Maverick

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As my old pappy used to say, work is fine for killin' time, but it's a shaky way to make a living.

~ James Garner (Bret Maverick)

The studio wanted Jack Kelly, Roger Moore, and Robert Colbert to appear together, but Moore had left the series by the time Colbert filmed his first episode.

Maverick

September 22, 1957

July 8, 1962

Maverick told the story of the Maverick brothers, Bret and Bart, card sharks who lived during the Old West era.

The show was originally a straightforward adventure tale, but it evolved when the writers began adding comedy to the scripts. Bret quickly became the television western's first quasi-mercenary, a character who would help the forces of justice, but usually only if he stood to profit from doing so. When he resorted to gunfire, he wasn't the West's finest marksman. In fact, he was much more likely to outsmart his opponent or slip out the back door once trouble began.

The writers also added a foil for Bret - his brother Bart. Bart was more conservative than the devilish Bret, but just as unlikely to join any fight that could be avoided. The two characters began alternating as leads on the show as they journeyed through small towns with odd names like Oblivion and Apocalypse.

Along the way, they associated with fellow card sharks like Dandy Jim Buckley and Gentleman Jack Darby. There was also Samantha Crawford, a lovely female rogue who loved to challenge the Maverick brothers to see who could out-con the other. All these elements helped make Maverick a television western that stood apart from the crowd.

Audiences responded to the mix of traditional Western adventure and good-natured humor, making the show an instant hit. Bret Maverick, in particular, became a hero for many armchair cowboys. As a result, the writers began to play up the comedy elements even more, expanding the storylines to satirize other prime time programming.

Maverick lampooned everything from Gunsmoke to Dragnet. The show would also use actors known for other roles, like Edd "Kookie" Byrnes from 77 Sunset Strip, for cameo roles designed to make viewers' heads turn.

Maverick continued to enjoy solid ratings through the end of the 1950's, but hit a snag in 1960 when James Garner (Bret) left the program over a contract dispute. To replace him, the producers introduced a new Maverick cousin, Beau. Beau had been sent to London for disgracing the family name during the Civil War (by winning a medal). Beau was played by Roger Moore, who would later move on to greater fame as James Bond.

The show briefly added another brother, Brent, played by Robert Colbert, before finally ending its run in the summer of 1962. Since then, Maverick has continued to be a popular member of the cult television pantheon - even today, it is a favorite syndication.

Its enduring status as a beloved show led to two short-lived follow-up series, Young Maverick and Bret Maverick. There was also a 1994 movie version of Maverick which featured James Garner alongside Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster. The follow-ups proved that the magical Maverick mixture of laughter and tumbleweeds was an enduring, age defying source of great family entertainment.

James

Garner

Jack

Kelly

James Garner claimed that during filming one day they had less than an hour until overtime would have to be paid, but they still needed to shoot a complicated fight scene. Spying a group of tall weeds, he suggested that he throw his opponent into the weeds and have the fight proceed with much shaking of the weeds, and people being ejected from the weeds, only to immediately run back in. The results were extremely funny, and thus the cast and crew began to look for "funny" ways to cut corners, turning the show into a semi-comedy.

Series creator Roy Huggins never received on-screen credit for this show. In the 1950s Warner Bros. wanted to avoid paying royalties to creators and wanted all television projects to be based on properties held by the studio. The "pilot" episode was based on a Warners-held book, "War of the Copper Kings"; Huggins' script became episode 1.2. Huggins wouldn't get credit until Maverick (1994), the film version with Mel Gibson.

In 1960, James Garner sued the Warner Brothers studio for breach of contract, arising from his suspension during the writers' strike of that year. Warner claimed that there were no scripts available during the strike, and were, therefore justified in suspending Garner without pay. However, it was learned during court testimony that the studio had secretly obtained approximately 100 television scripts during the strike. Eventually, the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled in favor of Garner, and he was released from his contract with the series.

Producer Roy Huggins stated the writers' guiding principle for the Maverick series was his belief that, "In the traditional Western, the situation was always serious but never hopeless. In a 'Maverick' story, the situation is always hopeless but never serious."

Jack Kelly's role as Bart Maverick was originally supposed to be just a one shot deal. However, the producers saw the great chemistry that he had with James Garner, and decided to keep him as a regular.

Jack Kelly was the only Maverick star to appear in all five seasons of the series.

By adding the Bart Maverick character (and later cousin Beau and brother Brent) this allowed for more episodes of the show to be filmed each season.

During season one, Bret competes in a boxing match, and uses the "rope-a-dope" strategy (letting the other fighter tire himself out and them coming back to beat him), several years before Muhammad Ali made it famous.

Even though Bret was older than Bart, Jack Kelly was nearly seventh months older than James Garner.

In addition to making regular appearances as Big Mike McComb, Leo Gordon, also wrote several episodes of the series.

Roger Moore left the series after his contract ended. However, there were still episodes left to filmed for season four. So the producers cast Robert Colbert as the youngest Maverick brother Brent.

During the first season, James Garner filmed several vignettes that aired at the beginning of the Jack Kelly only episodes, where he would introduce the evening's story. This was done in order to get viewers used to the idea of a second Maverick.

Roger Moore left the series over what he felt was a decline in script quality. Moore said that if the scripts would have been like the Garner scripts from the earlier seasons, he would have been glad to stay.

Sean Connery was originally offered the role of Beau Maverick, but turned it down. As a sign of things to come, Roger Moore would once again replace Connery years later in the James Bond franchise.

During the fifth season, the studio would alternate with new episodes featuring Jack Kelly, and re-runs featuring James Garner. The introduction was also changed to give Kelly the top billing since Garner had been long gone from the series by then.

On April 21, 2006, a ten foot tall statue of James Garner as Bret Maverick was unveiled in Garner's hometown of Norman, Oklahoma. Garner was on hand for the festivities.

The producers cast Robert Colbert as Brent Maverick due to having a similar look to James Garner, and they even ordered him to wear a costume identical to that worn by Garner. Because of the obvious comparisons this would bring, Colbert told them, "Put me in a dress and call me Brenda, but don't do this to me!"

Diane Brewster originated the role of Samantha Crawford on "Cheyenne" (1955).