The Rebel (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Rebel is an American
Western
television series that ran originally on the ABC network
from 1959 to 1961. The program was produced by Goodson-Todman Productions, marking one of their few non-game show
ventures. Starting in early December 2011, reruns of The Rebel will air on the MeTV
network.
, Yuma, in search of inner peace, roams the American West, specifically the Texas Hill Country
and the South Texas Plains. Yuma keeps a journal of his adventures and fights injustice where he finds it with the help of a double-barreled shotgun
having a sawed-off stock and barrel.
), the newspaper editor in Johnny Yuma's hometown.
Guest stars included John M. Pickard
, formerly of Boots and Saddles
, who appeared three times, including the role of Sheriff Pruett in "Run, Killer, Run", and Hal Stalmaster
in the role of Skinny in the 1959 episode "Misfits." George Macready
appeared twice: in the 1959 episode "Vicious Circle" and as General Robert E. Lee
in the 1960 segment "Johnny Yuma at Appomattox."
, two years after the war ended. His father Ned Yuma was the town sheriff. The town editor, Elmer Dodson, encourages Johnny to keep up his journal as he travels.
The episode "Yellowhair" has Yuma captured by the historical Kiowa
chief Satanta
, whose fictional adopted white daughter is played by Carol Nugent
, the wife of actor Nick Adams.
Several place names mentioned throughout the series clearly place the action in post-Civil War Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Forts frequently noted in episodes, such as Fort Griffin
and Fort Concho
, were real frontier Texas outposts of the late 1860s and are now state historic sites; they act as markers for viewers as they follow the ill-defined travels of Johnny Yuma. In one first-season episode, Yuma encounters rag-tag rebel CSA soldiers in the corrupt mining town of La Paz, Arizona
. The real town of La Paz was the county seat of Yuma County between 1862 and 1870; it stood in the Confederate Arizona Territory
which existed briefly during the Civil War. Nothing remains of La Paz except crumbling foundations and an historical marker.
In "Vicious Circle", Yuma identifies the Confederate unit he served with as the 3rd Texas, but doesn't indicate the branch of service. Other episodes show him with saddlebags stenciled with CSA
and an old uniform jacket with yellow collar and cuffs, indicating his regiment was likely the 3rd Texas Cavalry.
After the show's original broadcast run on ABC finished in June 1961, it was picked up by NBC
and rerun as a summer replacement series from June to September 1962.
, with lyrics by Andrew J. Fenady. It was recorded for the original broadcasts by Johnny Cash
, but it wasn't released as a single until April of 1961, shortly before the show went off the air in June. Nick Adams had recorded the theme himself, which was released on Mercury Records (#71607) by March, 1960. Sometime during the show's run in syndication, the theme song was replaced by instrumental music, also by Richard Markowitz.
referenced the first line of the Johnny Yuma theme song. In the episode "The Heart Attack" Jerry retorts to Kramer that Johnny Yuma is a Rebel.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Western
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 ran originally on the ABC network
ABC Network
ABC Network may refer to any of the following:*American Broadcasting Company, a private television network in the United States.*Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, regional radio and television broadcaster in Japan....
from 1959 to 1961. The program was produced by Goodson-Todman Productions, marking one of their few non-game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
ventures. Starting in early December 2011, reruns of The Rebel will air on the MeTV
MeTV
Me-TV is a television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that airs classic television sitcoms, dramas and classic commercials from the 1950s through the 1980s. The network is a sister network to This TV...
network.
Synopsis
The series is about the adventures of young Confederate Army veteran Johnny Yuma (played by Nick Adams). Haunted by his memories of the warAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Yuma, in search of inner peace, roams the American West, specifically the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
and the South Texas Plains. Yuma keeps a journal of his adventures and fights injustice where he finds it with the help of a double-barreled shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
having a sawed-off stock and barrel.
Cast
Nick Adams was the star and sole regular actor of this series. He was also involved in the show's design, inception, and writing, along with producer Andrew J. Fenady. The only other recurring character was Elmer Dodson (played by John CarradineJohn Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
), the newspaper editor in Johnny Yuma's hometown.
Guest stars included John M. Pickard
John Pickard (American actor)
John M. Pickard was an American actor who appeared primarily in television Westerns.-Early life and career:...
, formerly of Boots and Saddles
Boots 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:...
, who appeared three times, including the role of Sheriff Pruett in "Run, Killer, Run", and Hal Stalmaster
Hal Stalmaster
Harry Lapidus Stalmaster, known as Hal Stalmaster , is a former actor best known for his lead role in the 1957 Walt Disney film of the American Revolution, Johnny Tremain, based on the 1943 Esther Forbes novel of the same name.-Johnny Tremain:In the dramatization, Stalmaster is an apprentice...
in the role of Skinny in the 1959 episode "Misfits." George Macready
George Macready
George Peabody Macready, Jr. , was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains.-Background:...
appeared twice: in the 1959 episode "Vicious Circle" and as General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
in the 1960 segment "Johnny Yuma at Appomattox."
Series highlights
The first episode, "Johnny Yuma", is set in early 1867. It shows Johnny Yuma returning to his hometown, the fictional Mason City, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, two years after the war ended. His father Ned Yuma was the town sheriff. The town editor, Elmer Dodson, encourages Johnny to keep up his journal as he travels.
The episode "Yellowhair" has Yuma captured by the historical Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
chief Satanta
Satanta (White Bear)
This article refers to the Kiowa chief Satanta. For the Irish hero Sétanta, please see Cú Chulainn.Satanta was a Kiowa war chief. He was a member of the Kiowa tribe, he was born around 1820, during the height of the power of the Plains Tribes, probably along the Canadian River in the traditional...
, whose fictional adopted white daughter is played by Carol Nugent
Carol Nugent
Carol Lou Nugent is an American actress who began her career as a child. Nugent appeared in over 20 feature films and 11 television programs during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Her 1959 marriage to actor Nick Adams was widely publicized until his death in 1968.-Early life:Nugent was born in Los...
, the wife of actor Nick Adams.
Several place names mentioned throughout the series clearly place the action in post-Civil War Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Forts frequently noted in episodes, such as Fort Griffin
Fort Griffin
Fort Griffin was a Cavalry fort established in the late 1860s in the northern part of West Texas, specifically northwestern Shackelford County, to give settlers protection from early Comanche and Kiowa raids...
and Fort Concho
Fort Concho
Fort Concho is a National Historic Landmark owned and operated since 1935 by the city of San Angelo, the seat of Tom Green County in West Texas...
, were real frontier Texas outposts of the late 1860s and are now state historic sites; they act as markers for viewers as they follow the ill-defined travels of Johnny Yuma. In one first-season episode, Yuma encounters rag-tag rebel CSA soldiers in the corrupt mining town of La Paz, Arizona
La Paz, Arizona
La Paz was a short-lived, early gold mining town along the Colorado River in La Paz County on the western border of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was the location of the La Paz Incident in 1863, the westernmost confrontation of the American Civil War. The town was settled in 1862 in what was then...
. The real town of La Paz was the county seat of Yuma County between 1862 and 1870; it stood in the Confederate Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
which existed briefly during the Civil War. Nothing remains of La Paz except crumbling foundations and an historical marker.
In "Vicious Circle", Yuma identifies the Confederate unit he served with as the 3rd Texas, but doesn't indicate the branch of service. Other episodes show him with saddlebags stenciled with CSA
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
and an old uniform jacket with yellow collar and cuffs, indicating his regiment was likely the 3rd Texas Cavalry.
After the show's original broadcast run on ABC finished in June 1961, it was picked up by 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...
and rerun as a summer replacement series from June to September 1962.
Theme song
The show’s theme song, The Ballad of Johnny Yuma, was composed by Richard MarkowitzRichard Markowitz
Richard Allen Markowitz born September 3, 1926 in Santa Monica, California, died December 6, 1994 in Santa Monica, California, USA was an American film and television composer. He was the father of Kate Markowitz-Biography:...
, with lyrics by Andrew J. Fenady. It was recorded for the original broadcasts by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, but it wasn't released as a single until April of 1961, shortly before the show went off the air in June. Nick Adams had recorded the theme himself, which was released on Mercury Records (#71607) by March, 1960. Sometime during the show's run in syndication, the theme song was replaced by instrumental music, also by Richard Markowitz.
Popular culture
Two episodes of the sitcom SeinfeldSeinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
referenced the first line of the Johnny Yuma theme song. In the episode "The Heart Attack" Jerry retorts to Kramer that Johnny Yuma is a Rebel.