Before Deforest Kelley played Dr. McCoy in "Star Trek," he
pursued a busy career in both film and TV. He was particularly known for his villains, and his roles in Westerns.
In the middle decades of the twentieth century, Westerns
were popular on radio, TV, movies, and in literature. It’s easy to see their allure. Not only do they capture the pioneering
spirit, but they also pit man against a forbidding environment, facing unknown
dangers. Westerns were about survival
against the odds, and building something out of nothing. In many ways, such stories served as the
prototype of Science Fiction, the genre that eventually overtook them. We still dream of battling unknown foes, and
taming wild animals and forbidding landscapes, only now on alien worlds.
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| "What do you say we just mosey on inside for a Mint Julep." |
Given Johnny Depp’s involvement, I’ve been looking forward
to seeing the upcoming big screen adaptation of “The Lone Ranger.” I noticed the 1950s TV show on my channel
lineup, and decided to watch a few episodes.
In one episode, a group of bad guys capture a stage coach and shoot
everyone aboard. Discovering that the
travelers were bank executives, the bad guys change clothes, and drive the
stage coach into town. Everyone at the
bank, and even the local sheriff, allow the men to use their documents to steal
money from the bank. When the Lone
Ranger, intent on bringing the men to justice, rides into town, the sheriff
equates his mask with that of a robber’s, and puts him in jail. Tonto, using his broken English, gains the
help of a local to rescue his friend, and the two ride off to capture the
murderers.
When the Lone Ranger and Tonto capture the baddies, the
sheriff needs some convincing before he’ll see past the appropriated documents
and believe this masked stranger and his Indian pal.
The show had nearly ended before I realized the actor
playing the sheriff was Deforest Kelley.
The episode was filmed in 1950, fifteen years before he would assume the
mantle of Dr. Leonard McCoy, a role that gave him lasting recognition, but also
typecast him and effectively ended his acting career. Kelley’s sheriff was less nuanced than in Dr. McCoy in "Star Trek:" he seemed to alternate between suspicion and approval, with nothing
in between. But his portrayal fit the role
so completely that took me that long to identify him. His performance reveals how completely he
poured himself into McCoy, once the more complex character was offered to him.
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| "Dammit, Lone Ranger, I'm a doctor, not a...wait, I am a lawman, ain't I?" |
I wish Deforest Kelley could have starred in TV shows and
movies after “Star Trek.” I know he drew
solace in how many kids that grew up watching “Star Trek” entered the medical
profession. Given how many times he
starred in Westerns, I wonder how many young boys might have been inspired to
become cowboys, and work on farms and ranches.
"Hi-yo, U. S. S. Enterprise! Away!"
Dragon Dave
P.S. If you have cable or satellite TV, check to see if you have COZI TV. In addition to "The Lone Ranger," they offer a lot of other great shows from the 1950s, '60s, and '70s.
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