Lancer (TV series)
Lancer was an American Western series that aired Tuesdays at 7:30 pm (EST) on CBS from September 24, 1968, to June 23, 1970.[1] The series stars Andrew Duggan as a father with two half-brother sons, played by James Stacy and Wayne Maunder.
| Lancer | |
|---|---|
 Andrew Duggan and Elizabeth Baur, 1968 | |
| Genre | Western |
| Created by | Samuel A. Peeples |
| Directed by | Robert Butler |
| Starring | James Stacy Wayne Maunder Andrew Duggan Elizabeth Baur |
| Theme music composer | Jerome Moross |
| Composer(s) | Jerome Moross Hugo Friedhofer Robert Drasnin Leith Stevens Joseph Mullendore Irving Gertz Alexander Courage Harry Geller Arthur Morton George Duning |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 51 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Sam Wanamaker (pilot episode) Alan A. Armer Edwin Self ("Chad") |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 48 mins. |
| Production company(s) | 20th Century-Fox Television |
| Distributor | 20th Century-Fox Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 24, 1968 – June 23, 1970 |
Synopsis
Duggan starred as Murdoch Lancer, the patriarch of the Lancer family. Wayne Maunder played Scott Lancer, the educated older son and a veteran of the Union Army. Stacy played gunslinger Johnny Madrid Lancer. Paul Brinegar appeared as Jelly Hoskins and Elizabeth Baur played Murdoch Lancer's ward Teresa O'Brien.
Lancer lasted for 51 hour-long episodes and was shot in color. It was rerun on CBS during the summer of 1971.[2]
Cast
- James Stacy as Johnny Madrid Lancer
- Andrew Duggan as Murdoch Lancer
- Wayne Maunder as Scott Lancer
- Paul Brinegar as Jelly Hoskins
- Elizabeth Baur as Teresa O'Brien
Guest stars included Joe Don Baker, Scott Brady, Ellen Corby, Jack Elam, Sam Elliott, Bruce Dern, Kevin Hagen, Ron Howard, Wright King, Cloris Leachman, Barbara Luna, George Macready, Warren Oates, Stefanie Powers, Tom Selleck and William Tannen.
Episodes
Season 1 (1968–69)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The High Riders" | Sam Wanamaker | Teleplay by: Dean Riesner Story by: Samuel A. Peeples | September 24, 1968 |
| 2 | 2 | "Blood Rock" | Gene Nelson | Jack Turley | October 1, 1968 |
| 3 | 3 | "Chase a Wild Horse" | Walter Grauman | Paul Playdon | October 8, 1968 |
| 4 | 4 | "Foley" | Alex Singer | Teleplay by: Anthony Spinner Story by: Anthony Spinner & Brian McKay | October 15, 1968 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Lawman" | Allen Reisner | Laurence Heath | October 22, 1968 |
| 6 | 6 | "Julie" | Alex Singer | Teleplay by: Paul Playdon Story by: Don Brinkley & Paul Playdon | October 29, 1968 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Prodigal" | Sobey Martin | Teleplay by: D. C. Fontana Story by: Mel Goldberg & D. C. Fontana | November 12, 1968 |
| 8 | 8 | "Jelly" | Sobey Martin | Jack Turley | November 19, 1968 |
| 9 | 9 | "The Last Train for Charlie Poe" | Don Richardson | Carey Wilber | November 26, 1968 |
| 10 | 10 | "Glory" | Gene Nelson | Jack Turley | December 10, 1968 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Heart of Pony Alice" | Christian I. Nyby II | Ken Trevey | December 17, 1968 |
| 12 | 12 | "The Escape" | William Hale | Anthony Spinner | December 31, 1968 |
| 13 | 13 | "The Wedding" | Sobey Martin | Anthony Spinner | January 7, 1969 |
| 14 | 14 | "Death Bait" | Robert Butler | Jack Turley | January 14, 1969 |
| 15 | 15 | "The Black McGloins" | Don Richardson | Carey Wilber | January 21, 1969 |
| 16 | 16 | "Yesterday's Vendetta" | Otto Lang | Don Brinkley | January 28, 1969 |
| 17 | 17 | "Warburton's Edge" | Don Medford | Teleplay by: Ken Trevey Story by: Ken Trevey & K. C. Alison | February 4, 1969 |
| 18 | 18 | "The Fix-It Man" | William Hale | Charles Wallace | February 11, 1969 |
| 19 | 19 | "Angel Day and Her Sunshine Girls" | Don Richardson | Jack Turley | February 25, 1969 |
| 20 | 20 | "The Great Humbug" | William Hale | Carey Wilber | March 4, 1969 |
| 21 | 21 | "Juniper's Camp" | William Hale | Barry Oringer | March 11, 1969 |
| 22 | 22 | "The Knot" | Don Richardson | Laurence Heath | March 18, 1969 |
| 23 | 23 | "The Man Without a Gun" | Don Richardson | Roland Wolpert | March 25, 1969 |
| 24 | 24 | "Child of Rock and Sunlight" | Don Richardson | Penrod Smith | April 1, 1969 |
| 25 | 25 | "The Measure of a Man" | Don McDougall | Gerry Day | April 8, 1969 |
| 26 | 26 | "Devil's Blessing" | Christian I. Nyby II | Sam Roeca | April 22, 1969 |
Season 2 (1969–70)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Blind Man's Bluff" | Leo Penn | Carey Wilber | September 23, 1969 |
| 28 | 2 | "Zee" | Leo Penn | Teleplay by: Andy Lewis Story by: Mitchell Lindemann & Andy Lewis | September 30, 1969 |
| 29 | 3 | "The Kid" | Allen Reisner | Carey Wilber | October 7, 1969 |
| 30 | 4 | "The Black Angel" | Allen Reisner | Jack Turley | October 21, 1969 |
| 31 | 5 | "The Gifts" | Allen Reisner | Teleplay by: Andy White Story by: D. C. Fontana & Andy White | October 28, 1969 |
| 32 | 6 | "Cut the Wolf Loose" | Robert Day | Ken Trevey | November 4, 1969 |
| 33 | 7 | "Jelly Hoskins' American Dream" | Christian I. Nyby II | Andy White | November 11, 1969 |
| 34 | 8 | "Welcome to Genesis" | Robert Day | Ken Pettus | November 18, 1969 |
| 35 | 9 | "A Person Unknown" | William Hale | Andy Lewis | November 25, 1969 |
| 36 | 10 | "Legacy" | Christian I. Nyby II | Jack Turley | December 9, 1969 |
| 37 | 11 | "A Scarecrow at Hacket's" | Marvin Chomsky | Sam Roeca | December 16, 1969 |
| 38 | 12 | "Little Darling of the Sierras" | Allen Reisner | Ken Trevey | December 30, 1969 |
| 39 | 13 | "Shadow of a Dead Man" | Robert Butler | Jack Turley | January 6, 1970 |
| 40 | 14 | "Blue Skies for Willie Sharpe" | Allen Reisner | Andy White | January 13, 1970 |
| 41 | 15 | "Chad" | Alan A. Armer | Carey Wilber | January 20, 1970 |
| 42 | 16 | "The Lorelei" | Christian I. Nyby II | Sam Roeca | January 27, 1970 |
| 43 | 17 | "The Lion and the Lamb" | Allen Reisner | Andy White | February 3, 1970 |
| 44 | 18 | "The Experiment" | Virgil W. Vogel | Herbert Purdum | February 17, 1970 |
| 45 | 19 | "Splinter Group" | Virgil W. Vogel | Sam Roeca | March 3, 1970 |
| 46 | 20 | "Lamp in the Wilderness" | Michael Caffey | Andy White | March 10, 1970 |
| 47 | 21 | "The Buscaderos" | Allen Reisner | Teleplay by: Ken Trevey Story by: Jim Byrnes | March 17, 1970 |
| 48 | 22 | "Dream of Falcons" | Don Richardson | Carey Wilber | April 7, 1970 |
| 49 | 23 | "Goodbye, Lizzie" | Allen Reisner | Kathleen Hite | April 28, 1970 |
| 50 | 24 | "The Rivals" | Christian I. Nyby II | Thomas Thompson | May 5, 1970 |
| 51 | 25 | "Lifeline" | Robert Butler | Sam Roeca | May 19, 1970 |
Awards
The episode entitled "Zee" with Stefanie Powers earned scriptwriter Andy Lewis the Western Writers of America "Spur Award", the first ever designated for a television script.[3]
In popular culture
The 2019 movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood incorporates a fictionalized account of the filming of Lancer's pilot episode depicting one of the film's main characters appearing as a villain in the episode. Director Sam Wanamaker and series stars James Stacy and Wayne Maunder are depicted.
References
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television. Penguin Books USA, Inc. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8. Pp. 461-462.
- Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1979). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25525-9. P. 335.
- "Biography of Wayne Maunder". Geocities.com. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
