Will Hutchins, Star of ABC’s ‘Sugarfoot,’ Dies at 94
In 1958 and ’59, eight of the top 10 shows on TV were westerns. The best known included “Cheyenne” and “Maverick.” Mr. Hutchins was part of the stampede: “Sugarfoot” premiered on ABC in 1957 and ran for four seasons.
I loved those TV westerns when I was about 9 or 10: Cheyenne, Wyatt Earp, Maverick, Bat Masterson, Yancy Derringer, Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide, Jim Bowie, The Restless Gun, The Rebel, Trackdown, Texas John Slaughter, Jim Bowie, Broken Arrow, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Bronco, The Deputy, Sugarfoot. They even had a few on Saturday morning amid the cartoons – Tales of Texas Rangers and the Lone Ranger (which had been around forever) come immediately to mind.
Many big stars appeared in those shows. Henry Fonda was already a star when he donned the spurs and badge to play a marshal in The Deputy, which was quite a casting coup for that show, but the era was mostly noteworthy for the future TV and movie stars it launched. Jim Garner was one of the Maverick brothers and Roger Moore was his English cousin. Steve McQueen was a bounty hunter in Wanted: Dead or Alive. Clint Eastwood played a major character on Rawhide. Tom Tryon was Texas John Slaughter. Robert Culp starred in Trackdown.
For some reason I never got into the really successful shows like Wagon Train, Gunsmoke and Bonanza. They seemed like shows for old people. But I remember all of the ones I listed above, and can still sing the theme songs, although I can’t explain how I could have had enough free time to watch so many.
Sugarfoot was one of my top five favorites because it had a lighter tone than most, and the affable character portrayed by Will Hutchins was original, sometimes funny, and far more charming than the steely-eyed tough-guy heroes.
Hutchins is not the last man standing. Some of the other cowboy stars from the late 50s are still alive. You all know Clint Eastwood, of course. The other I can immediately recall is Robert Fuller, who starred in Laramie after having guested in several of the shows mentioned above.
Lawman, Hotel De Paree, Johnny Ringo come right to mind. “Ringo, Johnny Ringo, the fastest gun in all the West, the quickest ever known.” Tales of Texas Rangers” lead characters were Jace Pearson and Clay Morgan; it was on at 8:30AM on Saturdays, the 8AM show was “Whirlytbirds.” Was Yancy Derringer a western? Loved that belt buckle.
Yeah, I’d call Yancy a Western.
I never saw Hotel de Paree.
I forgot The Lawman – another great theme song.
I only saw the opening credits for Johnny Ringo – never watched the show. It only lasted one season. When I’d turn Ringo on, my grandparents always wanted to switch to The Real McCoys, which kinda sucked, in the eyes of a ten-year-old boy. The only thing I can remember, besides the song, is that Ringo had some kind of trick gun that fired six regular bullets and one special shotgun shell out of a second barrel.
My dad always pointed out that the show made no sense, since the real Johnny Ringo was a murderin’ scumbag, but the show made him heroic.
Your description of the revolver sounds like a LeMat, a French design. The axle around with the cylinder revolver was itself a small gauge shotgun barrel. They were popular for a while in the 1860’s, and the Confederates imported a number of them.
This will tell you more about them than you could possibly want to know, but there are some pictures, too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeMat_Revolver
It was the same general concept as a LeMat, but was a seven-shooter.
(The LeMat was a ten shooter.)
I’ve never heard of it or him, and that’s a surprise.
WESTERN MOVIES
THE OLYMPICS
To save my soul I can’t get a date,
Baby’s got it tuned on channel eight.
Now Wyatt Earp and the Big Cheyenne
They’re comin’ thru the T.V. shootin up the land.
Ah… um… my baby loves the Western movies.
My baby loves the Western movies,
Bam, bam, shoot ’em up Pow.
Ah.um.My babe loves the Western Movies.
I call my baby on the telephone
To tell her half my head was gone
I just got hit by a great big brick
She says thanks for reminding me about that Maverick
Ah.um… my baby loves the Western movies.
My baby loves the Western movies,
Bam, bam, shoot em up pow.
Ah… um…
My baby loves the Western movies.
Well there’s Jeremy Roller and Old Cochise
Jim Hardy, Jim Bowie and Sugarfoot.
They all have gun will travel
Give me back my boots and saddle uh huh.
Here’s the story of the certain Wagon Train Mccord
A broken arrow has broken my heart.
A Jefferson Thomas with Bat Masterson
Unties my baby and the fight was won.
Ah.um… my baby loves the Western movies.
My baby loves the western movies.
Bam bam shoot em up pow.
Ah um, my baby loves the western movies
Bret Maverick was my favorite TV character until Mrs. Peel came along. No topping her.
And at first I thought you were talking about the singer for the Ohio Players, but he died about a decade ago.
Grit TV (all western channel) shows most of these programs. MeTV and H&I also have daily blocks of time for westerns. I don’t think Sugarfoot has been shown yet. I never knew “Tales of Wells Fargo” had so many episodes. Charles Bronson was in many of these shows but instead of a western had the “Man With a Camera” series. Bruce Dern, though not the star, appeared in a lot of these shows and is still working. Shatner landed a few roles. Ditto Angie Dickinson. The 30 minute “Gunsmoke” episodes are among my favorites. And I think today is the first I’ve ever heard of “Hotel de Paree”