Laramie – A Fine Television Western

by Guy Belleranti


One of my favorite westerns on television when I was a boy had to be Laramie.

The hour long program ran on NBC for four seasons from 1959 to 1963 with 124 episodes being produced. For the first two seasons Laramie was in black and white. Then it switched over to color, becoming one of the first series featuring the color NBC Peacock logo.

The program was set in the 1870’s Wyoming territory. As the series starts Slim Sherman (played by John Smith) and his 14-year-old brother, Andy (played by Robert “Bobby” Crawford), are working the family ranch after their father has been killed by a land-grabber. The ranch isn’t doing well, so they are also using the ranch as a stagecoach relay station for the Grand Central Overland Mail to earn extra income. Also living on the ranch is old family friend, Jonesy (played by actor, musician, composer Hoagy Carmichael).

Into the first episode rides drifter Jess Harper (played by Robert Fuller). A man with a fast gun and a dark and mysterious past, Jess really impresses Andy, who wishes for more adventure than older brother Slim allows. Slim doesn’t take too kindly to Jess at first, but by the end of the first episode Jess has come to Slim’s aid against some outlaws and the two start a friendship. Jess also agrees to stay on at the Sherman ranch.

We learn more about Jess and Slim as future episodes unfold. Some episodes focus more on Jess, others more on Slim. While Andy and Jonesy are also prevalent in the first season, with the second season they disappeared. Jonesy, however, did appear in an episode in the fourth and final season.

Stuart Randall as Sheriff Mort Corey joined the series as a semi regular in 1960.

Then, a year later with the coming of the third season, two new regular characters were incorporated into the program. One was an orphan boy named Mike Williams (played by Dennis Holmes). The other was the well-known and talented Spring Byington who as Miss Daisy Cooper became ranch cook and housekeeper.

Laramie was a fine family-oriented western, Yes, it had its share of gunfights and fistfights, but it also accentuated good values and the importance of family and friendship. And the theme music was top notch.

A number of well known movie and television veterans appeared as guest stars including Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Ernest Borgnine, Dan Duryea, Cloris Leachman, Nanette Fabray, Harry Carey Jr, Ben Johnson, Claude Atkins, Julie London and Gena Rowlands.

Robert Fuller, the show’s hunk, went on to star as Copper Smith in Wagon Train and as Kelly Bracket on Emergency. He also appeared in several movies, and guest starred on some television series.

Bobby Crawford (brother of The Rifleman’s Johnny Crawford, by the way) acted in other projects and then worked behind the camera. John Smith appeared in a few motion pictures and as a guest star in a number of television programs.

Spring Byington and Hoagy Carmichael were both nearer the end of their careers, though Spring Byington did appear in several television programs before passing away in 1971. Carmichael also guest starred in several programs, and he also continued his music. And in 1971 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.


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