Hondo (TV series)

Hondo
220px Taeger as Hondo Lane.
Genre	Western
Written by	Frank Chase Andrew J. Fenady James Edward Grant Louis L'Amour
Directed by	Michael Caffey Alan Crosland, Jr. Harry Harris Lee H. Katzin Michael D. Moore Arthur H. Nadel Eddie Saeta William Witney
Starring	Ralph Taeger Noah Beery, Jr. Gary Clarke Kathie Browne Buddy Foster Michael Pate
Theme music composer	Richard Markowitz
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	17
Production
Producer(s)	Andrew J. Fenady
Running time	60 mins.
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	September 8 – December 29, 1967
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Hondo is a 17-episode Western television series starring Ralph Taeger that aired in the United States on ABC during the 1967 fall season. The series was produced by Batjac Productions, Inc., Fenady Associates, Inc., and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television.

Overview

Hondo is based on the 1953 film of the same name starring John Wayne, which was in turn an offshoot of an early Louis L'Amour novel. It concerns Hondo Lane, a former Confederate cavalry officer who had moved west following the Civil War and taken an Indian bride, only to see her killed as part of a massacre of Indians conducted by United States Army troops. Now Hondo and his dog, Sam, travel alone and seek to prevent further trouble between the Army and the remaining Indians. They also fight to counter land grabbers and other outlaws.

While the Wayne film had been fairly successful, this series, airing against the hit sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. on CBS and Star Trek on NBC, was soon canceled, with the last broadcast occurring on December 29, 1967.

The rule of thumb for syndication is at least 100 episodes, but Hondo, with only seventeen segments, became popular after it left the air and became the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal.

The first two episodes were edited together to form the feature film Hondo and the Apaches, which was released theatrically outside of North America.

Cast

Actor	Role
Ralph Taeger	Hondo Lane
Noah Beery, Jr.	Buffalo Baker
Gary Clarke	Captain Richards
Kathie Browne	Angie Dow
Buddy Foster	Johnny Dow
Michael Pate	Chief Vittoro
William Bryant	Colonel Crook
John Smith	Ed Dow (three episodes)
Randy Boone	Sean (two episodes)

Episodes

Ep #	Title	Airdate
1	"Hondo and the Eagle Claw" (with John M. Pickard and John Smith, formerly of NBC's Cimarron City and Laramie)	September 8, 1967
2	"Hondo and the War Cry" (again with John M. Pickard and John Smith)	September 15, 1967
3	"Hondo and the Singing Wire" (with Pat Conway, formerly of Tombstone Territory)	September 22, 1967
4	"Hondo and the Superstition Massacre"	September 29, 1967
5	"Hondo and the Savage"	October 6, 1967
6	"Hondo and the Apache Kid" (with Danielle Roter)	October 13, 1967
7	"Hondo and the War Hawks"	October 20, 1967
8	"Hondo and the Mad Dog"	October 27, 1967
9	"Hondo and the Judas"	November 3, 1967
10	"Hondo and the Comancheros"	November 10, 1967
11	"Hondo and the Sudden Town"	November 17, 1967
12	"Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow" (with Chris Alcaide and John Smith)	November 24, 1967
13	"Hondo and the Death Drive" (with Terry Wilson as Dakota)	December 1, 1967
14	"Hondo and the Hanging Town" (with Quintin Sondergaard)	December 8, 1967
15	"Hondo and the Gladiators"	December 15, 1967
16	"Hondo and the Apache Trail"	December 22, 1967
17	"Hondo and the Rebel Hat"	December 29, 1967

References

• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows

External links

• Hondo at IMDb
• Hondo at TV.com