- AURA LEE, FAREWELL
Original Air Date: January 3, 1975
Synopsis. Once again, Rockford teams up with Sara Butler (Lindsay Wagner), the woman who hired him in the pilot episode to solve the murder of her father. This time, Sara wants Jim to prove that the apparent suicide of her girlfriend and employee Aura Lee Benton was a homicide. Though the official report says that Aura Lee died of a heroin overdose, Sara suspects foul play because she knows that Aura Lee did not use drugs. Emmy winner Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman) returns as Sara Butler, the role she originated in the Rockford Files pilot. Though Sara was slated to be a recurring character on Rockford, that changed once Wagner landed the role of Jaime Sommers in “The Bionic Woman,” a two-part episode of The Six Million Dollar Man that originally aired in March 1975.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
Black Pawn Press
This date in MAVERICK TV history: “Dead Man’s Hand,” the conclusion of a two-part episode of the short-lived series YOUNG MAVERICK, aired on Jan. 2, 1980. Guest stars included James Woods and a pre-KNOTS LANDING Donna Mills
4./5. DEAD MAN’S HAND (Two-parter) Original Airdates: December 26, 1979 and January 2, 1980
Synopsis. Trouble ensues for Ben Maverick when he inherits a pat hand from a gambler who died during a high-stakes poker game.
Young Maverick (CBS, 1979-1980) was an ill-fated attempt to update the Maverick formula of the late 1950s to TV audiences of the late 1970s. Starring Charles Frank as Ben Maverick, the Harvard-educated son of Cousin Beauregard Maverick, the series faced an uphill fight during its brief network run and was canceled after just six broadcasts. The two-part episode “Dead Man’s Hand” featured Howard Duff, future Emmy Award winner James Woods, and future Knots Landing star Donna Mills.
LEARN MORE about Young Maverick 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, shelters, individual, 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: “A State of Siege,” with guest stars Ray Danton and Lisa Gaye, aired on Jan. 1, 1961
-
A STATE OF SIEGE
Original Airdate: January 1, 1961
Adapted from the Story “Pavillion on the Links” by Robert Louis Stevenson
Synopsis. In New Mexico, Bart Maverick finds himself in the middle of a bitter family feud that is linked to a plot to overthrow the U.S. government.
An adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson short story “Pavillion on the Links,” “A State of Siege” was directed by Robert Sinclair, an old friend of producer Coles Trapnell who had also directed series star Jack Kelly on the New York stage when Kelly was a child star. Guest stars include Ray Danton (The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond, The Alaskans) and Lisa Gaye.
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, shelters, individual, 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: Ruta Lee and Werner Klemperer star in “The Comstock Conspiracy,” airing Dec. 29, 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 COMSTOCK CONSPIRACY
Original Airdate: December 29, 1957
Synopsis. Jerome Horne and John Bordeen run the largest railroad company in Virginia City. Bordeen owes Bret $10,000, but he’d rather shoot him than pay him. Maverick kills Bordeen in self-defense—but after reporting the shooting to the sheriff, he discovers that the body (and all other evidence) has been removed. Maverick becomes further confounded the next day, when Horne pays him the money—and insists that Bordeen is alive and well.
This episode features an exchange that epitomizes what Roy Huggins had in mind when he created Maverick. In this sequence, Ellen Bordeen (played by Ruta Lee) asks Bret for help:
ELLEN
If my father’s posing as John Bordeen,
he’s doing it against his will, Mr. Maverick.
MAVERICK
Possibly.
ELLEN
Probably. But what can I do about it?
MAVERICK
Go to the sheriff, I guess.
ELLEN
Jerome Horne put the sheriff in office.
Can you help me?
MAVERICK
No, ma’am.
ELLEN
Because you have your $10,000?
MAVERICK
Yes, ma’am.
ELLEN
You aren’t very noble.
MAVERICK
No, ma’am.
Maverick decides to help Ellen, anyway—but only after she convinces him that she knows how to handle a gun. We’ll see Ruta Lee again in “Plunder of Paradise” and “Betrayal.”
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: William Reynolds and George O’Hanlon star in “Holiday at Hollow Rock,” airing Dec. 28, 1958. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- HOLIDAY AT HOLLOW ROCK
Original Airdate: December 28, 1958
Synopsis. Bret spends the Fourth of July in Hollow Rock, where he hopes to make some easy money by betting on Silver King, the prize quarter-horse owned by his friend Colonel Arnold Taylor, in the town’s annual horse race. When crooked Sheriff Jesse Carson robs and beats Bret out of more than $4,200, Maverick uses the race to even the score.
William Reynolds previously appeared in “Rope of Cards” and “Diamond in the Rough.” George O’Hanlon, best known as the voice of George Jetson, starred in the Joe McDoakes comedy shorts that Richard Bare, who directed “Holiday at Hollow Rock,” wrote and directed for Warner Bros.
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: “Loss,” the conclusion of the two-part episode “Profit and Loss,” airs on Dec. 27, 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
- PROFIT AND LOSS (Part 2: LOSS)
Original Air Date: December 27, 1974
Synopsis. Rockford considers quitting the FDI case when he is hired by Doris Parker, the widow of an FDI computer programmer. Doris has long suspected the company of murdering her husband. Upon reading that the man who printed FDI’s annual report was found dead in his shop, Rockford deduces that both Doris’ husband and the printer were killed after they, like Alec Morris, discovered the forgery scheme. With help from Doris and Rocky, Jim sets out to prove it. According to “The House on Willis Avenue” (an episode that aired at the end of the fourth season), Rockford’s efforts in cracking the FDI case were recognized in a front-page story that ran in the Los Angeles Times. That article, “Willis Avenue” adds, helped cement Rockford’s reputation as one of the top private detectives in Los Angeles.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: Donna Mills, James Woods, and Howard Duff star in “Dead Man’s Hand,” the first of a two-part episode of YOUNG MAVERICK, airing Dec. 26, 1979. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
4./5. DEAD MAN’S HAND (Two-parter) Original Airdates: December 26, 1979 and January 2, 1980
Synopsis. Trouble ensues for Ben Maverick when he inherits a pat hand from a gambler who died during a high-stakes poker game.
Young Maverick (CBS, 1979-1980) was an ill-fated attempt to update the Maverick formula of the late 1950s to TV audiences of the late 1970s. Starring Charles Frank as Ben Maverick, the Harvard-educated son of Cousin Beauregard Maverick, the series faced an uphill fight during its brief network run and was canceled after just six broadcasts. The two-part episode “Dead Man’s Hand” featured Howard Duff, future Emmy Award winner James Woods, and future Knots Landing star Donna Mills.
Read More →
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: Peter Breck and Merry Anders star in “Destination: Devil’s Flat,” airing Dec. 25, 1960. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- DESTINATION: DEVIL’S FLAT
Original Airdate: December 25, 1960
Synopsis. Wells Fargo authorities, long frustrated by the antics of train robber Incredible Clay Corey, dispatch undercover agents throughout the Kansas City railway to find the notorious bandit, whose description is unknown. The $2,000 reward for Corey’s capture entices Bart, who finds himself flat broke (and extremely hungry) in the small town of Crenshaw, Kansas. Bart meets Marybelle McCall, an apparently reformed faro dealer who is traveling with her minister uncle—along with $50,000 in church donations—to Devil’s Flat, Colorado, where they plan to build another mission. Maverick becomes suspicious when the sheriff of Crenshaw (who is really Clay Corey) takes a personal interest in the money’s whereabouts.
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: Ron Rifkin stars in “The Trouble with Warren,” airing Dec. 24, 1976. 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 TROUBLE WITH WARREN
Original Air Date: December 24, 1976
Synopsis. Beth’s intellectually brilliant but socially inept cousin Warren (played by Ron Rifkin) is the prime suspect in the murder of his boss. Rockford agrees to help, only to find himself in trouble with the police on a lengthy string of charges. This episode features Ron Rifkin, whom we last saw catching his breath after his character had been chased by Rockford to the foot of the Hoover Dam building in the closing moments of “Roundabout,” and Shirley Anthony, a longtime friend of series writer/producer Juanita Bartlett.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 ROCKFORD FILES History: Larry Linville stars in “A Deadly Maze,” airing Dec. 23, 1977. Written by Juanita Bartlett, this episode also received an Edgar Award nomination for Best Television Episode of the season. 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
- A DEADLY MAZE
Original Air Date: December 23, 1977
Synopsis. Facing a serious cash flow stoppage, Rockford agrees to find a man’s missing wife—a case he’d normally decline. Jim doesn’t realize that his client, Eric Von Albach (played by Larry Linville), is a behavioral scientist who is using him as a guinea pig in a government-funded study to determine how monetary reinforcement influences certain people’s ability to complete their work under stress. The “missing wife” case was part of the charade Von Albach concocted to measure Rockford’s reactions. The experiment hits a snag, however, when the woman Von Albach hired to play his wife ends up dead.Larry Linville was an inspired choice to play the cold, calculating, eccentric, and ever scientific Professor Von Albach. At the time of this episode, Linville had just completed his five-year stint as Major Frank Burns on M*A*S*H.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