Happy Tuesday!
Today is another auspicious date in the history of Maverick. On November 10, 1957, viewers first met Jack Kelly's Bart Maverick in the episode "Hostage!"
Bart was born of necessity. Before Maverick had even premiered, newspaper columnist Erskine Johnson announced in August 1957 that Bret Maverick was getting a brother as a form of "health insurance" for the show's already overworked lead:
"James Garner...will have a kid-brother as a sort of ride-on. The lad, not yet cast, will star in an occasional stanza and dominate the plots of others, giving Garner time off to avoid joining the list of weekly TV performers who have collapsed from the strain."
The strain was genuine for Garner, because a lot was riding on this unconventional new western series and its then-unknown star. To meet the scheduling demands of weekly television, each episode of Maverick was being cranked out over a period of eight long days. The sole lead actor and filming crew soon found it impossible to maintain the grueling pace.
So, a Maverick brother was added to help carry the load. The only question was, who was going to play him?
The answer was Jack Kelly:
Although not exactly a "kid" (JK was in fact about eight months older than JG), it was eventually established that Bart was younger than Bret.
A fantastic photo of the smilin' Maverick brothers in "Hostage!" entered the Kellection not long ago. That's lucky guest star Laurie Carroll (as "Yvette Devereux") in the middle:
What's even cooler about this photo is that before it joined the Kellection, it was part of the personal collection of James Arness--yes, Marshal Dillon of Gunsmoke! :)
I also have an original script for "Hostage!":
Bart's first lines:
A brotherly reunion:
A scene sizzling with danger:
And, finally, the old Maverick switcheroo:
Well, I hope reading about JK's debut as Bart Maverick has made your Tuesday just a little bit better. Please stay tuned for more fun in TDS! :)
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