Hondo (ABC 1967, Ralph Taeger, Noah Beery)

Adapted from John Wayne’s 1953 3-D western, itself taken from Louis L’Amour’s best-seller, the colorful 1967 series Hondo stars Ralph Taeger (The Carpetbaggers) as disillusioned ex-Apache scout and Confederate cavalry captain Hondo Lane. Stationed in Arizona and now a scout for the army — the same army that massacred the Apaches and killed his Native American bride — the violence-weary Hondo fights to maintain peace between white and red men by assisting the officers at Fort Lowell in their dealings with the territory’s Native American tribes.

Traveling with his ragged mutt Sam and sometimes with a spirited scout named Buffalo Baker (Noah Beery Jr.), Hondo wanders the chiseled desert landscape in this colorful 1967 series, defending the rights of the disenfranchised, often to the dismay of his higher-ups, Captain Richards (Gary Clarke) and Colonel Crook (William Bryant).

Kathie Brown portrays Angie Dow, a local widow with an eye for Hondo, and Buddy Foster (Jodie Foster’s younger brother) is Johnny, Angie’s nine-year-old son. Hondo’s 17 episodes, all produced by Andrew J. Fenady, featured such guest stars as John Carradine, Michael Rennie, Annette Funicello, Robert Reed, Fernando Lamas, David and Ricky Nelson, Forrest Tucker, Nick Adams, and Robert Taylor.

production details
USA / ABC – Batjac – Fenady – MGM / 17×50 minute episodes / Broadcast 8 September – 29 December 1967 / Fridays 8.30pm

cast
RALPH TAEGER as Hondo Lane
NOAH BEERY JR as Buffalo Baker
KATHIE BROWNE as Angie Downe
MICHAEL PATE as Chief Vittoro
WILLIAM BRYANT as Colonel Crook
BUDDY FOSTER as Johnny Dow