Tate
1960
Tate is an
American Western television series starring David McLean that aired
on NBC from June 8 until September 14, 1960. It was created by Harry
Julian Fink, who wrote most of the scripts, and produced by Perry
Como's Roncom Video Films, Inc., as a summer replacement for The
Perry Como Show. Richard Whorf guest starred once on the series and
directed the majority of the episodes. Ida Lupino directed one
segment.
David McLean starred as Tate, who lost the use of his left arm
during the American Civil War. Because he was injured at the Battle
of Vicksburg in Mississippi, Tate's arm is covered in black leather
and a glove and supported by a sling. Tate is a widower, but the
cause of the death of his wife, Mary, is not specified in the
series, although a gunfight seems likely. Tate had left his hometown
as a teenager because of such a fight. At the urging of Marshal
Morty Taw, whom viewers meet in the pilot episode, "Home Town", Tate
arrives to help Taw hang an old childhood friend , played by James
Coburn ,who has murdered four people.
Tate roams the Old West as a bounty hunter-gunfighter. True to the
nature of most hired guns on television western series, Tate was
discriminating as to whom he worked for and would change sides if he
found himself misled by his employers. As a gunman, he is wickedly
fast on the draw. He also carries a shotgun, in his words, "to help
even the odds." His reputation precedes him, and other men often
seek him out in a gunfight...often to their regret. The fact that
Tate is physically disabled made him the first handicapped lead
character in television history and paved the way for future
programs like Ironside with Raymond Burr and Longstreet, starring
James Franciscus.
This is the Complete Series - All 13 Episodes
The episodes are: Home Town, Stopover, Bounty Hunter,
Mary Hardin Story, Voices of the Town, A Lethal Pride and Tigrero,
Comanche Scalps, Before Sunup, The Reckoning, The Gunfighters,
Quiet after the Storm and Return of Jessica Jackson
Guest stars
Robert Redford was cast in two episodes some six weeks apart:
as John Torsett in "The Bounty Hunter" and as Tad Dundee in
"Comanche Scalps", the latter segment with Leonard Nimoy as
The Comanche and veteran character actor Lane Bradford as William
Essey.
Others cast on Tate were:
Julie Adams
Chris Alcaide
Patricia Breslin
James Coburn
Robert Culp
Royal Dano
Ted de Corsia
Louise Fletcher
Peggy Ann Garner
Jock Gaynor
Martin Landau
Mort Mills
Warren Oates
Paul Richards
Bing Russell
Robert F. Simon
Vaughn Taylor
Warren Vanders
Peter Whitney
Don Wilbanks
|