- THE BIG CHEESE
Original Air Date: December 7, 1979
Synopsis. An undercover treasury agent named Sally Sternhagen (played by Constance Towers) helps Rockford unravel the mystery that links the fatal stabbings of his longtime friend Eddie Hellinger and an accountant named Arnold Moe. Jim’s only clue to the case is a large parcel that Eddie had mailed to Rockford just before he was killed. A well-paced, thoroughly entertaining caper, “The Big Cheese” features one of the best twists in the entire series—and a big laugh, in the final scene, at the expense of Lieutenant Chapman.
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
James Garner Maverick
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: Kathleen Crowley stars in “Maverick Springs,” airing Dec. 6, 1959. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- MAVERICK SPRINGS
Original Airdate: November 29, 1959
Synopsis. After bailing Bret out of jail (he was arrested for playing poker with the mayor—and winning), Texas rancher Kate Dawson sends Maverick after her brother Mark, a lightweight gambler who is squandering away his fortune in Saratoga. Maverick finds Mark moments after he loses his share of the Queen’s Ranch, the family spread, to a card cheat named Flannery. With the aid of Bart and an old card shark named Kronkhite, Bret reels Flannery into a bogus investment deal involving a luxurious resort built on worthless swampland. The con works perfectly—until Kate shows up and blows their cover.
In “Trail West to Fury,” we learned that the Mavericks cannot return to their native Texas until they were cleared of the murder of Jesse Hayden. Apparently, that matter was quietly resolved, because Bret sets foot in Texas at the outset of “Maverick Springs” and is in no apparent danger.
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: Shelley Fabares, Richard Schaal, and Sid Haig star in “Caledonia—It’s Worth a Fortune,” the episode that also marked Stuart Margolin’s debut as a director, airing Dec. 6, 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
- CALEDONIA—IT’S WORTH A FORTUNE!
Original Air Date: December 6, 1974
Synopsis. Gerald Hyland, convicted of embezzling more than four million dollars several years before, is brutally beaten by two prison inmates. Before slipping into a coma, Hyland leaves his wife Jolene (played by Shelley Fabares) a cryptic clue to where he had supposedly buried nearly $750,000 in rare stamps that Hyland had purchased with the stolen money shortly before his arrest. However, to recover the stamps, Jolene must team up with Jerry’s cellmate Leonard Blair (Richard Schaal)—with whom, unbeknownst to her husband, she once had an affair. Though the conniving Len has the map leading to the stash, the map is useless without Jolene’s directions. Because she knows Len will doublecross her at the first opportunity, Jolene hires Rockford to protect her interest.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: “The Resurrection of Angie” airs on Dec. 5, 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 RESURRECTION OF ANGIE
Original Air Date: December 5, 1975
Synopsis. Angie Perris receives a late-night phone call from her brother Tom, a stockbroker. Tom wants Angie to remove an envelope from his safe, but is abducted before he can give her the combination. Angie hires Rockford to find Tom.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: J. Pat O’Malley and Vito Scotti star in “A Fistful of Oats,” an episode of YOUNG MAVERICK, airing Dec. 5, 1979. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- A FISTFUL OF OATS
Original Airdate: December 5, 1979
Synopsis. Nell’s uncle faces the gallows after he accidentally spooks the horse of a hanging judge.
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: Kathleen Crowley stars as “Kiz,” airing Dec. 4, 1960. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- KIZ
Original Airdate: December 4, 1960
Synopsis. In Virginia City, Beau crashes a party thrown by Kiz Bouchet (played by Kathleen Crowley), an eccentric socialite with a penchant for smoking cigars, playing poker, and fighting fires. Believing that her life is in danger, and recognizing Beau as a fellow free spirit, Kiz hires Maverick to protect her.
As a gag, director Robert Douglas asked guest star Kathleen Crowley to wear the jet black wig she needed for “Kiz” when she first reported to the set. The stunt worked. Crowley, who was certainly no stranger around the Warner Bros. lot (she appeared frequently on many of the series that were filmed there at the time, including Maverick), made such a convincing brunette that everyone on the set wondered who “the new actress” was. We’ll see Crowley again in “Dade City Dodge,” “The Troubled Heir,” and the final episode of the series, “One of Our Trains is Missing.”
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: Cheryl Ladd stars in “Death by Resurrection,” an episode of SWITCH, airing Dec. 2, 1975, that would soon trigger one of the most colorful chapters in Rockford Files history. 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
In the summer of 1975, production began on Switch (CBS, 1975-1978), a caper series, starring Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert, that was produced by Glen Larson. Hoping to emulate the blend of action and humor that made The Rockford Files into a big hit, Larson asked Rockford co-creators and fellow Universal contract producers Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell to provide him with a few scripts that could help him incorporate elements of the Rockford style into episodes of Switch. One of the scripts that Huggins and Cannell provided Larson was “This Case is Closed,” a ninety-minute episode of Rockford, co-written by Huggins and Cannell, that originally aired in October 1974.
On Dec. 2, 1975, CBS aired “Death by Resurrection,” an episode of Switch that was strikingly similar to “This Case is Closed” in plot, style, and manner—including the use of flashback techniques to tell part of the story. Even some of the dialogue was the same in both episodes. Larson, however, took sole writing credit for “Death by Resurrection,” without acknowledging that he had actually based that episode on “This Case is Closed.”
The morning after “Death by Resurrection” aired, Huggins and Cannell fired off a memo to Universal Television executive Frank Price that detailed the extent to which Larson had appropriated elements of their Rockford script without attribution. This set the stage for one of the most colorful episodes in Rockford Files history—one that ended with James Garner, quite literally, taking matters into his own hands.
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: BRET MAVERICK premieres on NBC with “The Lazy Ace,” a two-hour episode airing Dec. 1, 1981. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- THE LAZY ACE
Original Airdate: December 1, 1981
Synopsis. Bret Maverick rides into Sweetwater, a town in the Arizona territory, to play in a high-stakes poker game with Doc Holliday, Ramsey Bass, Joe Dakota, Lyman Nickerson, the Delta Fox, and Mandy Packard. After winning the $100,000 jackpot and ownership of Mandy’s saloon, the Red Ox, Maverick purchases a 100-acre ranch, which he christens The Lazy Ace. However, Bret doesn’t realize that he also inherited liability toward a $50,000 loan that Mandy took out from the bank against the saloon’s mortgage. To make matters worse, the bank is robbed shortly after Bret deposits his money.
An injury to James Garner shut down production of this episode for three days. Keep an eye out for the sequence where Bret’s horse goes ballistic after hearing gunshots. Garner was on a mechanical horse to film part of that sequence; he was thrown from the horse, and suffered nine broken ribs as a result.
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: “The Wrecker,” an adaptation of the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, airs on Dec. 1, 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 WRECKER
Original Airdate: December 1, 1957
Synopsis. After buying their way into an exclusive ring of auction bidders, the Maverick brothers try to purchase The Flying Scud, a beached brig containing a cargo of Oriental rice and silk valued at $10,000. Bret’s scheme to sell the goods for a quick profit runs aground when he gets into a bidding war with a man named Bellairs, who raises the price to $21,000 before dropping out. Bart soon discovers that Bellairs acted as a middle man for James Dickson (whose real name is Paul Carthew). Carthew believes that the wrecked ship contains evidence that could link him to a crime that took place at sea many years ago.
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: “Thunder from the North” airs on Nov. 13, 1960. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- THUNDER FROM THE NORTH
Original Airdate: November 13, 1960
Synopsis. Two crooked Army shopkeepers named Marsh and Lawson have cheated the local Indian tribes by supplying faulty or inferior goods. When a tribeswoman named Pale Moon threatens to report them to the Army Commission, the shopkeepers start a war with the Indians, knowing that the Army will not investigate the claim at a time of war. Marsh and Lawson murder Pale Moon’s brother, then decide to pin the crime on the stranger who won $1,500 from them the night before: Beau Maverick.