This Short-lived '60s Western Series Starred One Of Hollywood's Busiest Actors

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You likely haven't heard of "Cimarron Strip," and that's just fine. "Cimarron Strip" was a short-lived Western series that aired on CBS for 23 episodes in 1967 and 1968. Unlike most shows of the day, it was a 90-minute program that followed the struggles of Marshal Jim Crown (Stuart Whitman), who has been placed in quite an awkward position. "Cimarron Strip" takes place in 1880 on a contested strip of land between the then-border of Kansas and the First Nations people's land. The local Kansan settlers are waiting for the government to grant them title to their land, and Jim Crown has arrived to tell them that Washington won't do that and that their leases have all been revoked. 

Naturally, this sparks a wave of violent resentment from the local cattlemen, and Jim Crown finds he is the only marshal in town, and that the army has abandoned him. Historically, the strip of land in question would eventually become the Oklahoma panhandle, and was notoriously ungoverned for about a decade. "Cimarron Strip" was wise to set a series in this place and time.

The show's cast was rounded out by Jill Downsend, who plays a young woman named Ducley who arrives on the Cimarron Strip to learn that her father has died, and meets her father's old business partner, a Scot named MacGregor, who let their inn go to pot. The show also included the ambitious Francis Wilde (Randy Boone), an aspiring reporter and photographer. 

Although "Cimarron Strip" was short-lived, it was but a drop in the bucket for Stuart Whitman, who has hundreds of credits to his name. He worked constantly from his first screen credit in 1951 through his retirement in 2000. 

CBS

Stuart Whitman was so prolific that it's likely you've seen multiple of his movies and TV shows without even trying. He got his start playing uncredited bit parts in the sci-fi classics "When Worlds Collide" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and swiftly moved into the Western circuit, appearing on TV shows like "The Roy Rogers Show" and "The Range Rider." He was in the backgrounds of a dozen movies before getting steady credited work by the mid-1950s. 

Stuart Whitman was in 13 episodes of "Highway Patrol," and landed his first leading role in 1957 in the movie "Johnny Trouble." The late 1950s saw a renewed explosion of opportunities for Whitman, and his film roles are plentiful. In 1961, he played the main character in Guy Green's "The Mark," for which Whitman was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Whitman was thereafter in "The Longest Day," and starred in multiple TV shows and movies every year. He had one of those soulful, hangdog faces that made him instantly sympathetic but was also dedicated to his roles, often projecting a natural confidence that casting directors love. I recall first seeing him in "Night of the Lepus" in 1972, a silly horror movie about giant killer rabbits. There was nothing Stuart Whitman wouldn't do. 

I could list all of Stuart Whitman's credits here, but it would just take up a lot of time. Children of the 1990s might know him as Jonathan Kent from the "Superboy" TV series, from his guest spots on "Knots Landing," the pilot for "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.," or the voice of Mule Morgan on "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters."

Metro-Goldwn-Mayer

Stuart Whitman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and it's quite earned. I have always had a great deal of respect for the hard-working actors in Hollywood who only sometimes lead projects, but who serve as reliable, pliable professionals who always stand beside the lead. Supporting players and character actors like Stuart Whitman keep the entire industry standing. 

Stuart Whitman's last credit came in 2000, when he appeared in the Chuck Norris-starring TV movie "The President's Man." After that, Whitman seemingly retired, living the last 20 years of his life away from the cameras. Whitman died of skin cancer in 2020 at the age of 92. The industry lost a minor legend. According to IMDb, Whitman had 191 credits. He is notable for the volume of his output alone. 

As for "Cimarron Strip," it was an ambitious project that might have been Whitman's longest-running TV gig. TV vet Vincent McEveety directed several episodes, and the notoriously litigious Harlan Ellison wrote one. Joseph Cotton, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Duvall, Michael J. Pollard, Elisha Cook, David Carradine, John Saxon, Darrin McGavin, and John Voight all have guest roles on the series. The Harlan Ellison episode is about the potential return of Jack the Ripper. 

One can watch 16 episodes of "Cimarron Strip" on the streaming service Fawsome, although it seems no service has all 23 episodes lined up. One has to find the out-of-print DVD box set for that, which can be purchased on the second-hand market.