Stoney Burke

Theoretically I have little interest in a show about a stoic, pure, gentlemanly rodeo cowboy, but this show was beautifully done in all departments. Ambitious executive producer Leslie Stevens really showed greatness in his first TV series.

Jack Lord never gave a better, more heart-felt performance than as Stoney Burke, but Warren Oates almost stole the show as his shifty but lovable best friend Ves Painter. Jack Lord played Stoney as quietly noble, while Warren Oates played Ves as the opposite of quietly noble. They made a great team. Bruce Dern was also memorable as another of Stoney's friends. Three superb actors.

Dominic Frontiere's rousing theme music was impossible not to respond to.

Conrad Hall's black and white photography was stunningly beautiful, turning "Stoney Burke" into a moody noir rodeo drama.

Leslie Stevens created another superb series the next year with "The Outer Limits". Sadly, Stevens shows weren't business successes, and his production company Daystar went out of business. From then on, Stevens was a hired gun (mostly at Universal), and his work was never again as striking.

I wish ABC had given "The Fugitive" to Leslie Stevens to produce, rather than to his fellow independent producer Quinn Martin. Stevens was much more creatively ambitious than Martin, if not as astute a business man. Leslie Stevens did two of televisions' greatest, most original noirs: "Stoney Burke" and "The Outer Limits". Stevens would have been a perfect fit for "The Fugitive". Conrad Hall's black and white photography was made for "The Fugitive" as was the great directing of Gerd Oswald and Byron Haskin on "The Outer Limits". Stevens' touch could have made a fine series even better, although you have to wonder who he would have cast in the lead.

I never though Jack Lord was a great actor yet as Stoney Burke was fortunate enough to be cast as the lead in a show that, for me, stood apart from the average show at the time. It had depth and Lord was never better although Hawaii 5-0 became an all time favorite it was not even close to being as great as Stoney Burke. I'm a fan of great actors, not stars and gossip and it was about this time in my life that I discovered an actor by the name of Warren Oates. He was better than Lord although Lord was a perfect example of great casting. He was exactly right for this modern day western. Bruce Dern, another favorite of mine, had good screen time here. There are so many DVD releases but here is a classic that should be available so people could appreciate great acting of the aforementioned actors plus an amazing array of guest stars. This show is a true gem as many others have written. It should not be a forgotten part of TV history. You can find some of the greatest acting in shows like this as well as Naked City, Route 66 (most underrated show ever), Death Valley Days, The Rifleman, Johnny Staccato, Slattery's People as well as the classics like Gunsmoke and Perry Mason. I've been watching some old TV recently. Today I'm exploring another sadly under appreciated actor, Vic Morrow, in Combat which was another great series. Someone, please release a pristine set of Stoney Burke DVDs.

I jumped the gun. Recently purchased complete Stoney Burke series. I had forgotten it was only one season!

Six years before the role of Steve McGarrett made him a household name on "Hawaii Five-O",actor Jack Lord starred in this critically acclaimed short-lived series about the life of a modern day rodeo rider who competes for the Golden Buckle,the award given to the world champion saddle bronc rider titled "Stoney Burke" that was produced by the multi-talented writer,producer,director Leslie Stevens under his production company Daystar Productions(United Artists Television)that produced an astounding 32 episodes(all in classic black and white) that was on ABC-TV from October 1,1962 until the final episode on May 20,1963. The series aired on the network's Monday night schedule where it ran opposite "The Lucy Show",and "Saints and Sinners" which by the way didn't improve things in the Nielsens,but "Stoney Burke" was the show that replaced "Surfside Six" after more than 2 seasons. This series was especially good but with Leslie Stevens at the helm this was technically about as good as television got in the early-1960's. The quality of this series lies in it's production values,thanks to producer-writer-director Leslie Stevens who made this one of the more intelligent "modern" westerns ever committed to television. This series launched the careers of Warren Oates(Ves Painter),and Bruce Dern(E.J. Stocker)who would go on to bigger and better things in their careers because of this series. Out of the 32 episodes that this series produced,"Stoney Burke" brought along interesting guest directors(like Tom Gries and Gerard Oswald)made contributions to some of the episodes along with superb writing that was essential to the stories presented along with the best acting cast ever assembled. But what made this show stand out was it's beautiful stunning black and white photography coming from up and coming photography directors who would go on to become big time Hollywood heavyweights...from Conrad Hall to Ted McCord,Joesph MacDonald,and Haskell Wexler. Jack Lord gives a stunning performance as the title character,but Warren Oates steals the show as his shifty but resourceful best friend Ves Painter. While Lord and Oates make a great team,Bruce Dern also gives a memorable performance as Stoney's trusty sidekick E.J. Stocker....all given by three superb actors in the roles of their careers.

What also made this show stand out were some of the guest stars that made the show a noir classic...top notch actors ranging from Ina Balin to Robert Duvall, James Coburn, Scott Marlowe, Sally Kellerman, to Charles Bronson, Burgress Meredith, James Mason, Jack Elam, Dub Taylor, Michael Pollard, Diane Baker, to Dyan Cannon just to name a few. After 32 episodes the show was canceled due to low ratings with the final episode of the series that aired on May 20,1963. After the success of "Stoney Burke",Leslie Stevens created the following year an anthology science fiction series that would become one of ABC's biggest hits of the early-1960's "The Outer Limits"...the phenomenal success of that series lasted two seasons before it was gone by mid-1965. After the success of "The Outer Limits",Stevens tried his hand an another TV-series and it wasn't as successful and by 1966 Daystar Productions went out of business. From then on,Stevens was a hired gun at Universal where he produced and directed several shows,among them was "The Name Of The Game"

If ABC had given "Stoney Burke" a chance it would have been around much longer which would have blossomed into a full run series....imagine if "Stoney Burke" stayed around to make the transition to color during it's second season which never happened.....Imagine if ABC have given Leslie Stevens the chance to produce "The Fugitive" rather than independent producer Quinn Martin or better yet imagine if Leslie Stevens was given the chance to helm "Star trek" at NBC instead of Gene Roddenberry...but that never happened. During the early-1960's Stevens did two of television's greatest most original noirs...the modern day western "Stoney Burke",and the science fiction anthology "The Outer Limits"...who knows what the outcome would have been since Stevens put a touch that could have been even better,much less given it a longer stay.

Before Jack Lord went to Hawaii and told Danno to "book 'em" he starred in a short lived television series about a modern saddle bronco rider named Stoney Burke. Western fans please note the closeness in the name of that Three Mesquiteers character Stoney Brooke that John Wayne among others played on the big screen.

Two shows went on television about the rodeo circuit Stoney Burke and The Wide Country. Sad to say that both failed to find an audience in an increasingly urban viewing audience.

That is sad because the rodeo itself is drama and any number of decent stories were created with that background in this series. The characters too were a likable bunch. Having been a PBR fan and having met some real bullriders I can attest that most are definitely a likable people.

Jack Lord was just such in this series. But he had a quest for the championship Golden Buckle in his chosen event to be given in Las Vegas. Just like the PBR today has its finals there. It was the Holy Grail Of Saddle Bronco Riding.

Stoney Burke had the usual collection of peers cast like Bob Dowdell of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea and a rising Warren Oates who would soon be pretty much on the big screen. Oates played a character named Ves Painter who was quite an operator. It was the first real notice that Oates got.

Both Lord and Oates had really good careers and Stoney Burke gave them quite a boost.

My brother and I loved this programme as teen-agers, and tried to see it again in brief syndication on Detroit television in 1963-64. I have not heard of it since. STONEY BURKE was, yes, uplifting in a way. The music by Dominic Frontiere (sp?) who also did THE OUTER LIMITS was some of the best for television in the 1960s and sticks with me through the decades. Much of STONEY BURKE was shot on location with the allure of the exotic in a modern, but still great west. Perhaps as a westerner the previous comentator found the series especially compelling, along with a religious angle which is quite unique in a television review of a pretty secular offering. The "Golden Buckle" is a thinly veiled take-off on the Golden Fleece, so there was the flavour of a grand quest in which the hero and his company meet adventures and interesting characters. Maybe the "stuff of legend" (such as it was) attracted my brother and me, as it did the previous writer. If memory serves, STONEY BURKE gave Warren Oates his start, a pity he died young, and the same for Jack Lord who bounced back with HAWAII FIVE-O.