- FRIENDS AND FOUL PLAY
Original Air Date: April 25, 1996
Synopsis. Rockford tries to help his friend Babs Honeywell, a waitress at the Sand Castle, prove that her son was killed by mobster Happy Cartello. When Babs herself is murdered, Jim goes through her diary, hoping to find clues that could link the two deaths. Rockford is on the verge of cracking the case when Chapman orders him banned from the investigation. But when Rockford learns that Chapman is teaching a course on criminology—and that the captain has incorporated the Honeywell case into the curriculum—he immediately enrolls in the class himself so that he can study the matter first hand.Friends and Foul Play features two actors who previously guest-starred on the original Rockford Files. Murray MacLeod appeared in the second-season episode “Where’s Houston?” while Marcia Strassman starred in the sixth-season two-parter “Only Rock ’n’ Roll Will Never Die.”
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
Roy Huggins
This date in ROCKFORD FILES history: Rita Moreno and Hal Linden star in “If It Bleeds… It Leads,” the eighth and final Rockford reunion movie, airing Apr. 20, 1999. LEARN MORE in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press
- IF IT BLEEDS… IT LEADS
Original Air Date: April 20, 1999
Synopsis. Rita Capkovic (played by Rita Moreno) turns to Rockford one last time when her husband Ernie Lansdale (Hal Linden), a respected school teacher, is wrongfully suspected of being the West Side Rapist, the perpetrator of a series of brutal child molestations. When a police sketch of the rapist is leaked to the media, Ernie is immediately hounded by reporters because of his striking resemblance to the suspect depicted in the sketch. With Ernie’s reputation in tatters, Rockford’s only hope of restoring his friend’s good name is to find the real culprit. The Rockford Files ended its run on CBS with a surprisingly strong finish, earning the second-highest household rating (10.3) and share (16.0) among all network programs that aired on Apr. 20, 1999, the night it was originally broadcast. The movie drew 14,480,000 viewers, finishing a close second to the 14,540,000 viewers who tuned in to Dateline NBC. (Dateline that night devoted its entire hour to its coverage of the tragic shootings at Columbine High School in Denver, Colorado, which had occurred earlier that day.)If It Bleeds… also finished tied for fifteenth place in the overall Nielsens for the week. That marked the first time a Rockford reunion movie landed in the Top 20 since November 1994, when I Still Love L.A. placed fourth with a whopping 28 share.
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: Robert Webber, Marj Dusay, and Jameson Parker star in the conclusion of “Faith, Hope and Clarity,” a two-part episode of BRET MAVERICK that originally aired on Apr. 20, 1982
- FAITH, HOPE AND CLARITY (two-parter)
Original Airdates: April 13 and 20, 1982
Synopsis. Everest Sinclair, a utopianist who hopes to make Sweetwater the center of his “new society,” purchases all of the town’s mortgages and immediately forecloses on them. In order to win back their land, the townspeople rally behind Maverick, who hatches an elaborate “sting” aimed at Sinclair.
The third of three attempts to resurrect Maverick in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Bret Maverick (NBC, 1981-1982) saw James Garner reprise the role that originally made him a star. The premise of “Faith, Hope and Clarity” drew inspiration from one of the most famous Maverick episodes of all, “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres.”
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 both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This date in MAVERICK TV History: Part 1 of “The Devil’s Necklace,” the only two-part episode of the original MAVERICK series, airs on Apr. 16, 1961
- THE DEVIL’S NECKLACE, Part 1
Original Airdate: April 16, 1961
Synopsis. After his horse breaks down in the Arizona heat, Bart seeks shelter at Fort Distress, operated by his friend Major Reidinger. A greedy peddler named Luther Cannonbaugh suckers Bart into buying a wagon containing illegal whiskey—and the Indian squaw Tawny, whom Cannonbaugh kidnapped to sell into slavery. An angry Bob Tallhorse, the Apache warrior to whom Tawny is betrothed, threatens to attack the fort unless she is released. Maverick tries to return Tawny to her tribe, but Tallhorse captures him. Meanwhile, Cannonbaugh (whom the Apaches had also imprisoned) bargains his way out of trouble by offering Tallhorse “strong medicine”—a bear tooth necklace that supposedly makes its wearer impervious to bullets. The conniving Cannonbaugh demonstrates the neckpiece’s “power” by testing it himself (using blank cartridges). Bart warns Tallhorse of the fraud, but Cannonbaugh shoots him with a real bullet that grazes him in the temple.
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 both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This date in MAVERICK TV History: Andrew Duggan stars as Big Ed Murphy in “The Money Machine,” airing Apr. 15, 1962
- THE MONEY MACHINE
Original Airdate: April 15, 1962
Synopsis. Bart meets his cousin Jacqueline Sutton in Kansas City to collect the $10,000 that Pappy owes to a bruiser named Cannonball Clyde Bassett. But Jackie quickly loses the money when she purchases a phony money-making machine from con artist Big Ed Murphy. Bart and Jackie trail Murphy to Denver, where they decide to beat him at his own game.
The con man played by Andrew Duggan in this episode, “Big Ed Murphy,” shares the same name as the safecracker played by John Dehner in “Greenbacks, Unlimited.”
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 both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This day in MAVERICK TV History: Adele Mara and Joi Lansing star in “Seed of Deception,” airing Apr. 13, 1958
- SEED OF DECEPTION
Original Airdate: April 13, 1958
Synopsis. The townspeople of Bonita welcome Bret and Bart with open arms―they believe that the Mavericks are Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, and that they’ve arrived in town to take care of Jim Mundy and his gang of troublemakers. The sheriff of Bonita thinks that Mundy is planning to rob the payroll of a nearby mining company from the bank, and he knows that the town will lose the company’s business if Mundy is successful. The Mavericks try to stay out of the matter, but Bret becomes involved after Bart is shot by a henchman of Mundy’s who believed Bart had stumbled onto their plan.
Adele Mara, who was married to Maverick creator and producer Roy Huggins for nearly fifty years, stars in this episode as a professional dancer whose role in the scheme is to cause a diversion by dancing in the bar precisely when Mundy and his boys are drilling a hole through the floor of their hotel room, which is located directly above the bank vault. For the dance scene, Mara wore a diaphanous costume that prompted one irate viewer to write Roy Huggins with a complaint about putting a “half-naked woman” on network television. Huggins replied, “That was no half-naked woman… that was my wife.”
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 both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This date in MAVERICK TV History: “Benefit of Doubt,” the second of two episodes starring Robert Colbert as Brent Maverick, aired on Apr. 9, 1961
- BENEFIT OF DOUBT
Original Airdate: April 9, 1961
Synopsis. In Amber Flats, three men rob the American Mail Company of $7,000. The thieves die in a shootout, but the money disappears. Brent Maverick discovers the stolen funds at the Midway station and decides to return it to Amber Flats. Unbeknownst to Brent, the sheriff of Amber Flats confiscated the money after gunning down the robbers and hid it in Midway. When Maverick arrives in Amber Flats, he finds himself arrested for the theft.
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: Alan Hale stars as Big Jim Watson in “The Troubled Heir,” airing on Apr. 8, 1962
- THE TROUBLED HEIR
Original Airdate: April 8, 1962
Synopsis. Bart renews acquaintance with Pearly Gates and Marla, the crafty duo whom he last encountered in “Dade City Dodge.” Pearly and Marla lure Maverick into a poker game with some other players—one of whom is wanted outlaw Big Jim Watson.
Known around the world as Skipper Jonas Grumby on Gilligan’s Island, Alan Hale previously appeared in the fourth-season episode “Arizona Black Maria.”
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 both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This date in MAVERICK TV History: Robert Rockwell guest stars in “Substitute Gun,” airing on Apr. 2, 1961
- SUBSTITUTE GUN
Original Airdate: April 2, 1961
Synopsis. When the sheriff of Spearhead, Kansas asks him to impersonate a slain gunman named Smiley Drake, Bart finds himself embroiled in the professional and personal animosities between rival gambling house owners Tom Blauvelt and Clete Spain.
“Substitute Gun” was originally filmed in 1957 as “Hired Gun,” one of nine episodes of Cheyenne written by Berne Giler. In 1959, Warner Bros. adapted Giler’s Western novel Westbound into a feature film directed by Budd Boetticher. Guest stars in “Substitute Gun” include Robert Rockwell, the actor who played Eve Arden’s love interest on both the radio and TV versions of Our Miss Brooks.
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 both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
This date in MAVERICK TV History: John Dehner guest stars in “Marshal Maverick,” airing Apr. 1, 1962
- MARSHAL MAVERICK
Original Airdate: April 1, 1962
Synopsis. Cowardly bartender Archibald Walker arrives in Abilene under the guise of Wyatt Earp, whose trademark revolver he stole when Earp wasn’t looking. Bart, currently working as the town deputy to pay off a gambling debt, becomes Archie’s protector when gunslinger Billy Coe challenges Archie to a showdown. Archie’s problems multiply when the real Wyatt Earp shows up.
Guest star John Dehner previously played the mark in “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres,” one of the most famous Maverick episodes of all.