Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 8, 1994 TAG: 9410150016
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SUSAN KING LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: HOLLYWOOD LENGTH: Medium
``The High Chaparral'' premiered Sept. 19, 1967, on NBC. In the late 1960s, westerns were on the wane, and ``High Chaparral'' was one of the last sagebrush series of that decade. High Chaparral was the name of the ranch owned and operated by the fictitious Cannon family, who lived in the Arizona territory, circa 1870.
Veteran character actor Leif Erickson, who was once briefly married to troubled 1930s movie star Frances Farmer, played Cannon patriarch Big John Cannon, a stubborn, powerful man whose aim was to establish a cattle empire in the territory. Cameron Mitchell played John's wild brother Buck, who loved the ladies, loved to drink and loved to shoot 'em up.
Blond, blue-eyed Mark Slade, a teen heartthrob, was John's son, Billy Blue, whose mother was killed by an Apache arrow in the first episode. Linda Cristal played John's second wife, Victoria, the daughter of the wealthy cattle baron Don Sebastian Montoya (Frank Silvera). Victoria's dashing brother Manolito (Henry Darrow) accompanied her to the ranch and stayed on as a permanent member.
Don Collier also was featured as the foreman Sam; Ted Markland, Roberto Contreras and Robert Hoy were the ranch hands Reno, Pedro and Joe.
Despite good performances and story lines dealing with racial issues, ``High Chaparral'' did not crack the top 25 shows during its four-season run on NBC. Several cast changes occurred during its last season: Billy Blue rode off into the sunset, and when Silvera died, so did his character. Rudy Ramos joined the cast as Wind, a young man of white and American Indian heritage, who became part of the Cannon household. The series, though, was gone with the wind on Sept. 10, 1971.
by CNB