6.8 /10 1 Votes6.8
5.4/10 TV Directed by Harmon Jones Original language(s) English Final episode date 11 December 1958 Number of seasons 2 | 8.1/10 IMDb Country of origin United States First episode date 25 April 1958 Number of episodes 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Written by E. Jack NeumanGene Roddenberry Starring Jeff RichardsEugene MazzolaCyril DelevantiRobert J. Stevenson Similar Tales of Wells Fargo, Wagon Train, The Restless Gun, Rawhide, Cheyenne |
Jefferson Drum, also known as The Pen and the Quill, is an American Western television series starring Jeff Richards that aired on the NBC network from April 25 to December 11, 1958.
Contents
Overview
Jefferson Drum, portrayed by former baseball player Jeff Richards, is a crusading newspaper editor in the Old West town of Jubilee. A widower, he rears his son, Joey, played by 10-year-old Eugene Mazzola, also known as Eugene Martin. Drum's printer is Lucius Coin, played by Cyril Delevanti. Big Ed, the town bartender, is portrayed by Robert J. Stevenson, later a member of the Los Angeles City Council. Hal J. Smith, later known for his role of the town drunk, Otis Campbell, on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show, was cast five times on Jefferson Drum as Hickey.
In the episode entitled "Pete Henke" (November 28, 1958), the character Henke, portrayed by Strother Martin, is a violent sharpshooter known for causing trouble. Editor Jefferson Drum challenges Henke to a fistfight in the saloon, but Henke prevails in the third round when he throws something into Drum's eyes and blinds him temporarily. The saloon hostess who gave Henke the blinding substance is later seen at Henke's "medicine show." In the end, the persistent Drum knocks over Henke with a stomach punch. "Pete Henke" also starred Frank Wolff as Sam Creighton and Bert Remsen as Jim Ford.
The series first aired at 7:30 Eastern on Friday opposite repeats of I Love Lucy on CBS and Leave It to Beaver on ABC. For its second round of episodes it moved to Thursdays in the same 7:30 p.m. time slot. Rebroadcasts were aired during the first half of 1959. Jefferson Drum was produced for Screen Gems by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (known more for their game show output), and ran for parts of two seasons before it was cancelled.