Tate (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Tate was a Western
television series that aired on the NBC
television network
from June 8, 1960 until September 14, 1960. It was created by Harry Julian Fink
(who wrote the most of the scripts) and produced by Perry Como
's company, Roncom Video Films, Inc. Richard Whorf
directed the majority of the episodes, and Ida Lupino
directed one.
David McLean starred as Tate, who lost the use of his left arm during the Civil War (United States). Injured at the battle of Vicksburg, his arm was now covered in black leather and a glove and supported by a sling. A widower, he lost his wife, Mary, from causes never specified in the series, although a gunfight seems likely. He left town as a teenager because of such a fight and at the urging of Marshal Morty Taw, whom we meet in the series pilot episode: "Home Town." when Tate rides in to help Taw hang an old childhood friend who murdered four people. He roamed the West as a bounty hunter
/gunfighter. True to the nature of most TV Western hired guns, Tate was discriminating as to who he worked for and would change sides if he found himself misled by his employers. As a gunman, he was wickedly fast on the draw. He also carried a shotgun to, as he said, "help even the odds." His reputation preceded him and frequently got him into trouble with other would-be pistoleros trying to test him by proving they were faster. It was usually the last mistake they ever made. The fact that Tate was physically disabled made him the first handicapped lead character in television history, paving the way for future shows like Ironside
and Longstreet
.
Guest stars on the series included Julie Adams
, Chris Alcaide
, James Coburn
, Robert Culp
, Royal Dano
, Louise Fletcher
, Peggy Ann Garner
, Jock Gaynor
, Martin Landau
, Mort Mills
, Leonard Nimoy
, Warren Oates
, Robert Redford
, and Robert F. Simon
.
Some reference sources cite that Tate was recorded on videotape, not done in the usual shot-on-film process that most non-live shows were. In fact, the series was filmed, as evidenced by quality DVD
copies of episodes. The misconception seems to come from the name of Como's production company; in this case, the "Video" in Roncom Video Films, Inc. meant they made films for television.
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
, Tate was a summer replacement show, filling in for the second half hour of Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall as part of the Kraft Summer Theater. Airing after the sitcom Happy (1960 TV series)
, it did not catch on as a regular series.
At the time, McLean was already well known as the Marlboro Man
, one of the more famous advertising campaign
s in advertising history. Ironically, he would die of lung cancer
(brought on by many years of smoking) in 1995.
On October 30, 2007, the entire run of 13 episodes was released in a Region One 3-DVD set by Timeless Media Group. Most of the series is in the public domain
.
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 the 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...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
from June 8, 1960 until September 14, 1960. It was created by Harry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun – Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry.He wrote for various TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s, and also created several, including NBC's T.H.E. Cat, starring Robert Loggia, and Tate starring David McLean.His...
(who wrote the most of the scripts) and produced by Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
's company, Roncom Video Films, Inc. Richard Whorf
Richard Whorf
Richard Whorf was an American actor, author, director, and designer.Richard was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts to Harry and Sarah Whorf. Richards's older brother was the well-known American linguist, Benjamin Lee Whorf. Whorf began his acting career on the Boston stage as a teenager then moving...
directed the majority of the episodes, and Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
directed one.
David McLean starred as Tate, who lost the use of his left arm during the Civil War (United States). Injured at the battle of Vicksburg, his arm was now covered in black leather and a glove and supported by a sling. A widower, he lost his wife, Mary, from causes never specified in the series, although a gunfight seems likely. He left town as a teenager because of such a fight and at the urging of Marshal Morty Taw, whom we meet in the series pilot episode: "Home Town." when Tate rides in to help Taw hang an old childhood friend who murdered four people. He roamed the West as a bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
/gunfighter. True to the nature of most TV Western hired guns, Tate was discriminating as to who he worked for and would change sides if he found himself misled by his employers. As a gunman, he was wickedly fast on the draw. He also carried a shotgun to, as he said, "help even the odds." His reputation preceded him and frequently got him into trouble with other would-be pistoleros trying to test him by proving they were faster. It was usually the last mistake they ever made. The fact that Tate was physically disabled made him the first handicapped lead character in television history, paving the way for future shows like Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
and Longstreet
Longstreet
Longstreet, as a surname of English origin, may refer to the following people:*Augustus Baldwin Longstreet , American humorist, lawyer, college president, Southerner, writer*Helen Dortch Longstreet , American author and feminist...
.
Guest stars on the series included Julie Adams
Julie Adams
Julie Adams is an American film and television actress, sometimes credited as Julia Adams or Betty Adams.-Life and career:...
, Chris Alcaide
Chris Alcaide
Christopher "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...
, James Coburn
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
, Robert Culp
Robert Culp
Robert Martin Culp was an American actor, scriptwriter, voice actor and director, widely known for his work in television. Culp first earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents...
, Royal Dano
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
, Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...
, Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner was an American actress.A successful child actor, Garner played her first film role in 1938 and won the Academy Juvenile Award for her work in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...
, Jock Gaynor
Jock Gaynor
Jock Gaynor was an American actor, producer, and writer, whose work was confined primarily to television...
, Martin Landau
Martin Landau
Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
, Mort Mills
Mort Mills
Mort Mills was an American film and television actor who had roles in over 200 movies and television episodes. He was often the town lawman or the local bad guy in many popular westerns of the 1950s and 1960s. From 1957-1959 he had a recurring co-starring role as Marshal Frank Tallman in Man...
, Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
, Warren Oates
Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
, Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
, and Robert F. Simon
Robert F. Simon
Robert F. Simon was an American character actor, often portraying military or authority figure roles. Though his face was recognized by audiences, he was mostly unknown by name...
.
Some reference sources cite that Tate was recorded on videotape, not done in the usual shot-on-film process that most non-live shows were. In fact, the series was filmed, as evidenced by quality DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
copies of episodes. The misconception seems to come from the name of Como's production company; in this case, the "Video" in Roncom Video Films, Inc. meant they made films for television.
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, Tate was a summer replacement show, filling in for the second half hour of Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall as part of the Kraft Summer Theater. Airing after the sitcom Happy (1960 TV series)
Happy (1960 TV series)
Happy is an NBC situation comedy about a talking baby, starring Ronnie Burns , the adopted son of George Burns and Gracie Allen, which aired from June 8 to September 28, 1960, and again from January 13 to September 8, 1961....
, it did not catch on as a regular series.
At the time, McLean was already well known as the Marlboro Man
Marlboro Man
The Marlboro Man is a figure used in tobacco advertising campaign for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. The image involves a rugged cowboy or cowboys, in nature with...
, one of the more famous advertising campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
s in advertising history. Ironically, he would die of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
(brought on by many years of smoking) in 1995.
On October 30, 2007, the entire run of 13 episodes was released in a Region One 3-DVD set by Timeless Media Group. Most of the series is in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Home Town" (pilot) | June 8, 1960 |
| 1-2 | "Stopover" | June 15, 1960 |
| 1-3 | "The Bounty Hunter" | June 22, 1960 |
| 1-4 | "The Mary Hardin Story" | June 29, 1960 |
| 1-5 | "Voices of the Town" | July 6, 1960 |
| 1-6 | "A Lethal Pride" | July 20, 1960 |
| 1-7 | "Tigero" | August 3, 1960 |
| 1-8 | "Comanche Scalps" | August 10, 1960 |
| 1-9 | "Before Sunup" | August 17, 1960 |
| 1-10 | "The Reckoning" | August 24, 1960 |
| 1-11 | "The Gunfighters" | August 31, 1960 |
| 1-12 | "Quiet After the Storm" | September 7, 1960 |
| 1-13 | "The Return of Jessica Jackson" | September 14, 1960 |
External links
- Tate: The Complete Series on DVD (2007)http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WM8IJG
- Timeless Media Group: Tate http://www.timelessmusic.com/DVDs/tate.html