Riverboat (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Riverboat is a western
television series
starring Darren McGavin
and Burt Reynolds
that was broadcast on the NBC
television network
from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961.
Riverboat depicted the exploits of Captain Grey Holden (McGavin) and his crew as they navigated the riverboat Enterprise along the West
and Midwest
, running into interesting characters along the way, including a pre-presidential Abraham Lincoln
.
Riverboat featured Reynolds as Ben Frazer, but after reported disputes with McGavin, Reynolds left the show after 21 episodes, and was replaced by Noah Beery, Jr.
, nephew of Wallace Beery
. Jack Lambert (actor)
and John Mitchum
co-starred for the first 25 and 21 episodes, respectively.
Guest stars included:
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
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
starring Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
and Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
that was broadcast 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 September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961.
Riverboat depicted the exploits of Captain Grey Holden (McGavin) and his crew as they navigated the riverboat Enterprise along the West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
and Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, running into interesting characters along the way, including a pre-presidential Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
Riverboat featured Reynolds as Ben Frazer, but after reported disputes with McGavin, Reynolds left the show after 21 episodes, and was replaced by Noah Beery, Jr.
Noah Beery, Jr.
Noah Lindsey Beery , known professionally as Noah Beery, Jr. or just Noah Beery, was an American actor specializing in warm, friendly character parts similar to the ones played by his uncle Wallace Beery, although Noah Beery, Jr., unlike his uncle, seldom broke away from playing supporting...
, nephew of Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
. Jack Lambert (actor)
Jack Lambert (actor)
Jack Lambert was an American character actor born in Yonkers, New York specializing in playing movie tough guys and heavies. Best known for playing the psychotic cat-loving, iron-hooked Steve "the Claw" Michael in Dick Tracy's Dilemma.Following a stint on Broadway, Lambert moved to Hollywood and...
and John Mitchum
John Mitchum
John Mitchum was an American actor from the 1940s in films and, later, television. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and the younger brother of Julie Mitchum and Robert Mitchum, he initially appeared in only unbilled and extra roles before gradually receiving bigger character parts in middle age...
co-starred for the first 25 and 21 episodes, respectively.
Guest stars included:
- 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...
appeared as Ed Baker in the 1959 episode "The Boy from PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
" - Ron HagerthyRon HagerthyRonald F. "Ron" Hagerthy is a former American actor known primarily for his guest-starring and supporting roles on television westerns. In 1952, he portrayed Clipper King in the modern western series, Sky King, with Kirby Grant in the title role of Clipper's uncle, Schuyler "Sky" King, pilot of...
, formerly of Sky KingSky KingSky King is a 1940s and 1950s American radio and television adventure series. The title character is Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King...
, appeared as Phelan in the 1960 episode "The Quota". - Judson PrattJudson PrattJudson Pratt was an American actor whose longest continuing work was in thirteen episodes of ABC's Walt Disney Presents and NBC's Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. A native of Hingham in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Pratt appeared in numerous television westerns and drama series from...
guest starred as Sergeant Ned Bolger in the 1959 episode "A Night at Trapper's Landing". - 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...
played Gideon Templeton in the 1960 episode "Path of the Eagle". - Read MorganRead MorganRead Morgan is a former American actor whose longest-running role was as a United States Army cavalry officer in the 1960-1961 season of The Deputy, a western television series on NBC created by Norman Lear. Morgan appeared in thirty episodes as the one-eyed Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, recognized by...
played Clint Casey in "The Barrier" (1959). - John M. PicardJohn Pickard (American actor)John M. Pickard was an American actor who appeared primarily in television Westerns.-Early life and career:...
, earlier of Boots and SaddlesBoots and Saddles (TV series)Boots and Saddles is an American Western television series that aired in syndication from 1957 to 1958. The series was created by Robert A. Cinader.-Synopsis:...
, played a river pirate in the 1959 episode "The Unwilling." - Mary Tyler MooreMary Tyler MooreMary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
was a "Brunette Girl in Stagecoach" in the ninth episode "A Night at Trapper's Landing" (1959). She returned the next season as "Lily Belle" in the sixth episode, "Trunk Full of Dreams" (1960). - Hugh DownsHugh DownsHugh Malcolm Downs is a long time American broadcaster, television host, news anchor, TV producer, author, game show host, and music composer; and is perhaps best known for his role as co-host the NBC News program Today from 1962 to 1971, host of the Concentration game show from 1958 to 1969, and...
was a guest star in the episode "Night of the Faceless Men" (1960).