Jack Kelly - How the West Was Fun - Again! :)

Hi Everybody,

Today's post may look like a rerun, but I just found some additional information about the When the West Was Fun special--and a much better copy of it on DVD--and I wanted to share it with you.

While watching the DVD I bought last Saturday, I noticed that the picture quality left a lot to be desired, as you could tell by the grainy screen caps I posted. Plus, a news brief scrolled across the bottom of the special at one point, and I realized someone had simply taped this landmark special from TV and copied it to a DVD. Grr.... >:(

I wondered if I could find a better copy of it somewhere, so I checked eBay. Well, not only did I find a better copy of When the West Was Fun on eBay, I actually found the show's producer, Brad Marks! His son, Michael, is selling sharp, "director's cut" DVDs of the special on eBay right now. How "sharp"? Have a look:

As you can see, the color and clarity are far better. If interested in purchasing the authentic DVD, search the seller name marcos1brad on eBay.

And, of course, I had to ask about you-know-who. This is what Michael told me his dad remembered about JK's stint on the special:

"Jack was a politician who lived in Orange County, California. During the show Dad, Jack, Neville Brand and Slim Pickens played cards during breaks."

JK also has a very funny card-playing scene in the special with Neville Brand of Laredo (on which JK guest-starred) and Lee Van Cleef (his Commandos co-star) which erupts into a full-scale bar room brawl. He even smashes a bottle over the head of Alan Hale, Jr. (who guest-starred in two of JK's Maverick episodes!) Bart Maverick also makes a cameo appearance by way of a Maverick clip.

Speaking of bottle smashing, Michael let me in on another little secret: In a scene where host Glenn Ford is demonstrating how fake prop bottles are usually used in western film fights, he accidentally conks Larry Storch of F-Troop on the head with a real bottle! (They left the scene in the special.)

There's also a clip of a fight scene from Bonanza where the Cartwright boys display an unprecedented lack of brotherly love. And, Pernell Roberts wasn't too forgiving in real-life either after When the West Was Fun aired--according to a 1979 article in the Pittsburgh Press he claimed his image was used without his permission and sued ABC, the network that ran the special!

Jack Kelly - "Will He Be Drafted?"

Hello Everyone,

One of the movie magazines I bought over the weekend contains an unusual story which fits in with Memorial Day.

To get a better perspective on the story, let's take the Wayback Machine and travel back to the fall of 1961:

Service quotas were increasing in the US military due to Cold War tensions building in Berlin, Germany. According to an AP news story at the time, the draft was stepped up sharply by President John F. Kennedy in August of 1961, when 18,000 men were called.

Twenty-five thousand men would be called by the Army in September 1961, at the time the largest call since the Korean War. Twenty-thousand men would be called in both October and November.

Anxiety over the possible outbreak of war even seeped onto the placid pages of Photoplay, which reported that it had received "an avalanche of letters" from readers asking: "Which stars will be drafted?...Will a married actor be called?...What about Elvis?...Which actors are in the Reserves?..."

Photoplay answered, "Because of the impossibility of answering each question personally, we decided to publish a list of the most popular movie and TV stars and their draft status. Those most likely to be drafted, according to information provided by members of the Los Angeles Board of Selective Service, are unmarried males between the ages of 21 and 26. Within this group, the 23 year-olds would most likely be called first. However, young men from 18 to 21 are also eligible for the draft, and those in the Reserves are subject to call even before a national emergency is declared. Men between the ages of 26 and 36 would probably be taken only in a national call-up. Those over 36 would be tapped only in case of actual war."

One of the popular stars listed in the story is Jack Kelly. He turned 34 in 1961 and had already served his country in the Air Force. Photoplay noted "the specific draft status of each star is confidential and cannot be released to the public". But, here is how they speculated about JK's possible draft status:

Although the crisis in Germany led to the construction of the Berlin Wall, a national emergency in the US was averted, meaning JK and the other stars weren't called up in 1961. If they had been, however, I'm sure they would have proudly served.

I would like to say "Thank You" to all current service men and women (including my nephew, who is deployed in Iraq) and to take a moment to remember all those who've served in the past, including my dad, my older brother, and JK.

Jack Kelly - How the West Was Fun! :)

Howdy Everyone!

Before we begin another jaunt into JK Land, I just want to thank Linda Alexander and those two other Wise Girls (Debbie Barth and Dori DeCarlo) once more for inviting my "alter ego" to speak on their wonderful podcast last Thursday. I've heard from several TTDST readers who heard the show. I hope you all enjoyed it and that it was helpful to you.

And, I want to again thank you all for your kind words for this little blog. :)

Well, today (Saturday) I did some traveling and ended up at an established cinema event. It's an annual gathering of old-time movie fans, or, I should say, fans of old-time movies. And, I mean old-time. Like, when Rin-Tin-Tin was just a puppy.

Now, I adore old-time, classic, vintage films. But, I didn't watch any today because it would have cost me $35. See, this was a bona-fide film festival.

In addition to the film screenings, there was also MUCHO movie memorabilia for sale. Fortunately, the festival offered a substantially reduced entrance fee for fans like me who only wanted to peruse the posters and such. And not only did I have to pay to get in, I had to register and wear a badge, just to flip through photos.

But, in the interest of Jack Kelly fans everywhere (and in the never-ending kwest for Kellectibles), I paid the fee, registered, and entered the sales room. :->

The sellers were all fine folks with many rare and wondrous items, but I have a favor to ask of them: Please organize your stuff!

Frankly, the place looked like an explosion in a movie buff's basement. For instance, there were loads and loads of fabulous movie stills, but they were all piled on crowded tables with no rhyme or reason. Is there a Jack Kelly pic in here? Maybe, but I have to thumb through pix from Gold Diggers of 1933, Rocky II, and just about every other movie made in the last 80 years to find out. After a little while of hunching over the Hollywood stills, my back was yelling "Cut!". (To those photo vendors who did have their wares thoughtfully arranged in binders: thank you!)

Although I didn't find any JK pictures, I didn't come away empty-handed. I found a couple of interesting movie magazines, and a DVD of When the West Was Fun, a 1979 reunion special which rounded up scores of famous TV cowboys, including JK.

This special really is fun. It begins with a cleverly pantomined sequence as famous western stars enter a saloon. Each is ushered in by their TV theme song. Below is a scene from JK's memorable entrance (sorry, these screen caps are a bit grainy):

He gets in a little bit of comedy right after his entrance, too. Incidentally, he wears a fantastic black frock coat, but no cowboy hat.

Another great shot. I absolutely LOVE the adorable look on JK's face here and the way it kind of mirrors the image behind him. And, yes, you can really see his chain. :->



After this, JK is mostly glimpsed in the background. But, he does get in a funny line here, and you can see more of the chain:

There is lots more fun (and funny) stuff in this special, such as a hilarious discussion between "Festus" (Ken Curtis) and "Doc" (Milburn Stone) from Gunsmoke. I'm glad that so many of these now-departed western stars were gathered here for posterity.

I could have done without the dance hall girls chirping, "Back when the west was fun, you could tell a man by the size of his gun!" (Well, that's why they invented the fast forward button
;->.) But, I wouldn't have missed the special's moving musical finale with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans for the world. :)

Jack Kelly - The Tenderfoot :)

Howdy All!

I thought you might enjoy seeing more pix of young Jack Kelly in his pre-Maverick western film days. I guess you could call him a "tenderfoot" at this point. (Just don't call him "Sugarfoot"--that was Will Hutchins. ;->)

Recognize the guy in the center? (Uh, the guy standing in the center, wearing a star.) That's Randolph Scott, of course. But, who's the dusty dude on the right?

It's 22 year-old JK, in what is often listed as his first film as an adult actor, Fighting Man of the Plains (1949). I happened to catch it as it came on TV a few months ago. I'd vaguely remembered reading that JK was in it. However, I was afraid it was going to be one of those "Is that him?" blink-and-you'll-miss-JK movies, like Holiday Affair.

But, I sat down and watched Fighting Man. Luckily, it had an interesting plot and good acting, and--hey, there's JK! (My brother was over and even he noticed when JK suddenly appeared about an hour into the film: "Isn't that Bart Maverick?")

JK plays an uncredited "cattleman" in a couple of scenes. Other familiar western faces in Fighting Man include Victor Jory (who would later co-star with JK in the short-lived Kings Row TV series), Paul Fix, Barry Kelley, Rhys Williams, and, as "Jesse James", a young actor named Dale Robertson.

Here's another pic of JK as "Curly Mather" in Gunsmoke (1953). The lady is Susan Cabot.

Finally, here's my favorite pic, showing JK as "Hatcher" in 1953's The Stand at Apache River, trying to persuade Jaclynne Greene to leave her innkeeper husband. Incidentally, some actors just don't look right with mustaches; fortunately, JK was one actor who looked fantastic with or without facial hair! :->

Jack Kelly - "I Hated Horses When I Was a Kid" :)

Howdy Everyone!

After reading Jack Kelly's stirring column about the Lone Ranger and Silver, I got to wondering: How did JK really feel about horses himself? We know he rode Sickle, a.k.a. Goldie, and other mounts in Maverick. And, of course, he rode horses in the western films in which he appeared.

So, I did a little digging and found an article from 1960 which reveals how JK felt about horses and some other interesting things, as well:

"TV's Maverick Once Didn't Even Like Horses -
Let Alone Ride Them
by Joe St. Amant,
United Press International, 10/30/1960

Jack Kelly, television's sophisticated easy-in-the-saddle Bart Maverick, talks to his horse these days but there was a time he was not on speaking terms with any of the four-legged critters.

This suave TV gambler with the educated eyebrows [B27 - I love that description!] who looks perfectly at home on a horse in his video shenanigans, was not born to the saddle. He was not raised in the saddle. And the only range he knew as a boy was the kitchen stove at home in Astoria, Long Island.

Between scenes in the shooting of a Maverick episode on the Warner Bros. lot, Kelly came clean on his relationship with horses.

'I hated horses when I was a kid,' he recalled. 'I was afraid of them.

'When we moved here to Southern California, I used to ride at weekend boys' camps--I don't know whether they have things like that any more--but I never liked it. Then, in 1951, I signed a contract with the old Universal Studio--for about 150 or 200 bucks a week. They had regular classes for young actors in almost anything you can name--including riding and Balinese dancing where you'd have to strike a lot of kookie poses. [B27 - I had to stop here because I was laughing so hard - can you imagine JK dancing like that?] This was the greatest thing that ever happened to me as far as training was concerned. You learned poise. You learned how to cock your head or lift an eyebrow to get an idea across. I do that a lot today in Maverick, if you'll notice. [B27 - Yep!]

'But the riding class--I thought I could do without that. I missed the first two classes and Bob Palmer, head of talent then, called me into his office and told me, 'Listen, young fella, the measure of your success in this business may well be how you can handle a horse. Now get out of here and get your satchel over to the stable.' I got.'

Thus began a great friendship between Kelly and the equine family.

'I really learned to handle a horse," Kelly continued seriously. 'In the first place, I lost my fear. You couldn't hold me then. I wanted to get out there every day and saddle up as soon as possible. The wranglers they had at the studio were great guys. They knew horses, of course. And they taught you how to treat a horse. It was their responsibility to see that the horses were not mistreated. They did a good job on the horses and the students.'

For the past three seasons, Kelly's been grateful for his acquired horsemanship.

'In the situations in Maverick, I could look awfully silly if I didn't know how to handle a horse," he explained. It's getting on and off mostly in the show, and I could look foolish if I didn't know what I was doing.'

But, he isn't about to indulge in any mad gallops down the side of a mountain or any other such breakneck stunts.

'I've got too much at stake," he said. "A broken arm or leg and my career might be wrecked.'

That career is a serious thing with Kelly. In real life, he displays few of the characteristics of the light-hearted drifter, Bart Maverick.

He recently completed a movie for Warner Bros. called A Fever in the Blood. He plays a straight part as a district attorney who exploits the prosecution of a murder case as a lever to try to become governor.

Kelly recently renegotiated with Warner Bros. and signed a seven-year contract covering Maverick and four more movies.

'I got what I wanted,' he said.

Kelly said he does not think movie audiences will identify him with Maverick.

'It doesn't have the stereotyping characteristics that some other westerns have," he explained. "I like doing this show. The stories are usually whimsical. The spirit infiltrates the whole company and turns it into a lot of camaraderie. It helps to make the work easier.'

It's easier in the saddle now, anyway."

JK is tall in the saddle as "Curly Mather" in
Gunsmoke (1953), one of his early Universal westerns.

Jack Kelly - Who Was That Masked Columnist? :)

Hello All! The late Jim Croce sang a song titled You Don't Mess Around With Jim. In addition to not messing around with Jim, the lyrics advise, "You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger".

But, in 1979, someone did pull the mask off the Lone Ranger. Clayton Moore was renowned for portraying the legendary masked man in films and on television. However, when the Wrather Corporation decided to produce a new feature film version of The Lone Ranger, they chose a younger, unknown actor for the part. What's worse, they legally barred Moore from wearing his trademark mask in public.

Unfortunately, Jim Croce was gone by this time. Fortunately, though, Clayton Moore and "the old Lone Ranger" had another defender in 1979: a columnist for the Huntington Beach News by the name of Jack Kelly. JK, of course, knew something about cowboy heroes, and, as you'll see from his column dated September 27, 1979, he also knew something about writing:

"There's a gag card making the rounds: 'Old Actors Never Die--They Just Fail to Perform.' I'll be the first to publicly deny the allegation if you promise never to question my wife. Her answer could wreck a career.

"There is one actor who will never die, and as sure as Tonto is faithful, has never failed to perform. He's a great guy named Clayton Moore. He played the Lone Ranger for so many years, the silver bullets have tarnished. He galloped so many cinematic miles on the great steed Silver, he should be enshrined in Hollywood Park. Clayton saved so many sod busters from cattlemen's wrath, they should have named chicken fried steak after him. He used so many silver bullets as momentoes to startled and thankful range families, laid end-to-end they'd stretch from Dodge City to the Chicago stockyards. His courage-provoking salutation, 'Hi-Yo, Silver, Awayyy!', is more memorable a rallying cry than 'Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!', or 'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition'.

"Clayton Moore's next birthday celebration could be his 50th, 58th, 63rd, 69th, or 75th--one answer you'll never get from him is whether I'm being vindictive or kind--though his body still easily slips into a 32" waist, to get him to discuss his birthdate would be an accomplishment equal to proving Wilt Chamberlain wears elevator shoes, Chrysler Corporation isn't really stupidly managed, or John Wayne is a bad guy!

"Clayton Moore is so loyal to the Lone Ranger, he wouldn't go to a restroom at the L.A. Coliseum without wearing his mask. He's so determined to separate his private life from the outstanding fictional hero of the West, he'd likely be fingered as the masked rapist in a police lineup, and still wouldn't request Tonto to vouch for his character.

"Since The Lone Ranger went off the air, Clayton has been earning a living at state fairs, rodeos and every other conceivable personal appearance where his services are continually requested by eager entrepreneurs. Last week, Clayton Moore was legally ambused as indelicately as when the 'dirty little coward' plugged Mr. Howard, as when the infamous Bob Ford squeezed the shot that propelled Jesse James into an orbit of American folk legend.

"The Wrather Corporation, owners of the Lone Ranger rights and trademarks, successfully enjoined Clayton Moore from ever appearing again as the masked crusader. Ain't it a shame. A man who subverted his own identification to perpetuate his fictional career partner will have to hang up mask, six-guns and future as if he were a hopeless mosquito, smashed on the forearm of a jet-setter taking sun in Acapulco? 

"The Wrather Corporation is into a rejuvenation cycle of the Lone Ranger, in keeping with the the Superman flick of recent issue. Since westerns have vacated TV and theatres for the past ten years or so, the Lone Ranger movie should be successful. The producer is rightfully protecting his ability to capitalize on appearances of the new artist portraying the legendary hero. 

"Mr. Wrather, for a happy birthday to Clayton, whenever it is or whichever one it is, you might consider appointing him to a position of value in the new project. He's been of continual value over the years by keeping Silver's rider unsullied."

*************************

Alas, the Wrather Corporation didn't take JK's hint and failed to give Moore a role in the new film, which was released in 1981 as The Legend of the Lone Ranger. But, after the film bombed big-time, Clayton Moore was allowed to wear his famous mask once more. :)

Jack Kelly - Hoppin' Along With Bart Maverick! :)

Hey Everybody!

I'm sorry I haven't blogged much lately. I've been on the go. Last weekend, I visited the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington to watch the exciting cross-country portion of the Rolex 3-Day Event. Beautiful park, beautiful horses. I visited a couple of antiques stores while in KY, too, but found no Kellectibles.

I had better luck this Friday (4/30) at the Hopalong Cassidy Festival in Cambridge, a town nestled in the rolling hills of southeastern Ohio. Hoppy's portrayer, actor William Boyd, was born near Cambridge in 1895.

I'd heard about this two-day festival before, but this was the first time I'd attended. It doesn't seem to be very widely publicized and I wasn't sure if it was still being held. However, I saw it advertised this year and just happened to have an opening in my schedule, so I decided to check it out.

I already had an all-day commitment for Saturday (5/1), so I attended the festival on Friday. The weather was unseasonably warm and brilliantly sunny, so I slapped on the sunscreen and brought along a cowboy hat I'd bought in KY. I thought I'd be spending a lot of time walking around outdoors, because to me, "festival" suggested an event with carnival rides and food booths. Stuff like that.

Well, it turned out I didn't need the sunscreen or the hat. What I saw of the "festival" was contained inside a building, the Pritchard Laughlin Civic Center. There was a food stand outside the Civic Center, along with a fellow in cowboy duds performing rope tricks for a small group of spectators.

Inside, I saw a guy dressed like Zorro and a couple of vendors selling western DVDs in the lobby. To the left there was a large room where more vendors were selling western toys and collectibles. To enter the room, however, one had to pay $5.00.

The lady collecting the entrance fee took my fiver and then said, "Now I have to stamp your hand." Whomp! The stamp left a bright blue line portrait of Hopalong Cassidy's head on the back of my hand.



This being the Hopalong Cassidy Festival, naturally there was a ton of Hoppy stuff for sale in the vendor's room, along with a bunch of Roy Rogers and other western star collectibles.

But, of course, I was looking for Kellectibles. In fact, if any other Jack Kelly fans happened to attend the festival after me, you probably didn't see too much Maverick stuff because I bought most of what I saw, including: a jigsaw puzzle with a photo of Bret and Bart; the Maverick Whitman book (which, although it mentions JK on the cover, seems to be only about Bret Maverick), and a Maverick comic book.

The Maverick puzzle

I would have bought more comics (the vendor had several), but the prices were a bit higher than my pocketbook would allow at the time. However, the vendor was extremely nice and we had a pleasant conversation about Maverick and Cheyenne.

A couple of vendors had the Hartland Maverick rider and gunfighter figurines for sale, but these were (a) way too expensive and (b) only Bret (Hartland didn't make any Bart figurines), so they stayed on the shelf. (Trivia: The Maverick figurines wear white cowboy hats, when everyone knows that Bret usually wore a black hat.) However, I did find a rare Hartland woodgrain-patterned mustang figurine for a very good price, and it joined my stash of souvenirs.

A few authors were hawking western-themed books and a singing cowboy did a spot-on impression of Kermit the Frog crooning "The Rainbow Connection".

The memorabilia, books and cowboy Kermit impersonators were not the biggest attractions in the room, though, because surviving cast members of The Virginian (James Drury, Gary Clarke, Roberta Shore and Randy Boone) were also there. They were seated at a table, with Virginian DVDs playing on a TV in the background. The show is currently being rerun on the Encore Westerns channel.

I have fond memories of watching The Virginian with my older sister. Along with the title character, for some reason I particularly remember vivacious Betsy (played by Ms. Shore). I think I wanted to be like Betsy and ride a horse around the ranch all day. Of course, Ms. Shore also co-starred in an episode of Maverick with JK ("The Royal Four Flush"), so I should have gone up and at least said, "Hello". But, there were a lot of people hovering around the table, and signs saying it would cost $20 to have a photo taken with the actors or to get an autograph.

Maybe I should have waited until the crowd thinned out. But, I knew I had a long drive ahead of me, so I didn't want to linger too long. I did get a glimpse of 76 year-old James Drury (who appeared with JK in Forbidden Planet)--he looked kind of tired--and 67 year-old Ms. Shore is as vivacious as ever.

I'm sure there was more to the festival in Cambridge proper (the Civic Center is on the highway leading into town), but, unfortunately I wasn't able to check it out due to time constraints. Maybe next year. :)