THE WILD WILD WEST
BRUCE LANSBURY PRODUCTIONS
MICHAEL GARRISON PRODUCTIONS
COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM(CBS)
Information from IMDb
Plot Summary
James West and Artemus Gordon are two agents of President Grant
who take their splendidly appointed private train through the west to fight evil.
Half science fiction and half western, the Artemus designs a series
of interesting gadgets for James that would make Inspector Gadget proud.
A light hearted adventure series.
Written by John Vogel
Series Cast
Robert Conrad ... James T. West / ... (104 episodes, 1965-1969)
Ross Martin ... Artemus Gordon (99 episodes, 1965-1969)
Dick Cangey ... Henchman / ... (44 episodes, 1966-1969)
Whitey Hughes ... Henchman / ... (36 episodes, 1966-1969)
Red West ... Henchman / ... (30 episodes, 1967-1969)
Tommy J. Huff ... 4th Guard / ... (17 episodes, 1968-1969)
Fred Stromsoe ... Henchman / ... (14 episodes, 1966-1969)
Bob Herron ... Henchman / ... (14 episodes, 1965-1968)
Mickey Golden ... Butler / ... (14 episodes, 1965-1969)
Michael Dunn ... Dr. Miguelito Loveless (10 episodes, 1965-1968)
Douglas Henderson ... Col. James Richmond / ... (10 episodes, 1966-1969)
and many, many more ......notably Richard Kiel
Series Directed
Irving J. Moore (26 episodes, 1965-1969)
Alan Crosland Jr. (11 episodes, 1965-1968)
Marvin J. Chomsky (11 episodes, 1967-1969)
and many more......
Series Produced
Leonard Katzman .... associate producer (90 episodes, 1965-1969)
Bruce Lansbury .... producer (69 episodes, 1966-1969)
Michael Garrison .... producer / executive producer (23 episodes, 1965-1966)
Joe Kirby .... assistant producer (22 episodes, 1968-1969)
and many more......
Series Writing Credits
Michael Garrison (101 episodes, 1965-1969)
Henry Sharp (10 episodes, 1965-1968)
and many more....
Series Original Music
Richard Markowitz (29 episodes, 1965-1967)
Richard Shores (14 episodes, 1966-1969)
Jack Pleis (9 episodes, 1967-1969)
and more.....
Series Cinematography
Ted Voigtlander (55 episodes, 1965-1967)
Edward R. Plante (28 episodes, 1967-1969)
Richard L. Rawlings (19 episodes, 1967-1969)
Trivia
Charles Aidman was added to the cast to fill in while Ross Martin was recovering from a mild heart attack.
Rory Calhoun was originally cast to play Jim West.
Miguelito Loveless' middle name is Quixote.
Jim West's birthday is July 2, 1842. He was named after his father's brother.
Jim and Artie had two different trains. The first was a dark-paneled model used in the seasons the show was filmed in B&W. The second was a more functional model decorated in green and gold. It's this train, which houses the unique gadgets associated with the show, that most people remember.
Jim West was a captain in the army before he joined the Secret Service.
The series was ultimately canceled due to CBS being uncomfortable with the "excessive" violence of the series, rather than declining ratings.
Though Richard Markowitz wrote the theme, he wasn't credited for it on any episode of the series (or on the 1999 movie).
The name of Jim and Artemus's rail car was The Wanderer 1.
Miguelito means "little Michael".
did all his own "fight choreography", including the stunts, until he almost killed himself when one of them backfired.
Robert Conrad (5'8") wore 3" heels as Jim West and the CBS casting office had orders not to hire any women over 5'6" for the show.
Ross Martin read the script. Then he did a pen and ink drawing of the character he was going to play, down to the last detail, glasses, mustached, clothes, posture, shoes, etc. Then he brought sketch to make-up man Don Schoenfeld, and together they molded his face until it looked like the drawing.
The only episode whose title doesn't begin with "The Night..." is "Night of the Casual Killer."
The show was originally titled "The Wild West West" but was renamed when it was decided that The Wild Wild West sounded better.
Television shows of the era that filmed at the same studios often shared minor cast members. It is common to see familiar faces in episodes of Star Trek, Batman, Mission: Impossible and The Wild Wild West.
Three veterans of The Wild Wild West, stuntman Whitey Hughes, makeup artist Ken Chase and actor Richard Kiel, reminisce about the series and star Robert Conrad in the book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland & Co., 2010) by Tom Weaver.
All the action that took place inside the train was shot on a set in the studio. The "car" had removable walls so that the camera could maneuver. This is especially obvious when someone is coming in or going out since there is always a bush visible outside which blocks the interior of the sound stage. Even when the long shot shows a desert with nothing around the car the bush is still seen.
The opening credits as originally designed for the pilot (and included on
the season 1 DVD) show the animated cowboy knocking down the woman trying
to stab him. In the first season as aired, the cowboy kisses the woman, who
dreamily turns away instead of trying to stab him. Later episodes
reinstated the cowboy knocking the woman down.
Filming Locations
Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA
CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA
California, USA
Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA
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