Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines
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| Photo property (c) Doris McCraw |
Welcome to the rabbit warren which is my journey through the early classic TV Westerns. I will place the link to the previous blog post at the end.
I will say that 'Cimmaron City' caught my eye because of its star George Montgomery. There was always something that I found fascinating about the man and his performances. Standing at 6'3" he was an imposing figure. Born in Montana in 1916, he passed away in 2000. One thing I found interesting about Montgomery, born Goerge Montgomery Letz, he was the youngest of fifteen children born to Ukrainian immigrants.
In addition to his staring role in the TV show, he also starred in numerous films. In addition to acting, Montgomery also was a writer, director, producer, stuntman, sculptor, painter, and was a 'furniture craftsman', in other words, he created hand-made' furniture.
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| George Montgomery & Fred MacMurray on the TV show Cimarron City (photo from Wikipedia) |
The show ran from 1958 to 1959 and was an hour-long show. The basis of the show was about Matthew Rockford, played by Montgomery, who was the Mayor of Cimmaron City, a town situated in the Oklahoma territory in the late 1800s. (Remember this is television it takes from history but doesn't always get it right.)
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| John Smith (photo from Wikipedia) |
The show also had some early performances by actors who later went on to find fame and other TV shows. The deputy to Montgomery's Rockford was Lane Temple played by actor John Smith, 6'2", who went on to find fame in the TV show 'Laramie'. You would also find Dan Blocker, 6'4", who played the town's blacksmith, Tiny Carl Budinger. For those who may not remember Blocker went on to find fame in the show 'Bonanza'. Yes, the show had a lot of tall men in the cast.
The show also had Audrey Totter, 5'3", as the local newspaper owner Beth Purcell. (I won't say token female, for she had an interesting part in the show)
Past post:
Tall and imposing - they must have looked good on TV. Fascinating as ever, Angela/Doris. I wish I could have seen them.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if there was ever a western with a hero who was short?
Tall and Imposing is my go to, however, Audie Murphy was 5'5" and Alan Ladd, of 'Shane' fame, was about 5'6". Those two were somewhat of the exception. (Smile) Doris
DeleteThanks for sharing that, Doris! Good to know
DeleteAs your posts often do, this sent me down the rabbit hole. Apparently, his housekeeper tried to kill him due to unreciprocated affections in 1963. That must have been one uncomfortable household! Thanks for another interesting post. This is another series I missed entirely.
ReplyDeleteMontgomery definitely had an interesting lffe. He also did some Western films were he also played the 'tought' good guy. I'm glad you enjoy these posts. I love digging into and sharing the story of these fun shows. I've always loved rabbit holes. LOL. Doris
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