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The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters is an American Western television series based on Robert Lewis Taylor's 1958 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and starring Kurt Russell, Dan O'Herlihy and (in the final 13 episodes) Charles Bronson. The series aired on ABC for one season, 1963–64, and was produced by MGM Television.[1]

The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Genre	Western
Starring	Kurt Russell Dan O'Herlihy Charles Bronson Donna Anderson Michael Witney Meg Wyllie
Theme music composer	Leigh Harline Jerry Winn
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer	Boris Sagal
Producers	Don Ingalls Boris Ingster Robert Sparks Robert E. Thompson
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	48 minutes
Production company	MGM Television
Distributor	MGM Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Black-and-white
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 29, 1963 (1963-09-29) – March 15, 1964 (1964-03-15)
Chronology
Followed by	Guns of Diablo (film)

Synopsis

The series was aimed at teenaged boys and young families. It was known for the breakthrough performances of the 12-year-old Kurt Russell in the title role and Charles Bronson as Linc Murdock, the second wagon master in the last 13 episodes. Bronson began his role in the episode "The Day of the Toll Takers" (January 5, 1964). Each episode begins with the title "The Day of ..."

Although it started out with an ensemble cast, by the end of the run, the cast had largely been reduced to the characters of Jaimie and Linc. The original cast included Dan O'Herlihy in the role of Jaimie's father, Sardius "Doc" McPheeters, who often yields to alcohol and gambling. Donna Anderson played Jenny, a young pioneer woman who befriends Jaimie during the perilous journey westward.

Mark Allen was cast in 19 episodes as Matt Kissel, with Meg Wyllie in 18 segments as Mrs. Kissel. In 9 episodes, real-life child barbershop quartet The Osmond Brothers portrayed the singing sons of the Kissel family, all with given names of books of the Old Testament, Alan Osmond as Micah Kissel, Merrill Osmond as Deuteronomy Kissel, Jay Osmond as Lamentations Kissel, and Wayne Osmond as Leviticus Kissel.[2]

Michael Witney in 14 episodes portrayed the first wagon master, Buck Coulter, with his last appearance in "The Day of the Pawnees, Part 2" (December 29, 1963). Witney was replaced by Bronson in the next episode. Hedley Mattingly was cast eight times as Coe, and James Westerfield appeared seven times as John Murrel. Other recurring roles were filled by Sandy Kenyon in five episodes as Shep Baggott, stuntman Paul Baxley four times as Tracey, and Mike DeAnda in five assorted roles. Vernett Allen, III, was cast as Othello in nine episodes.[2]

Guthrie Thomas, the now-veteran singer-songwriter, was also included in the cast of character actors as a "double" for Kurt Russell when horses were involved. Thomas and Russell were only months apart in age and the TV producers did not want Russell harmed because of insurance liabilities.^{[citation needed]} Thomas had been raised on several ranches, one of which was owned by film actor Francis Lederer, and fulfilled the age and horse-riding requirements of Russell's role as Jaimie McPheeters. Thomas was accustomed to the film business, as several motion pictures, one being John Ford's Sergeant Rutledge, had been filmed at Lederer's Mission Stables, now an historical California landmark. Veteran Western actor Slim Pickens, a close friend of Thomas' family, was responsible for his getting a screen test and subsequent roles.^{[citation needed]}

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"The Day of Leaving"	Boris Sagal	Story by : Robert Lewis Taylor Teleplay by : John Gay	September 15, 1963 (1963-09-15)
2	"The Day of the First Trail"	Fred Jackman Jr.	Story by : Robert Lewis Taylor Teleplay by : John Gay	September 22, 1963 (1963-09-22)
3	"The Day of the First Suitor"	Don Medford	Story by : Robert Lewis Taylor Teleplay by : Herman Groves	September 29, 1963 (1963-09-29)
4	"The Day of the Golden Fleece"	Walter Doniger	Story by : Leon Paul Teleplay by : Joseph Cavelli, Don Ingalls, and Leon Paul	October 6, 1963 (1963-10-06)
5	"The Day of the Last Bugle"	Allen H. Miner	Story by : Noel Langley Teleplay by : Don Ingalls and Noel Langley	October 13, 1963 (1963-10-13)
6	"The Day of the Skinners"	Fred Jackman Jr.	Story by : Don Ingalls and N.B. Stone Jr. Teleplay by : Don Ingalls	October 20, 1963 (1963-10-20)
7	"The Day of the Taboo Man"	Andrew V. McLaglen	Teleplay by : Margaret Armen	October 27, 1963 (1963-10-27)
8	"The Day of the Giants"	Unknown	Teleplay by : Herman Groves	November 3, 1963 (1963-11-03)
9	"The Day of the Long Night"	Abner Biberman	Teleplay by : Joseph Cavelli	November 10, 1963 (1963-11-10)
10	"The Day of the Killer"	Walter Doniger	Teleplay by : Robert E. Thompson	November 17, 1963 (1963-11-17)
11	"The Day of the Flying Dutchman"	Don Taylor	Teleplay by : Jay Simms	December 1, 1963 (1963-12-01)
12	"The Day of the Homeless"	Boris Sagal	Teleplay by : Shimon Wincelberg	December 8, 1963 (1963-12-08)
13	"The Day of the Misfits"	Jack Arnold	Teleplay by : Shimon Wincelberg	December 15, 1963 (1963-12-15)
14	"The Day of the Pawnees: Part 1"	Tom Gries	Story by : Louis Pelletier Teleplay by : Leon Paul	December 22, 1963 (1963-12-22)
15	"The Day of the Pawnees: Part 2"	Fred Jackman Jr.	Teleplay by : Don Ingalls	December 29, 1963 (1963-12-29)
16	"The Day of the Toll Takers"	Walter Doniger	Teleplay by : Ken Trevey	January 5, 1964 (1964-01-05)
17	"The Day of the Wizard"	Boris Sagal	Teleplay by : Shimon Wincelberg	January 12, 1964 (1964-01-12)
18	"The Day of the Search"	James Goldstone	Teleplay by : Robert E. Thompson	January 19, 1964 (1964-01-19)
19	"The Day of the Haunted Trail"	Stuart Heisler	Teleplay by : Ardel Wray	January 26, 1964 (1964-01-26)
20	"The Day of the Tin Trumpet"	Ted Post	Teleplay by : Edwin Blum	February 2, 1964 (1964-02-02)
21	"The Day of the Lame Duck"	Boris Sagal	Teleplay by : Shimon Wincelberg	February 9, 1964 (1964-02-09)
22	"The Day of the Picnic"	Richard Donner	Teleplay by : John Gay	February 16, 1964 (1964-02-16)
23	"The Day of the 12 Candles"	Ted Post	Teleplay by : Shirl Hendryx	February 23, 1964 (1964-02-23)
24	"The Day of the Pretenders"	Charles F. Haas	Teleplay by : Roland Wolpert	March 1, 1964 (1964-03-01)
25	"The Day of the Dark Deeds"	Donald C. Klune	Teleplay by : Edwin Blum	March 8, 1964 (1964-03-08)
26	"The Day of the Reckoning"	Boris Sagal	Teleplay by : Bernie Giler	March 15, 1964 (1964-03-15)

Guest stars

Reception

The program faced stiff competition on CBS at 7:30 Eastern on Sundays from My Favorite Martian and the first half of The Ed Sullivan Show. NBC aired Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in the same time slot.[3]

Film

After the series was cancelled, Kurt Russell and Charles Bronson reprised their roles of Jaimie McPheeters and Linc Murdock in the 1964 theatrical movie called Guns of Diablo, an expanded color version of the series' final episode, "The Day of the Reckoning" (March 15, 1964). Russ Conway appeared in the film as "Doc" McPheeters, replacing Dan O'Herlihy in new sequences.

References

External links

• The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters at IMDb
• The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters at CTVA

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