Riding off into the sunset again

Something I read recently struck me as funny and brought a line from an old Western movie to mind.

“Shane, come back!” I said, laughing.

Looking over at the younger person I was talking to, I realized he had no idea what I was talking about, and he readily admitted it. “But it’s a classic,” I said of “Shane.”

Oh, well. I guess you just have to be of a certain age, or really into a particular genre, to close that generation gap.

There was a time when Western movies proliferated, and television shows as well. In the 1950s and part of the 1960s, it seemed there was a Western on every night, or maybe two or three, which was about equal to the number of channels we had.

The nostalgia antenna being up, I thought I’d offer readers a chance to see how well they can match the Western television series with the star:

1. “Bonanza”

2. “Branded”

3. “Maverick”

4. “Cheyenne”

5. “Gunsmoke”

6. “Rawhide”

7. “The Rebel”

8. “The Rifleman”

9. “The Virginian”

10. “Wagon Train”

11. “Gunslinger”

12. “Sugarfoot”

13. “Have Gun — Will Travel”

14. “The Tall Man”

15. “Hotel de Paree” /“Sundance”/“The Sundance Kid”

16. “The Big Valley”

17. “Bat Masterson”

A. Richard Boone

B. James Arness

C. Gene Barry

D. Barbara Stanwyck

E. Michael Landon

F. Chuck Connors

G. Clint Walker

H. James Garner

I. Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood

J. Nick Adams

K. Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford

L. Earl Holliman

M. Will Hutchins

N. Ward Bond

O. James Drury

P. Tony Young

Q. Barry Sullivan and Clu Gulager

Answers: 1 – E, 2 – F, 3 – H, 4 – G, 5 – B, 6 – I, 7 – J, 8 – K, 9 – O, 10 – N, 11 – P, 12 – M, 13 – A, 14 – Q, 15 – L, 16 – D, 17 – C.

I’ll explain the multiple names on No. 17. I remembered the show and the character as “The Sundance Kid,” but various Web sites and bloggers say the show was “Hotel de Paree” and the character was plain old “Sundance.” I also thought Sundance wore a hat with a hatband made of small mirrors. Not so, say some of the bloggers. The hatband was made of silver “objects” or silver dollars, depending on which blogger you read.

Whatever they were, they reflected the light. Reference was made to that trick being used to thwart bad guys. I remember that they reflected. I seem to recall that a clip of Sundance in his hat would be shown as a lead-in to a Rise shaving cream commercial. The light would glint, then the shaving cream can would appear. I would like to find at least one person who remembers that commercial. If it’s you, please call or write.

You’ll make my day.
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Persinger is community editor for The Tribune. She may be reached at (812) 523-7063 or jpersinger@tribtown.com.