Dusty's Trail

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dusty's Trail
Genre	Sitcom
Creator(s)	Sherwood Schwartz
Starring	Bob Denver Forrest Tucker Ivor Francis Jeannine Riley Lori Saunders Lynn Wood William Cort
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	26
Production
Running time	25 min per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndicated
Original run	11 September 1973 – 12 March 1974

Dusty's Trail was a 1973-1974 syndicated television series starring Bob Denver as "Dusty" and Forrest Tucker as "Mr. Callahan", the assistant to the leader of a wagon train and his irrascible boss. Though short-lived (26 episodes), Denver professed "Dusty's Trail" to be his favorite to do (he did a string of post Gilligan's Island series, including "The Good Guys" and a Saturday morning "live action" spoof). The series also starred two "Petticoat Junction" alums: Jeannine Riley and Lorri Saunders as Lulu and Betsy (revamped Ginger Grant and Mary Ann types). Bill Cort played a scholarly character named Andy, who was much like "The Professor." The cast also included a "Mr. and Mrs. Brookhaven" (a wealthy Eastern banker/ wife similar to Lovey and Thurston Howell).

The program was created for Denver by Sherwood Schwartz, who had previously created its progenitor Gilligan's Island. According to U.S. television researchers Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, the reason for the program's failure was that it was too derivative of Gilligan, as all of the characters appeared to be no more than rehashes of characters from that program transplanted to the Old West. Normally, retreading an old format shouldn't cost a series an early demise, unless the show being emulated is a rerun icon like "Gilligan."

An interesting note is that one "Dusty's Trail" episode captured the last filmed appearance of Jay Silverheels (formerly the Lone Ranger's Tonto).