *

Pippa Scott Philippa Scott is an American actress who has appeared in film and television since the 1950s. Personal life Scott was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actress Laura Straub and screenwriter Allan Scott; an uncle was th ...

as Chief

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowboys, The 1970s Western (genre) television series American Broadcasting Company original programming 1974 American television series debuts 1974 American television series endings Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in New Mexico