Oh Brother (Bart)! :)

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:

November 10, 1957, was also a meaningful date for JK because:

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! :)

Happy Anniversary, "Maverick"! :)

Hello!

I'm sorry I couldn't post a crazy caper involving carrot cake as I usually do for Jack Kelly's birthday on 9/16. I drove the Bartistamobile about 300 miles round trip last weekend to participate in a model horse show. Then, I was taken out of commission by a migraine followed by some tummy trouble over the next couple of days. But, at least I got JK's name up in lights...that's the best I could do lying down with a cell phone. :)

I'm feeling fit as a fiddle now, though, and I'm rarin' to continue with Part III of "JK's Other Job". I just received some additional and unique Kellectibles (including a photo!) relating to Part III, and I need to get these scanned and digitized. Believe me, it will be worth the wait when you see them!

In the meantime, I'd like to commemorate a very special anniversary: the premiere of Maverick on this date in 1957. Here's a first-day cover from the Kellection with an illustration of JK and James Garner and a brief write-up about the show. I've actually had this cover for years but I kept forgetting to post it until now:

First-day cover created by Cover Scape Cachets

Incidentally, first-day covers play an important role in the next post in TDS, so please stay tuned! :)

Happy Valentine's Day 2019! :)

 

Vintage original NBC promo still of Jack Kelly and Joan Caulfield from the "Sally Tries to Say 'No'" episode of Sally, which aired 9/22/1957. Photo scanned, color tinted and framed by La Bartista. 



Sci-Fi Saturday Night :)

Hola!

Here's another magnifico Mexican lobby card for Jack Kelly's 1957 feature film She Devil:

Please stay tuned to TDS--there's more sci-fi in store and JK's WB candids are coming, plus lots of other goodies, too! :) 

"Taming" Tuesday :)

Howdy!

In addition to a time for reflection and remembrance, I'd planned to use Memorial Day weekend to scan some Kellectibles and create some new posts for this blog.

What's that saying about "best laid plans"? On Friday evening after I returned home from work, the Bartistamobile suddenly got a flat tire--and I mean, pancake flat. It wouldn't hold air after being pumped back up (I could hear the air defiantly hissing out as the tire deflated again). So, the automobile club came over on Saturday morning and installed the "donut" spare as a temporary fix. 

I called my go-to tire place. Unfortunately, they didn't have any appointments open until Monday afternoon, Memorial Day. And, since one of my other tires has had a slow leak for a while, I knew this wasn't going to be just an inexpensive patch job. Sure enough, the Bartistamobile is now $porting a brand-new $et of four tire$. (We'll be back at the tire place on Friday for $ome brake work, as well.) ;)

Aside from the tire drama, temperatures were in the humid 90's over the weekend. Heat and I don't mix very well, and after spending Saturday afternoon running errands with my sister, traipsing back and forth between the muggy outdoors and chilly air-conditioned stores, I felt like a wrung out washcloth. My schedule was full on Sunday, too.

My weekend plans may have gone awry, but I'm hoping to tame Tuesday as I return to work.

Speaking of taming: here's a rare poster from Taming Sutton's Gal (a.k.a. Back of Beyond), the 1957 feature film in which Jack Kelly co-starred with May Wynn (Donna Kelly), his real-life wife at the time. JK portrays a backwoods bootlegger named "Jugger Phelps", who is married to Donna's character in the film.

 

A close-up of JK and DK from the poster

 



Plus, a fantastic still from the film:

Well, I hope your Tuesday is terrific. Thanks for reading and please stay tuned for more fun with JK in TDS! :)

Look What I Found! :)

I couldn't keep quiet about this: Jack Kelly (as "Commander Hiram Cassedy USN") in a 1957 episode of the TV series The Silent Service titled "The U.S.S. Tigrone Sets A Record". Enjoy! :)

UP NEXT: See JK "train" for a dangerous assignment! :0  

JK And "Jealousy"! :)

Howdy!

As you may know, Maverick is now airing nationally Saturday mornings at 10 AM ET on ME-TV (although local ME-TV stations sometimes substitute their own programming--check your area listings to be sure). As the Maverick episodes seem to be running sequentially from the beginning, that means Bart hasn't shown up yet. Sit tight: he makes his debut in "Hostage!", coming soon (February 25, to be exact).

That's not the only Jack Kelly treat we have to look forward to on ME-TV. Since the network is also airing the original half-hour length episodes of Gunsmoke, we'll also be seeing "Jealousy", the 1957 episode written by Sam Peckinpah in which JK guest-starred. It will be coming up soon as well (February 23).

I recently found a Gunsmoke DVD with "Jealousy", so here are some dreamy screen caps of JK from the episode as a preview.

Smilin' Jack (as "Cam Durbin") introduces big (6'7") Jim Arness ("Marshal Matt Dillon") to his wife, "Tilda" (Joan Tetzel). Cam is an old friend of Matt's.

 

Cam has come to Dodge City to deal faro at the Longbranch Saloon. While he and Tilda are chatting with Marshal Dillon, a shady character named "Lonnie Pike", who was the former dealer at the saloon, comes to plead his case with the Marshal. Pike was stabbed in the hand by a card player he tried to cheat and can no longer ply his trade as a gambler.

Cam decides to help Pike by offering him a job as a back-up dealer. Marshal Dillon tells him he's making a mistake, but Cam stands firm.

He should have listened to Matt. Pike holds a grudge against Dillon because he wouldn't shoot the man who stabbed him. He plots to get rid of the Marshal by convincing Cam that Matt is trying to steal Tilda away from him. (You see, Cam is the jealous type...and he used to be pretty good with a gun.)

Cam begins to have his doubts:

Is Tilda really cheating on him with his old friend?

The evidence seems to be mounting. Cam catches Matt and Tilda together in a restaurant (not the restaurant Tilda was supposed to meet him at):

 

Finally, he angrily confronts them on the street, and threatens to shoot Matt:

He doesn't, but it turns out someone else in the Durbin family is good with a gun. Tilda blasts Pike at the saloon for feeding false rumors about her and Matt to Cam.

Cam tries to  stop Matt from arresting Tilda, but is knocked out cold by the Marshal.

At the Marshal's office, Cam tries to reason with Matt and Tilda: 

When it appears that Pike will recover from the shooting, Matt releases Tilda:

And, the Durbins decide to get out of Dodge:

JK's role as gamblin' man Cam was good practice for when he took on the role of Bart Maverick later in 1957!  

COMING SOON: A look at another pre-Maverick JK performance, plus a post-Maverick JK performance, and a different view of Gunsmoke--stay tuned! :)

JK: Way-Out Wednesday! :)

Hola!

A pair of amazing Mexican lobby cards just joined the Kellection. They're for Jack Kelly's 1957 film La Diabla, better known as She Devil.

In this way-out sci-fi flick, JK plays a brilliant research scientist named "Dan Scott" who's developed a serum (derived from fruit-flies) which can help more advanced species adapt to changes in their environment. Dan and his mentor (Albert Dekker) daringly administer the serum to a terminally ill woman (Mari Blanchard, whose first name is misspelled on these lobby cards) in hopes of curing her.

The serum works all too well: the woman is not only cured, but undergoes a drastic personality change which includes the incredible ability to change her hair color with no help from Miss Clairol. She runs amuck in a dress store and pretty much everywhere else, even committing murder to get what she wants.

As reviewers have pointed out, this film is sort of a sci-fi take on My Fair Lady. Dan and his mentor realize they must destroy the Eliza Do-Evil they unwittingly created with the serum.

She Devil was released on Blu-ray in 2013 and was given an insightful review by Glenn Erickson on the DVDTalk website. For the time being, it can also be viewed on YouTube:

The only thing more frightful is the wintry weather in my neck of the woods. (Is there a serum that can change December into May?) ;->

TRIVIA: Mari Blanchard had previously appeared with JK in the episodic Mexican film Canasta de cuentos mexicanos.

"Plumbing" The Depths of the Kellection! :)

Hello!

Have you ever looked for one thing and ended up finding another?

I can't tell you how many times I've started to look for something--either online or offline--and then gotten distracted by something else I discover. For example, I was combing through the Kellection for research material for upcoming TDS posts when I found a pair of negatives in a protective sleeve.

I held the negatives up to the light and instantly remembered them. I had purchased them some time ago but put them aside because my aging scanner didn't do negatives. However, I have a new scanner now and am positively thrilled to be able to share these "before he was Bart" images of Jack Kelly with you. (Aren't you glad I got distracted?)

JK seems to be in a real "fix" here! This is a scene from "Just Across the Street", an episode of Lux Video Theatre which originally aired on January 10, 1957. The plot: To help support her father (Cecil Kellaway), a young woman (Julie Adams) pretends to be a socialite and gets a job as a plumber's helper. Actually, I don't know how much help she can be in that dress and those heels--maybe she can borrow some coveralls from Josephine the Plumber! And, maybe JK (who plays a character named "Fred Newcombe") should just call Roto-Rooter before he hurts himself.  :)

Here's another cute scene from "Just Across the Street". That's the sprightly Mr. Kellaway photobombing JK!

Julie Adams would meet up again with Jack Kelly in two episodes of Maverick ("The White Widow" and "The Brasada Spur"). Her husband at the time, Ray Danton, would also star opposite JK in Maverick (the episode "State of Siege") and in the feature films A Fever in the Blood and FBI Code 98. Ms. Adams is still active today.

More info: According to TV Guide, "Just Across the Street" was broadcast in color (although few viewers had color sets at the time) and was based on a 1952 film with the same title starring Ann Sheridan and John Lund. Cecil Kellaway also played the father in that version.

Hmm...I wonder if this show will ever be available on DVD? I wonder what else neato I can find in the Kellection? Oh-oh! Getting distracted again...better get back to work! :)

Jack Kelly: JK "Sallys" Forth! :)

Howdy Everyone!

Now, here's a true JK rarity:


It's a still promoting an episode of Sally, a long-forgotten NBC sitcom starring perky Joan Caulfield. Ms. Caulfield, pictured center, played "Sally Truesdale", a young former salesgirl who served as traveling companion to wealthy widow "Myrtle Banford" (played by Marion Lorne, later of Bewitched fame). At least, that's what Sally did when the short-lived series started. In later episodes, she and Mrs. Banford helped run a department store after returning to the States.

This pre-Bart Maverick guest appearance doesn't appear in JK's Internet Movie Database filmography, so I don't know his character's name. The name of the episode isn't even listed in the IMDb's entry for Sally. However, the caption for the still gives us an idea of what the episode was about and reveals when it aired:"You can't blame Jack Kelly (L) or John Compton for their romantic interest in Joan Caulfield as a shipboard triangle brings amusing results on the Sunday, September 22 [1957] Sally show which will be seen at 7:30 pm, NYT, over NBC-TV. Sally stars Joan Caulfield in the title role and features Marion Lorne."

Note the timeslot: poor Sally was scheduled opposite Jack Benny's popular CBS show, and, oh, another little program that had just moseyed onto ABC: Maverick!

Anyway, Ms. Caulfield sure was lucky to get a pick-me-up from JK. But, I get a pick-me-up every time I look at him. ;-)

(Never fear, bloodhound Bartista is on the case and will try to find out more about this mysterious missing piece of the JK acting puzzle. :-).

UPDATE! (6/10/11): I found a 1957 issue of TV Guide with the credit info for JK's episode of Sally, which is titled "Sally Tries to Say 'No'". JK's character is named "Tony Rhodes". The plot: "Now traveling aboard a luxury liner, Sally and Mrs. Myrtle Banford meet a handsome young man. At first Sally dislikes him, but as the cruise progresses, she finds herself liking him more and more." (If it's JK, how could she not like him?)I also submitted the info to IMDb, so now this role will be in their credit list for JK. :-)

UPDATE! (8/27/19) - Here's a newspaper blurb announcing JK's casting in Sally (Back of Beyond is the original title of Taming Sutton's Gal):