Posts from ethanedwards in thread „The Big Valley (1965-1969)“

Quote from may2

They are making a movie of the old TV show,

May, thank you for the update

Quote from Gorch

I always thought that the Valley theme was similar in style to Bernstein's. It was interesting to note that he did score for the series, but I'm pretty sure he didn't write the theme fo it.
We deal in lead,friend.

It seems that it was George Duning who besides scoring episodes
also wrote the main theme.
George Duning

Quote from dukefan1

And don't forget Charles Bronson. He did an episode where he was trapped in a mine after an earthquake with Victoria Barkley.

Stangely Mark, IMDb didn't list anyone with just one appearance ,
bur I have now included the Wikipedia guest list into the opening thread.

The Big Valley is an American western television series which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969.
The show stars Barbara Stanwyck, as the widow of a wealthy nineteenth century California rancher.
It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman, and produced by Levy-Gardner-Laven for Four Star Television.

This hugely successful series, was a joy to watch.
It was well cast, well directed and had great music,
scored by some of the finest.
Linda Evans, apart from being just stunning, was superb.
Barbara Stanwyck so credible as a 'female' Ben Cartwright!
Richard Long, Peter Breck, and Lee Majors
who was to go on to even bigger things
were all credible in their parts.

Quote

Boy Howdy!!, 12 February 2003
Author: heathnick69
I am really greatly relieved knowing that I am not alone in being
a huge fan of this great series!!
There was just something about this show as a whole which really appealed to me
- in a big way. I loved all the Barkley characters.
Victoria was played to perfection by Stanwyck.
The widow Barkley was a curious but convincing mixture
of gracious elegance and guts:
her Victoria Barkley is practically a cult figure
of female characters of the Western genre.
Richard Long was genuinely likeable as the level-headed eldest son,
Jarrod, who provided a nice balance between the tough,
egotistical Nick and the more sensitive half-brother Heath.
Linda Evans was astonishingly beautiful as Audra
(she alone kept many male baby boomers tuned in!).
But there was so much else "right" with this show
- artificial though it may have looked to those critical of Stanwyck
being "Ben Cartwright in a skirt"
. The storylines were well-written & original and the shows
were well-directed and well-acted.
Most every episode was colourful, tasteful, upright & moral
- but rarely dull, somehow: there was a larger-than-life quality to the series
which appealed to its particular fans: the colour is beautiful to look at,
and the score by George Duning is beautiful to hear.
The series boasted many interesting guest stars:
Julie Harris, Cloris Leachman, Colleen Dewhurst among many others.
An embarrassing confession: as a kid, Heath Barkley was my sole hero:
I thought Lee Major's playing of the half-breed illegitimate son of Tom Barkley
was really inspired.
Majors made Heath a really likeable character.
Although Majors did many more successful TV roles, i
t is for his playing of Heath Barkley that I most fondly identify him with to this day.

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INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Plot Summary
Victoria Barkley heads her adult brood on the Barkley Ranch
in California's San Joaquin Valley, near Stockton, in the 1870s.
Heath is the illegitimate son of Victoria's husband Tom
(who is dead at the time of the series).
Bank robbers, horse thieves, revolutionaries and land grabbers keep the Barkley's hopping.
Written by Ed Stephan

Series Cast
Richard Long ... Jarrod Barkley (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
Peter Breck ... Nick Barkley (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
Lee Majors ... Heath Barkley (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
Linda Evans ... Audra Barkley (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
Barbara Stanwyck ... Victoria Barkley (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
Napoleon Whiting ... Silas (36 episodes, 1965-1969)
Douglas Kennedy ... Sheriff Fred Madden / ... (23 episodes, 1965-1969)
Harlan Warde ... Arthur Kleeber / ... (11 episodes, 1965-1969)
Paul Sorensen ... Blacksmith / ... (11 episodes, 1965-1969)
Harry Swoger ... Bartender / ... (10 episodes, 1965-1969)

and others including some of Duke's 'Pals'
Coleen Dewhurst, Bruce Dern,
Karl Swenson, Paul Fix,
William Fawcett, Strother Martin,
Chuck Roberson, John Carradine,
Ron Howard, Dennis Hopper,
Katharine Ross, George Kennedy,
Dub Taylor

The Big Valley was well-known
for the showing of many guest stars.
Among others:
* Julie Adams* Jack Albertson
* Claude Akins * Chris Alcaide
* John Anderson * Richard Anderson
* R. G. Armstrong * Lew Ayres
* Diane Baker * Joe Don Baker
* Anne Baxter * Milton Berle
* Charles Bronson * Michael Burns
* Conlan Carter * Kelly Corcoran
* Noreen Corcora * Dennis Cross
* Royal Dano * Bradford Dillman
* Richard Dreyfuss * Maurice Evans
* Harold Gould * Robert Goulet
* Lee Grant * James Gregory
* Steve Ihnat * Russell Johnson
* I. Stanford Jolley * L.Q. Jones
* Robert Karnes * Martin Landau
* Cloris Leachman * Flip Mark
* Read Morgan * Leslie Nielsen
* Kathleen Nolan * Warren Oates
* Susan Oliver * Gregg Palmer
* Regis Philbin * John M. Pickard
* Stephanie Powers * Lou Rawls
* Wayne Rogers * Jill St. John
* William Shatner * Susan Strasberg
* Adam West * Robert Walker Jr.
* James Whitmore * Morgan Woodward
* Anthony Zerbe

Series Directed
Virgil W. Vogel (48 episodes, 1965-1969)
Bernard McEveety (11 episodes, 1965-1968)
and many others..

Series Produced
Arthur Gardner .... producer / executive producer (112 episodes)
Arnold Laven .... producer / executive producer (112 episodes)
Jules V. Levy .... producer / executive producer (112 episodes)
Lou Morheim .... associate producer / producer (112 episodes)

Series Writing Credits
A.I. Bezzerides (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
Louis F. Edelman (112 episodes, 1965-1969)
and many others...

Series Original Music
Lalo Schifrin (26 episodes, 1968-1969)
Elmer Bernstein (24 episodes, 1967-1968)
George Duning (21 episodes, 1965-1967)
and others...

Filming Locations
CBS Studio Center - Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA
Golden Oak Ranch - 19802 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, California, USA
Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
Sonora, California, USA
Thousand Oaks, California, USA
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park -Agua Dulce, California, USA