Tags
deer, Doug McClure, fawns, James Drury, Lincoln Highway, Medicine Bow, Owen Wister, The Virginian, Wyoming
Did your family gather around the TV to watch westerns when you were a child? Before we even owned a television, I was exposed to the likes of The Big Valley, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, The Virginian, and Bonanza: oh stop my beating heart Little Joe; I suspect my mother had the hots for Ben, and my sister would surely have gravitated toward highbrowed Adam.
The Virginian was based on Owen Wister’s novel of the same name, which was printed in 1902 before Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour turned western genre fiction into cash cows. The book was about a young cowboy of impeccably good character, who was the foreman of a cattle ranch outside of Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Four films predated the television series:
- 1914 – Directed by Cecil B. Demille
- 1923 – Screenplay written by Owen Wister
- 1929 – Gary Cooper as The Virginian
- 1946 – Joel McCrea as the Virginian
The television series ran from 1962 – 1971. It starred James Drury as the wise, laconic Virginian and his foil Trampas played by Doug McClure—who also set my young heart afire. Two things set this series apart from its television siblings: It was filmed in color and ran for 90 minutes. Although set in Wyoming, none of the films or the series were filmed there.
The real town of Medicine Bow dates back to 1869. It takes its name from Medicine Bow Peak and Medicine Bow River. Lore says that the Hotel Virginian was the inspiration for Wister’s book. Apparently he lived, for a time, in the Jackson Hole area and may have traveled through Medicine Bow on the train or the Lincoln Highway, which was the first transcontinental highway across America, predating the Interstate system.
I have driven through Medicine Bow and past The Hotel Virginian countless times. But recently, curiosity drew me off the main road to explore the residential area. I discovered that deer perhaps outnumber the 300 people who call Medicine Bow home.

This appeared to be a family unit consisting of mom, two fawns, and perhaps last year’s son.

In any case, although this little buck wanted to hang out, mama seemed quite over him. She chased him mercilessly.

I couldn’t get enough of these two little guys.
Were you exposed to American westerns as a child? If so, which ones were your favorites?
I loved the westerns as a child. Bonanza was my favourite and yes I had a crush on Little Joe. I also remember one called Rawhide with a very young Clint Eastwood!
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“Head em up, move ’em out!” There was one, before my time, I think, called “Laramie.” This was the only frame of reference many of my mom’s New York City friends had when she moved fro NYC to Laramie in 1957,
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Lovely.
I was a big fan of Wagon Train .. but really all Westerns do it for me!
Hope you’ve been enjoying the Way Out West song series on The Immortal Jukebox.
Regards Thom.
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I think the one I liked the least was The Big Valley. Maybe because it was the newest? I was put off by Barbara Stanwyck’s ice queen role.
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I’m seeking out all these great series on DVD!
Thom.
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Bryan just alerted me to a few new (old) ones I might need to search out. 😉
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Linda, we did watch all of those shows. When I grew up, we had just four stations, counting PBS. So, my parents knew we all could watch them in the safe and secure environment of our den. Keith
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We didn’t even have a TV till I was in about the 5th grade. But I would get to watch Bonanza on the neighbors’ TVs. That was a treat. And in the younger years, it was a big deal because on that night (Sunday, I believe) I got to stay up one hour past my bedtime to watch Bonanaza!
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I remember the Sunday night line-up of shows in the 1960s. In the 1970s, the best night for shows was the CBS lineup on Saturdays beginning with “All in the Family” and ending with “Carol Burnett.”
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I exposed myself. To Westerns, I mean. My family came along with me, just as long as I would put up with the soaps they were addicted to, and I pretended to dislike intensely. They gave me no choice, I had to lie. And I have the sneaking feeling my mother and three sisters pretended they didn’t like Westerns too. Though, thinking about it, my eldest sister couldn’t hide her teenage crush on Clint Walker. I hid the bit of brocrush I had on him myself.
My favourites were Maverick, Sugarfoot, Cheyenne and Bronco. But I pretty well liked them all. They go a long way to explaining US foreign policy, especially Boots and Saddles. But I won’t go into exactly why, as it’d take too long and is far too controversial. And I shouldn’t forget Rawhide. Or Wagon Train. And then there was Gunsmoke, and Wyatt Earp, of course.
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You’re a bit older than I am, Bryan, and also, there was that thing about not having a TV when I was little…and living in the sticks of Wyoming…I never heard of Sugarfoot, Cheyenne, or Bronco! I’m sure those 3 are not that different from the ones I did know about. Oh, and then there was the Rifleman, good ol’ Chuck Connors, brother of James Arness who was the Gunsmoke lead. Those are just as old as some of the ones you mention. It must have been a network availability thing.
And I get what you’re saying about US foreign policy. We’ve never corrected our Manifest Destiny perspective of the world.
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Bryan, I’d forgotten Cheyenne. I saw all those except Sugarfoot which I’ve not even heard of. Did that air in the UK?
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Sugarfoot starrred Will Hutchins, but changed its name to Tenderfoot in the UK after a couple of seasons.
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Thought you might want to see my latest reply to Val’s comment above. The star of Bronco died this week. Synchronicity. How long has it been since any of us has even thought of these shows and their stars?
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Wagon Train, The Virginian, and Bonanza were the ones I watched – also, when I was very much younger Bronco, and do you remember… Maverick? I don’t know about sitting down with the whole family to watch the shows, though – I used to try to get the set to myself (the dog used to join in, also. Sometimes I had to shoo him away from in front of the screen so I could see it!)
Anyway… guess who’s back! I’ve just re-followed your blog. 🙂
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Val, how wonderful to see you, er, well, hear from you! I trust you are feeling a bit better these days. I shall now pop over to see what you’ve got going on in colouringthepast.
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Thanks, Linda. I’m still battling various health issues but decided a year or so ago not to be such a bloody wimp about them anymore! 🙂
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When our bodies defy us, life is just a whole lot more difficult. I’m glad you’re back, but don’t overdo it!
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Will try not to.
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Val, how funny that I just came across this obituary for the star of Bronco!
“Ty Hardin, a former actor who starred on the TV Western series “Bronco,” died Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, according to multiple news sources. He was 87. His wife, Carolyn Pampu Hardin, told The Associated Press that her husband had been “in failing health.”
Hardin starred as Bronco Layne on the series “Bronco,” a spinoff of the popular show “Cheyenne.” Bronco was a former Confederate officer who traveled the Old West meeting historical figures like President Teddy Roosevelt and the outlaw Jesse James. The show lasted four seasons, from 1958 to 1962. He also appeared in supporting roles in films like “PT 109.”
Born Orison Whipple Hungerford Jr. Jan. 1, 1930, in New York City, he was raised in Texas. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War as a pilot of an L-19 Bird Dog liaison aircraft. Following his honorable discharge, he returned to Texas and enrolled at Texas A&M University, where he played football for the legendary coach Bear Bryant.
After graduation, he moved to California where he worked in the aerospace industry as an engineer. It was during this time he was discovered at a costume party dressed as a cowboy. Westerns were hot at the box office at the time, and his rugged good looks caught the attention of studio talent scouts. This serendipitous meeting led to a successful screen test and contract.
Following the cancellation of “Bronco,” he found work in Europe, starring in Italian spaghetti Westerns. He also appeared in all-star films like “Battle of the Bulge” with Henry Fonda and “Custer of the West” with Robert Shaw. He then starred on the Australian TV series “Riptide,” as an American boat captain. ….”
In his later years he became a flaming Christian and super right-wing Republican….
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Good heavens! That’s quite a change during his lifetime. (And what a name… Orison Whipple Hungerford Jr. Sort of like ‘Mork calling Orson, come in Orson’ only Orison, instead!) Sad that he’s died, but if he went the ultra-everything route, maybe not…
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Agreed!
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My favorite was the Lone Ranger…we used to watch that in NYC on that little red tv, it had about an eight inch screen. Little did I know that in Southern California I would ride my own horse in some of the areas where it was filmed. There always was a TV around when you were little. It was I who didn’t have access to one until I was about ten. I liked Bonanza also, but I thought Adam was a stuffed shirt. I guess I liked Little Joe. And there was Gunsmoke, another favorite of mine.
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Hmmm. I don’t remember the TV until I was in about 4th grade. I think maybe it’s cuz mother wouldn’t turn it on till after 8 or something and I was always supposed to be in bed by 8.
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It was that little red TV she had in the kitchen when she was at the Soldier Springs ranch, I’ve always loved how she didn’t approve of television, yet after she died I was stumbling over them. Yes, you must have been in bed at 400 S. because there we had a bigger one, but I don’t remember your watching with us. I used to clean tack in front of it at night. But remember, she wouldn’t buy cable, so there was little to watch.
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Now that you mention it, I do just barely conjure a vision of a tiny red set. I think after you married and moved away, she got a larger set and when I would come home for lunch, she’d be watching As The World Turns. Of all things. Cable TV. What a thought. I didn’t have cable TV till about 2003, I think. I got rid of it again 6 or 7 years ago. I don’t think many people had cable TV in Wyoming in the 60s.
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Oh, yes. Tourists used to stop in Laramie wanting to ride because they had seen the show. Except there was no place to rent a horse except from us. Have you gone inside the Virginian Hotel? It has a lovely antique dining room.
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Nope, I’ve never been inside the Virginian. How long ago were you in there? It did seem to have a reasonably healthy crowd of cars parked in front the day I drove by.
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Glad it is getting business, we stopped in maybe ten years ago.
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The only show I know of the ones mentioned is Bonanza – which I watched the re-runs of in the 90ies. Don’t forget that I am a wee bit younger than you, and also that I grew up behind the iron curtain.
I do like the deer though, it’s amazing how trusting some of them are, considering they are wild animals!
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Ah Sandra, I so miss hearing about your life! Yes, this was a really bifurcated post. It started with the silly TV shows, but really, it was the deer who stole my heart.
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i just came across this in my mail. (I’ve been lax about reading them) My 5th grade teacher Mrs Strange was the mother of Wayde Preston the star of another old show- Colt 45! I don’t think it was on for long and I had to look it up on google because I couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was called. I also like Paladin (Have Gun Will Travel) Good job bringing back “old” memories for us!
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Wow. Colt 45….I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of that one. But Have Gun Will Travel, I remember that mostly by title. I don’t believe I ever actually watched it. I can sort of remember the lead into it though, so I suspect it was one of those that my mother watched with Iris, after I was sent upstairs to bed. The title baffled me as a kid. I thought it was “Half Gun will Travel” which made even less sense! Do you remember when cable TV came to Laramie?
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Oh yes … I loved westerns and still do. Perhaps having an interest in history has something to do with it … I liked the long dresses the ladies wore although I doubt in reality many looked like Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke. Bonanza was my favorite but to name a few more, I also remember High Chaparral and Big Valley with Barbara Stanwick. Perhaps a midwestern … I also liked Little House on the Prairie … but now instead of ‘Little Joe’ we got ‘Pa’.
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Oh yes, Denise! I forgot about High Chaparral! I don’t remember what it was about, but I seem to remember that I liked it. I like to chuckle over the fancy, clean clothes actors wore in the old westerns. And the nice pearly-toothed smiles, clean-shaven faces, and fancy coifs and powdered noses of the ladies. Photos I’ve seen of that era, look quite different! 😉 But fantasy is fun. Little House was fun. Lots of preachy moralizations, but, there again, who could complain about hearing ‘Pa’ wax eloquent! 😉
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Hi Linda. Thx for this post. Our family used to love watching westerns. But the one we mostly watched was Bonanza. Funny how there don’t seem to be any new westerns (that I’m familiar with.)
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I think Bonanza must have been pretty much an all around favorite. It sort of had someone for everyone to identify with and it wasn’t overtly violent. I guess if westerns were to become popular again, they’d have to come complete with a bunch of phony CGI and beefed up violence. Occasionally, I’ll watch a few minutes of an old rerun late at night. I’m always struck by how black and white the plot lines were, how subservient the women were__even given primary roles, they always had a pack of males to protect them. A very dated genre, for sure.
However, I have watched the Longmire series on Netflix. I have a love/hate relationship with it. 🙂 It’s supposedly set in the state of Wyoming, but is filmed in Taos, New Mexico. It’s sort of a modern day western. Instead of horses, they drive big pickups. 😉
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