Wagon Train
Encyclopedia
Wagon Train is an American Western
series that ran on NBC
from 1957–62 and then on ABC
from 1962–65 (the network also aired daytime repeats, as Major Adams, Trailmaster and Trailmaster [post-1961 Ward Bond episodes] from January 1963 to September 1965). The show debuted at #15 in the Nielsen ratings
, rose to #2 in the next three seasons, and peaked at #1 in the 1961–62 television season. After moving to ABC in the autumn of 1962, the ratings began to decline, and Wagon Train did not again make the Top 20 listing.
The series initially stars veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond
as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire
, and Robert Horton
as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller
a year after Horton had decided to leave the series.
The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master
directed by John Ford
and starring Ben Johnson
, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen
wagon train epic The Big Trail
(1930) starring John Wayne and featuring Ward Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit
as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.
to California
. There were 284 episodes: the first aired on September 18, 1957, and the final segment was broadcast on May 2, 1965. Some of the actors appearing on Wagon Train included Ward Bond
as wagon master Major Seth Adams (seasons 1–4), Robert Horton
as scout Flint McCullough (seasons 1–5), John McIntire
as wagon master Christopher Hale (seasons 4–8), Robert Fuller
as scout Cooper Smith (seasons 7–8), Denny Scott Miller
as Duke Shannon (seasons 5–7), Michael Burns
as Barnaby West (seasons 4–8), Frank McGrath
as Charlie Wooster (cook, seasons 1–8), and Terry Wilson
as Bill Hawks (seasons 1-8). McIntire replaced Bond as wagon master upon Bond's death at age 57, and Fuller replaced Horton as scout a season after Horton opted to depart, an obvious choice since Fuller had already played a lead in another western series (Laramie
on NBC) and physically resembled Horton. Horton and Fuller even shared the same birthday, albeit nine years apart.
Ward Bond was billed above Robert Horton in the opening credits, but Horton was later billed above relative newcomer John McIntire, as was Robert Fuller, who received top billing when he joined the series in the seventh season. During the sixth season, Horton had left and Fuller had not yet replaced him, so McIntire carried the show with the supporting cast. Neither Bond nor McIntire, both veterans of dozens of supporting roles in films, routinely played the lead in theatrical films, although Bond did in at least one B-picture. Rivals Bond and Horton frequently quarreled on the set, an extensively publicized development at the time, lending an element of verisimilitude to their disputes within the episodes themselves.
The series aired for most of its run in black-and-white, except for five color episodes (4 October 1961 – Polly Bergen
– "Kitty Albright Story", 1 November 1961 – Carolyn Jones
– "Jenna Douglas Story", 6 December 1961 – Dana Wynter
– "Lizabeth Ann Calhoun Story", 7 February 1962 – Gary Clarke
– "Lonnie Fallon Story", and 14 March 1962 – Paul Fix
– "Amos Billings Story") during the fifth season (1961–62) on NBC (to help promote the sales of parent company RCA's color television sets) and the entire seventh season (1963–64) on ABC of 75-minute color episodes. The series returned to its original 50-minute black-and-white format for its eighth — and final — season, damaging the ratings.
The series used the cut-down, shortened wagons common to television series budgets, as opposed to the full-length ox
en-drawn Conestoga wagon
s prominent in a forerunner of the show, the 1930 wagon train film The Big Trail
, which features 27-year-old Ward Bond (occasionally film clips from Hollywood movies, showing a train of Conestogas, were edited into the episodes).
Like Rawhide
and most western
television series of the 1950s and 1960s, the show is set a few years after the American Civil War
, but whereas there were few Indians in Rawhide, they often turned up in Wagon Train, causing the wagons to form a circle. In "The Major Adams Story" it is explained that Seth Adams had commanded a militia group (apparently in Philadelphia) and they enlisted en masse in the Union Army in 1861, that Bill Hawks was Sergeant to Major Adams and that Wooster was a late enlistment as a private (in various episodes it's mentioned that their regiment was under Generals William Tecumseh Sherman
and Ulysses S. Grant
). Wooster was no good at anything else, so became a cook in the army; in the first episode he was clean-shaven, but he quickly grew a beard. McCullough had previously been a stagecoach driver. Normally, each episode was the story of one person, after whom that episode was named, and their problems were resolved through the episode. In a first-season episode Adams says the war has been over for five years (suggesting the first season takes place in 1870, although, in "The Major Adams Story", part 1, it is clear that Adams had taken trains west in previous years). In season two, reference is made to the war ending six years earlier (1871) and to the presidential nomination of Ulysses S. Grant
(1868), a neighbor of Adams before the war and eventually his commanding officer. In season three (in "The Vincent Eaglewood Story") Grant and Colfax are identified as the current President and VP, which dates it as Grant's first term (March 1869 to March 1873). "The Bernal Sierra Story" (first season) made extensive reference to the ongoing revolution in Mexico pitting Benito Juarez
against Maximillian I of Mexico (aka Emperor Maximilian)--but that uprising ended decisively with Maximillian's capture and execution in 1867. "The Cathy Eckhardt Story" (fourth season, broadcast November 9, 1960) clearly shows the year is 1870, but in "The Charlene Brenton Story" (late third season, broadcast 8 June 1960) reference is made to Bill Hawks' having read the novel Ben-Hur
, which was not published until 1880. The First Transcontinental Railroad
was completed in 1869, following approximately the same route as a wagon train from St. Joseph to Sacramento
. This would have made wagon trains obsolete by the time most episodes in the series take place; however, little reference is made to railroads in the West during the series.
In "The Sacramento Story", which was the last episode in the first season, the wagon train finally arrives in California after a three-month journey. Some stars from earlier episodes appear. At the end of the show, Flint McCullough has his $400 pay for the journey, says his goodbyes and rides off. Adams knows he'll spend the money on girls, do a number of jobs when it is gone, and then find another wagon train for which to scout. With all the other wagons gone, there is just Adams, Hawks and Wooster. They plan to take a ship back around the tip of South America
and back to Boston
. Instead, in the first episode of the second season, the trio is shanghaied
(kidnapped and forced to join the crew of a ship) in San Francisco but jump ship in New Orleans and end up back in St. Joseph, Missouri, with McCullough ready to take another train west. In later seasons the series was more episodic and paid less attention to the progress of the train along its route over the course of the season.
The season-two episode "The Last Man" (episode 10, trans 11 Feb 1959) guest-starred Dan Duryea
as the half-crazed sole survivor of a "lost" wagon train that had vanished in a snowed-in pass a year earlier; Adams and McCullough, in a jointly featured story, now face their train being condemned to an identical fate, as their wagons are similarly stalled alongside the "dead" train. It is not stated but implied that the sole survivor had to resort to cannibalism as people died off in order to survive--this grim episode was based on an actual wagon train disaster in the 19th century, and the scenario was eerily repeated later by plane crash survivors in the Andes
in 1972.
From season two some episodes were also denoted: "Tonight Starring . . . " after the initial credit for the two stars and show title were put up[ these were the individual featured episodes of either Ward Bond or Robert Horton. Bond's tales normally were set on the train, while Horton's would usually involve the scout having ridden on ahead away from the train.
We learn of Major Adams' Civil War background, plus Wooster and Bill Hawks' association with him, all in the Union Army
, in the two-part "Major Adams Story" (season one, episodes 30, 31 trans 23 and 30 April 1958) which begins with Adams stopping to visit the grave of a lady love, then goes into a flashback. "The Flint McCullough Story" (season two, ep 15 trans 14 Jan 1959) is also largely a flashback to his Civil War exploits in the Confederate Army, as Flint learns he will once again meet his former ruthless commanding officer who is responsible for war crimes, and whom McCullough vowed to kill if he ever tracked him down; at the episode's conclusion we return to the present and the ex-officer turns up, only for a shocked McCullough to discover that a massive stroke has left the man virtually a vegetable--a "punishment" appeared to have already been handed down by a higher authority.
After Ward Bond's sudden death on 5 November 1960, several episodes featuring him were still shown, but one episode was held back, with Robert Horton then carrying the lead. Episodes crediting but not featuring both Bond and his replacement John McIntire were then alternated for a time until the final Ward Bond episode was screened as a tribute to him ("The Beth Pearson Story", season four, ep 22, trans 22 Feb 1961), then a few weeks later McIntire actually debuted as the new wagonmaster in 'The Christopher Hale Story' (ep 25, trans 15 March 1961) in a tale where the train--without any on-screen explanation of the Major's absence--is awaiting the arrival of a new wagonmaster. Hale, a retired wagonmaster whose family has been massacred, has just joined the train as a traveler; guest star Lee Marvin
then arrives as the quickly unpopular sadistic new wagonmaster, who ultimately gets his just desserts after a confrontation with Hale, and by the end of the tale Hale is invited to take over as the new wagonmaster, a post he accepts. John McIntire had earlier guested in an episode during the Bond era of the show, "The Andrew Hale Story" (season two, episode 35, trans 3 June 1959), playing a character possibly related to his later regular role as Christopher Hale.
Later both "The Duke Shannon Story" (season four, ep 30, trans 26 April 1961) and "The Barnaby West Story" (season six, ep 37, trans 5 June 1963) introduce further regular cast members, although the sudden departure of Robert Horton's original co-lead character Scout Flint McCullough following the show's move from NBC (Revue studios) to ABC (Universal studios) in 1962, was never explained on screen.
and Bob Russell
, and lyrics were not used. The theme was conducted by Revue musical director Stanley Wilson. In the second season, a new more modern sounding theme was introduced. "Roll Along) Wagon Train" was written by Sammy Fain
and Jack Brooks
and sung by Johnny O'Neill. About midway through the second season this was replaced with an instrumental version by Stanley Wilson. In the third season a more traditional sounding score was introduced. "Wagons Ho!" was written and conducted by Jerome Moross
, who adapted it from a passage of music he had written for the 1959 film the Jayhawkers
. This theme would last through the series' run and is the most remembered Wagon Train theme. Stanley Wilson re-recorded "Wagons Ho!" for the last two seasons.
On January 1, 2011, the Encore Western Channel began airing the series, starting with a marathon of episodes, then airing Monday-Friday after The Virginian
.
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...
series that ran on NBC
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...
from 1957–62 and then on 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...
from 1962–65 (the network also aired daytime repeats, as Major Adams, Trailmaster and Trailmaster [post-1961 Ward Bond episodes] from January 1963 to September 1965). The show debuted at #15 in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, rose to #2 in the next three seasons, and peaked at #1 in the 1961–62 television season. After moving to ABC in the autumn of 1962, the ratings began to decline, and Wagon Train did not again make the Top 20 listing.
The series initially stars veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire
John McIntire
John McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...
, and Robert Horton
Robert Horton (actor)
Robert Horton is an American television actor, who was most noted for the role of the frontier scout Flint McCullough in the NBC Western television series, Wagon Train...
as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller
Robert Fuller (actor)
Robert Fuller is an American former television Western actor and current rancher. In his five decades of television, he's best known for starring roles on the popular 1960s western series Laramie as Jess Harper, and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith, as well as his work for his lead role, Dr...
a year after Horton had decided to leave the series.
The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master
Wagon Master
Wagon Master is a 1950 Western film directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond.-Plot:Learning of their ability as experienced horsemen, Mormon Elder Wiggs , hires Travis Blue and Sandy Owens to guide a small group of Mormons across the West to the...
directed by John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
and starring Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson (actor)
Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
wagon train epic The Big Trail
The Big Trail
The Big Trail is a lavish early widescreen movie shot on location across the American West starring John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh....
(1930) starring John Wayne and featuring Ward Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit
Buckskins
Buckskins are clothing, usually consisting of a jacket and leggings, made from buckskin, a soft sueded leather from the hide of deer or elk. Buckskins are often trimmed with a fringe — originally a functional detail, to allow the garment to dry faster when it was soaking wet because the fringe...
as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.
Synopsis
The show chronicles the adventures of a wagon train as it makes its way from MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. There were 284 episodes: the first aired on September 18, 1957, and the final segment was broadcast on May 2, 1965. Some of the actors appearing on Wagon Train included Ward Bond
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
as wagon master Major Seth Adams (seasons 1–4), Robert Horton
Robert Horton (actor)
Robert Horton is an American television actor, who was most noted for the role of the frontier scout Flint McCullough in the NBC Western television series, Wagon Train...
as scout Flint McCullough (seasons 1–5), John McIntire
John McIntire
John McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...
as wagon master Christopher Hale (seasons 4–8), Robert Fuller
Robert Fuller (actor)
Robert Fuller is an American former television Western actor and current rancher. In his five decades of television, he's best known for starring roles on the popular 1960s western series Laramie as Jess Harper, and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith, as well as his work for his lead role, Dr...
as scout Cooper Smith (seasons 7–8), Denny Scott Miller
Denny Miller
Denny Scott Miller is an American actor, perhaps best known for his guest-starring roles on Gilligan's Island and as Tarzan in the late 1950s....
as Duke Shannon (seasons 5–7), Michael Burns
Michael Burns (historian)
Michael Burns is an American professor emeritus of history at Mount Holyoke College. He is also a former television and film actor, particularly known for his role as the teenager "Barnaby West" on the NBC and ABC television series Wagon Train from 1960-1965.-Background:Burns was born in Mineola,...
as Barnaby West (seasons 4–8), Frank McGrath
Frank McGrath
Frank McGrath was an American television actor who played the comical and optimistic cook, "Charlie Wooster", on the Western television series Wagon Train on, first, NBC and then ABC...
as Charlie Wooster (cook, seasons 1–8), and Terry Wilson
Terry Wilson (actor)
Terry Wilson was an American actor most noted for his role as "Bill Hawks" in 267 episodes of the NBC and ABC television series Wagon Train...
as Bill Hawks (seasons 1-8). McIntire replaced Bond as wagon master upon Bond's death at age 57, and Fuller replaced Horton as scout a season after Horton opted to depart, an obvious choice since Fuller had already played a lead in another western series (Laramie
Laramie (TV series)
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr...
on NBC) and physically resembled Horton. Horton and Fuller even shared the same birthday, albeit nine years apart.
Ward Bond was billed above Robert Horton in the opening credits, but Horton was later billed above relative newcomer John McIntire, as was Robert Fuller, who received top billing when he joined the series in the seventh season. During the sixth season, Horton had left and Fuller had not yet replaced him, so McIntire carried the show with the supporting cast. Neither Bond nor McIntire, both veterans of dozens of supporting roles in films, routinely played the lead in theatrical films, although Bond did in at least one B-picture. Rivals Bond and Horton frequently quarreled on the set, an extensively publicized development at the time, lending an element of verisimilitude to their disputes within the episodes themselves.
The series aired for most of its run in black-and-white, except for five color episodes (4 October 1961 – Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
– "Kitty Albright Story", 1 November 1961 – Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
– "Jenna Douglas Story", 6 December 1961 – Dana Wynter
Dana Wynter
Dana Wynter was a German-born British actress, who was brought up in England and Southern Africa. She appeared in film and television for more than forty years beginning in the 1950s, most notably in the original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.-Early life:Wynter was born as Dagmar...
– "Lizabeth Ann Calhoun Story", 7 February 1962 – Gary Clarke
Gary Clarke
Gary Clarke is an American actor best known for his role as Steve Hill in the NBC western television series The Virginian with James Drury. Clarke appeared on the program only for its first three seasons, 1962—1964...
– "Lonnie Fallon Story", and 14 March 1962 – Paul Fix
Paul Fix
Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
– "Amos Billings Story") during the fifth season (1961–62) on NBC (to help promote the sales of parent company RCA's color television sets) and the entire seventh season (1963–64) on ABC of 75-minute color episodes. The series returned to its original 50-minute black-and-white format for its eighth — and final — season, damaging the ratings.
The series used the cut-down, shortened wagons common to television series budgets, as opposed to the full-length ox
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
en-drawn Conestoga wagon
Conestoga wagon
The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...
s prominent in a forerunner of the show, the 1930 wagon train film The Big Trail
The Big Trail
The Big Trail is a lavish early widescreen movie shot on location across the American West starring John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh....
, which features 27-year-old Ward Bond (occasionally film clips from Hollywood movies, showing a train of Conestogas, were edited into the episodes).
Like Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
and most 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 of the 1950s and 1960s, the show is set a few years after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, but whereas there were few Indians in Rawhide, they often turned up in Wagon Train, causing the wagons to form a circle. In "The Major Adams Story" it is explained that Seth Adams had commanded a militia group (apparently in Philadelphia) and they enlisted en masse in the Union Army in 1861, that Bill Hawks was Sergeant to Major Adams and that Wooster was a late enlistment as a private (in various episodes it's mentioned that their regiment was under Generals William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
and Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
). Wooster was no good at anything else, so became a cook in the army; in the first episode he was clean-shaven, but he quickly grew a beard. McCullough had previously been a stagecoach driver. Normally, each episode was the story of one person, after whom that episode was named, and their problems were resolved through the episode. In a first-season episode Adams says the war has been over for five years (suggesting the first season takes place in 1870, although, in "The Major Adams Story", part 1, it is clear that Adams had taken trains west in previous years). In season two, reference is made to the war ending six years earlier (1871) and to the presidential nomination of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
(1868), a neighbor of Adams before the war and eventually his commanding officer. In season three (in "The Vincent Eaglewood Story") Grant and Colfax are identified as the current President and VP, which dates it as Grant's first term (March 1869 to March 1873). "The Bernal Sierra Story" (first season) made extensive reference to the ongoing revolution in Mexico pitting Benito Juarez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
against Maximillian I of Mexico (aka Emperor Maximilian)--but that uprising ended decisively with Maximillian's capture and execution in 1867. "The Cathy Eckhardt Story" (fourth season, broadcast November 9, 1960) clearly shows the year is 1870, but in "The Charlene Brenton Story" (late third season, broadcast 8 June 1960) reference is made to Bill Hawks' having read the novel Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur
-Fiction:*Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace** Ben Hur , a one-reel silent version** Ben-Hur , an MGM silent film starring Ramon Novarro...
, which was not published until 1880. The First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
was completed in 1869, following approximately the same route as a wagon train from St. Joseph to Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
. This would have made wagon trains obsolete by the time most episodes in the series take place; however, little reference is made to railroads in the West during the series.
In "The Sacramento Story", which was the last episode in the first season, the wagon train finally arrives in California after a three-month journey. Some stars from earlier episodes appear. At the end of the show, Flint McCullough has his $400 pay for the journey, says his goodbyes and rides off. Adams knows he'll spend the money on girls, do a number of jobs when it is gone, and then find another wagon train for which to scout. With all the other wagons gone, there is just Adams, Hawks and Wooster. They plan to take a ship back around the tip of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and back to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Instead, in the first episode of the second season, the trio is shanghaied
Shanghaiing
Shanghaiing refers to the practice of conscripting men as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as crimps. Until 1915, unfree labor was widely used aboard American merchant ships...
(kidnapped and forced to join the crew of a ship) in San Francisco but jump ship in New Orleans and end up back in St. Joseph, Missouri, with McCullough ready to take another train west. In later seasons the series was more episodic and paid less attention to the progress of the train along its route over the course of the season.
The season-two episode "The Last Man" (episode 10, trans 11 Feb 1959) guest-starred Dan Duryea
Dan Duryea
Dan Duryea was an American actor, known for roles in film, stage and television.-Early life:Born and raised in White Plains, New York, Duryea graduated from White Plains Senior High School in 1924 and Cornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into the Sphinx Head Society...
as the half-crazed sole survivor of a "lost" wagon train that had vanished in a snowed-in pass a year earlier; Adams and McCullough, in a jointly featured story, now face their train being condemned to an identical fate, as their wagons are similarly stalled alongside the "dead" train. It is not stated but implied that the sole survivor had to resort to cannibalism as people died off in order to survive--this grim episode was based on an actual wagon train disaster in the 19th century, and the scenario was eerily repeated later by plane crash survivors in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
in 1972.
From season two some episodes were also denoted: "Tonight Starring . . . " after the initial credit for the two stars and show title were put up[ these were the individual featured episodes of either Ward Bond or Robert Horton. Bond's tales normally were set on the train, while Horton's would usually involve the scout having ridden on ahead away from the train.
We learn of Major Adams' Civil War background, plus Wooster and Bill Hawks' association with him, all in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, in the two-part "Major Adams Story" (season one, episodes 30, 31 trans 23 and 30 April 1958) which begins with Adams stopping to visit the grave of a lady love, then goes into a flashback. "The Flint McCullough Story" (season two, ep 15 trans 14 Jan 1959) is also largely a flashback to his Civil War exploits in the Confederate Army, as Flint learns he will once again meet his former ruthless commanding officer who is responsible for war crimes, and whom McCullough vowed to kill if he ever tracked him down; at the episode's conclusion we return to the present and the ex-officer turns up, only for a shocked McCullough to discover that a massive stroke has left the man virtually a vegetable--a "punishment" appeared to have already been handed down by a higher authority.
After Ward Bond's sudden death on 5 November 1960, several episodes featuring him were still shown, but one episode was held back, with Robert Horton then carrying the lead. Episodes crediting but not featuring both Bond and his replacement John McIntire were then alternated for a time until the final Ward Bond episode was screened as a tribute to him ("The Beth Pearson Story", season four, ep 22, trans 22 Feb 1961), then a few weeks later McIntire actually debuted as the new wagonmaster in 'The Christopher Hale Story' (ep 25, trans 15 March 1961) in a tale where the train--without any on-screen explanation of the Major's absence--is awaiting the arrival of a new wagonmaster. Hale, a retired wagonmaster whose family has been massacred, has just joined the train as a traveler; guest star Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
then arrives as the quickly unpopular sadistic new wagonmaster, who ultimately gets his just desserts after a confrontation with Hale, and by the end of the tale Hale is invited to take over as the new wagonmaster, a post he accepts. John McIntire had earlier guested in an episode during the Bond era of the show, "The Andrew Hale Story" (season two, episode 35, trans 3 June 1959), playing a character possibly related to his later regular role as Christopher Hale.
Later both "The Duke Shannon Story" (season four, ep 30, trans 26 April 1961) and "The Barnaby West Story" (season six, ep 37, trans 5 June 1963) introduce further regular cast members, although the sudden departure of Robert Horton's original co-lead character Scout Flint McCullough following the show's move from NBC (Revue studios) to ABC (Universal studios) in 1962, was never explained on screen.
Cast
- Ward BondWard BondWardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
– Major Seth Adams (1957–61, seasons 1-4). Bond died of a heart attack at age 57 on November 5, 1960, in the middle of the fourth season, and was replaced by John McIntire as wagon master. No explanation was ever given on the show. - Robert HortonRobert Horton (actor)Robert Horton is an American television actor, who was most noted for the role of the frontier scout Flint McCullough in the NBC Western television series, Wagon Train...
– Flint McCullough (1957–62, seasons 1-5) - Robert FullerRobert Fuller (actor)Robert Fuller is an American former television Western actor and current rancher. In his five decades of television, he's best known for starring roles on the popular 1960s western series Laramie as Jess Harper, and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith, as well as his work for his lead role, Dr...
– Cooper Smith (1963–65, seasons 7-8) - John McIntireJohn McIntireJohn McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...
– Christopher Hale (1961–65, seasons 4-8) - Frank McGrathFrank McGrathFrank McGrath was an American television actor who played the comical and optimistic cook, "Charlie Wooster", on the Western television series Wagon Train on, first, NBC and then ABC...
– Charlie Wooster (1957–65, seasons 1-8) - Terry WilsonTerry Wilson (actor)Terry Wilson was an American actor most noted for his role as "Bill Hawks" in 267 episodes of the NBC and ABC television series Wagon Train...
– Bill Hawks (1957–65, seasons 1-8) - Michael BurnsMichael Burns (historian)Michael Burns is an American professor emeritus of history at Mount Holyoke College. He is also a former television and film actor, particularly known for his role as the teenager "Barnaby West" on the NBC and ABC television series Wagon Train from 1960-1965.-Background:Burns was born in Mineola,...
– Barnaby West (1960–65, seasons 6-8) - Denny MillerDenny MillerDenny Scott Miller is an American actor, perhaps best known for his guest-starring roles on Gilligan's Island and as Tarzan in the late 1950s....
– Duke Shannon (1961–64, seasons 5-7)
Notable guest stars
- Roscoe AtesRoscoe AtesRoscoe Ates was an actor and musician in primarily western films and television.-Early years:Ates was born in the rural hamlet of Grange, Mississippi, northwest of Hattiesburg. Grange is no longer included on road maps...
appeared in the 1958 episode "The Sacramento Story" in his later familiar role of "Old Timer". - 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...
appeared during the show's first four episodes - Another episode--"The Dr. Denker Story", season five, ep14--features Theodore BikelTheodore BikelTheodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
as a traveling musician who is transporting a mysterious shipment of dynamiteDynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
to San Francisco for the ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. - Ernest BorgnineErnest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
played Willy Moran in the pilot episode, broadcast September 18, 1957. Major Adams had fought with Moran at GettysburgGettysburg, PennsylvaniaGettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25... - Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
appeared as Louis Roque in "The Jose Morales Story", Season 4, episode 5. - Lou CostelloLou CostelloLouis Francis "Lou" Costello was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott...
appeared as the title character in one of his last roles, "The Tobias Jones Story" (1958). It was written by Harry Von ZellHarry von ZellHarry von Zell , born in Indianapolis, made his mark as an announcer of radio programs and an actor in films and television shows....
, the announcer and comedian from the Burns and AllenBurns and AllenBurns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television and achieved great success over four decades.-Vaudeville:...
television series, who also appeared in that episode. Von Zell also appeared in the 1964 episode "The Link Cheney Story". - Walter CoyWalter CoyWalter 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...
, one of the narrators of the 1955-56 FrontierFrontier (1955 TV series)This program should not be confused with Frontiers , the British program Frontier , Frontier Justice , Frontier Circus, or Frontier Doctor....
anthology series on NBC, appeared five times on Wagon Train between 1957 and 1964. - Yvonne CraigYvonne CraigYvonne Joyce Craig is an American actress best known for her role as Batgirl from the 1960s TV series Batman, and as the Orion Marta in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Whom Gods Destroy”.-Early life and career:...
guest-starred in "The Link Cheney Story" (1964). - Ronnie DapoRonnie DapoRonnie Dapo is an American former child actor who appeared in supporting roles in such television series as ABC's Room for One More and CBS's The New Phil Silvers Show .-Acting career:...
, then a child actorChild actorThe term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
, appeared in the episode "The Greenhorn Story". He was later a regular on Room for One MoreRoom for One More (TV series)Room for One More is a short-lived 1962 ABC situation comedy, principally starring Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay as the heads of the Rose family. Its humor derives from their decision to augment their existing family with two adopted children...
and The New Phil Silvers ShowThe New Phil Silvers ShowThe New Phil Silvers Show is an American situation comedy starring comedian Phil Silvers which aired thirty episodes on CBS from September 28, 1963, to April 25, 1964, under the sponsorship of General Foods.-Synopsis:...
. - Bette DavisBette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
appeared in three episodeas as different characters; as Bettina May (1961), Ella Lindstrom (1959) and Madame Elizabeth McQueeny (1959). - Laraine DayLaraine DayLaraine Day was an American actress and a former MGM contract star.-Career:Born La Raine Johnson in Roosevelt, Utah, to an affluent Mormon family, she later moved to California where she began her acting career with the Long Beach Players...
appeared as the elderly accuser in "The Cassie Vance Story" episode. - Angie DickinsonAngie DickinsonAngie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
as Clara in "The Clara Duncan Story", 1959 - Charles DrakeCharles DrakeCharles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful...
played the title character in the 1964 episode, "The Link Cheney Story". - Ron FosterRon Foster (actor)Ronald R. Foster, known as Ron Foster , is an American actor, whose longest-running role was as Dr. Charles Grant from 1991-1995 in the defunct CBS soap opera The Guiding Light....
appeared twice in the 1957 episodes "The John Cameron Story" and "The Julia Gage Story". - Eduard FranzEduard FranzEduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
appeared in the lead in 1957 in "The Les Rand Story", and James PhilbrookJames PhilbrookJames Philbrook was an American actor who appeared in supporting roles in three short-lived television series between 1959 and 1963: The Islanders on ABC and The Investigators and The New Loretta Young Show, both on CBS...
had a minor role in the same episode. - Nina FochNina FochNina Foch was a Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.- Personal life :...
appeared as the title character in "The Clara Beauchamp Story" - Tom GreenwayTom GreenwayTom Greenway was an American character actor of film and television, whose career, primarily in television westerns, extended from 1949 to 1965.-Early life:...
appeared as Dr. Quinn in "The Dan Hogan Story" (1958). - Peter HelmPeter HelmPeter J. Helm is an actor originally from Toronto, Canada, who appeared on American television from 1960-1971.-Early years:...
appeared three times on Wagon Train in 1962 and 1963: "The Daniel Clay Story", "The Wagon Train Mutiny", and in the title role "The Tom O’Neal Story", with Myron HealeyMyron HealeyMyron Daniel Healey was an American actor. He began his Hollywood, California, career during the early 1940s in bit parts and minor supporting roles at various studios.-Early years:...
cast as his father. - Dwayne HickmanDwayne HickmanDwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
appeared in the title guest-starring role in "The Clay Shelby Story" in December 1964. Celia KayeCelia KayeCelia Kaye is an American former actress who appeared in a recurring role as Marnie Massey, daughter of the character Christine Massey played by Loretta Young, on the comedy-drama series, The New Loretta Young Show. The program aired for twenty-six weeks on CBS from 1962 to 1963...
played Ann Shelby, and Richard CarlsonRichard CarlsonRichard Carlson was an American actor, television and film director, and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, Carlson graduated from the University of Minnesota with an M.A. degree, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He later appeared on the Broadway stage in the 1930s after studying...
and Mort MillsMort MillsMort Mills was an American film and television actor who had roles in over 200 movies and television episodes. He was often the town lawman or the local bad guy in many popular westerns of the 1950s and 1960s. From 1957-1959 he had a recurring co-starring role as Marshal Frank Tallman in Man...
were cast as military officers. - Darby HintonDarby HintonDarby Hinton is an American actor and filmmaker initially cast in commercials when he was six months old. From 1964–1970 he portrayed Israel Boone, a son of American pioneer Daniel Boone, on the NBC adventure series Daniel Boone, with Fess Parker in the title role...
, a child actorChild actorThe term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
, appeared in March 1964 as Benjie Diel in the 75-minute episode "The Ben Engel Story". - Brad Johnson and Susan OliverSusan OliverSusan Oliver was an American actress, television director and aviator.-Early life and family:Susan Oliver was born Charlotte Gercke, the daughter of journalist George Gercke and astrology practitioner Ruth Hale Oliver, in New York City in 1932. Her parents divorced when she was still a child...
in the title role appear in the November 9, 1960, episode "The Cathy Eckhardt Story", with Johnson cast as Will Eckhardt. - I. Stanford JolleyI. Stanford JolleyIsaac Stanford Jolley, Sr., known as I. Stanford Jolley was a prolific American character actor of film and television, primarily in western roles as cowboys, law-enforcement officers, or villains...
appeared ten times, not in the lead role of an episode. - Carolyn JonesCarolyn JonesCarolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
appeared during the show's first 4 episodes. - Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
as the title character in "The Alexander Portlass Story" (March 1960). - Dayton LummisDayton LummisDayton Lummis. Sr. , was an American actor of film and television who specialized in the genre of anthology and western series, often playing authority figures. From 1959-1960, he appeared as Marshal Andy Morrison in nine episodes of NBC's Law of the Plainsman western, with Michael Ansara and...
appeared in three episodes: as Maj. Barham in "The Martha Barham Story" (NBC, 1959), as T.J. Gingle in "The John Turnbull Storey" (NBC, 1962) and as the Rev. Philip Marshall in "The Myra Marshall Story" (ABC, 1963), with Suzanne PleshetteSuzanne PleshetteSuzanne Pleshette was an American actress, on stage, screen and television.After beginning her career in theatre, she began appearing in films in the early 1960s, such as Rome Adventure and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...
in the title role. - Lee MarvinLee MarvinLee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
appeared as Mexican bandit Jose Morales in the Season 4 episode "The Jose Morales Story." 20 episodes later he appeared as newly-hired wagonmaster Jud Benedict in the Season 4 episode that introduced the Chris Hale character, "The Christopher Hale Story" - Tyler McVeyTyler McVeyTyler McVey was an American character actor.-Early life and career:McVey was born in Bay City on Saginaw Bay in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. His first screen role, uncredited, came at the age of 39 in 1951, when he portrayed Brady in the The Day the Earth Stood Still...
appeared six times on Wagon Train, including a two-part 1960 episode "Trial for Murder". - Joyce MeadowsJoyce MeadowsJoyce Meadows is a Canadian-American actress. From 1960-1961, she co-starred as Stacy in the syndicated western series Two Faces West with Charles Bateman and Francis De Sales...
appeared three times: as Martha Williams in "The Conchita Vasquez Story" (1959), as Rheba Polke in "The Jed Polke Story" and as Melaine in "The Artie Matthewson Story" (both 1961). - Ralph MeekerRalph MeekerRalph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
appeared in the title role of "A Man Called Horse" (season one, ep 26, trans 26 March 1958) in a story that served as the basis for the Richard HarrisRichard HarrisRichard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
film A Man Called Horse a decade later. - Read MorganRead MorganRead Morgan is a former American actor whose longest-running role was as a United States Army cavalry officer in the 1960-1961 season of The Deputy, a western television series on NBC created by Norman Lear. Morgan appeared in thirty episodes as the one-eyed Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, recognized by...
appeared three times: as Ben Denike in "The Vincent Eaglewood Story" with Wally CoxWally CoxWallace Maynard Cox was an American comedian and actor, particularly associated with the early years of television in the United States. He appeared in the U.S. TV series Mr. Peepers , plus several other popular shows, and as a character actor in over 20 films...
in the title role (1959), as Curly Horse in "The Martha Barham Story" with Ann BlythAnn BlythAnn Marie Blyth is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:Blyth was born in Mount Kisco,...
(1959) and as Jake in "The Myra Marshall Story". - Leonard NimoyLeonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
has appeared at least twice--once as an Indian and once as one of three Mexican brothers. - Prolific western actor Gregg PalmerGregg PalmerGregg Palmer, originally Palmer Lee is an American actor, known primarily for his prolific work in television westerns...
appeared in three episodes: as Groton in "The Mary Halstead Story" (1957), as Paul Dawson in "The Riley Gratton Story" (1957) and as Raleigh in "The Jose Morales Story" (1960). - John M. PickardJohn Pickard (American actor)John M. Pickard was an American actor who appeared primarily in television Westerns.-Early life and career:...
appeared as Jed Otis in the 1959 episode "The Matthew Lowry Story". - Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, in one of his final acting roles prior to his entering politics, played Capt. Paul Winters in the seventh-season episode "The Fort Pierce Story," first broadcast in September 1963. - Michael RennieMichael RennieMichael Rennie was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, he appeared in over 50 other films since 1936, many with Jean Simmons and other...
appeared during the show's first four episodes. - Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
guest starred as a "greenhorn" in "Wagons Ho!" - Pippa ScottPippa ScottPippa Scott is an American actress who has appeared in movies and television since the 1950s. She was also married to a founding partner of Lorimar Productions, Lee Rich...
guest-starred in "The Link Cheney Story" (1964). - Tom SimcoxTom SimcoxThomas William Simcox, known as Tom Simcox is a former actor who resides in the unincorporated community of Leona Valley west of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, California....
guest-starred in "The Link Cheney Story" (1964). - Paul StaderPaul StaderPaul B. Stader, sometimes known as Manny Stader , was an American actor best known for having performed stunts for Johnny Weismuller, Lex Barker, Gregory Peck, and John Wayne. He was also the underwater director of the 1978 film The Return of Captain Nemo.-Working with Weismuller and Barker:Stader...
guest-starred in "The Link Cheney Story" (1964). - Dean StockwellDean StockwellDean Stockwell is an American actor of film and television, with a career spanning over 65 years. As a child actor under contract to MGM he first came to the public's attention in films such as Anchors Aweigh and The Green Years; as a young adult he played a lead role in the 1957 Broadway and...
appeared during the show's first four episodes. - Karl SwensonKarl SwensonKarl Swenson was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor.-Biography:Born in Brooklyn, New York of Swedish parentage, Swenson made several appearances with Pierre-Luc Michaud on Broadway in the 1930s and 40s, including the title role in Arthur Miller's first production, The Man Who...
played mountain man Jim BridgerJim BridgerJames Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
in "The Jim Bridger Story". Francis De SalesFrancis De Sales (actor)Francis A. De Sales was an American actor. He was known for his roles on two early television series: as police Lieutenant Bill Weigand on the CBS and then NBC drama Mr. and Mrs. North and as Sheriff Maddox in the syndicated western Two Faces West...
also appeared in the episode as Mark. - Franchot ToneFranchot ToneFranchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
appeared in the lead role in "The Malachi Hobart Story" as a traveling preacher who loses confidence in his own ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
message. - Johnny WashbrookJohnny WashbrookJohn "Johnny" Washbrook is a former child actor best known for his role as 12-year-old Ken McLaughlin on the western television series My Friend Flicka, originally broadcast from 1956-1957 on CBS.-My Friend Flicka:...
appeared as Tommy Peeks in "The Swift Cloud Story", with Rafael Campos in the 1959 title role, and as Ron Pearson in "The Beth Pearson Story", with Virginia GreyVirginia GreyVirginia Grey was an American actress.She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as Little Eva...
in the 1961 title role. - John WayneJohn WayneMarion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
appeared briefly in a long shot in the episode directed by John Ford, "The Coulter Craven Story", portraying Gen. William Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
and billed under the pseudonym "Michael Morris", a reference to Wayne's real name, Marion Michael Morrison. Several other regulars from The John Ford Stock Company also appeared. This episode was shown 18 days after Ward Bond's death, and is the only episode in this series directed by Ford. Wayne also played Sherman under Ford's direction in the movie How the West Was WonHow the West Was Won (film)How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. It follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean...
and was billed as "Michael Morris" for a Ford-directed cameo in the James StewartJames StewartJames Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
television anthology show Flashing SpikesFlashing SpikesFlashing Spikes is a 1962 teleplay directed by John Ford and starring James Stewart, with a lengthy surprise appearance by John Wayne, billed in the credits as "Michael Morris"...
(1962). - Michael WinkelmanMichael WinkelmanMichael L. Winkelman was an American child actor best known for his role as Little Luke McCoy from 1957 to 1963 in 157 episodes of the situation comedy television series, The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan in the title role of Grandpa Amos McCoy, with Richard Crenna as Luke McCoy, older...
, as he joined the cast of The Real McCoysThe Real McCoysThe Real McCoys is an American situation comedy co-produced by Danny Thomas' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's "Westgate" company...
also appeared as "Ben" in the first episode of Wagon Train, "The Willy Moran Story", with Ernest BorgnineErnest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
in the title guest-starring role as a former boxer consumed by alcohol. - Shelley WintersShelley WintersShelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
appeared during the show's first four episodes. - Harry von ZellHarry von ZellHarry von Zell , born in Indianapolis, made his mark as an announcer of radio programs and an actor in films and television shows....
guest-starred in "The Link Cheney Story" (1964) and "The Tobias Jones Story" (1958). - The episode "Alias Bill Hawks", available on DVD, is a story of townspeople covering for a murder and trying to dig a needed artesian well. Terry Wilson, as the real "Bill Hawks", arrives to put the puzzle together. Ed NelsonEd NelsonEdwin Stafford Nelson is an American actor.Nelson has appeared in numerous television shows, more than fifty motion pictures, and hundreds of stage productions. Until 2005, he was teaching acting and screenwriting in his native New Orleans at two local universities there...
guest stars.
Theme music
The first season theme "Wagon Train" was written by Henri RenéHenri René
Henri René was an American-born German producer, conductor and arranger. René mother's was German and his father French; while young, his family moved to Germany, and René studied at the Royal Berlin Academy of Music. Returning to the U.S. in the mid 1920s, he began appearing with several...
and Bob Russell
Bob Russell (songwriter)
Sidney Keith "Bob" Russell, was an American songwriter born in Passaic, New Jersey.In 1968, Russell along with songwriting partner Quincy Jones was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Song category...
, and lyrics were not used. The theme was conducted by Revue musical director Stanley Wilson. In the second season, a new more modern sounding theme was introduced. "Roll Along) Wagon Train" was written by Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to...
and Jack Brooks
Jack Brooks (lyricist)
Jack Brooks was an English-American lyricist.Brooks was born in Liverpool, England. He wrote a large number of lyrics of popular songs, including "Ole Buttermilk Sky" "That's Amore" and " Wagon Train" the second theme used on the television program, Wagon...
and sung by Johnny O'Neill. About midway through the second season this was replaced with an instrumental version by Stanley Wilson. In the third season a more traditional sounding score was introduced. "Wagons Ho!" was written and conducted by Jerome Moross
Jerome Moross
Jerome Moross was an American-born composer for the stage, and a composer, conductor and orchestrator for motion pictures.-Biography:...
, who adapted it from a passage of music he had written for the 1959 film the Jayhawkers
The Jayhawkers!
The Jayhawkers! is a movie set in pre-Civil War Kansas starring Jeff Chandler and Fess Parker, and directed by Melvin Frank.-Cast:Jeff Chandler ... Luke Darcy Fess Parker ... Cam Bleeker Nicole Maurey ... Jeanne Dubois Henry Silva ... Lordan...
. This theme would last through the series' run and is the most remembered Wagon Train theme. Stanley Wilson re-recorded "Wagons Ho!" for the last two seasons.
Daytime network repeats, syndication and DVD releases
When the original Ward Bond episodes were broadcast weekday afternoons on ABC beginning in 1963, a new series title and theme would have to be used to separate the two airings and avoid viewer confusion because Wagon Train was still on the ABC evening schedule. Trailmaster was the name given and a new theme song, the "Trailmaster Theme," was written and conducted by Stanley Wilson. The 50-minute episodes entered syndication under this title, eventually reverting to its original title. The 75-minute episodes were usually syndicated separately, sometimes shown on local stations as "movies".On January 1, 2011, the Encore Western Channel began airing the series, starting with a marathon of episodes, then airing Monday-Friday after The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
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DVD releases
Timeless Media Group has released the first three seasons on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. The fourth season will be released on October 25, 2011.| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 30 | December 15, 2009 |
| The Complete Second Season | 30 | November 23, 2010 |
| The Complete Third Season | 30 | May 17, 2011 |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 38 | October 25, 2011 |