Marion Hargrove

This date in MAVERICK TV History: “The Maverick Report” airs on Mar. 11, 1962

THE MAVERICK REPORT
Original Airdate: March 11, 1962

Synopsis. In Denver, Colorado, Bart wins $15,000 playing poker with his friend Jonesy, owner of the Porterville Clarion newspaper. Up to his ears in debt, Jonesy hands over the Clarion to Bart, provided that Maverick allow him a week to raise the money so that he can buy back the paper. Before long, Maverick finds himself facing a libel lawsuit from a political candidate and a murder charge after Jonesy is found dead.

“The Maverick Report” went through an interesting metamorphosis between concept and production. Among other things, the episode was originally written as a solo vehicle for Brent Maverick, the character briefly played by Robert Colbert late in the fourth season.

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: Ruta Lee guest stars in “Plunder of Paradise,” airing Mar. 9, 1958

PLUNDER OF PARADISE
Original Airdate: March 9, 1958

Synopsis. In the Mexican town of Paraiso, Bart, Big Mike McComb, and Grace Wheeler search for a legendary fortune in gold, diamonds, doubloons, and rubies that has been buried for more than one hundred years.

Ruta Lee previously appeared in “Comstock Conspiracy,” one of the most famous episodes of Maverick. Other guest stars in “Plunder of Paradise” include Jay Novello, the character actor arguably best known for playing Martini in It’s a Wonderful Life.

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: Sherry Jackson stars in “Red Dog,” the final episode featuring Roger Moore as Beau Maverick, airing Mar. 5, 1961

RED DOG
Original Airdate: March 5, 1961

Synopsis. Beau stumbles onto the cave site meeting place of five outlaws, only to find himself held hostage.

The last of Roger Moore’s fifteen appearances as Beau Maverick, “Red Dog” also features Sherry Jackson, Lee Van Cleef, and legendary character actor John Carradine.

When Sherry Jackson appeared on TV Confidential in 2012, she mentioned that her appearances on Maverick were among her very first “grown up” roles. She shared some memories about working with Roger Moore and Jack Kelly in the podcast posted below:

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 week in MAVERICK TV History: “The Seventh Hand,” featuring Diane Brewster as Samantha Crawford, airs on Mar. 2, 1958

THE SEVENTH HAND
Original Airdate: March 2, 1958

Synopsis. In Kansas City, Samantha Crawford offers to stake Bret $20,000 if he plays in a high-stakes poker game with wealthy businessmen. Unaware that Samantha was hired by a man named Logan to set up the game, Bret agrees. Samantha, however, doesn’t realize that Logan intends to use the game to stage a robbery.

Diane Brewster returns as Samantha Crawford in “The Seventh Hand,” an episode that also introduced viewers to the following Pappyism: “Marriage is the only game of chance I know of where both people can lose.”

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: Nita Talbot guest stars in “The Resurrection of Joe November,” airing Feb. 28, 1960

THE RESURRECTION OF JOE NOVEMBER
Original Airdate: February 28, 1960

Synopsis. En route to New Orleans, Bret is offered $10,000 to transport the remains of a man named Joe November from New Orleans to Europe. What Maverick doesn’t realize is that the casket actually contains a fortune in stolen jewelry.

Guest stars in “The Resurrection of Joe November” include Nita Talbot, the Bourbon Street Beat star who appeared earlier this season in “Easy Mark.”

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: “Maverick at Law” airs on Feb. 26, 1961

MAVERICK AT LAW
Original Airdate: February 26, 1961

Synopsis. Two outlaws enlist a mousy bank teller in their plans to rob the Bank of Ten Sleep, but the job is bungled when bank owner Cyrus Babcock catches the robbers in the act of looting his safe. The crooks get away, leaving the teller to stash the money in the first place he can find—inside Bart’s saddlebags.

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: “A Night at the Red Ox,” an episode of BRET MAVERICK, aired on Feb. 23, 1982

A NIGHT AT THE RED OX
Original Airdate: February 23, 1982

Synopsis. Bret, Tom, and M.L. are held hostage by a woman who believes Tom murdered her husband twenty years before.

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.

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: Julie Adams guest stars in “The Brasada Spur,” airing on Feb. 22, 1959

THE BRASADA SPUR
Original Airdate: February 22, 1959

Synopsis. In King City, Bart wines and dines Belle Morgan, the powerful town boss, in order to get a seat in an exclusive poker game with millionaire railroad men. But when Belle catches onto Bart’s game, she retaliates viciously by impounding his winnings (more than $13,000) and sticking him with the operation of the Brasada Spur, a floundering railroad company in which Belle controls most of the stock.

Julie Adams (The Creature from the Black Lagoon) plays the queen of King City in “The Brasada Spur,” an episode that also features the following Pappyism: “The two greatest evils are hard liquor and hard work.”

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: “Iron Hand,” an episode that marked an early TV appearance of screen legend Robert Redford, airs on Feb. 21, 1960

THE IRON HAND
Original Airdate: February 21, 1960

Synopsis. Needing money after Nobby Ned Wingate cleans them out at poker, Bart and some cowboys convince Connie Coleman to hire them to help on a cattle drive to Abilene. Maverick suspects that Connie’s foreman, a Cheyenne half-breed named Joe Vermillion, is more than he appears to be.

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: Jeanne Cooper guest stars in “Flood’s Folly,” airing on Feb. 19, 1961

FLOOD’S FOLLY
Original Airdate: February 19, 1961

Synopsis. Near Denver, Colorado, Beau and his friend Judge John Scott find shelter from a blizzard in the home of widow Martha Flood and her niece Sally. Maverick soon discovers that Martha and the judge are plotting to institutionalize Sally in order to take over her inheritance.

Jeanne Cooper, whom we previously saw in the first-season episode “Naked Gallows,” guest stars as Martha Flood. For many years, Cooper and Robert Colbert starred on the CBS daytime serial The Young and the Restless.

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.