The Rebel (TV series)

For other uses, see The Rebel (disambiguation).

The Rebel
Format	Western
Created by	Andrew J. Fenady Nick Adams
Starring	Nick Adams
Country of origin	USA
No. of episodes	76
Production
Running time	30 minutes (per episode)
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	October 4, 1959 – June 18, 1961

The Rebel is an American Western television series that ran originally on the ABC network from 1959 to 1961. The program was produced by Goodson-Todman Productions, marking one of their few non-game show ventures. Starting in early December 2011, reruns of The Rebel began airing on the MeTV network.

Synopsis

The series is about the adventures of young Confederate Army veteran Johnny Yuma (played by Nick Adams). Haunted by his memories of the war, Yuma, in search of inner peace, roams the American West, specifically the Texas Hill Country and the South Texas Plains. Yuma keeps a journal of his adventures and fights injustice where he finds it with the help of a double-barreled shotgun having a sawed-off stock and barrel.

Cast

Nick Adams was the star and sole regular actor of this series. He was also involved in the show's design, inception, and writing, along with producer Andrew J. Fenady. The only other recurring character was Elmer Dodson (played by John Carradine), the newspaper editor in Johnny Yuma's hometown.

Guest stars included John M. Pickard, formerly of Boots and Saddles, who appeared three times, including the role of Sheriff Pruett in "Run, Killer, Run", and Hal Stalmaster in the role of Skinny in the 1959 episode "Misfits." George Macready appeared twice: in the 1959 episode "Vicious Circle" and as General Robert E. Lee in the 1960 segment "Johnny Yuma at Appomattox."

Series highlights

The first episode, "Johnny Yuma", is set in early 1867. It shows Johnny Yuma returning to his hometown, the fictional Mason City, Texas, two years after the war ended. His father Ned Yuma was the town sheriff. The town editor, Elmer Dodson, encourages Johnny to keep up his journal as he travels.

The episode "Yellowhair" has Yuma captured by the historical Kiowa chief Satanta, whose fictional adopted white daughter is played by Carol Nugent, the wife of actor Nick Adams.

Several place names mentioned throughout the series clearly place the action in post-Civil War Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Forts frequently noted in episodes, such as Fort Griffin and Fort Concho, were real frontier Texas outposts of the late 1860s and are now state historic sites; they act as markers for viewers as they follow the ill-defined travels of Johnny Yuma. In one first-season episode, Yuma encounters rag-tag rebel CSA soldiers in the corrupt mining town of La Paz, Arizona. The real town of La Paz was the county seat of Yuma County between 1862 and 1870; it stood in the Confederate Arizona Territory which existed briefly during the Civil War. Nothing remains of La Paz except crumbling foundations and an historical marker.

In "Vicious Circle", Yuma identifies the Confederate unit he served with as the 3rd Texas, but doesn't indicate the branch of service. Other episodes show him with saddlebags stenciled with CSA and an old uniform jacket with yellow collar and cuffs, indicating his regiment was likely the 3rd Texas Cavalry.

After the show's original broadcast run on ABC finished in June 1961, it was picked up by NBC and rerun as a summer replacement series from June to September 1962.

Theme song

The show’s theme song, The Ballad of Johnny Yuma, was composed by Richard Markowitz, with lyrics by Andrew J. Fenady. It was recorded for the original broadcasts by Johnny Cash, but it wasn't released as a single until April 1961, shortly before the show went off the air in June. Nick Adams had recorded the theme himself, which was released on Mercury Records (#71607) by March, 1960. Sometime during the show's run in syndication, the theme song was replaced by instrumental music, also by Richard Markowitz.

Popular culture

Two episodes of the sitcom Seinfeld referenced the first line of the Johnny Yuma theme song. In the episode "The Heart Attack" Jerry retorts to Kramer that Johnny Yuma is a Rebel.

External links

• The Rebel at the Internet Movie Database
• The Rebel at TV.com