Stoney Burke (TV series)

Stoney Burke is an American Westerntelevision series broadcast on ABC from October 1, 1962, until May 20, 1963. Jack Lord starred in the title role, a rodeo rider competing for the Golden Buckle, presented annually to the world championsaddlebronc rider.

Some of this article’s listed sourcesmay not be reliable. (October 2013)

. . . Stoney Burke (TV series) . . .

During his quest for the Golden Buckle, Stoney becomes entangled in the lives of numerous people and is accompanied on the rodeo circuit by friends Ves Painter (Warren Oates), Cody Bristol (Robert Dowdell), and E. J. Stocker (Bruce Dern).

The same year that Stoney Burke premiered, NBC aired its own drama about rodeo performers, The Wide Country, starring Earl Holliman and Andrew Prine. It ended after twenty-eight episodes. Both series were Westerns that debuted at the end of the time when Western programs—a fixture of 1950s and early 1960s television—had been a number one draw on the medium. By the mid-1960s, market saturation had begun to take its toll; while established series such as Bonanza and Gunsmoke continued to thrive, new shows with less than robust ratings struggled to survive. Both rodeo series were cancelled after one season.

Dick Clark of American Bandstand was cast as Sgt. Andy Kincaid in the 1963 episode “Kincaid” (one of several backdoor pilots), which also featured real-life rodeo performer Casey Tibbs playing himself.[1]James Coburn was cast as Jamison in the 1963 episode “The Test”; J. Pat O’Malley, Richard Eyer, and Ivan Dixon were also featured in this episode.[2]

. . . Stoney Burke (TV series) . . .

. . . Stoney Burke (TV series) . . .