"of 1950s and 1960s television Western series leads reprising their roles in quick cameo appearances (Gene Barry as Bat Masterson, Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp, Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, David Carradine as ""Kung Fu""'s Caine, Chuck Connors as The Rifleman, and so on). A two-DVD set of the complete series was released by Shout! Factory in February 2017. The Westerner (TV series) The Westerner is a highbrow American Western series that aired on NBC from September 30 to December 30, 1960. Created, written and produced by Sam Peckinpah, who also directed some episodes, the"
"financial adviser Irving Leonard, who advised Clint Eastwood in the late 1950s and 1960s. After several feature film roles, including ""Sayonara"" with Marlon Brando, Garner got his big break playing the role of professional gambler Bret Maverick in the Western series ""Maverick"" from 1957-1960. Only Garner and series creator Roy Huggins thought ""Maverick"" could compete with ""The Ed Sullivan Show"" and ""The Steve Allen Show"". The show almost immediately made Garner a household name. Garner was the lone star of ""Maverick"" for the first seven episodes, but production demands forced the studio, Warner Brothers (Warners), to create a Maverick brother,"
"in which Bart appeared tended to be somewhat more dramatic than the Bret episodes, Kelly displayed his comedic skills in lighter ""Maverick"" outings such as ""Hadley's Hunters"" and ""The People's Friend."" Kelly actually appeared in more episodes of ""Maverick"" than James Garner, who left the show following a contract dispute in 1960. Kelly appeared in 83 episodes; Garner in only 65. In the wake of Garner's departure, Roger Moore stepped in to play Bart's cousin Beau Maverick in fourteen episodes, sharing the screen with Kelly in three of them, while Robert Colbert appeared in two installments as a third brother"
"Bad Seed"", receiving a Tony Award for the 1955 stage production and an Academy Award nomination for the 1956 film adaptation. Of Irish descent, Kelly was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, into a theatrical family. Her mother was silent film actress Nan Kelly, who coached her and managed her career. As a child actress, Kelly appeared in 52 films made on the East Coast by the age of 17. Her younger brother was actor Jack Kelly, most noted for playing the role of Bart Maverick, one of the two leads, alongside James Garner or Roger Moore from 1957 to 1962 in"
"to successfully pursue a film career. Kelly also played Bret and Bart's uncle, Bentley Maverick, in the 1959 episode ""Pappy"". Though very popular, Garner quit over a contract dispute with the studio after the series' third year in order to graduate to a much anticipated movie career, and was replaced by Roger Moore as cousin Beau, nephew of Beau ""Pappy"" Maverick. It is unclear if Beau was supposed to be the son of Bret and Bart's uncle Bentley. Sean Connery turned down the role, but accepted a free trip to America; the following decade, Moore would replace Connery as James"
"along with guest roles on ""Fireside Theater"", ""Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"", ""Lux Video Theatre"", and ""Gunsmoke"". The various anti-heroic Mavericks were dapper professional poker-players roaming the Old West with the benefit of superb scripts. The series had an enormous cultural impact during a time when there were only three television networks and most cities had only three TV channels to choose from. ""Maverick""'s demanding filming schedule had caused production to lag behind early on. The producers decided to give Bret Maverick (James Garner) a brother so as not to run out of episodes long before the end of the season."
"dozens of other television shows and did several crossovers with other western series as Johnny McKay, including ""Maverick"", in the 1961 episode ""Hadley's Hunters,"" featuring Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, along with a host of characters from other Warner Brothers. westerns, including ""Cheyenne"" (Clint Walker), ""Bronco"" (Ty Hardin), and ""Sugarfoot"" (Will Hutchins). In the ""Cheyenne"" episode ""Renegades"" (1958), Brown at twenty-two was cast as 17-year-old Jed Wayne, who enlists in the United States Army after his father is killed in an attack by Comanche renegades. Olive Sturgess played Kathy Donovan, who takes an interest in young Wayne and is the"
"playing Bart and elderly Uncle Bentley Maverick). Bart rescued Bret at the climax of ""Duel at Sundown"", in which Garner first fought guest star Clint Eastwood. Garner had first choice of which part he would play in the two-brother episodes, which delineated the brothers as ""Maverick 1"" and ""Maverick 2"" in the scripts, giving him an enormous advantage. All but one script during the show's first two years were written with Garner in mind regardless of which actor would eventually be cast. Roy Huggins insisted that the writers visualize Garner as Maverick while writing the scripts. Although the ""solo"" episodes"
"although he had already appeared in several movies, including ""Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend"" with Randolph Scott, and had filmed an important supporting role in ""Sayonara"" with Marlon Brando, which wasn't released until December 1957 but had been viewed by Huggins and the Warner Bros. staff casting their new television series. ""Maverick"" often bested ""The Ed Sullivan Show"" and ""The Steve Allen Show"" in the television ratings. Huggins inverted the usual cowboy hero characteristics familiar to television and movie viewers of the time. Bret Maverick was vocally reluctant to risk his life, though he typically ended up being courageous in spite"
"the ceremony. On April 22, 2014, Warner Bros. released ""Bret Maverick: The Complete Series"" on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time, via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and only in the United States. The series has reaired on Encore Westerns since fall 2008. Bret Maverick Bret Maverick is an American Western NBC television series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series created by Roy Huggins and entitled ""Maverick"": a professional poker player traveling alone year after year through the"
"from earlier seasons starring the popular Garner during the series' fifth and final season. Colbert, whose only two episodes as Brent Maverick were entitled ""The Forbidden City"" and ""Benefit of the Doubt,"" had never received enough screen time to see if he could have eventually succeeded in bolstering the ratings. Before Roger Moore, who played Bart's cousin Beau Maverick, left ""Maverick"" during the same season in which Colbert appeared, the studio shot numerous publicity photographs of Colbert, Kelly and Moore cavorting in costume together that are readily accessible on Google Images; the rights to many of the pictures are currently"
"are few people on this planet I have adored as much as Jimmy Garner. I cherish every moment I spent with him and relive them over and over in my head. He was a diamond."" Eastwood said, ""Garner opened the door for people like Steve McQueen and myself."" James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor, producer, and voice artist. He starred in several television series over more than five decades, including such popular roles as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western series ""Maverick"" and Jim Rockford in ""The"
"Bret Maverick Bret Maverick is an American Western NBC television series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series created by Roy Huggins and entitled ""Maverick"": a professional poker player traveling alone year after year through the Old West from riverboat to saloon. In this sequel series, Maverick has settled down in Sweetwater, Arizona Territory, where he owns a ranch (The Lazy Ace) and is co-owner of the town's saloon (The Red Ox). However, Maverick is still always on the lookout for his next big score, and continues to gamble and practice various con"
"James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor, producer, and voice artist. He starred in several television series over more than five decades, including such popular roles as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western series ""Maverick"" and Jim Rockford in ""The Rockford Files"", and played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ""The Great Escape"" (1963) with Steve McQueen, Paddy Chayefsky's ""The Americanization of Emily"" (1964), ""Grand Prix"" (1966), Blake Edwards' ""Victor/Victoria"" (1982), ""Murphy's Romance"" (1985), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, ""Space Cowboys"" (2000)"
"and locales. He had also filmed a ""Maverick"" episode with Garner two seasons earlier in which Moore played a different character in a retooling of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 comedy of manners play entitled ""The Rivals"". In the course of the story, Moore and Garner's characters switched names on a bet, with Moore consequently identifying himself as ""Bret Maverick"" through most of the episode. Moore's debut as Beau Maverick occurred in the first episode of the 1960–61 fourth season, ""The Bundle From Britain"", one of four episodes in which he shared screen time with cousin Bart (Jack Kelly). Robert Altman"
"series, including ""Bat Masterson"" (Gene Barry), ""Wyatt Earp"" (Hugh O'Brian), the ""Rifleman"" (Chuck Connors) and his son Mark (Johnny Crawford), Caine from ""Kung Fu"" (David Carradine), ""The Westerner"" (Brian Keith), a thinly disguised ""Virginian"" (James Drury) and Trampas (Doug McClure, who had appeared briefly as a hotel clerk in a first season ""Maverick"" episode), and ""Cheyenne"" Bodie (Clint Walker). As each hero appears onscreen, a few bars of the theme song from his original series plays in the background. A lavish theatrical film version was released in 1994 entitled ""Maverick"" starring Mel Gibson as Bret Maverick, Jodie Foster as a"
"Bart, played by Jack Kelly. This allowed two production units to film different story lines and episodes simultaneously, necessary because each episode took an extra day to complete, meaning that eventually the studio would run out of finished episodes to air partway through the season unless another actor was added. The series also featured popular cross-over episodes featuring both Maverick brothers, including the famous ""Shady Deal at Sunny Acres"", upon which the first half of the 1973 movie ""The Sting"" appears to be based, according to Roy Huggins' Archive of American Television interview. Garner and Clint Eastwood staged an epic"
"Moore was cast as Beau Maverick, an English-accented cousin of frontier gamblers Bret Maverick (James Garner), Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly), and Brent Maverick (Robert Colbert) in the much more successful ABC/WB Western series ""Maverick"". Sean Connery was flown over from Britain to test for the part, but turned it down. Moore appeared as the character in 14 episodes after Garner had left the series at the end of the previous season, wearing some of Garner's costumes; while filming ""The Alaskans"", he had already recited much of Garner's dialogue since the Klondike series frequently recycled ""Maverick"" scripts, changing only the names"
"Wayde Preston Wayde Preston (September 10, 1929 – February 6, 1992) was an American actor cast from 1957 to 1960 in the lead role in 67 episodes of the ABC/Warner Brothers western television series, ""Colt .45"". He is also known for his appearance in the title role of an acclaimed 1959 episode entitled ""The Saga of Waco Williams"" of another ABC/WB western series, ""Maverick"". Born William Erksine Strange in Denver, Colorado, Preston was reared in Laramie in southern Wyoming by his educator parents, John and Bernice Strange. He had two younger sisters, Joan and Mary. In 1947 he graduated from"
"bosses, ""Put me in a dress and call me Brenda, but don't do this to me!"" Garner had been a huge success in the role and was in the process of moving into a much-anticipated theatrical movie career in the wake of winning a contentious lawsuit with Warner Brothers. Colbert played his part in two episodes and was not called back for the following season since the studio, facing a steep ratings decline after the departures of writer/producer Roy Huggins and star Garner, decided to alternate new episodes featuring only Bret and Brent's brother ""Bart Maverick"" (Jack Kelly) with reruns"
"starring Garner. Budd Boetticher directed several of the early episodes of the first season. Robert Altman wrote and directed the episode entitled ""Bolt from the Blue"", starring Roger Moore, in the fourth season. The show was part of the Warner Bros. array of TV Westerns, which included ""Cheyenne"", ""Colt .45"", ""Lawman"", ""Bronco"", ""The Alaskans"", and ""Sugarfoot"". James Garner portrayed both Bret Maverick and, in one episode, Beau ""Pappy"" Maverick. Bret Maverick is the epitome of a poker-playing rounder, always seeking out high-stakes games and rarely remaining in one place for long. The show is generally credited with launching Garner's career,"
"the fledgling Warner Brothers Television Department, chaired by William T. Orr. During the same period, other similar programs would appear, including ""Maverick"", ""Cheyenne"", ""Bronco"", ""Lawman"", and ""Colt .45"". Hutchins appeared as Sugarfoot in crossover episodes of ""Cheyenne"" and ""Maverick"", and in an installment of ""Bronco"" called ""The Yankee Tornado"", with Peter Breck as a young Theodore Roosevelt. Jack Kelly appeared as Bart Maverick in the ""Sugarfoot"" episode ""A Price on His Head."" ""Sugarfoot"" is only partly set in Oklahoma; the character seems to appear at any place in the West though geographic place names are often missing in the scripts."
"Peter Breck Joseph Peter Breck (March 13, 1929 – February 6, 2012) was an American character actor. The rugged, dark-haired Breck played the gambler and gunfighter Doc Holliday on the ABC/Warner Bros. television series ""Maverick"" but is best known for his role as Victoria Barkley's (Barbara Stanwyck) hot-tempered, middle son Nick in the 1960s ABC/Four Star Western, ""The Big Valley"". Breck was also the leading man in an earlier ABC/Four Star Western television series entitled ""Black Saddle"". Joseph John Peter Breck was born in Rochester, New York. He grew up living with his grandparents in Haverhill, Massachusetts, because they felt"
"""Bret Maverick"" television series was a sequel to the 1957 series ""Maverick"", created by Roy Huggins, in which Garner had played the same character two decades earlier. ""Bret Maverick: Faith, Hope, and Clarity"" at the Internet Movie Database Bret Maverick: Faith, Hope and Clarity Bret Maverick: Faith, Hope, and Clarity starring James Garner is a two-part episode of the 1981-82 television series ""Bret Maverick"" edited together and released to local television stations as a TV-movie. The show involves a religious cult that swindles the townspeople out of a tract of land and Maverick winds up straightening everything out. The episodes"
"Catherine McLeod Catherine McLeod (July 2, 1921 – May 11, 1997) was an American actress who made over sixty television and movie appearances between 1944 and 1976. She memorably portrayed the one woman whom James Garner's character Bret Maverick wanted to marry on the 1957 ABC/Warner Brothers television series ""Maverick"", in the episode ""Rage for Vengeance."" McLeod was born in Santa Monica, California. Her schooling came in an Alhambra convent. She acted in a Los Angeles little theater and studied in the Bliss-Hayden drama workshop. She worked in a movie theater in Reno and later became a chorus girl in"
"the highest bidder for the episode reruns. Garner and Jack Kelly reappeared as Bret and Bart Maverick in a 1978 made-for-television film entitled ""The New Maverick"", which served as the pilot for a failed series, ""Young Maverick"", starring Charles Frank as a younger cousin named Ben Maverick. The series itself, which only featured Garner for a few moments at the beginning of the first show, was canceled so rapidly that some of the episodes filmed were never broadcast. After the abrupt disappearance of ""Young Maverick"" two seasons earlier, an attempt to make a ""Maverick"" series without Garner, he returned to"
"then dressed Robert Colbert, a Garner look-alike, in Bret Maverick's outfit and called the character Brent, but Brent Maverick did not have a chance to catch on with viewers since Colbert made only two episodes toward the end of the season. That left the rest of the series' run to Kelly, alternating with reruns of episodes with Garner. He still received billing in these newly produced Kelly episodes, aired in the 1961–62 season, although he did not appear in them and had left the series two years previously. The studio did, however, reverse the billing at the beginning of each"
"Maverick (film) Maverick is a 1994 American western comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by William Goldman. Based on the 1950s television series of the same name created by Roy Huggins, the film stars Mel Gibson as Bret Maverick, a card player and con artist collecting money to enter a high-stakes poker game. He is joined in his adventure by Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster), another con artist, and lawman Marshall Zane Cooper (James Garner). The supporting cast features Graham Greene, James Coburn, Alfred Molina and a large number of cameo appearances by Western film actors, country music stars"
"Preston married Carol Ohmart on Thanksgiving Day in 1956; they were divorced less than two years later. Preston died of colon cancer in 1992 at the age of 62 in Reno, Nevada. Wayde Preston Wayde Preston (September 10, 1929 – February 6, 1992) was an American actor cast from 1957 to 1960 in the lead role in 67 episodes of the ABC/Warner Brothers western television series, ""Colt .45"". He is also known for his appearance in the title role of an acclaimed 1959 episode entitled ""The Saga of Waco Williams"" of another ABC/WB western series, ""Maverick"". Born William Erksine Strange"
"Shady Deal at Sunny Acres ""Shady Deal at Sunny Acres"", starring James Garner and Jack Kelly, remains one of the most famous and widely discussed episodes of the Western comedy television series ""Maverick"". Written by series creator Roy Huggins (teleplay) and Douglas Heyes (story) and directed by Leslie H. Martinson, this 1958 second season episode depicts gambler Bret Maverick (James Garner) being swindled by a crooked banker (John Dehner) after depositing the proceeds from a late-night poker game. He then surreptitiously recruits his brother Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) and a host of other acquaintances to mount an elaborate sting operation"
"Bret Maverick: Faith, Hope and Clarity Bret Maverick: Faith, Hope, and Clarity starring James Garner is a two-part episode of the 1981-82 television series ""Bret Maverick"" edited together and released to local television stations as a TV-movie. The show involves a religious cult that swindles the townspeople out of a tract of land and Maverick winds up straightening everything out. The episodes were directed by Leo Penn (father of Sean Penn) and the film is sometimes entitled simply Bret Maverick. The same thing was done with the two-hour series premiere, slightly condensed and marketed to television stations as """". The"
"Maverick played by Roger Moore later in the series; Moore's Beau is the nephew of Garner's Beau and Bret and Bart's cousin. The younger Beau Maverick always referred to the elder as ""Uncle Beau"" instead of ""Pappy"". Troy Donahue plays the son of a long-time lover of Pappy in the episode, and Adam West portrays a villain. During the first two seasons, with Huggins at the helm, writers were instructed to write every script while visualizing Garner playing the part; two-Maverick scripts denoted the brothers as ""Maverick 1"" and ""Maverick 2,"" with Garner choosing which role he would play due"
"... Doc Baxter<br> James Griffith ... John Wesley Hardin<br> Clarke Alexander ... Sheriff<br> Linda Lawson ... Lily<br> Myrna Fahey ... Susie<br> Ed Reimers ... Announcer (voice) Duel at Sundown (Maverick) ""Duel at Sundown"" is a 1959 episode of the Western comedy television series ""Maverick"" starring 31-year-old James Garner and 29-year-old Clint Eastwood. A mean killer (Eastwood) becomes jealous when Bret Maverick (Garner) begins spending time with his girlfriend (Abby Dalton), the daughter of Bret's old friend (Edgar Buchanan), who desperately wants Bret to marry her before Eastwood's evil character does so. An epic fistfight between Garner and Eastwood segues into"