American Western TV series (1959?1960)
The Man from Blackhawk
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Robert_Rockwell_Man_from_Blackhawk_1959.JPG/220px-Robert_Rockwell_Man_from_Blackhawk_1959.JPG) Robert Rockwell as Sam Logan
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Genre
| Western
|
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Created by
| Frank Barron
|
---|
Starring
| Robert Rockwell
|
---|
Country of origin
| United States
|
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Original language
| English
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No.
of seasons
| 1
|
---|
No.
of episodes
| 37
|
---|
|
Camera setup
| Single-camera
|
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Running time
| 30 minutes
|
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Production companies
| |
---|
|
Network
| ABC
|
---|
Release
| October 9, 1959
(
1959-10-09
)
?
September 23, 1960
(
1960-09-23
)
|
---|
The Man from Blackhawk
is a
Western television series
about an insurance investigator starring
Robert Rockwell
that aired on
ABC
from October 9, 1959 until September 23, 1960.
[1]
It was also shown in Canada on
CBC Television
.
[2]
Premise
[
edit
]
Robert Rockwell ca. 1959
In
The Man from Blackhawk
, (set in the 1870s
[3]
), Rockwell plays Sam Logan, an insurance investigator from the Blackhawk Insurance Company,
[1]
which has headquarters in Chicago.
[4]
Logan scours the West investigating claims, verifying their accuracy, and seeking to root out fraud and dishonesty. He is also more inclined to use his fists than a gun.
[5]
Much of Logan's work is done in disguise, and he has outfits for 34 professions,
[3]
including cotton speculator, cowhand, gentleman of leisure, professional gambler, and stage driver.
[4]
Rockwell, who won the Logan role over 135 competing actors, said of his character: "He has strong principles, amazing integrity and is completely self sufficient. He's not particularly pleasant but he's always needling, always digging for evil."
[6]
Characters and actors
[
edit
]
Beverly Garland
is cast as Sarah Marshall, with
Richard Rust
as George Blackburn, in "Logan's Policy", the series premiere (October 9, 1959).
Ruta Lee
portrays Ginnie Thompson, a young woman due to collect her murdered father's life insurance policy, in "The Legacy" (December 25, 1959).
Chubby Johnson
portrayed Jessie Turnbull in the episode titled "The Last Days of Jessie Turnbull." Not all episodes are set in the
American West
.
Tommy Rettig
and
Amanda Randolph
, for instance, are cast as Pierre and Auntie Cotton, respectively, in "The Ghost of Lafitte" (1960), set in
New Orleans
,
Louisiana
, with
Robert Foulk
as Hoag Lafitte.
Gregg Palmer
and
Walter Burke
are cast as Gil Harrison and Tom Abbott, respectively, in "The Harpoon Story" (1960), set in coastal
New England
.
Nita Talbot
appears in the episode "In His Steps" (1960), set in the
Bowery
district of
New York City
.
Child actor
Robert Eyer
portrays Davey in "The Montreal Story" (1960).
Other guest stars include:
Production
[
edit
]
The Man from Blackhawk
was a
Screen Gems
production. The series was created by Frank Barron and produced by
Herb Meadow
.
[1]
Meadow left after 13 weeks to return to writing. Although he had been under contract for 26 episodes, he cited the demands of 18-hour work days that exhausted him mentally and left no time for his family or other activities.
[7]
The show was broadcast from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Fridays.
[5]
Competition in its time slot included
Hotel de Paree
on CBS and
Wichita Town
on NBC.
[8]
Producers spent more than two years looking through insurance company records, old newspapers, and other documents to find material about 1870s-era insurance business operations and how swindles and frauds were committed.
[4]
Episodes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Aaker, Everett (2017).
Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary
. McFarland. p. 364.
ISBN
9781476662503
. Retrieved
20 July
2019
.
- ^
"Canada to telecast U. S. programs first"
(PDF)
.
Broadcasting
. August 3, 1959. p. 84
. Retrieved
March 12,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Bob's Wardrobe Very Expensive"
.
The Titusville Herald
. July 9, 1960. p. 7
. Retrieved
March 12,
2023
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
a
b
c
Rowan, Robert (November 28, 1959).
"Bob Rockwell Happy With New Role"
.
Napa Register
. Napa, California. p. 2-A
. Retrieved
March 12,
2023
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
a
b
Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009).
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present
. Random House Publishing Group. p. 845.
ISBN
978-0-307-48320-1
. Retrieved
March 12,
2023
.
- ^
"He's a Happy Tough Guy Now"
(PDF)
.
CBC Times
. November 13, 1959. p. 11
. Retrieved
March 12,
2023
.
- ^
"Have Had-it, Will Travel"
(PDF)
.
Television Digest
. October 12, 1959. p. 14
. Retrieved
March 12,
2023
.
- ^
Hyatt, Wesley (October 6, 2015).
Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops
. McFarland. pp. 99?100.
ISBN
978-1-4766-0515-9
. Retrieved
March 12,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]