Laredo (TV series)
| Laredo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Genre | Western/Comedy |
| Starring | Neville Brand William Smith Peter Brown Philip Carey |
| Theme music composer | Russell Garcia |
| Composer(s) | Stanley Wilson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 56 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45 mins. |
| Production company(s) | Universal Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 16, 1965 – April 7, 1967 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Virginian |
Laredo is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 16, 1965, to April 7, 1967. Laredo stars Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. It is set on the Mexican border about Laredo, Texas. The program was produced by Universal Television.[1]
The pilot episode of Laredo aired on NBC's The Virginian under the title, "We've Lost a Train" (April 21, 1965).[2] It was released theatrically in 1969 under the title Backtrack. Three of the episodes from the first season of the series were edited into the 1968 feature film Three Guns for Texas.
Synopsis
Laredo combined action and humor with the focus on three fictitious Texas Rangers. Reese Bennett, played by Brand, is older than his two partners. Chad Cooper was played by Peter Brown, the former co-star with John Russell of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Lawman. Joe Riley was portrayed by William Smith. Reese was previously an officer of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Originally from New Orleans, Chad was in the Border Patrol during the war. He joined the Rangers to search for the gunrunners who had ambushed fellow border patrolmen. Joe was a gunfighter who was at times on the wrong side of the law. He joined the Rangers to obtain protection from a sheriff. Chad and Joe tease Reese about his age: he was in his forties.
The three Rangers are led by Captain Edward Parmalee, played by Philip Carey, who was stern and disciplined. Robert Wolders as Erik Hunter joined the show in the second and final season. Claude Akins played Ranger Cotton Buckmeister in five episodes but never became a part of the cast.
Cast
- Neville Brand...Reese Bennett
- Peter Brown...Chad Cooper
- William Smith...Joe Riley
- Philip Carey...Captain Edward Parmalee
- Robert Wolders...Erik Hunter, rookie Ranger (26 episodes, 1966-1967)
- Claude Akins...Cotton Buckmeister (5 episodes, 1966-1967)
Guest stars
Lane Bradford was cast five times in different roles: as 3-Finger Jake in "Rendezvous at Arillo" and as Amos Slaughter in "Which Way Did They Go?" (both 1965), as Ben Slick in "The Treasure of San Diablo" and as Charley Smith in "Road to San Remo" (both 1966), and as Lyle in "Walk Softly" (1967).[3]
Jeanette Nolan appeared three times: as Ma Burns in "The Golden Trail" (1965), as Martha Tuforth in "It's the End of the Road, Stanley" (1966), and as Vita Rose in "Like One of the Family" (1967).[3]
Other guest stars include:
- X Brands
- Chad & Jeremy
- Ahna Capri
- Ellen Corby
- Robert O. Cornthwaite
- Bruce Dern
- Richard Devon
- Mimsy Farmer
- Shug Fisher
- Byron Foulger
- Leo Gordon
- James Griffith
- Julie Harris
- Myron Healey
- I. Stanford Jolley
- DeForest Kelley
- Jack Kelly
- Fernando Lamas
- Jack Lord
- Marlyn Mason
- Mort Mills
- Shelley Morrison
- Stuart Nisbet
- Cliff Osmond
- Gregg Palmer
- William Phipps
- Donnelly Rhodes
- Roy Roberts
- Diane Roter
- Kurt Russell
- Robert F. Simon
- Dub Taylor
- Lyle Talbot
- Lee Van Cleef
- Doodles Weaver
- Jack Weston[3]
DVD releases
Timeless Media Group released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 on November 24, 2009. The 12-disc box set features all 56 episodes of the series as well as bonus features.[4]
References
- ^ "Laredo". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ ""We've Lost a Train", [[The Virginian (TV series)|the Virginian]], April 21, 1965". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved January 16, 2013. Wikilink embedded in URL title (help)
- ^ a b c "Full Cast and Crew for Laredo". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ Lambert, David (2009-09-24). "Laredo - Timeless Release of The Complete Series as a 12-DVD Set this November". tvshowsondvd.com. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
