Then Came Bronson

Then Came Bronson
European pilot poster
Genre	Adventure Drama
Created by	Denne Bart Petitclerc
Starring	Michael Parks
Theme music composer	George Duning James Richard Hendricks (end theme)
Opening theme	"Then Came Bronson" George Duning, composer-conductor
Ending theme	"Long Lonesome Highway" James Richard Hendricks, lyrics writer/music composer Performed by Michael Parks
Composer(s)	George Duning, Gil Melle
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Herbert F. Solow
Producer(s)	Robert H. Justman, Robert Sabaroff
Running time	44 mins.
Production company(s)	MGM Television
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 17, 1969 – September 9, 1970

Then Came Bronson is an American adventure/drama television series starring Michael Parks that aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970, and was produced by MGM Television. The series, created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, began with a movie pilot on Monday, March 24, 1969. The series was approved for one year and began its first run on September 17, 1969. The pilot was also released in Europe as a feature film.

The series features Parks as the protagonist, James "Jim" Bronson, a newspaperman who becomes disillusioned after the suicide of his best friend Nick (Martin Sheen), and with "working for the man" after a heated argument with his editor.

In order to renew his soul, Bronson becomes a vagabond searching for the meaning of life and seeking the experiences life has to offer (as revealed in the series pilot). During his travels, he shares his values with the people he meets along the way and lends a helping hand when he can. Bronson rides a Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle and, as such, he was viewed by some as a modern version of the solitary cowboy wandering the American west. The motorcycle had previously been sold to Nick by Bronson. After it is left at the suicide scene by his friend, Bronson buys it back from the widow.

Curiously, though the opening promises a journey of self-discovery, the premise of each episode is that Bronson enters someone else's life at a crucial point and acts as a catalyst for change. When Bronson encounters an Amish community, for example, a local boy becomes enraptured by the outside world and steals Bronson's motorcycle to run off to Reno, Nevada. In another episode, located in Reno, Nevada, Bronson meets his cousin Eve on her wedding day and lends her money for the wedding service, but she runs off to the casinos and blows it.