Destry (TV series)
| Destry | |
|---|---|
Gavin as Destry.
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| Starring | John Gavin |
| Composer(s) | Jerry Goldsmith (three episodes) Cyril J. Mockridge (one episode) Morton Stevens (one episode) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Frank Telford |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Revue Studios |
| Distributor | NBC Universal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Black and white (1964) |
| Original release | February 14 – May 8, 1964 |
Destry is a Western television series starring John Gavin that aired on the ABC television network from February 14, 1964 until May 8, 1964. Destry was based on the classic James Stewart Western, Destry Rides Again, and a subsequent remake, Destry, starring Audie Murphy.
In the original films, the main character was Tom Destry, a Western lawman who was a crack shot, but who preferred non-violent solutions to problems with outlaws.
In the television series, Gavin played Harrison Destry, son of Tom, who had himself been a lawman until he was framed for a crime and sent to prison.
The show followed Harrison Destry upon his release from prison as he wandered the West looking for the people that framed him.
Just like the feature films, many comedic situations arose because Destry went to great lengths to avoid violence even though he was always running into trouble.
In the words of star John Gavin, "To Destry, a hero is a man who thinks slower than a coward. While his father died with his boots on, Destry believes it is better to live with his boots on."
In October 1963 it was announced the show would be rushed into production to use John Gavin. It took the old 77 Sunset Strip timeslot.
Gavin was the fifth actor to play Destry, after Tom Mix, James Stewart, Audie Murphy and Joel McCrea. Gavin:
When I came to Universal, they were making 40 pictures a year. I walked through the gate, was given a contract, and immediately the number of pictures dropped to eight or nine a year. I'm not complaining because I was given good roles... roles with scope and breadth. But I wish I could have been put in 40 or 50 roles before making my 'first' picture, do you know what I mean? Doing a series now is like putting the cart before the horse. I'm glad to be doing 'Destry' now though because of the experience. My gosh, I've shot more film in the last five weeks than I have in my entire life... It's a role I can play with a great deal of naivete. Destry is the sort of man who if he sees trouble will ride around it. He says the difference between a hero and a coward is that a coward can think faster... Hopefully Destry is not always a fool or a clown. He's wandering the west for a few years and he's pretty wise, not brilliant or intelligent but he's been kicked in the head a few times and he knows what's going on.
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Wikipedia