Rockford Files

This date in MAVERICK TV history: “Gun-Shy,” the famous episode of MAVERICK that parodied GUNSMOKE, aired for the first time on Jan. 11, 1959

GUN-SHY
Original Airdate: January 11, 1959

Synopsis. In Elwood, Kansas, Bret’s efforts to track down $500,000 in hidden gold run afoul of the town’s stalwart but dimwitted marshal, Mort Dooley.

The most famous episode of the original Maverick, “Gun-Shy” scored a whopping 49 share in the Nielsen ratings on the night it originally aired. Meaning, of all the TV sets that were in use between 7:30pm and 8:30pm on Sunday, January 11, 1959, one out of every two were tuned in to Maverick.

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 ROCKFORD FILES History: “Deadlock in Parma,” the final episode of the NBC Rockford Files series, airs on Jan. 10, 1980. 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

DEADLOCK IN PARMA
Original Air Date: January 10, 1980

Synopsis. Jim vacations in nearby Parma with his friend John Traynor, a member of the city council who is about to vote on an initiative that would legalize gambling in Parma, as well as allow for the development of a natural wilderness area into a vast hotel and casino complex. Traynor, who must cast the deciding vote on the issue, feigns illness, then cons Rockford into acting as his proxy. What Rockford doesn’t realize: Traynor sold himself out to both the land developers (who have gangland ties) and the town mayor (who was bought off by a Las Vegas corporation that wants the measure defeated in order to stifle any competition). The matter becomes even uglier when Rockford discovers Traynor dead in the woods. “Deadlock in Parma” was not only the last original episode of Rockford to air on NBC, but the last to be filmed.

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: “The Cruise of The Cynthia B” aired on Jan. 10, 1960

THE CRUISE OF THE CYNTHIA B Original Airdate: January 10, 1960

Synopsis. Bret finds himself in a battle over ownership of The Cynthia B, a legendary old schooner known as “the death ship” because each of its six previous owners died under mysterious circumstances.

“The Cruise of The Cynthia B” is one of several episodes of Maverick inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Guest stars include Mona Freeman as Modesty Blaine, the charming grifter who got the best of Bret in “The Cats of Paradise.”

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: “Family Pride” aired on Jan. 8, 1961

FAMILY PRIDE
Original Airdate: January 8, 1961

Synopsis. In New Mexico, Beau finds himself rivals with a trio of con artists who keep getting the best of him.

“Family Pride” was the first of four episodes helmed by John Ainsworth, the British director who was also a classmate of series star Roger Moore at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Ainsworth subsequently directed his “old chum” on The Saint.

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: Rudolph Acosta and Nancy Hsueh star in “Poker Face,” airing Jan. 7, 1962

POKER FACE
Original Airdate: January 7, 1962

Synopsis. Near Yuma, Arizona, notorious bandit Sebastian Bolanos challenges Bart to a high-stakes poker game in which $70,000—and the lives of five people—hang in the balance.

Guest stars include Nancy Hsueh, who became one of the first Asian-American actresses to star in a U.S. television series when she landed the role of Mia Elliott, the original lead character on Love is a Many Splendored Thing (CBS, 1967-1973), the popular daytime drama developed for television by Irma Phillips.

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 ROCKFORD FILES History: Joan Van Ark, Howard Duff, John Dehner, Steve Landesberg, and Jack Riley star in “There’s One in Every Port,” airing Jan. 7, 1977. This was the second of three Rockfords that borrowed the premise of the classic Maverick episode “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres.” 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

THERE’S ONE IN EVERY PORT
Original Air Date: January 7, 1975

Synopsis. Another con artist acquaintance plays Rockford for a chump. Jim is told that Eddie Marks could die of a kidney disorder unless he’s treated with a $50,000 dialysis machine. But Eddie has only $10,000, and he doesn’t qualify for welfare because of his prison record. Eddie’s daughter Christina begs Rockford to raise the money by playing in a high-stakes poker game, using her father’s money as a stake. Rockford gets into a game run by racketeer Blast Gillette. When three gunmen interrupt the game (and steal the $200,000 kitty), Blast suspects Rockford of orchestrating the robbery and threatens to kill him. When Jim realizes that Eddie and Christina set up the heist, he counters with an elaborate scheme designed to recover the money—and sting Eddie.

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: “The Third Rider,” the second of three episodes featuring Michael Dante (Winterhawk), aired on Jan. 5, 1958

THE THIRD RIDER
Original Airdate: January 5, 1958

Synopsis. Bart Maverick finds himself pursued by unsavory characters who think he’s a member of the gang that robbed the Elm City Bank of $80,000.

“The Third Rider” is the second of three episodes featuring Michael Dante, the future star of Winterhawk, Kid Galahad, and Westbound who was also one of several actors originally considered to play the role of Bart Maverick that eventually went to Jack Kelly.

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 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.

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