The Virginian - behind the scenes?
Anim8rFSK
running the ranch for Judge Garth, who became Governor of Wyoming (off
screen) and Trampas is missing completely although he's still in the
open. This on the heels of Betsy going away (at least she got a send
off) only to be replaced by Garth's-niece-he-never-knew so they wanted
to keep the format intact. But Lee J. Cobb (Garth) is still in the
series open, with Starr a, er, guest starr. IIRC Betsy was in the open
for awhile after the niece came aboard (orginally as a guest star too).
Cobb continued to work for (a lot) for another 10 years. Betsy leaving
was a career ender. Niece ... this pretty much WAS her whole career.
Wiki says Starr won't last for long.
So what was going on? Was there infighting behind the scenes? Did
somebody think Cobb was coming back or some reason they had to leave him
in the credits? Anybody know?
TIA
--
"Please, I can't die, I've never kissed an Asian woman!"
Shego on "Shat My Dad Says"
Smokie Darling (Annie)
> The TVLand reruns just got up to 'Morgan Starr' where where Starr is
> running the ranch for Judge Garth, who became Governor of Wyoming (off
> screen) and Trampas is missing completely although he's still in the
> open. This on the heels of Betsy going away (at least she got a send
> off) only to be replaced by Garth's-niece-he-never-knew so they wanted
> to keep the format intact. But Lee J. Cobb (Garth) is still in the
> series open, with Starr a, er, guest starr. IIRC Betsy was in the open
> for awhile after the niece came aboard (orginally as a guest star too).
> Cobb continued to work for (a lot) for another 10 years. Betsy leaving
> was a career ender. Niece ... this pretty much WAS her whole career.
> Wiki says Starr won't last for long.
Okay... Roberta Shore (Betsy) got married during a summer hiatus, she did not get permission from tptb, and she was "blacklisted" for 3 years from working on television (she also said her husband wouldn't have allowed to work anyway), for being in violation of her contract.
They showed the "twit" (niece) from the beginning of the year (season 4) in the opening creds with Randy Boone, even though she didn't appear until the 4th or 5th episode.
While I really liked John Dehner in general, I *hated* Morgan Starr. The show went from being The Virginian, to being The Morgan Starr show, and that's probably why they didn't bring him back for the following seasons (in my opinion), his character was the "primary" story for 4 of the 5 episodes he did, rather than having a different character getting the spotlight.
> So what was going on? Was there infighting behind the scenes? Did
> somebody think Cobb was coming back or some reason they had to leave him
> in the credits? Anybody know?
Cobb had begun working on the stage, and had stated many times how much he hated working on television. He took the job because he'd had some problems due to HUAC (he talked). He apparently really needed the money. He was left in the credits because they were contractually obligated (and he was paid for the credit too).
Anim8rFSK
<86e8a793-1770-4a24...@glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com
>,
"Smokie Darling (Annie)" <Barnab...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Friday, April 22, 2011 10:18:45 PM UTC-6, anim8rfsk wrote:
> > The TVLand reruns just got up to 'Morgan Starr' where where Starr is
> > running the ranch for Judge Garth, who became Governor of Wyoming (off
> > screen) and Trampas is missing completely although he's still in the
> > open. This on the heels of Betsy going away (at least she got a send
> > off) only to be replaced by Garth's-niece-he-never-knew so they wanted
> > to keep the format intact. But Lee J. Cobb (Garth) is still in the
> > series open, with Starr a, er, guest starr. IIRC Betsy was in the open
> > for awhile after the niece came aboard (orginally as a guest star too).
> > Cobb continued to work for (a lot) for another 10 years. Betsy leaving
> > was a career ender. Niece ... this pretty much WAS her whole career.
> > Wiki says Starr won't last for long.
>
> Okay... Roberta Shore (Betsy) got married during a summer hiatus, she did
> not get permission from tptb, and she was "blacklisted" for 3 years from
> working on television (she also said her husband wouldn't have allowed to
> work anyway), for being in violation of her contract.
LOL, really? A 'no marriage' clause? Like all the young boys that
watched The Virginian every week for a glimpse of their beloved Betsy
would flee and watch Lost In Space or Patty Duke or Gidget instead?
>
> They showed the "twit" (niece) from the beginning of the year (season 4) in
> the opening creds with Randy Boone, even though she didn't appear until the
> 4th or 5th episode.
Yeah, I got that backwards.
>
> While I really liked John Dehner in general, I *hated* Morgan Starr. The
Yes
> show went from being The Virginian, to being The Morgan Starr show, and
Very much so. The one I watched last night - One Spring Like Long Ago -
had Starr and Randy and Indians and buffalo and no other regulars at
all. It rambled on and on and on, like they had a half hour script and
padded it by stalling to fill the time.
> that's probably why they didn't bring him back for the following seasons (in
> my opinion), his character was the "primary" story for 4 of the 5 episodes he
> did, rather than having a different character getting the spotlight.
And I still haven't seen Starr and Trampas in the same episode at all.
>
> > So what was going on? Was there infighting behind the scenes? Did
> > somebody think Cobb was coming back or some reason they had to leave him
> > in the credits? Anybody know?
>
> Cobb had begun working on the stage, and had stated many times how much he
> hated working on television. He took the job because he'd had some problems
> due to HUAC (he talked). He apparently really needed the money. He was left
> in the credits because they were contractually obligated (and he was paid for
> the credit too).
K, thanks. The one on right now ... The Return of Golden Tom ...
doesn't have anything to do with The Virginian AT ALL (so far).
Smokie Darling (Annie)
> In article
> <86e8a793-1770-4a24...@glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com
> >,
> "Smokie Darling (Annie)" <Barnab...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Okay... Roberta Shore (Betsy) got married during a summer hiatus, she did
> > not get permission from tptb, and she was "blacklisted" for 3 years from
> > working on television (she also said her husband wouldn't have allowed to
> > work anyway), for being in violation of her contract.
>
> LOL, really? A 'no marriage' clause? Like all the young boys that
> watched The Virginian every week for a glimpse of their beloved Betsy
> would flee and watch Lost In Space or Patty Duke or Gidget instead?
Kind of hard to play "virginal" Betsy Garth if she's sporting baby belly. Actually, I think issue was she didn't even tell them she was thinking about getting married, she just went and got married. She had signed (I believe) a 7 year deal, and she had to maintain a certain "look".
> > show went from being The Virginian, to being The Morgan Starr show, and
>
> Very much so. The one I watched last night - One Spring Like Long Ago -
> had Starr and Randy and Indians and buffalo and no other regulars at
> all. It rambled on and on and on, like they had a half hour script and
> padded it by stalling to fill the time.
They were showing how "Indian friendly" MR. Starr was (or something). That's when it was becoming ... expedient for lack of a better word... to appear friendly to the natives. Of the Starr episodes, that was the weakest.
> And I still haven't seen Starr and Trampas in the same episode at all.
I believe he was in the first episode (Morgan Starr). Remember though, McClure was making lots of films then, so he could have been off working on one of those.
> K, thanks. The one on right now ... The Return of Golden Tom ...
> doesn't have anything to do with The Virginian AT ALL (so far).
I loved that episode (I've always had a soft spot for Victor Jory). As I recall, we don't see alot of Mr Starr either (TV wasn't in that one, and I always got the impression that Drury had some issues with Dehner, but that could just be me).
Anim8rFSK
<ff5fc95a-7879-48c8...@glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com
Clu finally showed up, but other than that - and he seemed to be added
as an afterthought - there wasn't any sign of this being an episode of
The Virginian at all!
I think they made a big mistake in having TV not like MS - pretty much
guarantees the audience won't either. It's the same mistake they made
with The New/Young Maverick, where they had the real Maverick, Garner,
not able to wait 'till he got rid of the young jerk, and when they rode
away down different forks in the road, the audience was yelling NO NO GO
THE OTHER WAY, FOLLOW GARNER!!!
Smokie Darling (Annie)
> In article
> >,
> "Smokie Darling (Annie)" <Barnab...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I think they made a big mistake in having TV not like MS - pretty much
> guarantees the audience won't either.
In Morgan Starr (the first of Dehner's episodes), they showed the clash of wills, but you were supposed to believe that TV at least respected Starr at the end, maybe even liking him a little. After that, whenever they were on the screen together, it just seemed that Drury (not TV, but Drury) seemed very unimpressed with Dehner. I don't believe it was the fault of the show, but rather a problem of chemistry between the two actors.
Then, as I said before, the Starr episodes seemed to center on him rather than on others (which could also have caused friction), like the first few years. You'd have a "Virginian"-centric show, then Trampas, then Steve, then Betsy, then the Judge (while still showing the others in smaller roles). When Dehner joined, there was one episode (Golden Tom) that highlighted *anyone* besides Dehner. It was a bad choice of the powers that be.
People liked the chemistry of the "guys in the bunkhouse" with Betsy and the Judge.
