Sunday, June 11, 2023

From Primetime to Daytime: Forrest Tucker on Daniel Boone (1968)

 This one, along with yesterday's Death Valley Days entry, should get the attention of Hal Horn at The Horn Section, since it deals with his all-time favorite actor, Forrest Tucker.

In season 5 of Daniel Boone, Daniel (Fess Parker) meets up with Joe Snag (Tucker) while trying to help Cincinnatus (Dallas McKennon, The Archie Show) replenish his general store. Robert Cornthwaite, whom some of you will remember as a duplicitous politico on Batman two years earlier, also guest stars.


Post-F-Troop, and prior to Ghost Busters, Tucker had no shortage of character roles. You'd think someone would've offered him a series gig prior to Ghost Busters during this period, but, nope, unless Hal has some info to drop.

2 comments:

Hal said...

Thanks for sharing, as always!

It is weird that Tuck did not have a regular series gig after F TROOP for 6 years, considering that the show was highly rated in both its seasons with shares of 31 and 31.3 respectively and was only ended by its studio. Not for lack of trying though:

OVER THERE was a pilot produced right after F TROOP's demise, intended for the 1968 Fall season, which was basically F TROOP in the WW1 era. Tucker and Berry, but no Storch for some reason, and it didn't get picked up. Berry got the MAYBERRY RFD gig soon after.

DOC was another pilot, in which Tuck would have been a small town physician, intended for 1969 but it didn't sell. THE FLIM-FLAM MAN was another pilot around that same time, with Tuck taking the George C. Scott role from the film; it surprisingly didn't sell either.

Next was CAT BALLOU (1971) with Tuck taking the Lee Marvin role from that film; didn't sell.

The next season, BOBBY JO AND THE GOODTIME BAND was kind of a country version of PARTRIDGE FAMILY with Tuck in the Reuben Kincaid type role there. I think he was intended for one other pilot that I can't recall at the moment but was replaced by Claude Akins due to an injury/accident. Finally, he landed DUSTY'S TRAIL in 1973, which as you know was way too derivative of GILLIGAN to have much of a chance.

hobbyfan said...

Forgot about Dusty's Trail when I wrote the piece, Hal, thanks for reminding. It was Gilligan in the Old West, and that's why it bombed. I think the reason Larry Storch didn't do "Over There" was because he was busy with other projects, like cartoons, and he'd get his own series a year later ("The Queen & I", which bombed).

Feel free to use the Daniel Boone & Death Valley Days entries over at the Horn Section. They'll love you.