Stoney Burke

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.

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!

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.

I didn't realize that I was only 14 when I originally watched these shows. This morning, I read an article about old TV shows that are being released on DVD. The newspaper asked to vote on your favorite. I honestly hadn't thought about "Stoney Burke" in decades. The show must have made an enormous impression on me because my 58 year old brain instantaneously retrieved from memory banks usually reserved for deeply held resentments. I couldn't tell you anything except Stoney Burke was a rodeo rider played by jack Lord and that Warren Oates was a member of the cast. My memory is poignant story lines - far ahead of the drivel that was typical of the early 60's.

I have recently learned that this show was my mother's favorite when she was a little girl. I have acquired the first twelve episodes in order to learn more about the mother I never knew. In doing so, Stoney Burke has become one of my favorite TV heroes. No matter what scrape he gets himself into, he always manages to work through it the right way. The character of Stoney is a truly wonderful character and this show is more than a rodeo story. This was a well written and acted show that I will brag about whenever possible. I only wish I knew who to talk to about trying to get this properly released onto DVD format before the episodes become even more scarce. How about a DVD box set? Let's hope so.