- NO-FAULT AFFAIR
Original Air Date: November 30, 1979
Synopsis. After advising a young girl to get out of prostitution while she can, Rita Capkovic decided to practice what she preached: she completed beauty school, and now wants to begin a new career as a hairdresser. But her brutal pimp, Al Halusca, won’t let go of her. To get his point across, Halusca knocks Rita around and threatens to continue beating her unless she returns to the streets. Fearing for her life, and with nowhere else to go, Rita turns to Rockford, who nurses her back to health. After two weeks, however, the situation becomes a little complicated when Rockford realizes that Rita has fallen in love with him.Rita Moreno previously appeared as Rita Capkovic in “The Paper Palace” and “Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead.” Her friendship with James Garner spanned nearly five decades, long preceding The Rockford Files and even Maverick.
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details
Ed Robertson
Author ● Journalist ● Radio Host ● Collaborative Writer
Ed Robertson
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: Herbert Rudley stars in “Trooper Maverick,” airing Nov. 29, 1959. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- TROOPER MAVERICK
Original Airdate: November 29, 1959
Synopsis. Whenever he’s in the Dakota Territories, Bart drops in on the Army fort run by his friend, Colonel Sam Percy, so that he can check out the poker action between the soldiers and the local settlers. Maverick becomes suspicious when Sam, normally one of the card players, arrests him for gambling and sentences him to 180 days service. Behind closed doors, Sam explains why he had Bart imprisoned—a war with the Sioux Indians is imminent, and one of his soldiers has been funneling weapons to the other side. Percy needs Maverick to uncover the spy and stop the smuggling.
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: Richard Herd, Kathie Browne, and Warren Kemmerling star in “Pastoria Prime Pick,” airing Nov. 29, 1975. LEARN MORE about this episode in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press
- PASTORIA PRIME PICK
Original Air Date: November 29, 1975
Synopsis. Rockford becomes the latest victim of a horrifying blackmail scheme orchestrated by the mayor and sheriff of a small community called New Pastoria.Early in this episode, Rockford calls himself collect to retrieve his messages. Although he asks the operator to dial 555-9000, according to the closeup of his phone that we see at the beginning of each episode, Rockford’s number is 555-2368.
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: Denny Miller, Morgan Woodward, and Dick O’Neill star in “Clancy,” the premiere episode of YOUNG MAVERICK, airing Nov. 28, 1979. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- CLANCY
Original Airdate: November 28, 1979
Synopsis. Ben thinks he’s found the perfect opponent for a barnstorming prizefighter: Nell’s mammoth cousin Clancy (played by Denny Miller). James Garner makes a cameo appearance as Bret Maverick.
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: Joanna Cassidy and Joseph Campanella star in “I Still Love L.A.,” the first of the eight ROCKFORD FILES reunion movies that James Garner produced for CBS in the 1990s, airing on Nov. 27, 1994. LEARN MORE in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press
- I STILL LOVE L.A.
Original Air Date: November 27, 1994
Synopsis. As a favor to his ex-wife, attorney Halley “Kit” Kittredge (played by Joanna Cassidy), Rockford agrees to probe the murder of her friend, legendary film star Lila Lansing.I Still Love L.A. was the No. 1 show on the West Coast that night, and finished fourth in the overall Nielsen ratings for the week ending Nov. 27, 1994. It scored an 18.5 rating, with a 28 share, acing out Cagney & Lacey: The Return as the highest-rated made-for-TV movie for the entire 1994-1995 season. An estimated 17,649,000 television households tuned in that night, an audience figure comparable to what the series was drawing at the peak of its popularity in 1975. The film scored particularly well with older viewers.
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: “Bolt from the Blue,” written and directed by Robert Altman, airs on Nov. 27, 1960. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- BOLT FROM THE BLUE
Original Airdate: November 27, 1960
Synopsis. Beau befriends a kindly old prospector named Ebenezer Bolt (played by Tim Graham), unaware that he’s the partner of notorious horse thief Benson January (Owen Bush). An angry posse intercepts Maverick and mistakes him for January. Although the posse is determined to hang Beau, a young lawyer (played by Will Hutchins) halts the proceedings until Maverick can have a trial. But Beau’s conviction seems imminent when the lawyer locates a notorious “hanging judge” (played by Richard Hale), while a woman whose sister was January’s fiancée fingers Maverick for the thefts.
Full of the wit and biting humor that characterized many of the early Maverick scripts, Robert Altman’s “Bolt from the Blue” is by far the best episode of the fourth season. Altman was apparently such a huge fan of Maverick that he’d finished his script before he presented the idea to producer Coles Trapnell.
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: Peter Breck, Reginald Owen, and Jolene Brand star in “A Technical Error,” airing Nov. 26, 1961. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- A TECHNICAL ERROR
Original Airdate: November 26, 1961
Synopsis. In Junction Corners, Bart wins ownership of the Bank on the Square from Major Holbrook Sims (played by Reginald Owen), who seems suspiciously eager to unload the bank. Maverick soon discovers why: the bank is short $20,000 due to a bookkeeping error. When the word leaks out, the angry townspeople threaten to make a run on the bank. Bart’s problems increase when Doc Holliday (Peter Breck) “borrows” the money from Blackjack Carney and his gang of thieves, who demand $25,000 in return.
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: Leo Gordon, Denny Miller, Carl Franklin, and John Pleshette star in “Black Mirror,” the two-hour episode introducing Kathryn Harrold as Megan Dougherty, airing Nov. 24, 1978. LEARN MORE about this episode in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press
- BLACK MIRROR (two-hour episode)
Original Air Date: November 24, 1978
Synopsis. Megan Dougherty (played by Kathryn Harrold), a clinical psychologist who became permanently blinded in an accident ten years earlier, hires Rockford after she is menaced by a man in an elevator outside her office. “Black Mirror” marks the first of Kathryn Harrold’s two appearances as Megan Dougherty. Harrold reprised the character in the sixth season episode “Love is the Word,” as well as in the 1996 reunion movie Punishment and Crime.LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: John Dehner stars in “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres,” James Garner’s favorite episode and arguably the most famous Maverick of all, airing Nov. 23, 1958. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- SHADY DEAL AT SUNNY ACRES
Original Airdate: November 23, 1958
Synopsis. Bret wins $15,000 playing poker in Sunny Acres, Colorado. He deposits the money with the town’s banker, John Bates, but when he tries to withdraw some of his money the following morning, Bates denies the entire transaction. (Unbeknownst to Maverick, Bates has been lifting funds from the bank in order to buy out his partner, Ben Granville.) Bret vows to recover his money within two weeks, but Bates is unfazed—he knows he has an impeccable reputation in town, and that the sheriff will be watching Maverick closely. Bret plays helpless, but actually orchestrates an elaborate investment scheme built around Bates’ inherent greed. Playing key roles in the sting: Samantha Crawford, Dandy Jim Buckley, Gentleman Jack Darby, Cindy Lou Brown, Big Mike McComb, and brother Bart.
“Shady Deal at Sunny Acres” marked the final appearances of Dandy Jim Buckley and Samantha Crawford. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was busy starring in 77 Sunset Strip, while Diane Brewster was about to launch her own series (The Islanders, produced by Richard Bare). In fact, except for Gentleman Jack Darby, none of the supporting characters created by Roy Huggins and company returned to Maverick following Huggins’ departure after the second season.
In his memoir, The Garner Files, James Garner singled out “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres” as his favorite episode of the series “because it’s Bret at his coolest.”
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: Adam West and Diane McBain star in “A Fellow’s Brother,” airing Nov. 22, 1959. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- A FELLOW’S BROTHER
Original Airdate: November 22, 1959
Synopsis. Needing a stake to get into a big poker game in Abilene, Bret decides to collect on some old gambling debts. One of the persons he visits is Ellsworth Haynes, a Wells Fargo agent in Red Rock Junction. Things become complicated when Haynes is murdered and the bank is robbed of $50,000. Because Haynes was last seen speaking to a man named “Maverick,” Bret becomes wanted for murder and robbery.