Who Wore It Best?

Hello Everyone!

A fellow Jack Kelly fan just let me know about a fascinating Maverick-related subject which was recently a topic of discussion elsewhere. Namely, how actresses who appeared on different episodes of the series all wore a certain dress.

I got to thinking about this, which led me to look through Maverick stills in the Kellection. And, by golly, they were right—that little plaid dress did get around!

The phenomenon of the frequently-used frock wasn’t unique to Maverick or to Warner Bros., which was notorious for recycling other elements of its television productions including sets, scripts and even characters. Most TV westerns of the era didn’t have huge wardrobe budgets, so re-using costumes was the norm, particularly when it came to dresses.

As an article titled “Hollywood Hand-Me-Downs” in a 1959 issue of TV Guide explained, “Television costumers often find themselves in the same predicament as Scarlett O’Hara of Gone With the Wind. Poor Scarlett had to fashion a velvet gown out of draperies; TV costumers, when stuck with low budgets, frequently must resort to hand-me-downs. The problem of ‘making do’ arises especially with shows about the Old West. This was a period when women’s clothes were voluminous, of elegant fabrics and elaborately hand-ornamented. Today, it is expensive to copy such garments. Materials cost up to $20 a yard, highly skilled seamtresses as much as $35 a day. A replica of an 1880 dress may cost from $400 to $700. Understandably, such a creation can’t be discarded after one show, so it is returned to Wardrobe to be used later ‘as is’, or it may undergo repeated alterations and become a glorified hand-me-down.”

Thus, as the TV Guide story illustrates, the long-sleeved gray wool suit jacket one actress wore on Laramie could be re-worked into a bolero for an actress on Wagon Train and then further altered to costume yet another actress on Riverboat.

And, so it was with the women’s wardrobe on Maverick. Now, the only question remaining about the ubiquitous plaid dress is, “Who wore it best?”

Was it Roxane Berard in "The Royal Four Flush":

Or, Gail Kobe in "Marshal Maverick":

Or, Sharon Hugueny in "The Devil's Necklace":

Or, Suzanne Lloyd (wearing an altered version in this original color slide from the Kellection) in "Last Stop Oblivion"?

I'm sure other actresses also acted in the popular plaid dress. And, it wasn't the only women's costume which had a recurring role on Maverick.

For example, there was this dance-hall outfit. Who (barely) wore it best:

Was it Anna Lisa in "The Judas Mask":

Or Arlene Howell in "Alias Bart Maverick"?

A more demure costume was also seen in numerous scenes. Who wore it best:

Dawn Wells in "The Deadly Image":

Or, Merry Anders in "The People's Friend"?

Here's one last example of a dress which did double (or more) duty in Maverick. Who wore it best:

Whitney Blake in "The Burning Sky":

Or Joan Marshall in "The Substitute Gun"?

Of course, the correct answer is that ALL of these lovely ladies wore these outfits the best, thanks to talented and resourceful costumers who "made do" and made every performer in Maverick look great, even in Hollywood hand-me-downs. 

Please stay tuned for more about JK in TDS! 

 

61 Years Ago Today :)

10/5/1958 newspaper ad for "Alias Bart Maverick" episode of Maverick, starring Jack Kelly and Arlene (Eurlyne) Howell:

Scootaway With JK! :)

Hello!

The image below of Jack Kelly and James Garner on the cover of the June 1959 issue of American Motorcycling may look familiar (it appeared in B/W in Linda Alexander's bio of JK), but you may not know the story behind the Maverick boys' little two-wheeled "steed".

According to the cover blurb inside the magazine, "Jack Kelly and James Garner, better known as the 'Mavericks'--Bart and Bret--take time off from their top-rated television series for a round of golf at a course adjacent to the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank [CA]. They're still in the saddle--but it's a Harley-Davidson motor scooter instead of a horse."

And, that motor scooter was actually H-D's first--and so far only--scooter, called the "Topper". H-D president William H. Davidson stated in an article in the same issue of American Motorcycling that the Topper was designed for "young adults, and the young at heart" and "The post-war baby boom is now bringing into the driver market young adults in large numbers who need wheels. Scooters are a logical answer to this problem because they are not being purchased just for 'sport'. They are definitely a means of transportation."

The Topper's many user-friendly features included an automatic "Scootaway" transmission which "enables the driver to accelerate smoothly from a full stop to motion without a 'hitch' or shifting of gears".

Yet another familiar face posed with the Topper in American Motorcycling:

Yes, that's leggy Arlene Howell, better known to Maverick fans as "Cindy Lou Brown". Too bad Cindy and Bart didn't have that Topper to scoot away from danger in "Alias Bart Maverick":
 

But, a few years later Bart ended up with a Topper of his own:

Alas, H-D's Topper topped out in 1965. The website "How Stuff Works" sums up the jaunty scooter's untimely demise: "Despite carrying the revered Harley-Davidson name, the Topper didn't sell particularly well in a market quickly becoming dominated by Japanese machines. And it wasn't long before the scooter craze subsided, taking the Topper as one of its early casualties."

Bart should have stuck with Goldie. ;-) 

STAY TUNED for a special Veteran's Day salute--coming up next time in TDS!

The Maverick Report - "Alias Bart Maverick"

Howdy!

Look what I just found on YouTube: