The Oregon Trail (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Oregon Trail is a 14-episode NBC
western
television series starring Rod Taylor as the widow
er Evan Thorpe, who leaves his Illinois
farm in 1842 to take the Oregon Trail
to the Pacific Northwest
. The show also starred Andrew Stevens
, Tony Becker
, and Gina Marie Smika as Thorpe's children. Darleen Carr
starred as Margaret Devlin, one of the passengers on the wagon train
, and Charles Napier
portrayed Luther Sprague, a frontier scout recruited by Thorpe. The series was filmed in the Flagstaff, Arizona area.
Of the fourteen episodes produced, only six were aired:
The following are seven unaired episodes:
The series followed another western-themed program, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams on the NBC Wednesday schedule. It aired at 9 p.m. Eastern opposite the CBS Wednesday Night Movie and ABC
's detective
series, Charlie's Angels
. Michael Gleason was the executive producer; Richard Collins, the supervising producer; Carl Vitale, the producer for NBC Universal Television
. Bill Bixby also directed
two episodes. The series pilot aired on January 10, 1976.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television series starring Rod Taylor as the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
er Evan Thorpe, who leaves his Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
farm in 1842 to take the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
to the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. The show also starred Andrew Stevens
Andrew Stevens
Andrew Stevens is an American executive, film producer, director and former actor.-Early life:Andrew Stevens was born Herman Andrew Stephens in Memphis, Tennessee...
, Tony Becker
Tony Becker
Tony Becker, born September 14, 1963, is an American actor from Los Angeles, California best known for his role as PFC Daniel 'Danny' Purcell on the 1987-1990 CBS Vietnam War series Tour of Duty.-Career:...
, and Gina Marie Smika as Thorpe's children. Darleen Carr
Darleen Carr
Darleen Carr is an American actress best known for a recurring role in the 1981–82 television series Bret Maverick opposite James Garner...
starred as Margaret Devlin, one of the passengers on the wagon train
Wagon train
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...
, and Charles Napier
Charles Napier (actor)
Charles L. Napier was an American actor, known for his portrayals of square-jawed tough guys and military types.-Early life:...
portrayed Luther Sprague, a frontier scout recruited by Thorpe. The series was filmed in the Flagstaff, Arizona area.
Of the fourteen episodes produced, only six were aired:
- "Hard Ride Home and the Last Game", September 21 (Wilford BrimleyWilford BrimleyAllen Wilford Brimley is an American actor. He has appeared in such films as The China Syndrome, Cocoon, The Thing and The Firm. He had a recurring role on the 1970s television series The Waltons...
)
- "The Waterhole", September 28 (Lonny ChapmanLonny ChapmanLonny Chapman was an American television actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on detective dramas, including Quincy, M.E., The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, and NYPD Blue...
and Kim HunterKim HunterKim Hunter was an American film, theatre, and television actress. She won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, each as Best Supporting Actress, for her performance as Stella Kowalski in the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire...
)
- "Trapper's Rendezvous", October 12 (Claude AkinsClaude AkinsClaude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
)
- "The Army Deserter", October 19 (Clu GulagerClu GulagerClu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...
and Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthy (actor)Kevin McCarthy was an American stage, film, and television actor, who appeared in over two hundred television and film roles. For his role in the 1951 film version of Death of a Salesman, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of...
)
- "Hannah's Girl", October 26 (Stella StevensStella StevensStella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
, mother of Andrew Stevens, as Hannah Morgan)
- "The Scarlet Ribbon", November 30 (Richard JaeckelRichard JaeckelRichard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
, Donna MillsDonna MillsDonna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
, Bill BixbyBill BixbyWilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...
, and William ShatnerWilliam ShatnerWilliam Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
).
The following are seven unaired episodes:
- "The Race" (Mariette HartleyMariette HartleyMary Loretta "Mariette" Hartley is an American character actress.-Personal life:Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary Ickes “Polly” , a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was psychologist John B...
and Robert PineRobert PineRobert Pine is an American actor who has starred on television and in film. He is probably best known for his role as Sgt. Joseph Getraer on the hit NBC television series CHiPs from 1977 to 1983.-Personal life:...
)
- "The Gold Dust Queen" (Susan HowardSusan HowardJeri Lynn Mooney , better known as Susan Howard, is an American actress, writer, and political activist; best known for portraying the character Donna Culver Krebbs on the soap opera Dallas, Maggie Petrocelli on the television show Petrocelli, and to Star Trek fans for portraying Mara, the first...
, later on the CBS drama DallasDallas (TV series)Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
)
- "The Man Who Wouldn't Die"
- "Return of the Baby" (again Mills, Shatner, and Bixby)
- "Evan's Vendetta" (William SmithWilliam Smith (actor)William Smith is an American actor who has appeared in almost 300 feature films and television productions.Smith began his acting career at the age of 8 in 1942...
, previously of the NBC western series LaredoLaredo (TV series)Laredo is an NBC Western television series starring Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. The program premiered on September 16, 1965, and the final new episode was broadcast on April 7, 1967. The series was produced by Universal Television.-Synopsis:Laredo...
)
- "Suffer the Children"
- "Wagon Race".
The series followed another western-themed program, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams on the NBC Wednesday schedule. It aired at 9 p.m. Eastern opposite the CBS Wednesday Night Movie and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
series, Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
. Michael Gleason was the executive producer; Richard Collins, the supervising producer; Carl Vitale, the producer for NBC Universal Television
NBC Universal Television
NBCUniversal Television Group is an American and global television production/distribution company and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal.The company is composed of six divisions: Universal Television , NBC Universal Television Stations, NBCUniversal Television Distribution, NBCUniversal...
. Bill Bixby also directed
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
two episodes. The series pilot aired on January 10, 1976.