Jack Kelly on TV - "Bear" With Me!

Howdy! I just found a 1979 episode of BJ and the Bear on YouTube, guest-starring Jack Kelly as a no-nonsense Treasury agent. It's not exactly Maverick, but, boy, does this show bring back memories. I remember watching it with my younger brother and sister. It also reminds me of my late older brother. He was a long-haul trucker who piloted a big red rig, sort of like the one BJ drives here.

Well, anyway, here's BJ and JK. Except for Part 5, embedding is disabled, so I can post only the links to Parts 1-4 of the episode below. Jack Kelly shows up near the middle of Part 3; his best scenes are in Part 4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1mDwONnqac (Part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2sdo3IS0uQ (Part 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzUDxOEKSw8 (Part 3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsHIKMIcYr4 (Part 4)

Part 5:

The Kelly Pages: Comic Jack Kelly

Since the Maverick episodes with Roger Moore/"Beau" are starting to wind down on Encore Westerns, I thought I'd feature this striking cover of a Maverick "comic album" today. I just wish you all could see it in person, full-size, because it's much better looking than this scan.

The album contains a not-badly drawn Beau and Bart in three comic book adventures. Surprisingly, it also has the story "Trail West to Fury", based on an actual Maverick episode starring Bart and Bret (although the ending is somewhat different).

Now, if the "star" billing seems a little, er, reversed on this cover, that's because the album is British, and so is Roger Moore. ;-> But, our boy Jack Kelly is lookin' pretty good there (even if he does have the credits on him!)

The Kelly Pages: Jokin' Jack Kelly

Hi! I found a cute story about Jack Kelly and what it was like to act with him.

Merry Anders, JK's leading lady in three Maverick episodes (including "Destination Devil's Flat", featured in yesterday's post), tells the story in the book Westerns Women: Interviews With 50 Leading Ladies of Movies and TV by Boyd Magers and Michael G. Fitzgerald. By the way, the episode Ms. Anders describes below sounds like "The People's Friend":

"'...I had an absolute ball working with [Jack] Kelly. He had such an outrageous sense of humor and he pulled little pranks. Tickle you from behind when he was standing behind you and you were supposedly watching your father on his deathbed, trying to look serious.'

'We were working on Christmas Eve and they brought two young boys down on the set that must have been nine or ten, dressed exactly like Mavericks, right down to the brocade vests and string ties. Their parents had brought them down as a treat to see Maverick filmed.'

'Jack and I had an 18-page scene. He'd come out of the bar, we went around the corner to the boardwalk, had this conversation, and it ended with a kiss. We started into the final take, looked down, and, under our elbows--that close--and I don't know how they weren't on camera, were these two little boys. They were just drawn into the scene--they were mesmerized!'

'Jack and I looked out of the corner of our eyes and we just went into hysterics! It took us seven takes to control ourselves. Every time we'd get to that point, we'd start giggling.'" :)

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Oh, and speaking of "The People's Friend", here's a link to a review of that episode, from a blog about cigar smoking!

The Maverick Report - "Destination Devil's Flat"

One of the Maverick episodes shown on Encore Westerns this evening (9/1) was "Destination Devil's Flat". It was an enjoyable romp about a reformed faro dealer who keeps trying to convert Bart, a sheriff who keeps trying to get rid of Bart, and some gold that keeps getting the old switcheroo. And, I just happen to have a publicity still for it. Poor Bart has such a "Why me?" expression--probably from some of the antics he experiences in this episode. Well, his co-stars (Merry Anders and Peter Breck) look happy anyway. :)

Jack Kelly on TV - Maverick Promo: "Let's Cut the Cards"

Here's a link to a witty 1950's promo for Maverick from the TV Party website. You'll have to scroll down a little bit--the promo is just under the TV Party logo. (Sorry, I couldn't link directly to the promo or embed it here, and please note, it requires RealPlayer to view.) 

The picture quality's not the best, but the sound is great, so we get to hear Jack Kelly's wonderful chuckle as "Brother Bart" and "Brother Bret" plug their popular series. ;->

Promos for some other 1950's and 1960's westerns are on the same page. Enjoy! :)