- CLANCY
Original Airdate: November 28, 1979
Synopsis. Ben thinks he’s found the perfect opponent for a barnstorming prizefighter: Nell’s mammoth cousin Clancy (played by Denny Miller). James Garner makes a cameo appearance as Bret Maverick.
Ed Robertson
Author ● Journalist ● Radio Host ● Collaborative Writer
Roger Moore Beau Maverick
This Date in MAVERICK TV History: “Bolt from the Blue,” written and directed by Robert Altman, airs on Nov. 27, 1960. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- BOLT FROM THE BLUE
Original Airdate: November 27, 1960
Synopsis. Beau befriends a kindly old prospector named Ebenezer Bolt (played by Tim Graham), unaware that he’s the partner of notorious horse thief Benson January (Owen Bush). An angry posse intercepts Maverick and mistakes him for January. Although the posse is determined to hang Beau, a young lawyer (played by Will Hutchins) halts the proceedings until Maverick can have a trial. But Beau’s conviction seems imminent when the lawyer locates a notorious “hanging judge” (played by Richard Hale), while a woman whose sister was January’s fiancée fingers Maverick for the thefts.
Full of the wit and biting humor that characterized many of the early Maverick scripts, Robert Altman’s “Bolt from the Blue” is by far the best episode of the fourth season. Altman was apparently such a huge fan of Maverick that he’d finished his script before he presented the idea to producer Coles Trapnell.
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, Reginald Owen, and Jolene Brand star in “A Technical Error,” airing Nov. 26, 1961. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- A TECHNICAL ERROR
Original Airdate: November 26, 1961
Synopsis. In Junction Corners, Bart wins ownership of the Bank on the Square from Major Holbrook Sims (played by Reginald Owen), who seems suspiciously eager to unload the bank. Maverick soon discovers why: the bank is short $20,000 due to a bookkeeping error. When the word leaks out, the angry townspeople threaten to make a run on the bank. Bart’s problems increase when Doc Holliday (Peter Breck) “borrows” the money from Blackjack Carney and his gang of thieves, who demand $25,000 in return.
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 Jeweled Gun,” the first solo adventure of Bart Maverick, airs on Nov. 24, 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 JEWELED GUN
Original Airdate: November 24, 1957
Synopsis. Kathleen Crowley guest stars as Daisy Harris, a wealthy woman with many secrets. Daisy hires Bart to pose as her husband (“John Haskell”) and accompany her on a trip to Laramie, Wyoming. Bart doesn’t realize that Daisy plans to kill him—long ago, the real Haskell was murdered by Henrique Felippe, her attorney (and lover). Daisy and Felippe hope to cover their tracks by staging an elaborate murder (and burial) of “Haskell.”
While the script for “The Jeweled Gun” was completed in August 1957, filming did not begin until sometime in October, shortly after Jack Kelly joined the cast as Bart Maverick. Initially, the script was tailored for James Garner, with Kelly appearing only in the vignettes that open and close the show. However, a last-minute switch resulted in Kelly starring in the episode and Garner appearing in the vignettes. As a result, “The Jeweled Gun” became the first solo Bart adventure.
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: John Dehner stars in “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres,” James Garner’s favorite episode and arguably the most famous Maverick of all, airing Nov. 23, 1958. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- SHADY DEAL AT SUNNY ACRES
Original Airdate: November 23, 1958
Synopsis. Bret wins $15,000 playing poker in Sunny Acres, Colorado. He deposits the money with the town’s banker, John Bates, but when he tries to withdraw some of his money the following morning, Bates denies the entire transaction. (Unbeknownst to Maverick, Bates has been lifting funds from the bank in order to buy out his partner, Ben Granville.) Bret vows to recover his money within two weeks, but Bates is unfazed—he knows he has an impeccable reputation in town, and that the sheriff will be watching Maverick closely. Bret plays helpless, but actually orchestrates an elaborate investment scheme built around Bates’ inherent greed. Playing key roles in the sting: Samantha Crawford, Dandy Jim Buckley, Gentleman Jack Darby, Cindy Lou Brown, Big Mike McComb, and brother Bart.
“Shady Deal at Sunny Acres” marked the final appearances of Dandy Jim Buckley and Samantha Crawford. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was busy starring in 77 Sunset Strip, while Diane Brewster was about to launch her own series (The Islanders, produced by Richard Bare). In fact, except for Gentleman Jack Darby, none of the supporting characters created by Roy Huggins and company returned to Maverick following Huggins’ departure after the second season.
In his memoir, The Garner Files, James Garner singled out “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres” as his favorite episode of the series “because it’s Bret at his coolest.”
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: Adam West and Diane McBain star in “A Fellow’s Brother,” airing Nov. 22, 1959. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- A FELLOW’S BROTHER
Original Airdate: November 22, 1959
Synopsis. Needing a stake to get into a big poker game in Abilene, Bret decides to collect on some old gambling debts. One of the persons he visits is Ellsworth Haynes, a Wells Fargo agent in Red Rock Junction. Things become complicated when Haynes is murdered and the bank is robbed of $50,000. Because Haynes was last seen speaking to a man named “Maverick,” Bret becomes wanted for murder and robbery.
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: Efrem Zimbalist Jr. makes his first appearance as Dandy Jim Buckley in “Stampede,” airing Nov. 17, 1957. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- STAMPEDE!
Original Airdate: November 17, 1957
Synopsis. Bret teams with Dandy Jim Buckley to settle the score with Tony Cadiz, a cadaverous gambler who took the both of them for $12,000 (and left Bret for dead). Cadiz is traveling to the South Dakota mining town of Deadwood, where he plans to make a fortune by showcasing Battling Kreuger, the bare-fisted pugilist whom he manages. Cadiz offers to pay 2-to-1 odds to any man who can last ten rounds with “the Battler.” After staking themselves to $4,000 (their reward for recovering two bags of gold stolen from the Wells Fargo Bank), Bret and Jim meet Noah Perkins, a giant of a man who seems the perfect opponent for Battling Kreuger. Bret and Jim set up a high-stakes showdown between Noah and Kreuger. When Noah bows out at the last minute, however, Maverick must take his place.
Roy Huggins originally intended Dandy Jim Buckley as a one-shot character, but he ended up bringing him back four more times because he so thoroughly enjoyed what Efrem Zimbalist Jr. brought to his portrayal. Zimbalist, for his part, considered working with James Garner to be among the highlights of his career.
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: Bethel Leslie stars in “The Thirty-Ninth Star,” airing Nov. 16, 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 THIRTY-NINTH STAR
Original Airdate: November 16, 1958
Synopsis. Bart celebrates the Fourth of July in a western territory that hopes to qualify for statehood.
More often than not, any script during the Roy Huggins era that featured just one Maverick was doled out to whichever actor was available, be that James Garner or Jack Kelly (although, as a rule, Huggins had always his scripts written with Garner in mind). According to series writer Marion Hargrove, however, “The Thirty-Ninth Star” was one of the few Huggins shows that was specifically written as a vehicle for Jack Kelly.
The episode also features one of the most famous Pappyisms of all: “Work is fine for killing time, but it’s a shaky way to make a living.”
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: Edgar Buchanan, Nita Talbot and Pippa Scott star in “Easy Mark,” airing on Nov. 15, 1959. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- EASY MARK
Original Airdate: November 15, 1959
Synopsis. Outside the desert of Santa Fe, Bart encounters Cornelius Van Rensselear Jr., a Harvard graduate and the son of a railroad magnate. Corny takes Bart for more than $1,000 in poker, but offers him double his money back if Bart agrees to impersonate him for a few days. Corny is traveling to his father’s company in St. Louis for an important shareholders meeting (his father faces the danger of being bought out by a rival named Hardiman), but he also needs to complete a paper on cacti that he must deliver to a horticultural society. Maverick takes the job—and immediately finds himself the target of henchmen dispatched by Hardiman to derail Corny.
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: Maverick pokes fun of Bonanza in “Three Queens Full,” airing Nov. 12, 1961. Guest stars include Jim Backus, Merry Anders, Kasey Rogers and Allyson Ames. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press
- THREE QUEENS FULL
Original Airdate: November 12, 1961
Synopsis. In this loose parody of the popular Western series Bonanza, wealthy rancher Joe Wheelwright (played by Jim Backus) hires Maverick to chaperone the three brides he purchased for his sons Henry, Moose, and Small Paul. Bart soon discovers that the women are linked to Wheelwright’s rival Brazo, who hopes to use the women to buy his way into the family fortune.