LARAMIE
Jess Harper and Slim Sherman run a staging post deep in the heart of the West. These two law-abiding cowboys find they have plenty of excitement and trouble to deal with. We see how they cope in the stirring western series in BBC-TV�s Laramie, which has been shown on our screens for the past five years [sic].
In that time there have been changes and new faces, but the stars, Robert Fuller as Jess and John Smith as Slim, have stayed with us and have built up a large fan following all over the world.
The first major change was the introduction of two new characters, Daisy Cooper, a widow in her sixties and stranded in Wyoming. She goes to work for Smith and Fuller as their housekeeper. Playing this role is a Hollywood favourite, Spring Byington.
We were also introduced to young Mike Williams, played by 13-year-old Dennis Holmes. Mike is a lad orphaned when Indians murdered both his parents. Slim and Jess decide to �adopt� him.
The four characters have remained together now for nearly four years.[sic]
The stories which the series tell concern the many passengers who visit the Sherman ranch and station run by Slim Sherman. All kinds of different characters have stayed there; some have given Slim and Jess plenty of trouble.
The tougher of the two undoubtedly is Jess, a former gunslinger and drifter who decided it is time to settle down on the right side of the law.
Jess is a real �mean� character. A fighter by nature, a man who won�t be dominated, a man who is feared by those who take the law into their own hands, he is the typical western hero.
Slim is the quieter of the two, but nearly as tough and rugged as his partner. Together they make a formidable team against those who pit their wits and guns against them.
Off-screen, Robert Fuller and John Smith are just as big buddies as they are on screen.
�There is always friendly rivalry going on between us,� smiles Robert. �You see, some people think we�re always fighting to be more popular than the other guy. Of course we�re not, but we pretend to. Some days I say to John, �How many fan letters did you get today, buddy?� Then he�ll tell me, and I�d tell him I got more. Other days he�d ask me first and when I�ve told him he says that he got more than I did. But he gets a little sore--in fun of course- when I keep on telling him that I�ve got the better part because the man with a bad past, as Jess has, fascinates people more than a goodie.�
John and Robert spend most of their lives in western costume, so it�s not surprising that the west has dominated their lives today.
Both own ranch-houses. Robert built himself a luxurious ranch-style house in the fashionable area of North Hollywood. John lives with hid wife, Luana Patten, in their specially built ranch-style home in the Hollywood Hills.
Robert�s main spare time interest is guns, he collects them as a hobby. He confesses to be quite an expert in the art of gunplay. �I�m pretty fast on the draw,� he smiles. What about horses? �No sir,� he says. �I prefer to travel in comfort when I�m not working in front of the cameras.� He owns a sports car.
Does he like playing cowboy parts?
�You bet I do,� he says. �They keep me fit. Yes, sir; I�d be happy to play a cowboy for the rest of my life. Mind you, I wouldn�t mind playing a modern-day role for a change. I am an actor, not a cowboy, you know!�
What about partner John Smith?
�Westerns? I love �em. Ever since I was a kid I�ve been crazy about the wild west. You know, I was making a film in a western series called Cimarron City a few years back. In that I played a young go-ahead deputy sheriff. I�m supposed to rescue a girl who�d been kidnapped by a gang. They eventually lash her to a log. But, as you know, something went wrong with my plans and I got lashed to the log alongside the girl.�
�And what happened to the girl?�
�I married her. You see, the girl who played the part was Luana Patten, It was the first time we�d ever met. Imagine the situation. Wonder how many other guys have met their bride- to-be lashed to a log.�
John and Luana�s marriage, just over three years ago, has proved to be most successful.
Robert Fuller is a bachelor boy and one of the most eligible around town. Before being signed for the Laramie series his career as an actor had not been too successful. With small parts in Wagon Train and Wyatt Earp, he was beginning to wonder whether he would ever hit the jackpot. His biggest part, thanks to his long sideburns, came in a picture called Friendly Persuasion. He started the film with only a tiny role, but the director of the film gave him a bigger part because he thought his sideburns looked so real.
�They brought me luck; that�s why I�ve never shaved them off,� Robert says today.
Laramie is a top show today, thanks to Robert Fuller and John Smith.
