Stagecoach West (TV series)

infobox television
show_name = Stagecoach West
format = Western
picture_format = Black and white (1960-1961)
runtime = 60 minutes
starring = Wayne Rogers; Robert Bray; Richard Eyer
country = United States
network = ABC
first_aired = October 4,1960
last_aired = June 27, 1961
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 38
imdb_id = |

"Stagecoach West" is a highly-acclaimed Western dramatic television series which ran for only thirty-eight episodes on the ABC network from October 4, 1960, until June 27, 1961. Characters Luke Perry (played by Wayne Rogers) and Simon Kane (Robert Bray) operate the Timberland Stage Line from Missouri to San Francisco. Simon's 15-year-old son, David "Davey" Kane (played by Richard Eyer), joins the two as they face stagecoach robbers, murderers, inclement weather, and less sensational events as well. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053537/ "Stagecoach West" (1960) ] ] "Stagecoach West" was somewhat similar to the "Wagon Train" series on NBC and later ABC. The one-hour black-and-white program was offered at 9 p. m. Eastern on Tuesdays opposite NBC's "Thriller", hosted by Boris Karloff, and CBS's "The Red Skelton Show". [1960-61 United States network television schedule]

Rogers later became popular a dozen years later on "M*A*S*H" [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0737257/ Wayne Rogers (I) ] ] , and Bray later portrayed the forest ranger Corey Stuart on "Lassie" from 1964-1969, both on CBS. [ [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0106248/bio Robert Bray (I) - Biography ] ] Child actor Eyer had starred in a number of films in the 1950s, including "Friendly Persuasion" and "Desperate Hours". [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/richard-eyer?cat=entertainment Richard Eyer: Information and Much More from Answers.com ] ]

"Stagecoach West" was a spin-off of CBS's "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater". It was produced by Powell's Four Star Television. It is believed that the series was cancelled despite the high quality of its production because of the glut of westerns on television at the time. The same fate had fallen on CBS's "Johnny Ringo" in 1960. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053537/ "Stagecoach West" (1960) ] ]

In the debut episode called "High Lonesome", Simon meets a man at a way station who has been hired to kill him. Kentucky native James Best starred in the segment as Les Hardee. He would later become known as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on CBS's "The Dukes of Hazard". In the second episode, a young couple, played by Gigi Perreau and Robert Harland, is eloping, and a mysterious stranger named Dawson is following them. [ [http://www.tv.com/stagecoach-west/show/9582/summary.html Stagecoach West - TV.com ] ]

In a heart-warming episode called "The Orphans", two children from Spain come west to seek their father, but when they locate him, they find him dead. In the eleventh episode entitled "Three Wise Men", Denver Pyle played a dying criminal who asked that he be allowed to see his wife and children on Christmas Eve. In "The Outcasts", Deputy Ken Rawlins, played by Don Dubbins, fires upon a fleeing gang of robbers and kills his own brother, who is one of the bandits. [ [http://www.tv.com/stagecoach-west/show/9582/summary.html Stagecoach West - TV.com ] ]

In the final episode called "The Marker", Luke helps a beautiful woman named Jenny Forbes, played by Ruta Lee, hide from her former boyfriend, a gambler called Mingo. When Mingo learns of the developments, he sends Luke a tombstone as a present. [ [http://www.tv.com/stagecoach-west/show/9582/summary.html Stagecoach West - TV.com ] ]

Prominent guest stars on "Stagecoach West" included Beverly Garland, James Coburn, Virginia Grey, Cesar Romero, Darren McGavin, Warren Oates, Jack Elam, and Jack Lord. [ [http://www.thehighchaparral.com/tvstagecoach.htm The High Chaparral TV Stagecoach West ] ]

Here is the refrain from the "Stagecoach West" theme song:

When you’re feeling lowdown And you need some rest

Leave that eastern town Take the Stagecoach West. [ [http://www.thehighchaparral.com/tvstagecoach.htm The High Chaparral TV Stagecoach West ] ]

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