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Jefferson Drum

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Jefferson Drum
Publicity still with Jeff Richards
GenreWestern
Written by
Directed byHarmon Jones
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producers
Running time25 mins. (approx)
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseApril 25 (1958-04-25) –
December 11, 1958 (1958-12-11)

Jefferson Drum, also known as The Pen and the Quill, is an American Western television series starring Jeff Richards that aired on the NBC network from April 25 to December 11, 1958.[1][2]

Overview

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Jefferson Drum, portrayed by Jeff Richards, is a crusading newspaper editor in the Old West town of Jubilee. A widower, he rears his son, Joey, played by 10-year-old Eugene Mazzola, also known as Eugene Martin. Drum's printer is Lucius Coin, played by Cyril Delevanti. Big Ed, the town bartender, is portrayed by Robert J. Stevenson, later a member of the Los Angeles City Council. Hal J. Smith, later known for his role of the town drunk, Otis Campbell, on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show, was cast five times on Jefferson Drum as Hickey.

In the episode entitled "Pete Henke" (November 20, 1958), the character Henke, portrayed by Strother Martin, is a violent sharpshooter known for causing trouble. Editor Jefferson Drum challenges Henke to a fistfight in the saloon, but Henke prevails in the third round when he throws something into Drum's eyes and blinds him temporarily. The saloon hostess who gave Henke the blinding substance is later seen at Henke's "medicine show." In the end, the persistent Drum knocks over Henke with a punch. "Pete Henke" also starred Frank Wolff as Sam Creighton and Bert Remsen as Jim Ford.

The series first aired at 7:30 Eastern on Friday opposite repeats of I Love Lucy on CBS and Leave It to Beaver on ABC. For its second round of episodes, it moved to Thursdays in the same 7:30 p.m. time slot. Rebroadcasts were aired during the first half of 1959. Jefferson Drum was produced for Screen Gems by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (known more for their game show output), and ran for parts of two seasons before it was cancelled.[3]

Cast

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  • Jeff Richards .... Jefferson Drum
  • Eugene Mazzola (billed as Eugene Martin) .... Joey Drum
  • Cyril Delevanti .... Lucius Coin
  • Robert J. Stevenson .... Big Ed

Guest stars

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Episodes

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Season 1

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No. in
season
TitleOriginal air date
1"Arrival"April 25, 1958 (1958-04-25)
2"The Bounty Man"May 2, 1958 (1958-05-02)
3"Law and Order"May 9, 1958 (1958-05-09)
4"A Bad Day For a Tinhorn"May 16, 1958 (1958-05-16)
5"The Cheater"May 23, 1958 (1958-05-23)
6"A Very Deadly Game"May 30, 1958 (1958-05-30)
7"Madame Faro"June 6, 1958 (1958-06-06)
8"Bandidos"June 13, 1958 (1958-06-13)
9"The Outlaw"June 20, 1958 (1958-06-20)
10"Wheel of Fortune"June 27, 1958 (1958-06-27)
11"The Post"July 4, 1958 (1958-07-04)
12"A Matter of Murder"July 11, 1958 (1958-07-11)
13"The Lawless"July 18, 1958 (1958-07-18)
14"The Hanging of Joe Lavett"August 1, 1958 (1958-08-01)

Season 2

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No. in
season
TitleOriginal air date
1"Showdown"September 26, 1958 (1958-09-26)
2"The Keeney Gang"October 3, 1958 (1958-10-03)
3"Stagecoach Episode"October 10, 1958 (1958-10-10)
4"Obituary"October 16, 1958 (1958-10-16)
5"Band of Iron"October 23, 1958 (1958-10-23)
6"Return"October 30, 1958 (1958-10-30)
7"The Captive"November 6, 1958 (1958-11-06)
8"$50 For a Dead Man"November 13, 1958 (1958-11-13)
9"Pete Henke"November 20, 1958 (1958-11-20)
10"Thicker Than Water"November 27, 1958 (1958-11-27)
11"Prison Hill"December 4, 1958 (1958-12-04)
12"Simon Pitt"December 11, 1958 (1958-12-11)

References

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  1. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total television: the comprehensive guide to programming from 1948 to the present (4th ed.). New York: Penguin Books. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-14-024916-3.
  2. ^ West, Richard (1987). Television Westerns: Major and Minor Series, 1946-1978. McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-89950-252-6.
  3. ^ Clemens, Samuel. "Born Reckless: The Story of Jeff Richards", Western Clippings. December 2022
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