Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 15, 1959, to May 21, 1963. A Revue Studios production, the series starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, owner of the Sherman Ranch; Robert L. Crawford Jr. as Andy, Slim's younger brother; Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, a hot-headed drifter who arrives at the Sherman Ranch in the premiere episode; and Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy, who keeps the homestead and stage stop running. Actress Spring Byington was later added to the cast. Laramie is set in Wyoming.
Contents
Plot
The Sherman brothers and drifter Jess Harper come together to run a stagecoach stop for the Great Central Overland Mail Company after the family patriarch, Matt Sherman, is murdered by a greedy land seeker. The Sherman parents are buried on the ranch. Near the end of the series, Matt Sherman is revealed to have been falsely accused during the American Civil War of having aided the Confederates. After Jess Harper discovers on Sherman Ranch land the wreckage of a Union Army gold wagon stolen by Confederate raiders, Slim sets out with the officer accused of aiding the Confederates, portrayed by Frank Overton, and an Army major — the real culprit, played by John Hoyt — to clear Matt Sherman's name. The gold dust had long since been scattered by the wind.
Subsequent episodes focus on the close friendship that develops between Slim and Jess, who become like brothers despite occasional strong differences of opinion, always finding reconciliation and common ground. Slim, who is taller than Jess and two years older, is generally depicted as the more level-headed and thoughtful of the two, while Jess is more emotional, prone to righteous indignation and difficulty controlling his temper.
Notable episodes
The series premiere, "Stage Stop" (September 15, 1959), filmed in color, explains how Slim Sherman and Jess Harper become partners in the Sherman Ranch and Relay Station. Jess arrives in Wyoming from Texas in search of a former "friend," Pete Morgan, played by John Mitchum, who had robbed him. Morgan is part of the gang of Bud Carlin (Dan Duryea). The gang captures Judge Thomas J. Wilkens (Everett Sloane) to prevent him from trying Morgan. Though Jess and Slim are initially at odds, Andy Sherman takes an instant liking to Jess and even asks him to take him away from the ranch. When Carlin shows up at the relay station and proceeds to humiliate the judge, Slim and Jess are forced to fight together.
In "The General Must Die" (November 17, 1959), Brian Keith appears as Whit Malone, an old friend of Slim's from the Union Army. Malone and a mentally troubled Colonel Brandon, again played by John Hoyt, arrive at the relay station with a foiled plan to assassinate General William Tecumseh Sherman, who is scheduled to pass through on a stagecoach. Gilman Rankin makes a cameo appearance as General Sherman. The episode reveals that Slim Sherman entered the Army as a private, rose to second lieutenant, and served under General Sherman (no relation) during the March to the Sea in Georgia.
In "Cactus Lady" (February 21, 1961), it is revealed that Jess Harper had nearly been hanged by mistake in the border city of Laredo, Texas, because of the McCanles gang, played by Arthur Hunnicutt, L. Q. Jones, Harry Dean Stanton, and Anita Sands, who arrive suddenly in Laramie.
Cast
Main cast
John Smith as Slim Sherman
Robert Fuller as Jess Harper
Robert L. Crawford Jr. as Andy Sherman (1959–1960)
Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy (1959–1960)
Spring Byington as Daisy Cooper (1961–1963)
Dennis Holmes as Mike Williams (1961–1963)
Stuart Randall as Sheriff Mort Cory (1961–1963)
Eddy Waller as Mose Shell, a stagecoach driver (19 episodes, 1959–1962)
Production
Hoagy Carmichael's contract was not renewed after the first season, and his character was written out with the explanation that he had accompanied Andy to boarding school in St. Louis. Andy, however, returned to appear in three episodes during the first half of the second season.
To restore the chemistry of the original cast, Spring Byington, formerly of the sitcom December Bride, and Dennis Holmes joined the series at the start of the third season in 1961, in the roles of Daisy Cooper, a matronly widow, and Mike Williams, a young orphan permitted to live at the Sherman Ranch pending the location of any next of kin — which never occurred. At the beginning of its third season, Laramie was among the first television programs to make the transition from black-and-white to color. The series was canceled after its fourth season due to declining ratings.
The Laramie Peacock
The NBC peacock logo, in use since 1956, was updated on January 2, 1962, when a new version of the NBC peacock "living color" logo was introduced before the Laramie broadcast that evening. The "Laramie Peacock" featured the bird fanning its plumage against a kaleidoscopic color background, with eleven melded feathers shrinking and separating into the peacock's form; it retained the "living color" tagline of the original but used a soft, woodwind-based musical accompaniment. This version was used before every color program on the network until it was retired in 1975, though the Laramie version has made special appearances in subsequent years, mostly in a retro-kitsch context or to commemorate significant broadcast events on NBC.
Broadcast and release
Broadcast
Laramie ran for four seasons, from September 15, 1959, to September 17, 1963, airing Tuesday evenings on NBC from 7:30–8:30 p.m. Eastern.
The German title of Laramie is Am Fuß der blauen Berge ("At the Foot of the Blue Mountains"), despite the Blue Mountains being located approximately 600 miles northwest of Laramie, Wyoming.
Home media
Timeless Media Group has released all four seasons on DVD in Region 1.
