Jack Kelly - Back to Jack! :)

Hello All!

I'm finally back to Jack after spending some time with family over the New Year's holiday weekend. It was back to work today, too. Then, it took me over an hour to drive home in "intermittent flurries" (good grief, I'd hate to see what our weatherman's definition of a "blizzard" is!) :0

Thank you for all of the lovely New Year's prayers and wishes. And, "welcome" to our newest follower--the more the merrier! :)

Catching up: I watched and taped the last half hour or so of The Gambler Returns - The Luck of the Draw on New Year's Eve. I didn't watch the whole thing because I knew JK didn't appear until the climactic poker scene. I don't think I could have stood much more of this film than what I saw of it, anyway. As actors, Kenny Rogers and Reba McEntire are terrific singers.

I thought The Luck of the Draw was terribly bloated and padded with some of the unfunniest slapstick I've ever endured. I kept yelling at the screen, "Just get to San Francisco, already!" But, no, they had to stop at a rodeo, a prizefight, and even a gas station. (Great Mortimer's mustache!) It was nice to see Brian Keith as "Dave Blasingame" from The Westerner, however, and to hear Paul Brinegar ("Wishbone" of Rawhide) recite a monologue that cleverly included the title of just about every TV western that aired. It was good to see Bat Masterson, too, although I preferred Gene Barry as Amos Burke (that "Bat Masterson" theme song always drove me batty).

Ah, finally, the Hotel Carlton! I wondered how they were going to work Paladin into this mess, since Richard Boone had unfortunately died in 1981. At first, I thought the lady dealing "Mr. Paladin's cards" was the original "Hey Girl" from Have Gun--Will Travel, but apparently it was a different actress.

Of course, everything else fell by the wayside when Jack Kelly at last appeared as Bart Maverick. He looked and sounded good, if a bit frail. He got in a little nod to his political career when Bart asked special guest player President Teddy Roosevelt to confirm that he was playing with his own stake and "not the taxpayers' money". Interestingly, TR was portrayed by Claude Akins, who'd appeared with JK in the Maverick episode "Burial Ground of the Gods" way back in 1958.

The Luck of the Draw couldn't just let Bart stand on his own merit, though. Nooo, the shadow of Bret Maverick and James Garner fell over JK once again as he was given such uninspired dialogue as "Bret would have gotten the cards he needed" and "I'm not the best poker player in the Maverick family!" Sheesh, Bart was even wearing Bret's string tie--and where was his pinky ring?

But, I was content to see JK in his final role. I'm grateful he had more than a 30-second cameo. Still, I wish there had been less of The Gambler and more of THE gambler--Bart Maverick--in this silly film.

Well, keep watchin', because next time, I have a very special assignment for all of you sharp-eyed Maverick watchers. :)

Jack Kelly - A Gambler Returns...

Hello Everyone,

Before we get to the conclusion of "Bart and Bret Running Close Race", I wanted to share this picture with you. (I hope you'll excuse the quality--it's scanned from a slide, and I'm still kind of a novice at that.)

This picture was taken on October 14, 1991, at the premiere party for the television mini-series The Gambler Returns - The Luck of the Draw. The film debuted on TV on November 3, 1991.

I thought it was fitting to share this picture today, since The Luck of the Draw is being shown on the Encore Westerns channel this evening. It marked the last time Jack Kelly would play Bart Maverick.

JK is second from the right in the picture. (It's hard to miss that smile!) Sadly, we lost two of the other TV cowboys in the picture just this year: David Carradine and Gene Barry. The only one remaining now is Hugh O'Brian.

The Luck of the Draw wasn't the first time JK had met up with these hombres. He'd acted with Carradine in the film Young Billy Young; he did a couple of Name of the Game episodes with Barry; and as a young hopeful at Universal he appeared in several films with O'Brian.

Since 2009 is coming to a close, I thought I'd also take a moment to thank all of you for reading "The Tall Dark Stranger There...", and for all of your kind words and support.

2009 started out on a very sad note for me when my beloved mother passed away. I know she's in a better place now and is suffering no more. However, there's an empty place in my life where she used to be. That cruel fact burdened my heart with sorrow. My Christian faith has helped me to bear that burden. And God, in His infinite and creative mercy, also let my spirit be lifted a little by a gentleman named Jack.

I pray that the Lord will abundantly bless you and watch over you all in 2010! :)

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Now, for the conclusion of "Bart and Bret Running Close Race." This part reveals JK's thoughtful analysis of how he differed from Bart Maverick:

"Jack is married to May Wynn, a former Copacabana beauty and sometime actress. She, and a desire for a family, are the reasons that Jack is not openly disgruntled--as Jim Garner has been--about the hard work and relatively modest pay awarded to the Maverick brothers.

'In fact,' he says, "I hope that Maverick runs for 35 years and that God wills we have a child to take over my job.'

People are always asking Jack if his own personality is akin to that of Bart Maverick. And he is always replying:

'No. I'm not as free-wheeling.

'Before my marriage, I probably had the outlook of the Mavericks, without the guts and the talent to live that way. But marriage makes a big difference in your attitude. For instance, we have a standing rule in our house, I don't travel without my wife or she without me.

'I'd cry up a storm if I lost as much money as Maverick does across the poker table. And, there's a spiritual responsibility that we have which is never noticeable in Maverick's life.

'Bear this in mind,' Kelly concludes, 'the Mavericks are great guys, who will grab a girl wherever they can and say let's go--we'll have a good time and that's it. The men in the audience say gee, look what that guy gets away with, and the women can't help liking him.

'But if people were that free and easy, they wouldn't have to go to the theater, watch TV or buy our entertainment.'

Wouldn't wish that on a nice guy like Jack Kelly."

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What's next? Keep watchin'--and have a Safe and Blessed New Year's!