JK: Close And A Cigar :)

Howdy!

Two more vintage photos recently joined the Kellection. They both happen to show Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, and Bart happens to be smoking a cigar in each photo:

Whether in fancy duds...

 

...or in a buckskin jacket, Bart is smokin'! :)

 

Did you know that the cigars the Maverick boys smoked were the stuff of Hollywood urban legends back in the day? I didn't, until I read the following 1959 newspaper story from the Victoria (TX) Advocate:

"Maverick Stogies Show Bret, Bart Are Different

'The myths I've heard circulating about the cigars Bret and Bart Maverick smoke have given me some of my heartiest laughs.'

So says Warner Bros property man Leo Lynch. Among his many responsibilities is seeing that fresh stogies are on hand for James Garner and Jack Kelly during production of ABC-TV's competition-killing Sunday night series Maverick.

Lynch says he's heard it rumored that these so-called 'Maverick cigars' are flown in from Havana where they are made from a secret blend exclusively for Maverick.

Another tale suggests that a little old Spanish lady in downtown Los Angeles hand-rolls the smokes not only for Bret and Bart, but for Jack L. Warner and executive producer William T. Orr.

Why does Maverick smoke cigars? Producer Roy Huggins has a ready answer: 'Because none of the traditional western heroes smokes them*. This was a calculated measure to distiguish Maverick from others. The villain is the cigar smoker in most westerns. Maverick inhales stogies for the same reason he doesn't own a beautiful horse, or handle a gun well, wear buckskins**, or a badge--he's a non-conformist. The cigars serve to remind us of this fact.'

Along with serving the purpose of backing up Maverick's philosophy, the cigars have acted as valuable attention-getters and conversation pieces.

Jack Kelly likes this 'cigar' incident:

'A wealthy businessman visiting the set asked about the cigars as soon as we were introduced. He said he'd heard the studio paid three dollars each for them and asked if he might try one. Of course we obliged, but made sure the wrapper was off before giving it to him. After a few puffs, our visitor proclaimed this a most magnificent smoke and asked where he could get some. I was afraid to tell him, so I didn't.'

If Kelly won't offer an answer, try property man Lynch, who casually insists nobody ever swore him to secrecy.

'Where do we get them? At the studio commissary's smoke stand. Very popular little cigars. Big sellers. They cost a nickel each.'" :)
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* I think Mr. Huggins forgot about Richard Boone's heroic Paladin, who was known to savor a cigar now and then.
**Actually, the Maverick brothers did have beautiful horses (e.g. Goldie), and, at times also handled a gun pretty well and wore buckskins (see second pic above). ;->

Retroceso Viernes! :)

That's "Flashback Friday" in Spanish...and here's another fantabulous Mexican lobby card from the Kellection, this time for Amor y Besos, better known in English as Love and Kisses, the 1965 flick starring Jack Kelly as Rick Nelson's pop. Enjoy! :)

 

There's lot's more about Love and Kisses here and here.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: I've been perusing the pages of the past again and have found some incredible JK stories and pictures to share with you. Please stay tuned! :) 

JK Saturday Sillies :)

 

"After I changed your oil, I did a complimentary safety check and lookey here: you got a couple bad spark plugs, your carburetor's pretty cruddy, your transmission is sluggish and your battery probably only has about six months left. I can fix all this stuff now if you'd like. Of course, it'll be extra. If you wanna wait, it should only take, um, about five hours, unless I have to call out for parts, then I'll have to keep it overnight. Oh, okay, you just want the oil change? That'll be $19.99 with the coupon."

JK: Last of the Mohicans! :)

Olá! (that's Portuguese for "Hello")

Continuing our jaunt around the wide wide world of Kellectibles, and just ahead of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, here's a magazine article about Jack Kelly--from Rio de Janeiro! :)

It's from the February 1963 issue of Cinelandia, sort of the Brazilian version of Photoplay. Maverick had already ended its original run in the U.S., but it was apparently still running in Brazil since the text of the article laments that JK is the "last of the Mavericks", though the title of the article actually translates as "The Last of the Mohicans"!

The article has some great photos. Unfortunately, they're dark and grainy. I tried to brighten them as best I could. Anyway, as long as we can see Jack, right? ;) Enjoy!

JK and a visitor to the set

 

 Another visitor and the text of the article

 

While getting his hair colored gray for the role of "Uncle Bentley" in the "Pappy" episode of Maverick, JK chats with actress Kay Elhardt, who played Bart Maverick's would-be Mammy! :)



Here, JK confers with William Stuart, who produced eight episodes of Maverick during its final season.

JK Code 98! :)

Hola!

Here's another goodie from the wide wide world of Kellectibles. Not a fotobusta this time, but a lobby card from Mexico:

The film being advertised is, of course, 1963's FBI Code 98, which starred Jack Kelly and just about every actor under contract at Warner Bros at the time, including a bunch who'd appeared with JK in Maverick (e.g. Kathleen Crowley, Andrew Duggan, and Ray Danton, to name just a few).  Phil Carey (in the lower right corner) had previously acted with JK in They Rode West (coming to TCM on 7/26 at 2:15 am ET, BTW!). JK later joined PC in two episodes of Laredo and the Bob Hope special Shoot-In at NBC.

Cult of the Fotobusta! :)

Ciao Again! :)

As promised, I have some more Italian fotobustas for you. These are especially timely, as well, since Me-TV is airing JK's classic Cult of the Cobra this evening (July 16 - check local listings for time).

These 'bustas blend two scenes from the film. First, here's JK and his GI buddies "snaking" into trouble:

Next, here's another double scene, with JK on the right taking aim at an alarming intruder:

Here's a close-up of JK's throwing technique:

Another close-up, just because:

Sally and Some Fotobustas! :)

Ciao!

Here's another look at Sally and Saint Anne--with an Italian accent! :)

The title SALLY... e i parenti picchiatelli on these vintage fotobustas (Italian lobby cards) roughly translates into English as Sally and Her Crackpot Relatives. And, the "cards" are actually more like posters since they're huge and printed on thin, fragile paper, which made it a challenge to handle and photograph them.

The fotobustas range in condition from fair to fairly terrible. However, they're an incredible find in any shape. And sometimes, it's not only the subject matter that's important in movie memorabilia, it's the preservation factor, as well. This ragged bit of JK ephemera will have a safe place in the Kellection.

Now, back to Jack! He appears on all four fotobustas. I hadn't seen three of these images and none of them in color before.

First, here's JK as bird-brained magician Mike O'Moyne with his sister, Sally (Ann Blyth):

 
Next, a wide-eyed Mike (dig that crazy tie!) and a smiling Sally:
 

The gang's all here with yet another variation on the cast photo:

How about a close-up of jovial JK:

Finally, Mike seems to be daydreaming as he and Sally watch their boxer brother Danny (Hugh O'Brian) spar with his manager (King Donovan):

One more close-up of that dreamy JK:

Have a wonderful Wednesday and stay tuned for more fun with fotobustas! :)