Sugarfoot
Encyclopedia
Sugarfoot is the title of a TV western
that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins
as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam
as sidekick Toothy Thompson. Brewster was a correspondence-school graduate whose apparent lack of cowboy skills earned him the peculiar nickname "Sugarfoot".
The show had no relation to the 1951 Randolph Scott
Western movie Sugarfoot
aside from the studio owning the title, but its pilot episode was a remake of an offbeat 1954 Western called The Boy from Oklahoma
, starring Will Rogers, Jr.
as Tom Brewster. The pilot, titled "Brannigan's Boots," was so similar to the earlier film that Sheb Wooley
and Slim Pickens
reprised their roles from the movie.
As played by Rogers in the movie, Brewster never used firearms, preferring to vanquish villains with his roping skills (à la Will Rogers, Sr.
) if friendly persuasion failed. Perhaps for practical reasons, the pilot altered the character slightly, making Brewster reluctant to use firearms, but able and willing to do so as a last resort. That was the way he remained throughout the series, and the title song even mentioned that he carried a rifle as well as law book.
Sugarfoot was one of the earliest products of the alliance between ABC
and the fledgling Warner Brothers Television Department, chaired by William T. Orr
. During the same period, other similar shows would appear, including Maverick
with James Garner
and Jack Kelly
, Cheyenne with Clint Walker
, Bronco
with Ty Hardin
, Lawman
with John Russell
, and Colt .45
with Wayde Preston
. Hutchins appeared as Sugarfoot in crossover episodes of Cheyenne and Maverick, and in an installment of Bronco called "The Yankee Tornado" featuring Peter Breck
as the young Theodore Roosevelt
. Jack Kelly
appeared as Bart Maverick in the Sugarfoot episode "A Price on His Head."
".
When shown in the United Kingdom, the show was entitled "Tenderfoot." This left British viewers somewhat confused, because the theme song still referred to the character as "Sugarfoot."
The animated TV series 'King of the Hill' featured a barbecue restaurant named Sugarfoot's.
... Tom 'Sugarfoot' Brewster
Merry Anders
... Katie Brannigan
Jack Elam
... Toothy Thompson
Louis Jean Heydt
... Paul Evans
Dennis Hopper
... Billy the Kid
Arthur Hunnicutt
... Pop Purty
Chubby Johnson
... Wally Higgins
Slim Pickens
... Shorty
Ainslie Pryor ... Mayor Barney Turlock
Kurt Russell
... Boy
Sheb Wooley
... Pete
... Sheriff Tom Brewster
Nancy Olson
... Katie Brannigan
Lon Chaney, Jr.
... Crazy Charlie
Anthony Caruso
... Mayor Barney Turlock
Wallace Ford
... Postmaster
Wally Higgins
Clem Bevans
... Pop Pruty, Justice of the Peace
Merv Griffin
... Steve
Louis Jean Heydt ... Paul Evans
Sheb Wooley
... Pete Martin
Slim Pickens
... Shorty
Tyler MacDuff
... Billy the Kid
James Griffith
... Joe Downey
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...
that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
as sidekick Toothy Thompson. Brewster was a correspondence-school graduate whose apparent lack of cowboy skills earned him the peculiar nickname "Sugarfoot".
The show had no relation to the 1951 Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
Western movie Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot (1951 film)
Sugarfoot is a 1951 western film starring Randolph Scott as Jackson 'Sugarfoot' Redan and featuring Adele Jergens and Raymond Massey.Aside from the title, the movie has nothing to do with the 1957 television series of the same name...
aside from the studio owning the title, but its pilot episode was a remake of an offbeat 1954 Western called The Boy from Oklahoma
The Boy from Oklahoma
The Boy from Oklahoma is a 1954 Western movie directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Will Rogers, Jr. The film became the basis for the 1957 Warner Bros. television series Sugarfoot, in which Will Hutchins replaced Rogers as lead character Tom Brewster. The movie features Lon Chaney, Jr. and...
, starring Will Rogers, Jr.
Will Rogers, Jr.
William Vann Rogers, generally known as Will Rogers, Jr. , was a son of legendary humorist Will Rogers and his wife, the former Betty Blake . He was a Democratic U. S. Representative from California from January 3, 1943 until May 23, 1944, when he resigned to return to the United States Army...
as Tom Brewster. The pilot, titled "Brannigan's Boots," was so similar to the earlier film that Sheb Wooley
Sheb Wooley
Shelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
and Slim Pickens
Slim Pickens
Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
reprised their roles from the movie.
As played by Rogers in the movie, Brewster never used firearms, preferring to vanquish villains with his roping skills (à la Will Rogers, Sr.
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
) if friendly persuasion failed. Perhaps for practical reasons, the pilot altered the character slightly, making Brewster reluctant to use firearms, but able and willing to do so as a last resort. That was the way he remained throughout the series, and the title song even mentioned that he carried a rifle as well as law book.
Sugarfoot was one of the earliest products of the alliance between ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and the fledgling Warner Brothers Television Department, chaired by William T. Orr
William T. Orr
William T. Orr was an American television producer associated with a series of western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s....
. During the same period, other similar shows would appear, including Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
with James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
and Jack Kelly
Jack Kelly (actor)
Jack Kelly was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of "Bart Maverick" in the TV series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962...
, Cheyenne with Clint Walker
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene Walker, known as Clint Walker , is an American actor best known for his cowboy role as "Cheyenne Bodie" in the TV Western series, Cheyenne.-Life and career:...
, Bronco
Bronco (TV series)
Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James,...
with Ty Hardin
Ty Hardin
Ty Hardin, born Orison Whipple Hungerford, Jr., is a former American actor best known as the star of the 1950s ABC western television series Bronco.-Early life:...
, Lawman
Lawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
with John Russell
John Russell (actor)
John Lawrence Russell was an American actor, and World War II veteran, most noted for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the successful ABC western television series Lawman from 1958 to 1962....
, and Colt .45
Colt .45 (TV series)
Colt .45 is an American Western television series shown on ABC between 1957 and 1960. The half-hour show derives from the 1950 Warner Brothers film of the same name starring Randolph Scott and formed part of the William T...
with Wayde Preston
Wayde Preston
Wayde Preston or William Erskine Strange was a television actor noted for the series Colt .45 and for his appearance as Waco Williams in a 1958 episode of Maverick entitled "The Saga of Waco Williams"...
. Hutchins appeared as Sugarfoot in crossover episodes of Cheyenne and Maverick, and in an installment of Bronco called "The Yankee Tornado" featuring Peter Breck
Peter Breck
Joseph Peter Breck is an American prolific character actor of stage, who has played roles on television and in film...
as the young Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. Jack Kelly
Jack Kelly (actor)
Jack Kelly was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of "Bart Maverick" in the TV series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962...
appeared as Bart Maverick in the Sugarfoot episode "A Price on His Head."
In popular culture
The TV series Sugarfoot is mentioned, and the theme song is sung, in an episode of Arrested Development titled "Spring BreakoutSpring Breakout
"Spring Breakout" is the thirty-ninth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:The company has a meeting with landowner Cal Cullen, who comments that the Bluths "did not come off well on last night's Scandalmakers." Michael says that they...
".
When shown in the United Kingdom, the show was entitled "Tenderfoot." This left British viewers somewhat confused, because the theme song still referred to the character as "Sugarfoot."
The animated TV series 'King of the Hill' featured a barbecue restaurant named Sugarfoot's.
Cast of "Brannigan's Boots" - pilot of Sugarfoot
Will HutchinsWill Hutchins
Will Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
... Tom 'Sugarfoot' Brewster
Merry Anders
Merry Anders
Merry Anders is an American actress who has appeared in a number of television programs and films since the 1950s. In 1954, she succeeded Ann Todd as Stuart Erwin's daughter in the final season of his TV series, The Stu Erwin Show.In the 1955-1956 season, she joined Janis Paige in the 26-week CBS...
... Katie Brannigan
Jack Elam
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
... Toothy Thompson
Louis Jean Heydt
Louis Jean Heydt
Louis Jean Heydt [April 17, 1905 - January 29, 1960] was an American Film, TV, and Theatre character actor from Montclair, New Jersey.-Early life:Heydt was born in Montclair New Jersey and Educated at Worcester Academy and Dartmouth College...
... Paul Evans
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
... Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
Arthur Hunnicutt
Arthur Hunnicutt
Arthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
... Pop Purty
Chubby Johnson
Chubby Johnson
Chubby Johnson was an American movie and television supporting character actor with a genial demeanor and warm country-accented voice perfect for westerns...
... Wally Higgins
Slim Pickens
Slim Pickens
Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
... Shorty
Ainslie Pryor ... Mayor Barney Turlock
Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
... Boy
Sheb Wooley
Sheb Wooley
Shelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
... Pete
Cast of Sugarfoot movie (1954)
Will Rogers, Jr.Will Rogers, Jr.
William Vann Rogers, generally known as Will Rogers, Jr. , was a son of legendary humorist Will Rogers and his wife, the former Betty Blake . He was a Democratic U. S. Representative from California from January 3, 1943 until May 23, 1944, when he resigned to return to the United States Army...
... Sheriff Tom Brewster
Nancy Olson
Nancy Olson
Nancy Ann Olson is an American actress.In Sunset Boulevard she played Betty Schaefer, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress...
... Katie Brannigan
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
... Crazy Charlie
Anthony Caruso
Anthony Caruso
Anthony Caruso can refer to:*Anthony Caruso , American Hollywood star known for his villainous roles*Anthony Caruso , president and CEO of CSA Group...
... Mayor Barney Turlock
Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford was an English film and television actor who, with his friendly appearance and stocky build later in life, appeared in a number of film westerns and B-movies....
... Postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
Wally Higgins
Clem Bevans
Clem Bevans
Clem Bevans was a character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men.Bevans had a very long career, starting in vaudeville in 1900 in an act with Grace Emmett. He progressed to burlesque, Broadway, and even light opera, before making his film debut at the age of 55 in Way Down...
... Pop Pruty, Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
... Steve
Louis Jean Heydt ... Paul Evans
Sheb Wooley
Sheb Wooley
Shelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
... Pete Martin
Slim Pickens
Slim Pickens
Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
... Shorty
Tyler MacDuff
Tyler MacDuff
Tyler MacDuff, born Tyler Glenn Duff, Jr. , was an American actor, primarily on television westerns and dramas who was cast as Billy the Kid in The Boy from Oklahoma.-Biography:...
... Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
James Griffith
James Griffith
James Griffith was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Los Angeles, Griffith aspired to be a musician rather than an actor. Instead, he managed to find work in little theatres around Los Angeles, where the budding musician eased into a dual career of acting...
... Joe Downey
Guest stars
Notable guest stars include:- Chris AlcaideChris AlcaideChristopher "Chris" Alcaide was an American actor particularly known for his role in television westerns. He surfaced to national attention as Deputy Joshua Tate in the 1956 film Gunslinger, co-starring Beverly Garland as a woman marshal.In 2003, Alcaide was among recipients, including the Sons of...
played Clay Horton in "Trail's End" (1957). - Roscoe AtesRoscoe AtesRoscoe Ates was an actor and musician in primarily western films and television.-Early years:Ates was born in the rural hamlet of Grange, Mississippi, northwest of Hattiesburg. Grange is no longer included on road maps...
guest starred in the 1960 segment "The Man from Eudora". - Russ ConwayRuss Conway (actor)Russ Conway was a Canadian-American character actor who appeared on film and television between 1947 and 1975.-Early years:...
as a marshalMarshalMarshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
in episode "The Giant Killer" (1959) - Francis De SalesFrancis De Sales (actor)Francis A. De Sales was an American actor. He was known for his roles on two early television series: as police Lieutenant Bill Weigand on the CBS and then NBC drama Mr. and Mrs. North and as Sheriff Maddox in the syndicated western Two Faces West...
played Major Sterling in the segments "The Hunted" (1958) and "Outlaw Island" (1959). - Dean FredericksDean FredericksDean Fredericks was an American actor best known for his portrayal of the comic strip character Steve Canyon in a 34-episode television series of the same name which aired from 1958-1959 on NBC. He was born Frederick Joseph Foote in Los Angeles, California...
as Spotted Wolf in "Shadow Catcher" (1960) - I. Stanford JolleyI. Stanford JolleyIsaac Stanford Jolley, Sr., known as I. Stanford Jolley was a prolific American character actor of film and television, primarily in western roles as cowboys, law-enforcement officers, or villains...
as The Nighthawk in "Reluctant Hero" (1957) - 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...
as Silas Rigsby in "Trouble at Springs" (1961) - Patrick McVeyPatrick McVeyPatrick McVey was an American actor who starred in three television series between 1950 and 1961, Big Town, Boots and Saddles, and Manhunt.-Early life and career:...
as Sheriff Dunbar in "Price on His Head" (1958) - Tyler McVeyTyler McVeyTyler McVey was an American character actor.-Early life and career:McVey was born in Bay City on Saginaw Bay in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. His first screen role, uncredited, came at the age of 39 in 1951, when he portrayed Brady in the The Day the Earth Stood Still...
as Slim Jackson in the "Bunch Quitter" (1957) - James MillhollinJames MillhollinJames A. Millhollin was an American character actor known for his portrayal of nervous, excited, and befuddled men with pop eyes and peculiar mannerisms, usually occupying such positions as hotel clerks, government bureaucrats, military officers, or other authority figures. He portrayed Major...
as Gerold Manners in "Shadow Catcher" (1960) - Jay NorthJay NorthJay North is an American actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor at the age of six, North became a household name during the early 1960s for his role as the well-meaning, but mischievous, Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip created...
as Bobby in "The Giant Killer" (1959) - Gregg PalmerGregg PalmerGregg Palmer, originally Palmer Lee is an American actor, known primarily for his prolific work in television westerns...
as Captain McKinley in "Welcome Enemy" (1960) - James PhilbrookJames PhilbrookJames Philbrook was an American actor who appeared in supporting roles in three short-lived television series between 1959 and 1963: The Islanders on ABC and The Investigators and The New Loretta Young Show, both on CBS...
as Smokey in "A Wreath for Charity Lloyd" (1958) - John M. PickardJohn Pickard (American actor)John M. Pickard was an American actor who appeared primarily in television Westerns.-Early life and career:...
in "Angel" (1961) - Gary VinsonGary VinsonGary Vinson was an American actor who appeared in significant roles in three television series of the 1960s: The Roaring 20s, McHale's Navy, and Pistols 'n' Petticoats.-Early life and career:...
appeared twice in 1960: as Joey Grogan in "Fernando" and as Jack Guild" in "Return to Boot Hill". - Suzanne StorrsSuzanne StorrsSuzanne Storrs was a former Miss Utah and an American television actress who appeared in sixteen different television series between 1954 and 1961, usually as the beautiful leading lady, including Maverick with James Garner , Wanted Dead or Alive with Steve McQueen , Sugarfoot Suzanne Storrs...
in "Trouble at Sand Springs" (1961) - Charles BronsonCharles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
appeared twice in 1958 as Cliff Raven - Slim PickensSlim PickensLouis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
appeared 3 times as Henry (1957-1960)