Riverboat (TV series)
| Riverboat | |
|---|---|
 Hugh Downs and Darren McGavin, 1960. | |
| Starring | Darren McGavin Burt Reynolds Noah Beery, Jr. |
| Composers | Elmer Bernstein (season one) Gerald Fried Fred Steiner Alexander Courage Al Woodbury Leo Shuken Jack Hayes |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 44 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Revue Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 13, 1959 – June 3, 1961 |
Riverboat is a western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds that was broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961, and was produced by Revue Studios.
Riverboat depicted the exploits of Captain Grey Holden (McGavin) and his crew as they navigated the riverboat Enterprise along the West and Midwest, running into interesting characters along the way, including President Zachary Taylor and a pre-presidential Abraham Lincoln.
Riverboat featured Reynolds as Ben Frazer, but after reported disputes with McGavin, Reynolds left the show after 21 episodes, and was replaced by Noah Beery, Jr., nephew of Wallace Beery. Jack Lambert and John Mitchum co-starred for the first 25 and 21 episodes, respectively.
Guest stars included:
- Vincent Price played animal dealer Otto Justin in the 1959 episode "Witness No Evil."
- Paul Fix portrayed President Zachary Taylor in "That Taylor Affair" (1960).
- Francis De Sales appeared as Ed Baker in the 1959 episode "The Boy from Pittsburgh"
- Ron Hagerthy, formerly of Sky King, appeared as Phelan in the 1960 episode "The Quota".
- Douglas Kennedy portrayed McLeigh in "The Night of the Faceless Men" (1960). Hugh Downs was also a guest star in this episode.
- Dayton Lummis played Gideon Templeton in the 1960 episode "Path of the Eagle".
- Mary Tyler Moore was a "Brunette Girl in Coach" in the ninth episode "A Night at Trapper's Landing" (1959). She returned the next season as "Lily Belle" in the sixth episode, "Trunk Full of Dreams" (1960).
- Read Morgan played Clint Casey in "The Barrier" (1959).
- John M. Picard, earlier of Boots and Saddles, played a river pirate in the 1959 episode "The Unwilling."
- Judson Pratt guest starred as Sergeant Ned Bolger in the 1959 episode "A Night at Trapper's Landing".
DVD releases
On October 30, 2007, Timeless Media Group released a 3-disc best-of set featuring 15 episodes from the series.[1]
On May 15, 2012, Timeless Media Group released Riverboat- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.[2]
References
- McNeil, Alex. Total Television (1996). New York: Penguin Books ISBN 0-14-024916-8
- Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (1999). New York: Ballantine Books ISBN 0-345-42923-0
Further reading
Riverboat: The Evolution of a Television Series, by S. L. Kotar and J. E. Gessler. 2010. Albany, BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-505-4.