Laramie (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Laramie is an American
Western
television series that aired on NBC
from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith
as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller
as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael
as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr.
as Andy Sherman.
stop for the Great Central Overland Mail. After the first season, Hoagy Carmichael's contract was not renewed by NBC. His character was written out with the explanation that he accompanied Andy to boarding school in St. Louis
, Missouri
. Andy, however, would appear in a couple of episodes during the second season.
To restore the chemistry of the original cast, as the third season began, Spring Byington
and Dennis Holmes joined the cast as Miss Daisy Cooper and Mike Williams respectively. The series also made the transition from black-and-white
to color
at the beginning of its third season (September 1961). On January 1, 1962, a new version of the NBC peacock "living color" logo was introduced before that night's Laramie broadcast, and would be used before every color show on the network until 1970. Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as the "Laramie peacock". Due to low ratings, Laramie was canceled after its fourth season.
The German-Title of the series is: Am Fuß der blauen Berge
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television series that aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith
John Smith (actor)
John Smith was an American actor remembered in particular for two NBC western television series.-Early life and career:He was born Robert Errol Van Orden, in Los Angeles, California...
as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller
Robert Fuller (actor)
Robert Fuller is an American former television Western actor and current rancher. In his five decades of television, he's best known for starring roles on the popular 1960s western series Laramie as Jess Harper, and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith, as well as his work for his lead role, Dr...
as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr.
Robert L. Crawford, Jr.
Robert Lawrence Crawford, Jr. is an American actor who portrayed Andy Sherman on the NBC television series Laramie. Crawford is sometimes credited as Bobby Crawford or Robert L...
as Andy Sherman.
Synopsis
The story was about two brothers and a drifter who come together to run a stagecoachStagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
stop for the Great Central Overland Mail. After the first season, Hoagy Carmichael's contract was not renewed by NBC. His character was written out with the explanation that he accompanied Andy to boarding school in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Andy, however, would appear in a couple of episodes during the second season.
To restore the chemistry of the original cast, as the third season began, Spring Byington
Spring Byington
Spring Byington was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of December Bride. She was a key MGM contract player appearing in films from the 1930s through the 1960s.-Early life:Byington was born Spring Dell Byington in Colorado Springs,...
and Dennis Holmes joined the cast as Miss Daisy Cooper and Mike Williams respectively. The series also made the transition from black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
to color
Color television
Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....
at the beginning of its third season (September 1961). On January 1, 1962, a new version of the NBC peacock "living color" logo was introduced before that night's Laramie broadcast, and would be used before every color show on the network until 1970. Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as the "Laramie peacock". Due to low ratings, Laramie was canceled after its fourth season.
The German-Title of the series is: Am Fuß der blauen Berge
Cast
- John Smith as Slim Sherman
- Robert Fuller as Jess Harper
- Robert Crawford, Jr. as Andy Sherman (1959-1960, 1962)
- Stuart Randall as Sheriff Mort Corey
- Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy (1959-1960)
- Dennis Holmes as Mike Williams (1961-1963)
- Spring Byington as Daisy Cooper (1961-1963)
Guest stars
- Eddie AlbertEddie AlbertEdward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
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- Walter CoyWalter CoyWalter Darwin Coy was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, originally from Great Falls, Montana. He was best known for narrating the NBC western anthology series, Frontier, which aired early Sunday evenings in the 1955-1956 season.-Career:Coy performed on Broadway...
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- Ross ElliottRoss ElliottRoss Elliott was an American television and film character actor. He began his acting career with Orson Welles in Mercury Theatre, where he performed in Welles' famed radio program The War of the Worlds....
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- Kevin Hagen
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- Ron HayesRon HayesRonald G. Hayes was an American television actor who, as an activist in the environmental movement, worked for the establishment of the first Earth Day, observed on April 22, 1970. He was a member of the Sierra Club and a founder of the ecological interest group Wilderness World...
- Ben JohnsonBen Johnson (actor)Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
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- L.Q. Jones
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- John LarchJohn LarchJohn Larch was an American film and television actor.After his lead role in the radio serial Captain Starr of Space , John Larch entered films in 1954. He usually appeared in westerns and action films, including Miracle of the White Stallions as General George S. Patton Jr...
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- Dayton LummisDayton LummisDayton Lummis. Sr. , was an American actor of film and television who specialized in the genre of anthology and western series, often playing authority figures. From 1959-1960, he appeared as Marshal Andy Morrison in nine episodes of NBC's Law of the Plainsman western, with Michael Ansara and...
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DVD releases
Timeless Media Group has released the first, third and fourth seasons on DVD in Region 1 in 2009. The complete second season will be released on February 7, 2012.| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 31 | March 15, 2011 |
| The Complete Second Season | 30 | February 7, 2012 |
| The Complete Third Season | 28 | March 30, 2009 |
| The Complete Final Season | 32 | September 15, 2009 |