Trackdown is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 starring Robert Culp

Robert Culp

Robert Martin Culp was an American actor, scriptwriter, voice actor and director, widely known for his work in television. Culp first earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents...

 that aired on CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 between 1957 and 1959. The series offered more than seventy episodes and was produced by Dick Powell

Dick Powell

Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...

's Four Star Television

Four Star Television

Four Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Ida Lupino, and Charles Boyer, the company produced many well-known shows of the early days of...

 and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio. The series was itself a spin-off

Spin-off (media)

In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 of Powell's anthology

Anthology

An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...

 series Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.-Overview:Zane Grey Theatre was created by Luke Short and Charles A. Wallace...

.

Pilot and Synopsis

The series stars Robert Culp

Robert Culp

Robert Martin Culp was an American actor, scriptwriter, voice actor and director, widely known for his work in television. Culp first earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents...

as Texas Ranger

Texas Ranger Division

The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...

 Hoby Gilman, a gunslinger

Gunslinger

Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...

 hunting down criminals throughout the West Texas

West Texas

West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....

 and the Old West. Culp's character was based in the real life town of Porter

Porter, Texas

Porter is an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Texas within the metropolitan area. In 2010, its population estimated 25,627. Schools in Porter are operated by the New Caney Independent School District.-Government and infrastructure:...

, Texas, an unincorporated community near Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, where he served as the de facto sheriff. Occasionally, his duties as a Texas Ranger took him out of town. He uses his fast gun to apprehend wanted criminals throughout the Lone Star State. His friends included Henrietta Porter, portrayed by Ellen Corby

Ellen Corby

Ellen Corby was an American actress. She is most widely remembered for the role of "Grandma Esther Walton" on the CBS television series The Waltons, for which she won three Emmy Awards...

, later a regular on The Waltons

The Waltons

The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...

. She is a widow of the town's founder and owns The Porter Enterprise, the local newspaper. Peter Leeds

Peter Leeds

Peter Leeds was an actor who appeared on television more than 8,000 times, and also had many film, Broadway, and radio appearances. The majority of his work took place in the 1950s and 1960s...

 plays Tenner Smith, the owner of the local saloon and a former gambler and gunslinger whose past was shrouded in mystery. Other series regulars included Norman Leavitt (as Ralph, Gilman's deputy), James Griffith

James Griffith

James Griffith was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Los Angeles, Griffith aspired to be a musician rather than an actor. Instead, he managed to find work in little theatres around Los Angeles, where the budding musician eased into a dual career of acting...

, and Gail Kobe

Gail Kobe

Gail Kobe is an American actress and producer.-Career:During the 1950s and 1960s, Kobe made dozens of guest appearances on such television programs as Felony Squad, Ironside, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, Gunsmoke, Daniel Boone, Mission: Impossible, The Untouchables and Mannix...

.

The pilot episode, "Badge of Honor", debuted Zane Grey Theater on May 3, 1957. The director was Arthur Hiller

Arthur Hiller

Arthur Hiller, OC is a Canadian film director. His filmography includes 33 major studio releases, including the 1970 film Love Story...

; the writer, John Robinson, The pilot concerned Hoby Gilman and an ex-Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 cavalary officer, returning to his hometown after the war. He finds Porter under the control of an unsavory character played by Gary Merrill

Gary Merrill

Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....

. The town sheriff is portrayed by Tom Tully

Tom Tully

Tom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...

, only a drunken shell of the man that Gilman once knew. A Texas Ranger who tries to arrest Merrill is shot in the back, and his badge is tossed on the dirt road. Culp picks up the badge to begin the symbolic quest to finish the job.

Guest stars

Guest stars included Chris Alcaide

Chris Alcaide

Christopher "Chris" Alcaide was an American actor particularly known for his role in television westerns. He surfaced to national attention as Deputy Joshua Tate in the 1956 film Gunslinger, co-starring Beverly Garland as a woman marshal.In 2003, Alcaide was among recipients, including the Sons of...

, Phyllis Avery

Phyllis Avery

Phyllis Avery was an American television and film actress.-Early life and career:Avery was born in New York City to Evelyn and author Stephen Morehouse Avery. Her father hailed from Webster Groves, Missouri, near St. Louis. Her first role was as Marjorie in the 1951 film Queen for a Day based on...

, Whit Bissell

Whit Bissell

Whitner Nutting Bissell , better known as Whit Bissell, was an American actor.-Early life:Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of prominent surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell. He trained with the Carolina Playmakers, a theatrical organization associated with the University of North Carolina at...

, Vic Morrow

Vic Morrow

Victor "Vic" Morrow was an American actor whose credits include a starring role in the 1960s TV series Combat!, prominent roles in a handful of other television and cinema dramas, and numerous guest roles on television...

, Nick Adams, Walter Coy

Walter Coy

Walter Darwin Coy was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, originally from Great Falls, Montana. He was best known for narrating the NBC western anthology series, Frontier, which aired early Sunday evenings in the 1955-1956 season.-Career:Coy performed on Broadway...

, Dennis Cross

Dennis Cross

Dennis Cross was an American actor who was the lead star of the syndicated television series The Blue Angels, fictional stories of daredevil United States Navy pilots which aired from 1960-1961...

, Don Durant

Don Durant

Don Durant was an American actor and singer, best known for his role as the gunslinger-turned- sheriff in the CBS Western series Johnny Ringo, which ran on Thursdays from October 1, 1959 - June 30, 1960....

, James Best

James Best

James Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...

, Strother Martin

Strother Martin

Strother Martin was an American actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison "captain" in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."-Early life:Strother Martin Jr. was born in Kokomo,...

, DeForest Kelley

DeForest Kelley

Jackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek.-Early life:...

, Paul Birch

Paul Birch (actor)

Paul Birch was an American actor of stage and film.Birch was born Paul Smith in Atmore, Alabama. He was a veteran of 39 movies, 50 stage dramas and a number of television shows including the Hallmark Hall of Fame...

, James Coburn

James Coburn

James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...

, Russ Conway

Russ Conway (actor)

Russ Conway was a Canadian-American character actor who appeared on film and television between 1947 and 1975.-Early years:...

, Beverly Garland

Beverly Garland

Beverly Garland was an American film and television actress, businesswoman, and hotel owner. Garland gained prominence for her role as Fred MacMurray's second wife, "Barbara Harper Douglas", in the 1960s sitcom My Three Sons...

, Michael Landon

Michael Landon

Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...

, Scott Forbes

Scott Forbes

Conrad Scott-Forbes , popularly known as Scott Forbes, was a movie and television actor and screenwriter. In his later career as a screenwriter, he was credited as C. Scott Forbes.-Early years:...

, Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....

, John Anderson

John Anderson (actor)

-Biography:Born in Clayton, John Anderson grew up in Quincy and Adams County, Illinois.Prior to a prolific acting career, Anderson served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II where he met artist Orazio Fumagalli who became one of his best lifelong friends.He was known for several...

, Johnny Crawford

Johnny Crawford

John Ernest "Johnny" Crawford is a prolific American character actor, singer and musician. At 12, Crawford rose to fame for playing Mark McCain, the son of the Lucas McCain character , in the popular 1960s ABC western series, The Rifleman, which aired from 1958 to 1963...

, Stuart Whitman

Stuart Whitman

Stuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...

, Warren Oates

Warren Oates

Warren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...

, Forrest Lewis

Forrest Lewis

-Career:In the mid-1950s, Lewis appeared briefly as a deputy in the syndicated crime drama Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield. He also guest starred with Maudie Prickett in the episode "Brief Glory" of the syndicated western series 26 Men...

, and Lee Van Cleef

Lee Van Cleef

Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...

.

Spin-off

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen

Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...

 first appeared as bounty hunter

Bounty hunter

A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...

 Josh Randall in an episode which served as the pilot

Television pilot

A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...

 of his own subsequent series, Wanted: Dead or Alive, a spin-off of Trackdown launched the following year. Both series were presented in a half-hour format and filmed in black and white.

Production notes

Trackdown included several noted directors including Richard Donner

Richard Donner

Richard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...

, who directed three installments of McQueen's series. Sam Peckinpah

Sam Peckinpah

David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...

 wrote one episode, "The Town", but never directed for Trackdown. Robert Culp wrote one episode entitled "Back To Crawford", which featured his then-wife Nancy, and many installments were based on actual case files of the Texas Rangers, adding to the series' realism. It was this series that first brought Culp to national public attention, several years before he starred with Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby

William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...

 in I Spy. Also notable is Hoby's use of the Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...

 .44 Schofield revolver instead of the more-popular Colt Peacemaker

Syndicated reruns of this series have been broadcast in the early 2000s on T.V. Land and other cable networks.

Like the series that spawned it , Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater , and the series it spawned , Wanted: Dead or Alive, Robert Culp's Trackdown has been released on DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

through "Bygone Video",either as a set for roughly $1oo.00 or in four-episode individual collections.

External links

• Trackdown on the "TV Acres" website