When Jack Kelly Had "Fun" In 1979 (Part II)

Hello Again!

JK also spent "Cinco de Mayo" (May 5th) 1979 working on When The West Was Fun. (It was a Saturday, too!)

This time, he had a 10:00 am call:

This was the day the wonderful closing western song medley with Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and the Sons of the Pioneers was taped (watch for glimpses of JK in this clip):

Watching When the West Was Fun is kind of bittersweet, with so many of its stars (including Jack Kelly) now gone. But, thankfully this marvelous "Re-Union" is preserved on DVD, so future generations can enjoy it, along with press photos like this one:

The snipe on the back says, "Legends meet when more than 50 of the stars who made television Westerns a prime-time part of American entertainment, including  (l to r) Guy Madison (Wild Bill Hickok 1951-53), Peter Brown (Laredo, 1965-'66), Jack Kelly (Maverick, 1957-'62), and Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger, 1951-'57), get together for a roundup of memories on When The West Was Fun, airing on the ABC Television Network on Tuesday, June 5 (10:00-11:00 PM EDT)".

Happy trails! :)

When Jack Kelly Had "Fun" In 1979! :)

Hi!

Do you know what Jack Kelly was doing on this day in 1979?

You do now! :)

Thanks to an original script that's now in the Kellection, I discovered that JK was busy participating in When The West Was Fun, the star-studded Western "Re-Union" (that's how it's spelled on the title page) special which aired on ABC on June 5, 1979. It was taped just a month earlier, on May 4 and May 5.

 

JK's first day at ABC's Studio 59 began at 9:45 am. As you can see, he was in very good company (although Clint Walker actually appears only via film clip in the finished show):

 Here's how he made his entrance:



JK was a real "card" here. BTW, I don't think the scene shown below in the script appeared in the actual broadcast, although another scene featuring JK playing cards with Neville Brand, etc., did.

STAY TUNED FOR DAY 2

OF

THE MAKING OF WHEN THE WEST WAS FUN! :)