Hondo (TV series)

Hondo
Taeger as Hondo Lane.
Genre	Western
Developed by	Andrew J. Fenady
Written by	Frank Chase Andrew J. Fenady James Edward Grant Louis L'Amour
Directed by	Michael Caffey Alan Crosland, Jr. Harry Harris Lee H. Katzin Michael D. Moore Arthur H. Nadel Eddie Saeta William Witney
Starring	Ralph Taeger Noah Beery, Jr. Gary Clarke Kathie Browne Buddy Foster Michael Pate
Composer	Richard Markowitz
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	17
Production
Producer	Andrew J. Fenady
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Batjac Productions Fenady Associates MGM Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 8 – December 29, 1967

Hondo is an American Western drama series starring Ralph Taeger and Noah Beery, Jr. that aired on ABC from September 8 until December 29, 1967 during the 1967 fall season. The series was produced by Batjac Productions, Inc., Fenady Associates, Inc., and MGM Television.

Overview

Taeger as Hondo

Taeger in Hondo

Hondo is based on the 1953 3D film of the same name starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page, which was in turn an offshoot of a July 5, 1952 Collier's short story "The Gift of Cochise" by Louis L'Amour. It concerns Hondo Lane, a former Confederate cavalry officer who had moved west following the Civil War and taken an Indian bride, only to see her killed as part of a massacre of Indians conducted by United States Army troops. Now Hondo and his dog, Sam, travel alone and seek to prevent further trouble between the Army and the remaining Indians. They also fight to counter land grabbers and other outlaws.

Hondo's frequent sidekick, Buffalo Baker, is portrayed by Noah Beery, Jr. The little boy, Johnny Dow, is played by Buddy Foster, older brother of Jodie Foster.

While the Wayne film had been fairly successful, this series, airing against the hit sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. on CBS and Star Trek on NBC, was soon canceled, with the last broadcast occurring on December 29, 1967.

The rule of thumb for syndication is at least 100 episodes, but Hondo, with only seventeen segments, became popular after it left the air and became the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal. It is presently being broadcast on GetTV.

The first two episodes were edited together to form the feature film Hondo and the Apaches, which was released theatrically outside of North America.

Cast

Actor	Role
Ralph Taeger	Hondo Lane
Noah Beery, Jr.	Buffalo Baker
Gary Clarke	Captain Richards
Kathie Browne	Angie Dow
Buddy Foster	Johnny Dow
Michael Pate	Chief Vittoro
William Bryant	Colonel Crook
Robert Taylor	Gallagher (first two episodes)
Randy Boone	Sean Gallagher (first two episodes)
Michael Rennie	Tribolet (first two episodes)
John Smith	Ed Dow (first episode)

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Hondo and the Eagle Claw"	Lee H. Katzin	Andrew J. Fenady	September 8, 1967 (1967-09-08)
Hondo searches for an Apache chief in order to invite him to a peace parley. Guest Stars: Robert Taylor, Michael Rennie, Randy Boone, Jim Davis, Gary Merrill
2	"Hondo and the War Cry"	Lee H. Katzin	Andrew J. Fenady	September 15, 1967 (1967-09-15)
Richards leads his troops against Vittoro, who has agreed to peace talks with Crook. Guest Stars: Robert Taylor, Michael Rennie, Randy Boone, Jim Davis, Don Collier
3	"Hondo and the Singing Wire"	William Witney	George Schenck	September 22, 1967 (1967-09-22)
Hondo becomes embroiled in a feud between a renegade Apache and the hot-tempered foreman of the crew erecting telegraph wires near Fort Whipple. Guest Stars: Pat Conway (star of the 1957-60 Western series Tombstone Territory), Donald Woods, Perry Lopez, Don 'Red' Barry, Iron Eyes Cody.
4	"Hondo and the Superstition Massacre"	Lee H. Katzin	Andrew J. Fenady	September 29, 1967 (1967-09-29)
5	"Hondo and the Savage"	Unknown	Unknown	October 6, 1967 (1967-10-06)
6	"Hondo and the Apache Kid"	Unknown	Unknown	October 13, 1967 (1967-10-13)
7	"Hondo and the War Hawks"	Unknown	Unknown	October 20, 1967 (1967-10-20)
A new colonel (John Carroll) wants to retrieve hunting weapons given to Vittoro's people.
8	"Hondo and the Mad Dog"	Unknown	Unknown	October 27, 1967 (1967-10-27)
A killer tries to prove witness Sam has rabies; with James MacArthur, Royal Dano.
9	"Hondo and the Judas"	Lee H. Katzin	Teleplay by: Frank Chase Story by: Andrew J. Fenady	November 3, 1967 (1967-11-03)
William Quantrill (Forrest Tucker) reconvenes his Raiders and asks Hondo to join; with Rick Nelson, John Agar, John Carradine.
10	"Hondo and the Comancheros"	Unknown	Unknown	November 10, 1967 (1967-11-10)
11	"Hondo and the Sudden Town"	Unknown	Unknown	November 17, 1967 (1967-11-17)
12	"Hondo and the Ghost of Ed Dow"	Unknown	Unknown	November 24, 1967 (1967-11-24)
13	"Hondo and the Death Drive"	Unknown	Unknown	December 1, 1967 (1967-12-01)
14	"Hondo and the Hanging Town"	Unknown	Unknown	December 8, 1967 (1967-12-08)
15	"Hondo and the Gladiators"	Unknown	Unknown	December 15, 1967 (1967-12-15)
16	"Hondo and the Apache Trail"	Unknown	Unknown	December 22, 1967 (1967-12-22)
17	"Hondo and the Rebel Hat"	Unknown	Unknown	December 29, 1967 (1967-12-29)

Home media

On June 13, 2017, Warner Bros. released the entire series on DVD via their Warner Archive manufacture-on-demand service.

External links

• Hondo at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows