Last Stop: JK :)

Howdy!

I watched "Last Stop: Oblivion", the 1961 Maverick episode shown on MeTV this morning. I'd seen it before, and once again, I was struck by how macabre this episode is. It's all about Bart Maverick's chilling encounter with avaricious inn keeper  "Nero Lyme" (portrayed by Buddy Ebsen) and his creepy kin, whose motto could be "The family that slays together stays together." (And after watching "Last Stop: Oblivion", you might think twice about accepting coffee from "Mrs. Olson"! ;>)

What makes this episode even scarier is that it may have been based on a true story. While I've never seen it explicitly acknowledged, "Last Stop: Oblivion" was almost certainly inspired by the story of the murderous Bender family of Labette County, Kansas.

Like Nero Lyme, John Bender and his wife ran an inn and welcomed travelers--especially wealthy travelers. And, some of their guests checked in, but didn't check out. 

The Benders' living quarters were separated from the inn and the small general store they ran by a large canvas curtain. Once a victim was targeted, the unsuspecting "guest of honor" was seated with their back to the curtain. The Benders' daughter, Kate, distracted the victim as Pa Bender and son John Jr. crept from behind the curtain to dispatch them with a deadly sledgehammer blow to the head. The victim's lifeless body was then stripped of valuables and dropped through a trapdoor into the cellar to await burial. Some of the Benders' victims were found buried in an orchard near the inn.

The Benders' killing spree lasted nearly two years. It might have gone on longer, but rumors of mysterious disappearances in the area eventually led concerned family members and friends to the inn in search of their missing loved ones.

Among the missing was a prominent physician, Dr. William York. Dr. York had visited the inn previously. He told his brother, Colonel A.M. York of Fort Scott, that he would be staying there again. However, Dr. York--who himself had been searching for a neighbor and his young daughter who were missing--never returned home.

According to one account, the Colonel stopped at the inn in May of 1873 and asked the Benders if they had seen his brother. They suggested that perhaps Dr. York had run into trouble somewhere else along the way.

Colonel York thought this sounded plausible. He stayed for dinner at the inn and luckily didn't end up paying with his life. After dinner, he was sitting by himself in the front room of the inn when something shiny under one of the beds caught his eye. It was a locket--with pictures of Dr. York's wife and daughter inside. He instantly recognized the locket as one of his brother's most prized possessions. (Like when Bart found Mr. Sunday's locket in "Last Stop: Oblivion".)

Colonel York slipped out of the inn to ride away and alert the nearest authorities. As he made his way to the stable to fetch his horse, he noticed a lantern light in the orchard. He stealthily drew closer and saw Pa Bender and John Jr. apparently preparing to bury one of their victims.

Colonel York left and returned with a posse, only to find that the Benders--possibly tipped off by his sudden departure--had deserted the inn and seemingly vanished into thin air. However, nearly a dozen of their victims (including Dr. York and the father and child he'd been looking for) were found buried on the property.

It was also discovered that the evil innkeeper wasn't actually named Bender and that his "family" members probably weren't even related to one another, except for Ma "Bender" and Kate, who really were mother and daughter.  

Yes, the horrific real-life saga of "The Bloody Benders" is even more hair-raising than "Last Stop: Oblivion". Pa Bender makes Nero Lyme look like Mister Rogers!

Now, let's move on to something much cheerier: color images of Jack Kelly as he appeared in "Last Stop: Oblivion". These were scanned directly from genuine color Maverick publicity slides in the Kellection. Enjoy! :)

JK and lovely co-star Suzanne Lloyd. Ms. Lloyd portrays "Laura Nelson", whom Bart meets on the stagecoach to Oblivion. Laura is in search of her missing fiancé. 

The plot thickens: Another stage passenger, "Mr. Smith", is really a murderer named "Durst". Durst tries to squeeze money out of the Lymes by blackmailing them, but his plan is soured by Nero. 

 Brave Bart to the rescue! :)

The previous image was used on the cover of
this Maverick comic book:



It was also the basis for the illustration on the Maverick annual cover shown below:



Bonus photo:

 

This image is courtesy of Suzanne Lloyd's website, which apparently is no longer online.



Please stay tuned for more about JK and Maverick in TDS!