The Reservoir: June 2016

June 26, 2016

Dale Robertson Links

June 25, 2016

The Personality

"An actor can change himself to fit a part, whereas a personality has to change the part to fit himself. The personality has to say it his own way." - dale robertson

And he did say it in his own way.

To this day, if you sit down to watch a Dale Robertson movie or television show, you can count on seeing a little—or a lot—of the real Dale in the character he's playing. From the very beginning of his career in show business, Dale balked at being thrown under the harness of Hollywood conformity and stubbornly held to his ideals throughout his entire career.

Such was the case when he first came to Hollywood. At that time, actors and actresses who were still "wet behind the ears," were expected to go to acting school and take voice lessons, refining their methods of presenting themselves. But Dale chose not to do this, keeping with his own personal style and his own Oklahoma-flavored voice.

A few years later, he ran into what has been called (however accurately) "a running feud" with the press. It started when Dale began declining publicity. He thought an actor was less likely to burn himself out if he weren't appearing in every other magazine on the stands. Also, the press had a way of spreading untrue and harmful stories; and the number of those stories grew with Dale's decision.

Reporters immediately assumed that because actress Rita Hayworth was also turning down publicity, she and Dale were seeing each other (both were married at the time). But the two had never even met before!

Dale's straightforward honesty stunted most rumors, but that same honesty lost him his part in a TV show many years later when he got a regular role on the soap opera Dynasty (circa 1981). The show was, of course, a soap opera and contained content that was less than family-friendly. And Dale honestly gave his opinion to himself and others when he left the show because of the standards being endorsed—he wanted onscreen entertainment to be something entire families could watch without parents worrying about what their kids were going to see or hear.

He could afford to be choosy about parts he played, and he often turned down roles if they weren't the kind of thing he thought should be on the screen.*

"I've followed a horse behind a plow and ridden in rodeos." **

"There's nothing sinful about horse racing. . . . The Queen of England and a lot of other prominent people go to the horse races."**

Horses—particularly race horses— played an important part in Dale's life.

Throughout his life, he owned or co-owned several different horse ranches, most notably the Haymaker Farm, which specialized in breeding Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds, and also specialized in their Haymaker Sales (in which hundreds of horses were sold by consignment). Later on, they also bred Paint Horses.

Sometimes it seems as if being an actor (or rather "onscreen-personality") was nothing but a job that made it possible for Dale to own all the horses he wanted. But he did more than just tinker around with the animals; the Haymaker was responsible for numerous world champions and record-holders.

Dale's main Tales of Wells Fargo mount, Jubilee, was a race horse and a great performer, carrying Dale through many personal appearance tours and rodeos, as well as TV shows.

Horses were more than just a way of business for Dale—they were a way of life that he learned to love from an early age. Whether race horse, plow horse, polo pony, or "casual" riding horse, it didn't matter so long as it was of the equestrian nature; Dale could find some way for it to fit into his life. Even as he got older and had to sell out the farm, he kept a couple riding horses for himself and his wife, Susan. ***

Dale owned over 3,000 books on horses, and was a well-learned man, not just on that one subject, although that very well could have been his favorite. Stunt-woman Martha Crawford Cantarini reminisces in her book Fall Girl: My Life as a Western Stunt Double, about the time she doubled for Linda Darnell in Dale's film Dakota Incident. She relates that Dale was "an enthralling storyteller, in true camp-fire style . . ." and that she was "spellbound" for every minute of the story he told about Justin Morgan's horse, the first of the Morgan breed. Later on, Dale mesmerized listeners with stories about Hollywood.

In the 70's, he put his storytelling aptitude to paper and wrote, Wells Fargo, The Legend, a fiction-based-on-fact book about the bank and stage company that made Dale so well-known to TV viewers in the late 50's and early 60's.

All in all, Dale Robertson was a unique man in the entertainment industry:

He was honest and open, yet still somehow very private.

Although he was married and divorced several times (including one marriage that lasted less than six months), when he married his fourth wife, they stayed together for thirty-three years, until he passed away in 2013.

And although he was far from being pious, his ideas truly represent an old-fashioned brand of American values.

Dale made his contribution to the Western genre something that audiences will never forget.

* Dale turned down the part of Barbara Bel Gedes' husband on Dallas, after Jim Davis passed away in 1981. Howard Keel got the part as Gedes' second husband. The first-husband character that Davis played was reprised in a prequel movie with Dale Midkiff in the role.
** Dale Robertson quote taken from newspaper archives.
*** The Robertsons eventually sent their horses to live with relatives in California, after Dale's declining health made it the best choice.

(Thanks to Susan Robertson for all of her help; without her, this article never would have come into existence.)

June 20, 2016

Dale Robertson Bio/Credits

Dale Robertson
Born: July 14, 1923 (in Harrah, Oklahoma) (as Dayle Lymoine Robertson)
Died: February 27, 2013 (in La Jolla, CA)
Spouse(s):
Frederica Jacqueline Wilson (married May 19, 1951 - June 4, 1956, divorced)
Mary Murphy (married June 4, 1956 - September 4, 1956, divorced)
Lula Mae Maxey (married November 13, 1959 - February 8, 1977, divorced)
Susan Dee Robins (married February 2, 1980 - February 27, 2013, his death)
Children: Rochelle (born 1952)
Rebel Lee (or Lea) (adopted, circa 1961)
Parents: Melvin Roscoe Robertson (May 20, 1894 - May 22, 1980)
Varvel Rowena Queenan Robertson (Jan. 26, 1897 - May 21, 1981)
(Married Dec. 21, 1915)
Other family: brother, Melvin Roscoe "Roxy" Robertson Jr. (1919 - 1994)
brother, Chet Robertson (Sep. 3, 1920 - Dec. 14, 1977)
sister, Shirley (1915 -?)
sister, Dorothy Lee (May 17, 1917 - July 8, 1918)
Height: 6'

Movies:
1948
The Boy with Green Hair (uncredited)
1949
Fighting Man of the Plains (playing Jesse James)
The Girl from Jones Beach (uncredited)
Flamingo Road (uncredited)
1950
Two Flags West
The Cariboo Trail
1951
Golden Girl
The Secret of Convict Lake (Narrator, uncredited)
Take Care of My Little Girl
Call Me Mister
1952
O. Henry's Full House (segment “The Clarion Call”)
Lure of the Wilderness (Narrator, uncredited)
Lydia Bailey
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
Return of the Texan
1953
City of Bad Men
Devil’s Canyon
The Farmer Takes a Wife
The Silver Whip
1954
Sitting Bull
The Gambler from Natchez
1955
Son of Sinbad
Top of the World
1956
High Terrace
Dakota Incident
A Day of Fury
1957
Hell Canyon Outlaws
1958
Fast and Sexy
1964
Blood on the Arrow
Law of the Lawless
1965
Coast of Skeletons
The Man from Button Willow (voice)
1966
The One Eyed Soldier
Scalplock (playing Benjamin Calhoun)
1970
Aru heishi no kake
East Connection
1974
Melvin Purvis G-MAN
1975
The Kansas City Massacre
1979
The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang
1993
Wind in the Wire

TV Shows:
About Faces
- Episode dated June 29, (1960)
American Horse and Horseman, regular Host
The Bob Hope Show
- Episode dated November 8 (1967)
The Celebrity Game
- Episode dated July 1, (1965)
Celebrity Golf
- Dale Robertson
Dallas (1982)
- Fringe Benefits
- The Ewing Touch
- Hit and Run
- Jock’s Will
- The Big Ball
The Dean Martin Show
- Episode #5.9 (Nov. 13, 1969)
Death Valley Days, host 1969 - 1970
- Tracy’s Triumph (1969)
- The King of the Uvalde Road (1970)
- The Biggest Little Post Office in the World
Diamond Jim Brady (unsold pilot)
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
- Episode #4.16 (January 17, 1960)
Dynasty, semi-regular season one (1981)
Climax! (1957)
- Circle of Destruction
Family Feud
- Country & Western Singers vs. TV & Film Cowboys (1984)
Fantasy Island (1979)
- Goose for the Gander/The Stuntman
Fare for Ladies ('56)
The Ford Television Theatre (1956)
- The Face
The George Burns Show
- Dale Robertson Guests (1958)
Harts of the West
- Home Alone (1994)
- Jake’s Brother (1993)
Hee Haw
- Episode #3.9 (1971)
- Episode #3.2 (1971)
Here's Hollywood
- Episode #2.83 (1961)
The Hollywood Palace
- Episode #4.7 (host, performer)(1966)
- Episode #2.27 (host)(1965)
  - Episode #1.19 (host) (1964)
- Episode #1.7 (host, performer) (1964)
The Hollywood Squares
- Episode #1.15 (1966)
- Episode #1.14 (1966)
- Episode #1.13 (1966)
- Episode #1.12 (1966)
- Episode #1.11 (1966)
Iron Horse, regular (1966 - 1968)
J.J. Starbuck, regular (16 episode show, 1987 - 1988)
The Joey Bishop Show (the talk show, not the sitcom)
- Episode #3.187 (1969)
- Episode #3.144 (1969)
- Episode #3.114 (1969)
- Episode #2.113 (1968)
- Episode #1.47 (1967)
The Johnny Cash Show
- Episode #1.7 (1969)
The Love Boat (1980)
- Target Gopher/The Major’s Wife/Strange Honeymoon/The Oilman Cometh
   The Match Game
- Episode #2.258 (1964)
- Episode #2.257 (1964)
- Episode #2.256 (1964)
- Episode #2.255 (1964)
- Phyllis Diller & Dale Robertson (1964)
Matt Houston (1982)
- X-22
The Mike Douglas Show
- Episode #17.201 (1979)
Murder, She Wrote
-Prediction: Murder (1989)
-The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel (1988)
The New Hollywood Squares
- Episode dated 26 October 1987 (1987)
Oklahoma Passage (TV Mini-Series)
- Episode 1 (host) (1989)
Operation: Entertainment
- Episode #2.16 (1969)
Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall
- Episode #11.5 (1958)
The Red Skelton Hour
- Two on the Isle (1968 (playing Robinson Crusoe))
The Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Show
- Western Hit Parade (1962)
Schlitz Playhouse (1956)
- A Tale of Wells Fargo (December 14, 1956)
- Flowers for Jenny (August 3, 1956)
The Six Million Dollar Man
- Little Orphan Airplane (1974)
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show
- 'Steve Allen Show' Continues from Hollywood (guest) (1958)
- Episode #3.12 (himself/Tales of Wells Fargo)(1957)
- Episode #2.35 (1957)
Studio 57 (1956)
- Mrs. Snyder (unconfirmed)
Tales of Wells Fargo, regular (1957 - 1962, 200 episodes)
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
- Episode dated 3 March 1960 (himself/performer) (1960)
That Regis Philbin Show
- Episode #1.82 (1965)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
- Episode dated 25 September 1987 (1987)
This Is Your Life
- Dale Robertson (1961)
The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1957)
- The Still Trumpet
Undercurrent (1957)
- The Face

Other film work:
1955
The Living Swamp (short documentary) host
The 27th Annual Academy Awards (TV Special), Audience Member
1967
First Annual All-Star Celebrity Baseball Game (TV Special)
1985
All-Star Party for 'Dutch' Reagan (TV Special)
1989
The 7th Annual Golden Boot Awards (TV Special)

Radio:
Hosted a radio program called "Little Known Facts," circa 1970s(?). Here is a book that is complied from some of the show's scripts.

Regular shows:

Tales of Wells Fargo (1957 - 1962 and lasting 200 episodes)

The first five seasons of Wells Fargo were half-hour, black and white episodes, featuring Dale Robertson as Jim Hardie, a troubleshooter for Wells Fargo. Along the way, Hardie runs into such criminals as Jesse James (season 1, episode 13), Belle Starr (season 2, episode 1), and Billy the Kid (season 2, episode 7), among others.
Then during the sixth -- and eventually the last season, the show changed to an hour long and color, and the storylines moved Hardie to a ranch near San Francisco and gave him five other regular charcters (actors Jack Ging, and William Demarest, actresses Virginia Christine, Mary Jane Saunders, and Lory Patrick).
With the new format, the show got a new time slot on the NBC network. This time, it played at the same time as the popular crime show Perry Mason. Between the competition and the actual changes in the show, the ratings dropped and the series ended, with 33 episodes in the final season.
Wells Fargo on DVD
Seasons One and Two
"Best of the First Five Seasons" 46 episodes
"Best of the Final Season in Color" 22 episodes

Iron Horse (Apr. 1966 -- Jan. 1968, 47 episodes)

Iron Horse was a series about the adventures of Bejamin Calhoun, the new owner of the BPS&D railroad. Dale Robertson's character won the finacially floundering Buffalo Pass, Scaplock & Defiance railroad in a poker game, and has to deal with deadlines, right-of-ways, Indians, out-of-line employees, and whatever else the West throws his way.
Iron Horse has yet to be released on DVD.

Death Valley Days

Death Valley Days is one of the longest running Western television shows, although still outdone by Gunsmoke ('55 - '75). This anthology series began early in 1952, and new episodes were filmed until 1970; after that, the episodes were put on reruns, sometimes billed as different shows, with new narration added to them.
Every episode was presented by Stanely Andrews until 1963, after which the show was presented by: Ronald Reagan (1964- '65); Rosemary DeCamp (1965); Robert Taylor (1966 - '69); and Dale Robertson (1969 - '70).
Aside from hosting, Dale also acted in three episodes of the show (see credits).


Dynasty

Dynasty was a soap opera that ran from 1981 to 1989, although Dale Robertson only appeared in the first season (1981), as semi-regular Walter Lankershim, a wildcatter who clashes with the series star John Forsythe. The character "Lankershim" appears in only eight episodes before he is killed off -- or so you find out in an episode in season six. Before that, there was no mention of why he no longer was around.
In reality, Robertson chose to leave the show because of its inappropriate content.

J.J. Starbuck (Sep. 1987 - Jun. 1988, 16 episodes)

  J.J. Starbuck was a short-lived crime show that met with criticism right from the start.
The show was about a billionare's life-changing revelation of what really matters in life, following the unexpected death of his wife and son. J.J. starts traveling around the country, using his financial influence -- among other things -- to help get people out of jams. He imparts plenty of homey wisdom along the way, which is the main thing that the critics disliked.
Robertson himself had qualms over the show, but not about the overdone-homilies. He had some hesitancies over J.J.'s car, a 1961 Lincoln Convertable . . . with a pair of steer horns attached to the front. But Robertson soon overcame his issues by inventing a backstory for himself, that explained why J.J. would drive such a car.
The show was pulled from the network after only sixteen episodes.

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Movie/TV credit information is taken from Internet Movie Database, unless otherwise noted, and is updated and corrected if needed.