Lave--It's Saturday Night! :)

 Hello Everyone!

Original 1961 Maverick publicity still scanned and colorized 

from the La Bartista Kellection 

It's Saturday night, and rub-a-dub-dub, here's Bart Maverick in a tub! He's getting all spruced up for the holiday weekend.  Yaquito (Ref Sanchez) is there to remind him to wash behind his ears.

Of course, this is really a colorized original publicity still for the Maverick episode "A State of Siege", which initially aired on ABC-TV on January 1, 1961. The plot has Bart in New Mexico, where he lands smack in the middle of a political siege at his new amigo Don Felipe Archelata's hacienda. Don Felipe is played by Ray Danton. Lisa Gaye also guest stars as Don Felipe's fiancée Soledad Lazarro:

Original 1961 Maverick publicity still scanned 

from the La Bartista Kellection 

Although it's not acknowledged in the episode credits, "A State of Siege" is based--very loosely--on the Robert Louis Stevenson novella "The Pavillion on the Links", which deals with intrigue in Scotland. According to original Maverick documents in the Kellection, Stevenson's story appeared to be in the public domain in most of the world at the time and Warner Bros. acquired "all rights in the teleplay adaptation without restrictions or obligations."

Please stay tuned for much more about our amigo Jack Kelly in the next TDS! :)

Jack Kelly's Universal Appeal :)

Hello!

Jack Kelly and his pals definitely aren't practicing social distancing in the photo below. But, they have a good excuse--this pic was snapped in 1953:

The info on the back of the photo reads: "THEY"RE INTERNATIONAL--WITH A UNIVERSAL APPEAL! - It's a young people's movie world at Universal-International Studios, noted for development of young talent for the screen. Herewith is a mixed group of Hollywood hopefuls and winners of the second annual 'Miss Universe' bathing beauty contest, now under contract to U-I. Left to right: Lisa Gaye; Brad Jackson; Maxine Morgan ('Miss Australia'); Lance Fuller (currently in Taza, Son of Cochise); Alicia Ibanez ('Miss Uruguay'); William Leslie; Christiane Martel ('Miss Universe' and in costume for her first movie, Yankee Pascha); Jack Kelly; and Emita Arosemena ('Miss Panama')."

A close-up of Hollywood hopeful JK:

 

Of the other U-I contract players pictured above, few besides JK went onto notable careers, although Lance Fuller did appear in "The Island in the Swamp" and "The Cats of Paradise" episodes of Maverick, portraying a character ("Faro Jack Norcross") in the latter episode which spoofed Richard Boone's "Paladin" from Have Gun--Will Travel.

 

And, Lisa Gaye (sister of actress Debra Paget) appeared with JK in the 1961 Maverick episode "State of Siege", which also guest-starred Ray Danton:



Caption: "Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly, left), Soledad (Lisa Gaye), and Don Felipe (Ray Danton) make up a happy household before 'A State of Siege' hits their Spanish hacienda, forcing them to fight for their lives on MAVERICK."


Incidentally, JK was part of another line-up of talent in 1975, this time to publicize an episode of the Ellery Queen series in which he guest-starred:

 

Well, "hopefully" this post "appealed" to you. Please stay tuned for more fun with JK in TDS and please stay well. :)