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The Wild Wild West (1965 - 1969)
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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cool to see on episodes of TWWW, how many times they utilize the exterior set and interior set of the Barkley Manor featured on The Big Valley (1965~'69) TV western show.

Also used from time-to-time was the sound stage western town of Dodge City from Gunsmoke. Matt Dillon's jail set, and the Long Branch Saloon also pop up on TWWW episodes.

But it was the Barkley mansion that was used the most over the four-season run of TWWW.
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just watched "The Night of the Sedgewick Curse" today from October 18, 1968; Season # 4/ Episode #4.

This remains one of my favorite episodes from the series. It has all the great WWW elements: a scary mansion, heavy wind and rain storm to add to the spooky setting, secret passages, Arty in disguises, a beautiful female guest star with Sharon Acker, and of course some wonderful fistfights for agent Jim West.

It is also notable for having two other terrific guest stars on this episode. Jay Robinson plays an unctuous and deadly medical doctor attempting to stop an aging disease at the expense of anyone else.

Jay gave a powerhouse performance as the mad emperor Caligula in "The Robe" (1953), and its sequel "Demetrius and the Gladiators." He stole both films with his stunning acting; not an easy feat when you have scenes with Richard Burton & Victor Mature.

'Judo' Gene LeBell is another marvelous guest star on this episode. Gene is an ex-world champion in wrestling and judo. Gene originated a number of the grappling techniques that are still utilized today.

He became close friends with Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris.

Gene learned Jeet Kune Do from his friend Bruce; and Gene taught Bruce grappling moves.

Gene became an ace stuntman in both films and television.

He was on a film that starred martial artist Steven Seagal. He was upset at Seagal's abuse of the stunt crew on the film and confronted him about it.

Seagal was furious and attacked Gene.

Gene put Seagal into a a choke hold until Seagal was rendered unconscious. Gotta admire the hell out of Gene for that, I know that I do.

The Dodge City street set from "Gunsmoke" (1955~1975) was used as the town of Sedgewick for this episode.

The Dodge Hotel was the Sedgewick Spa where nefarious kidnappings occurred.


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 2:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TWWW info from Wikipedia and IMDB.

Ross Martin said that his Artemus Gordon character was " a show-off's showcase" because it allowed him to portray over 100 characters with different looks & dialects over the four year run of the series.

Ross would sketch his ideas for his characterizations and would work with the makeup artists bringing those concepts to life.

Ross received an Emmy nomination in 1969 for his role of Artemus Gordon.

Ross broke his leg during the shooting of the fourth-season episode "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary." He dropped a rifle, stepped on it, and his foot rolled over it.

A few weeks later, after filming the episode "The Night of Fire and Brimstone," Ross suffered a massive heart attack on August 17, 1968.

He would be temporarily replaced by different Secret Service agents while recovering. Charles Aidman played agent Jeremy Pike in four-episodes, Alan Hale, Jr., played agent Ned Brown in one-episode, and William Schallert played agent Frank Harper in two-episodes.
Robert Conrad would be solo with no partner on two-episodes.

Agnes Moorehead would win an Emmy Award for her role as the villainess on "The Night of the Vicious Valentine."

Victor Buono played villain Count Manzeppi on two episodes. He was the only villain---other than Michael Dunn as Dr. Loveless---to appear in more than one episode.

Michael Dunn first guest stars on the show in the first season episode "The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth." His character was an immediate hit with the audience, so Dunn was contracted to guest star in four episodes per season. However, due to his health problems Dunn appeared in only ten episodes of the series.

Due to the first season production being such a madhouse of multiple producers and power plays by the studio, Ross Martin tried to quit the show three times.

The series was filmed at CBS Studio Center in Studio City in the San Fernando Valley.

The 70-acre back lot used for the exterior western town scenes was formerly home to Republic Studios which made many of the Gene Autry & Roy Rogers western movies.

The interior set for Jim & Artie's train, the Wanderer, would appear on Gunsmoke ("Death Train"), The Big Valley ("Last Train to the Fair," & "Days of Wrath"), Get Smart ("The King Lives.")

Ross Martin knew how to ride a horse but he only tolerated horses, not love them.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I didn't know Ross Martin had had a heart attack. I love the guys work and I'm glad he recovered. Very Happy

Thanks of the terrific trivia.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2022 5:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wikipedia and IMDB Info: Some of the marvelous devices that agent James West utilized throughout the run of the series. Invented by the brilliant Artemus Gordon.

One of James Wests' most popular gadgets was his sleeve gun. It was a Remington Double Barrel Derringer attached to a mechanism that would rapidly slide it out of Jim's sleeve.

West also had a Breakaway Remington Derringer. The grip and trigger mechanism in one of Jim's hollowed-out boot heel, while the doubled-barreled assembly was located in the other heel. The two pieces could be snapped together and locked. Bullets for the derringer dispensed from a secret compartment in West's belt buckle, or the chambers were already pre-loaded.

A lock pick or passkey was concealed under the lapel of West's jacket.

Jim kept a throwing knife concealed in a sheath inside the back of his jacket.

Jim had a flat metal barbed climbing-spike (piton) which was attached to a cord, cable or wire. The piton would be placed into the muzzle of either his Derringer or revolver and fired into a wooden beam or a wall. He would use a pulley with a handle to zip-line above obstacles.

West also had a small, hand-held motor-driven winch that could be used in conjunction with the piton and wire. The winch could hoist him upwards, or lower him downwards.

Jim had a spring-loaded swing-out knife (switchblade) beneath the toe-box of his boot.

West had a hollowed out saddle horn boobytrap that possessed a dynamite bullet shell. If someone attempted to mount his Jim's horse and used the saddle horn to pull them-self upwards there would be a minor explosion to frighten them but not enough to injure Jim's horse at all.

TWWW was a steampunk TV show several years prior to that term being created.

On the episode "The Night of the Fugitives" from November 8, 1968, a notorious stunt mishap occurred which nearly cost Robert Conrad life and could have resulted in a very serious permanent injury.

For the scene James West is to swing from a chandelier from an upper balcony of a saloon (Miss. Kitty's Longbranch Saloon set from Gunsmoke) and let go so that he is propelled feet first into an outlaw. Robert Conrad lost his grip on the chandelier and is seen crashing onto the concrete floor of the studio set. The scene was left in the final cut.

When you see Jim West rise back up to his feet to continue the scene, this took place months later after the fall so that Robert Conrad could fully recover.

Sidebar: This scene is painful to watch knowing its true history. I've read that another factor that caused this scene to go so badly awry---in addition to Conrad losing his grip---was that the stuntman he was to crash into was not in his proper place. The plan was that this stuntman was to grab onto Conrad's legs as Conrad flew into him which would cushion Conrad's fall. But instead, this stuntman was too far back from Bob in order to properly grab his legs.
After this debacle, CBS began to be more stringent about any stunts that Conrad would be doing instead of looking the other way as they had done for years in order to cut costs.

Charles Davis was a co-star on four episodes of the show in the first season. He played Jim & Artie's English manservant, Tennyson, who would sometimes assist them on their assignments. The character was dropped.

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2022 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Wild, Wild West: The Series by Susan E. Kesler.

Although Jim and Arte maintained a close friendship on screen, the bonding was not so intent for Robert Conrad and Ross Martin. When The Wild Wild West first went into production, Martin had difficulty accepting his co-starring role. He loved his role as the inimitable Gordon, but felt his character should have been equal to that of James West.

Also, the fact remained that Martin and Conrad had two drastically different personalities, therefore they did not socialize after hours.

Although Conrad and Martin had very little in common off screen, their relationship proved to be an interesting one.

"They were so different that it wasn't a love-hate situation...they didn't hate each other," Olavee Martin (Ross Martins' wife) remembered.

"They really admired one another. Ross really respected Bob for his ability to do stunts, while Bob really admired Ross' acting ability. I'm sure, secretly, Ross would have liked to have swung from a chandelier occasionally, and perhaps Bob would have liked to have done a scene and have the crew burst into applause because of the fine acting job. That's why it worked; the chemistry showed on film."

Sidebar: In spite of the fact, or because of it, Conrad and Martin and the writers managed to forge the actors into a solid team. In order to be the hit it became the series needed both Jim and Artie because each played a vital component to the formula.

Sidebar: Conrad provided the handsome, James Bond-like secret agent whose enthusiastic athleticism provided some of the most rousing fistfights and other stunt work on any show at that time. Martins' terrific acting chops excelled at giving us colorful characters in disguise and exposition for the story as needed. Both men were equally important to the show, it was a true 50/50 situation.

Sidebar: As a huge fan of TWWW I initially took the Artemus Gordon character somewhat for granted since Jim West and his action scenes are what impressed me the most. However, over the years it became apparent for me that Artie was just as valuable a player as Jim was. Gordons' disguises were a hoot to view as well as being critical to the plots. And I became aware of just how fine an actor Ross was as he dove into those meaty characters created by Artie.
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Also, the fact remained that Martin and Conrad had two drastically different personalities, therefore they did not socialize after hours.

It's a shame the two men couldn't find some common ground which would allow them to be closer.

But of course, that kind of thing either happens or it doesn't. Sad

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2022 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find it fascinating that two such contrasting personalities were able to create such a rapport and make it work so smoothly over the years.

Shatner and Nimoy did the same thing on Star Trek. They became good friends (until a falling out a few years prior to Leonards' passing) years after the TV series ended. They were not close at all during the shooting of Trek though.

So it's intriguing to me that some actors are capable of establishing a marvelous working relationship on screen in spite of them being so different and not close.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Wild, Wild West First Season Facts: IMDB & TWWW: The Series by Susan E. Kesler.

The Night of the Inferno (pilot episode), September 17, 1965.

This is the only episode that has 5 drawings during the commercial breaks instead of the usual 4 drawings.

The pool table in Jim & Atrie's train car was made smaller than regulation size in order to fit in the surroundings.

Only black & white episode that uses drawings in the panels when going to a commercial break instead of screenshots in the panels.

The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth, October 1, 1965.

First of ten episodes that introduced the famous recurring foe of the incomparable Dr. Miguelito Loveless (Michael Dunn) for West & Gordon.

Also of note is the first appearance of the towering 7' 2" actor Richard Kiel as Loveless's henchman Voltaire.

Sidebar: I thought that Dunn & Kiel made an excellent team of evildoers. Kiel reported that for some reason Dunn did not care for him and he never knew why? Voltaire would return as Miguelito's strongman once more in The Night of the Whirring Death, February 18, 1966, and then disappear forever. No word as to why or if this was something Michael Dunn had demanded.

The Night of Sudden Death, October 8, 1865.

This is the first episode in which West and Gordon deal with what the Secret Service is actually known for; investigating counterfeiting.

Some of the location shooting for this episode took place at the outdoor lagoon set used for Gilligan's Island.

Guest star Robert Loggia plays circus owner and evildoer Warren Trevor in this episode. Loggia would go on in 1966 to star on his own television show T.H.E. Cat. Like Jim West, Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat is a very athletic and skilled fighter. In Cat's case he hires out as a bodyguard.
Coincidentally Warren Trevor is a circus owner on TWWW; while Cat worked in a circus as an aerialist without a net.

The Night of the Casual Killer, October 15, 1965.

Ross Martin is actually playing the musical piece on the violin during the opening scene. Martin was a concert quality violinist in real life.

The Night of the Glowing Corpse, October 29, 1965.

When West enters the funhouse at Hannibal Amusement park in the second act, he encounters a bug-eyed monster in the darkness.
This mask was originally a rejected design for the alien visitors from the SF classic film It Came from Outer Space (1953.) The design went on to become the basis for the Metaluna mutants from another classic SF film, This Island Earth (1955.)


The Night of the Burning Diamond, April 8, 1966.

This episode is loosely based upon the H. G. Wells story "The New Accelerator" published on April 8, 1866.

Actor Robert Drivas who plays the villain Morgan Midas had difficulty on the set recalling his lines. Drivas would write his lines all over the set, on props, wherever he could.


The set for thief Morgan Midas's palatial home is the same one utilized as the Barkley Manor on The Big Valley (1965~1969.)

Sidebar: TWWW would use both the exterior set as well as the interior set for the Barkley home in numerous episodes. Always fun to spot it whenever they do.

The Night of the Murderous Spring, April 15, 1966.

Robert Conrad's father, Leonard Falk, plays the part of Dr. Loveless's deaf-mute attendant.

Antoinette played by Phoebe Dorin was in a singing nightclub act with Michael Dunn.

Dr. Loveless is shown in a wheelchair in the first part of this episode because Michael Dunn was injured in a fall during filming.

During the boat scene in the finale of this episode, Phoebe Dorin's costume became entangled in the machinery used to sink the boat. Michael Dunn, a skilled swimmer, plunged underwater and freed her. Dorin always said that Michael had saved her life that day.

The Night of the Sudden Plague, April 22, 1966.

The fort seen here that was located by Vasquez Rocks would appear on numerous television series such as Star Trek: TOS (Arena), Mission: Impossible, Bonanza, The Big Valley, and The High Chaparral.
It was originally constructed for the 50s TV show Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers.

Sidebar: I always enjoy whenever I spot this impressive looking fort set on various TV shows. Sadly, it was demolished years ago.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Wild, Wild West: Season # 2. From Susan E. Kesler and IMDB.

"The Night of the Eccentrics," September 16, 1966.

First TWWW in color.

First dramatic televised performance of Richard Pryor as the villain/ventriloquist Villar.

A new musical arrangement was created for season two.

Ross Martin provided the voice for Giulio, Villar's dummy.

The train car fireplace has a secret escape route.

With the success of the Dr. Loveless' character, CBS decided that a new villain, Count Manzeppi, the prince of black magic, might bring as much success.

Manzeppi, overall, fared well with fans, but not so with critics.

Variety found the entire episode unappealing, satanic and sadistic. The Hollywood newspaper felt that the evil Count relied so heavily on tricks and gadgetry that it left much to be desired. "The opening episode of TWWW was so loaded with tricks that CBS might just trick itself out of an audience."

"The Night of the Returning Dead," October 14, 1966.

Guest star Sammy Davis, Jr was performing his act in Las Vegas while also filming this episode. He would finish his morning show at two a.m.

An ambulance would transport him to the studio, at which time he would sleep in the ambulance cart. Upon arrival at the studio at six-thirty, he'd had a good rest.

He'd go into make-up, have coffee and breakfast, and walk onto the set. Finished by three or four o' clock, he'd be driven to the airport and fly back to Vegas in time for his dinner show. For ten days he he did this grueling routine.

Now, that's a trooper.

Writer John Kneubuhl: "I wanted to make a civil rights comment. This was during the days of all the marches, the protests and young men being killed in the south.
I thought I'd do a fantasy, so I invented a black stable boy who could talk to animals and birds. They were his allies against the evil Southern colonel and the evil that is in the world."


"I wanted to suggest a kind of character so full of tenderness and attached to the mystery of life...I wouldn't have to make an outwardly political statement."

Richard Donner (Superman, The Goonies) said that directing this episode got him his first feature film directing job. Donner became friends with guest stars Sammy Davis, Jr., and Peter Lawford. Sammy & Peter wanted to do a film titled Salt and Pepper, and they wanted Donner to direct it.
"It changed my life," Donner said.

Sidebar: Sammy was one of the real life fastest draws with a western pistol in Hollywood.

Glenn Ford and Peter Brown (Lawman, Laredo) were also noted for their speed with a western gun.
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"The Night of the Golden Cobra," September 23, 1966 had special guest star Boris Karloff.

Director Irving Moore remembered that working with Karloff was a great joy, although the actor hated animals and children.

Sidebar: I'm assuming Moore is referring to Karloff saying that only in regards to performing with animals or children. Everything that I've read about Boris was that he was a kindly gentleman and a gentle man who got along with everyone.

"The Night of the Raven." September 30, 1966.

Cleopatra, the meat eating plant on The Addams Family sitcom makes a cameo on this episode.

"The Night of the Big Blast," October 7, 1966. Villainess Dr. Faustina is played by noted actress and director Ida Lupino.

West and Gordon battled two female ringleaders over the course of the show---the other being Agnes Moorehead---and both grand dames managed to escape in the end.

"The Night of the Flying Pie Plate," October 21, 1966. The town of Morning Glory, Arizona in this episode is really the repurposed Dodge City set from Gunsmoke.

"The Night of the Bottomless Pit," November 4, 1966. The plot has Jim and Artie infiltrating Devil's Island.

Devil's island was an infamous prison of the 19th and 20th century. It operated at several locations in French Guiana on the South American continent.

Guest star Theodore Marcuse (Commandant Gustave Mauvais) would later guest star on The Time Tunnel in a similarly themed episode entitled "Devil's Island."

The lagoon seen here is the same one used on Gilligan's Island.

Sidebar: Theodore Marcuse (1920~1967) was a terrific performer in everything he did.

Theodore was a graduate of Stanford with a B.A. & M.A. in classical literature. He was an artist-in-residence there.

He was a Shakespearean actor on Broadway and had a reputation of being able a skilled dialectician.

Theodore served in World War II on board the Navy submarine the U.S.S. Tirante where he was a Lt. in Communications, Radar, and Sonar. Marcuse won the Silver Star for gallantry in action.

Tragically he died in a road accident and left us far too soon.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2022 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse," November 25, 1966.

It was during the making of this episode that word of the tragic death of the series' creator, Michael Garrison, came during shooting.

In the late evening of August 17, Garrison was at the top of his stairway at home, lost his footing and tumbled to his death, fracturing his skull on the marble floor that, only days before, had been cushioned with carpeting.

The untimely death of the much beloved Michael Garrison was a shock to the cast and crew. Many felt that CBS could not grasp what Garrison had struggled for all this time to produce.
CBS would have liked made the series a Western, not because so much they didn't believe in fantasy, but because it was so expensive to do the show.

Once Bruce Lansbury (Angela Lansbury's brother) came on board the show it became more of a glossy Western with tricks, but it became more of a Western every year, physically, and the more it did, the more the budget could be controlled.

All In The Family star, Carroll O'Connor is wonderfully cast as the diabolical Fabian Lavendor. Writer Ken Kolb recalled O'Connor's great performance and how Robert Conrad felt that, every time they appeared on screen together, that O'Connor stole the scene.

We were watching a rough cut of the show that was a scene with Bob and O'Connor together, and you could feel Bob getting upset about something. Conrad said "That son-of-a-bitch upstages me, even with his back to the camera. How does he do that? How does he get everybody to look at him when I'm looking at the camera and he's looking the other way?"

Sidebar: Looks like Conrad was getting contusions of the ego dealing with O'Connor on this episode.

Maybe Bob didn't realize that, generally speaking, the roles of villains are more intriguing that those of the heroes.
I've seen this episode numerous times and it has never struck me as a case of Carroll stealing scenes from Conrad.

True, Carroll is marvelous in the part. However, over the four seasons of the series there were equally terrific guest stars who portrayed foes and were as talented as O'Connor. Alfred Ryder, Nehemiah Persoff, John Dehner, Edward Andrews, Ricardo Montalban, Victor Buono, and the incomparable Michael Dunn were superb as the heavies. Their parts were all colorful and meaty and fun to behold.

Still, I never lost sight of how heroic and dashing both Jim West & Artemus Gordon were. You need both a hero and a villain, or the formula cannot possibly work.
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