"...Now There Is One"

Howdy!

In 1961, Jack Kelly became the lone Maverick on Maverick. The Los Angeles Examiner marked this event with a cover story in their "TV Weekly" section:

 

Maybe it's just me, but I think this marvelous image may have been flipped when it was published (either that, or Bart is ambidextrous). Compare with this image (apparently from the same shoot) which was published on the cover of the Australian "TV Times" earlier in 1961:

Anyway, here's the cover story from the Examiner:

Despite the show's shuffle to a 6:30 pm timeslot and the fact that only 13 new episodes were filmed, JK was still very much "sold" on Maverick. According to the Examiner story, he wrote down his rosy prediction for the series' fate, made 25 copies, and sealed them in his safety deposit box. He intended to send these copies to the powers-that-be if Maverick prevailed. Unfortunately, JK's crystal ball must have malfunctioned because the series was canceled in 1962.

But, the ill-starred fifth season of Maverick did have some high points, including "Poker Face", in which Bart battled bandits and prejudice (and got cozy with Anna Novarro in this vintage original still from the Kellection):

Of course, to JK's fans, there has always been only "one" Maverick... ;>

RIP Leslie H Martinson

Hello All,

On Monday 9/5 I posted a lobby card from Jack Kelly's film FBI Code 98. This film was directed by Leslie H. Martinson, who also helmed 18 episodes of Maverick.

Sadly, the talented and prolific Mr. Martinson passed away on 9/6, at the age of 101. His obituary in the New York Times includes a great photo of JK and Roger Moore with Mr. Martinson. This photo also appeared in a article about JK which was published in TV Weekly in 1960 and which I blogged about in 2011.

Roger Moore shared some interesting tidbits about working with JK and Mr. Martinson in his autobiography My Word Is My Bond. You can read them here.

BTW, Mr. Martinson wasn't the only long-lived Maverick director. Richard Bare, who directed 11 episodes of the series, was also 101 when he passed away in 2015!