Law of the Plainsman

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Law of the Plainsman TV Western Series
The Plainsman was a spin-off of the Rifleman. The February 17, 1959, episode of The Rifleman proved to be a spin-off for an NBC series, Law of the Plainsman starring Michael Ansara in the role of Marshal Sam Buckhart.

Law of The Plainsman aired on the NBC television network from October 1, 1959, until May 5, 1960. The character of Native American U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart was introduced in two episodes ("The Indian" and "The Raid") of the popular ABC Western television series The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain.

Law of The Plainsman is distinctive in that it was one of the few television programs that featured a Native American as the lead character. Ansara had earlier appeared in the series Broken Arrow, having portrayed the Apache chief, Cochise. Ansara, however, was not Native American but of Syrian descent.

Ansara played Sam Buckhart, an Apache Indian who saved the life of a U.S. Cavalry officer after an Indian ambush. When the officer died, he left Sam money that was used for an education at private schools and Harvard University. After school, he returned to New Mexico where he became a Deputy Marshal working for Marshal Andy Morrison, played by Dayton Lummis (1903-1988) and living in a boarding house run by Martha Commager, played by Nora Marlowe. The only other continuing cast member was 8-year old Tess Logan, played by Gina Gillespie, who was an orphan who had been rescued by Buckhart. Robert Harland, later of Target: The Corruptors! starred in seven episodes as Deputy Billy Lordan.

Guest stars

* Chris Alcaide appeared three times, including the role of Charlie Wolf in "Blood Trails" (1960).
* Scott Marlowe as Clancy Jones in the episode "The Show-Off"
* Tyler McVey as Marshal Penrose in "The Imposter"
* Robert F. Simon as Frank Keller in the episode "The Gibbet"

"The Westerners"

The series was produced by Four Star Television and was filmed at CBS Studio Center.

The show only lasted one season. For syndicated reruns it was grouped with three other short-lived Western series from the same company, Black Saddle starring Peter Breck, Johnny Ringo starring Don Durant and Sam Peckinpah's critically acclaimed creation, The Westerner starring Brian Keith, under the umbrella title The Westerners, with new introductions and wrap-ups by Keenan Wynn.