The Monroes (1966 TV series)

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The Monroes
Format Western
Starring Michael Anderson, Jr.
Barbara Hershey
Keith Schultz
Kevin Schultz
Tammy Locke
Liam Sullivan
Ben Johnson
Robert Middleton
James Westmoreland
Buck Taylor
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 26
Production
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Picture format Color
Original run September 7, 1966 – March 15, 1967
External links
IMDb profile
Michael Anderson, Jr.
Barbara Hershey
Notes
’’The Monroes’’ offered action, beautiful scenery, and family values but it was unable to compete with ‘’The Beverly Hillbillies’’ and ‘’The Virginian’’ on the competing networks.

(2) Michael Anderson, Jr., and Barbara Hershey both won American Heritage Awards for their work on ‘’The Monroes’’.

(3) The actor and artist Buck Taylor, later part of the CBS ‘’Gunsmoke’’ cast appeared in ten episodes of ‘’The Monroes’’ as John “Brad” Bradford.

(4) Though its setting was northwestern Wyoming, ‘’The Monroes’’ was actually filmed in Century City, California.

The Monroes is a 26-segment Western television series which ran on ABC during the 1966-1967 season – the story of five orphans trying to survive as a family on the frontier in the area about what is now Grand Teton National Park near Jackson in northwestern Wyoming. Michael Anderson, Jr., then twenty-four, played the oldest brother, Clayt Monroe. Barbara Hershey, at eighteen, starred as sister Kathy Monroe. Keith Schultz and his brother Kevin Schultz played twins Jefferson and Fennimore Monroe, respectively. Tammy Locke played the youngest sibling, red-haired Amy Monroe.[1]

Other stars included Buck Taylor, prior to his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O’Brien on CBS’s ‘’Gunsmoke’’, is featured in ten episodes as John "Brad" Bradford. Taylor’s father Dub Taylor portrays Cyrus in two episodes. Liam Sullivan played the character Major Mapoy, and Ron Soble was cast as Dirty Jim. Ben Johnson, who later starred in the 1971 film, The Last Picture Show, was cast as Sleeve in ‘’The Monroes’’. James Westmoreland portrayed Ruel Jaxon in eleven episodes, and Robert Middleton played Barney Wales in ten segments. James Brolin, later Dr. Steve Kiley on Robert Young’s ‘’Marcus Welby, M.D.’’ series, appeared in four episodes of ‘’The Monroes’’.[1]

The Monroes premiered at 8 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, September 7, 1966, with the episode entitled “The Intruders”. “Wild Dog of the Tetons” aired on October 5. “Lost in the Wilderness” ran on November 30, and “Gold Fever” aired on November 14. The series was unable to develop sufficient audience to remain on the air, and its concluding episode, “The Ghost of Paradox”, aired on March 15, 1967.[2]

The introduction was set in the Wyoming high country – the family dog was even named “Snow" – but the scripts themselves were filmed at 20th Century Fox television in Century City, California. The directors of ‘’The Monroes’’ were Earl Bellamy and Robert Douglas. Anderson and Hershey both won “Western Heritage Awards”; she for the episode “The Intruders”.[1]

Though it benefited from the lead-in of ABC’s popular ‘’Batman’’ series, ‘’The Monroes’’ faced stiff competition for the last hour of NBC’s ‘’The Virginian’’ starring James Drury and Doug McClure (and also set in Wyoming) and CBS’s second half of ‘’Lost in Space’’ starring Guy Williams and June Lockhart and the full showing of ‘’The Beverly Hillbillies’’ starring Buddy Ebsen and Irene Ryan.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "The Monroes" (1966) - Full cast and crew
  2. ^ The Monroes (1966) (a Titles and Air Dates Guide)
  3. ^ 1966-1967 United States network schedule