- THE FOURTH MAN
Original Air Date: September 24, 1976
Synopsis. Rockford’s neighbor Lori Jenevein (played by Sharon Gless) becomes the target of a hitman named Timpson Farrell (John McMartin). Lori, an airline flight attendant, recognizes Farrell as a regular passenger on the commuter flight. Farrell fears that Lori will link him to the recent deaths of three witnesses who were scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on organized crime—murders that all took place within the past month in cities serviced by the commuter flight.Sharon Gless previously appeared in “This Case is Closed,” an episode from the first season that is at the center of one of the most storied chapters in Rockford Files history. Her character in this episode, Lori Jenevein, was named after Rockford sound effects editor Walter Jenevein.
LEARN MORE about “The Fourth Man” and “This Case is Closed” 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
Black Pawn Press
This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: “Heartaches of a Fool,” featuring two songs performed by Willie Nelson, airs on Sept. 22, 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
- HEARTACHES OF A FOOL
Original Air Date: September 22, 1978
Synopsis. Country-western recording star Charlie Strayhorn is beset with financial and personal problems: production on his new album has been delayed; he has tax troubles; and his marriage is ending. The only thing Charlie has going for him is the popular brand of smoked sausages that bears his name—but even that’s a fraud. Charlie doesn’t realize that his unscrupulous business partner, Clement Chen, has been circumventing the FDA and the Teamsters by producing the sausages in Mexico and arranging for non-union transportation of the product into the United States. Rocky becomes victimized by Chen’s operation after he innocently agrees to pick up a load of the sausages in San Diego. Rocky not only has his truck overturned and destroyed by two men, but loses his drivers license and has his union pension and medical benefits suspended. After Rockford confronts Charlie with the truth about his sausage company, the singer helps the private eye investigate the matter.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: MAVERICK premieres on ABC with “The War of Silver Kings,” airing on Sept. 22, 1957. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- THE WAR OF THE SILVER KINGS
Original Airdate: September 22, 1957
Synopsis. Soon after arriving in the mining community of Echo Springs, Maverick wins a high-stakes poker game with Phineas King, the unscrupulous town magnate. King doesn’t take kindly to losing—he has Maverick beaten up, and later tries to have him killed. Knowing that King is as much a cheater as he is a millionaire, Maverick is determined to beat him at his own game.
“The War of the Silver Kings” establishes the key elements of Maverick’s character. Twice, Bret beats Phineas King by sheer bluff—he stayed in the poker game, and later won the game, by betting with an envelope filled with clipped newspaper; then he snows King into settling with the miners even though Maverick knew that the court had reversed the decision upholding the apex law. Upon accepting defeat, King thinks back and then realizes exactly how Bret did it. “It was guts, nothing but guts,” he said, with clear respect for Maverick’s abilities.
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: Whitney Blake stars in “The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick,” airing Sept. 21, 1958. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- THE DAY THEY HANGED BRET MAVERICK
Original Airdate: September 21, 1958
Synopsis. In the town of Hallelujah, outlaw Cliff Sharp breaks into Bret’s hotel room and plants evidence linking Maverick to a $40,000 robbery-and-murder scheme. After the town convicts him on circumstantial evidence, Bret faces the gallows. When greedy Sheriff Tucker offers to fake the hanging if Bret leads him to the stolen money, Maverick goes along with the ruse but ditches the sheriff at the first opportunity. When Bret discovers that Molly Clifford, Sharp’s wife (played by Whitney Blake) arrives in Hallelujah, he trails her to New Mexico in the hopes of finding the money and clearing his name.
Whitney Blake played Dorothy Baxter on the popular NBC sitcom Hazel for four seasons in the early 1960s. Also the creator—along with her husband Alan Manings—of the iconic 1970s sitcom One Day at a Time, she is known to Perry Mason fans as the defendant in “The Case of the Restless Redhead,” the premiere episode of that long-running CBS series.
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: “The Dark and Bloody Ground,” Gretchen Corbett’s first appearance as Beth Davenport, airs on Sept. 20, 1974. 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
- THE DARK AND BLOODY GROUND
Original Air Date: September 20, 1974
Synopsis. This episode introduces Gretchen Corbett as Rockford’s attorney Beth Davenport, who (as Becker puts it) “collects lost causes like they were rare coins.” Beth’s client Ann Calhoun has been accused of the murder of her husband, poet Kevin Calhoun. Jim would rather pass on the case, since the evidence linking Ann to the crime seems insurmountable (not to mention the fact that Ann has no money), and he becomes less inclined to pursue the matter after two attempts are made on his life. But the case takes an interesting turn after Rockford uncovers a connection between the murder victim and the legal rights to the novel The Dark and Bloody Ground.
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: David Frankham stars in “Royal Four Flush,” airing Sept. 20, 1959. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- ROYAL FOUR FLUSH
Original Airdate: September 20, 1959
Synopsis. David Frankham guest stars as “Captain” Rory Fitzgerald, a con artist acquaintance whom Bart encounters in Virginia City. Fitzgerald owes Maverick $4,000, but claims to be out of money. Bart becomes suspicious when he recognizes the glamorous “countess” whom Fitzgerald is escorting as Liz Bancroft, a card dealer from New Orleans. He later discovers that Fitzgerald and Bancroft are plotting to swindle wealthy Placer Jack Mason out of $200,000.
At the time he filmed this episode, David Frankham was well on his way to becoming one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, including a recent appearance opposite Vincent Price in Roger Corman’s Return of the Fly. According to Frankham, his performance in Return of the Fly was a key factor that led to his being cast in “Royal Four Flush.”
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: Linda Evans and H.M. Wynant star in “The Farnsworth Stratagem,” airing Sept. 19, 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
- THE FARNSWORTH STRATAGEM
Original Air Date: September 19, 1975
Synopsis. Dennis and Peggy Becker purchase 2½-percent ownership of a posh hotel resort in a deal brokered by Simon Lloyd, a flim-flam artist who doesn’t tell the Beckers that the “hotel” actually houses condominiums, all of which are fully owned. To their embarrassment, the Beckers discover that they not only spent $7,500 (on a lobby!!), they’re also indentured into paying a $700,000 trust deed. Dennis hires Jim to win back their money. Drawing on his vast grifting skills, Rockford concocts an elaborate scheme designed to beat Lloyd at his own game.
In this episode, we learn that Becker’s rank is Investigator, 2nd Grade. Later in the series, he’ll be promoted to Investigator, 3rd Level (in the third-year episode “Piece Work”) and finally to Lieutenant (in the fifth season’s “Kill the Messenger”).
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 Day in MAVERICK TV History: “The Bundle from Britain,” Roger Moore’s debut appearance as Cousin Beau Maverick, airs on Sept. 18, 1960. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- THE BUNDLE FROM BRITAIN
Original Airdate: September 18, 1960
Synopsis. Introducing Roger Moore as Cousin Beauregard Maverick, the “white sheep” of the family, who had the embarrassing misfortune of earning a medal in the Civil War—accidentally.
In many respects Roger Moore, as Cousin Beau, was the “reluctant” Maverick. Under contract with Warner Bros. at the time, he was not keen on doing another television series when the studio assigned him to replace James Garner as the alternate lead on Maverick. Moore left Maverick midway through the fourth season, after filming fifteen episodes.
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 Kiley, Kathryn Harrold, and Bryan Cranston star in “Punishment and Crime,” the sixth of the eight CBS ROCKFORD FILES reunion movies, airing Sept. 18, 1996. LEARN MORE in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press
- PUNISHMENT AND CRIME
Original Air Date: September 18, 1996
TV Guide ad for Punishment and Crime Synopsis. Rockford’s renewed romance with old flame Megan Dougherty (Kathryn Harrold, reprising her role from the NBC series) takes a treacherous turn when he learns that her arrogant playboy cousin Patrick (played by a pre-Breaking Bad, pre-Malcolm in the Middle Bryan Cranston) is in over his head with deadly Russian mobsters.
Punishment and Crime received some of the best reviews of the eight CBS Rockford Files movies—and yet it had gathered dust for more than a year before the network finally aired it. Originally completed in May 1995, the film was held back for broadcast because CBS executives thought it was somber, slow, and too much of a character piece—
not exactly the kind of freewheeling fare that most viewers typically come to expect when they tune in to see Jim Rockford. Other guest stars include Tony Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Kiley.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: “Dade City Dodge,” the first of two episodes featuring Mike Road and Kathleen Crowley as Pearly Gates and Marla, airs on Sept. 17, 1961. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- DADE CITY DODGE
Original Airdate: September 17, 1961
Synopsis. At a horse race in New Orleans, smooth-talking hustler Pearly Gates (played by Mike Road) and his accomplice, Marla (Kathleen Crowley), talk Bart into betting $5,000 on a long shot. But Pearly never placed the bet—he fled with the money. Following a tip from Marla, Bart heads for Dade City, Texas, where he hopes to catch up with Pearly.
Gates and Marla were two more attempts to fill the void left by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Diane Brewster when both left Maverick and took their characters with them. Like Dandy Jim Buckley and Marla, both Pearly and Marla are all-out grafters who operate without any kind of ethical code. Maverick, on the other hand, has a conscience, as we see in this episode.