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*The Rebel*
The Rebel
	Nick Adams as Johnny Yuma
Created by	Andrew J. Fenady; Nick Adams;
Starring	Nick Adams
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	76
Production
Production locations	Paramount Pictures Studios; Hollywood, California;
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Celestial Productions; Fen-Ker-Ada Productions; Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions;
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	October 4, 1959 –; June 18, 1961

The Rebel is a 76-episode American Western television series starring Nick Adams that ran on the ABC network from 1959 to 1961. The Rebel was one of the few Goodson-Todman Productions outside of their game show ventures.

Synopsis

The series portrays the adventures of young Confederate army veteran Johnny Yuma, an aspiring writer, played by Nick Adams. Haunted by his memories of the American Civil War, Yuma, in search of inner peace, roams the American West, specifically the Texas Hill Country and South Plains. He keeps a journal of his adventures and fights injustice where he finds it with a revolver and his dead father's sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun.^[1]

Cast

Main

Adams was the star, and only regular actor of this series. He was involved in the show's design, inception, and writing, along with the producer, Andrew J. Fenady, who appeared twice in the series, once as United States Army General Philip Sheridan in the episode "Johnny Yuma at Appomattox", with George Macready as General Robert E. Lee. John Carradine appeared in two episodes as Elmer Dodson, the newspaper editor in Johnny Yuma's hometown, fictitious Mason City, Texas, who encourages Yuma to keep a journal of his travels.

John M. Pickard, formerly of the syndicated Boots and Saddles television series, appeared three times on The Rebel, including the role of Sheriff Pruett in "Run, Killer, Run". Hal Stalmaster played Skinny in the 1959 episode "Misfits", including Malcolm Cassell as Billy the Kid and Hampton Fancher as "Bull". The young "Misfits" enlist The Rebel's "help" to rob a bank, and in their minds live thereafter a life of leisure. Leonard Nimoy was cast as Jim Colburn in the 1960 episode "The Hunted", the story of an innocent man on the run from a posse that does not know that Colburn was acquitted by a jury.

Olive Sturgess guest-starred twice on The Rebel, as Jeannie in "The Scavengers" (1959) and as Charity Brunner, a woman in search of her missing miner husband, in "The Pit" (1961). In the second episode, Sturgess's real-life six-month-old nephew, Leonard Sturgess, played the baby required in the script.^[2]

Guest stars

Episodes

Season one (1959–60)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Johnny Yuma"	Irvin Kershner	Andrew J. Fenady	October 4, 1959 (1959-10-04)
2	2	"Judgment"	Irvin Kershner	Peggy and Lou Shaw	October 11, 1959 (1959-10-11)
3	3	"Yellow Hair"	Irvin Kershner	Andrew J. Fenady	October 18, 1959 (1959-10-18)
4	4	"Vicious Circle"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Arthur Browne, Jr.	October 25, 1959 (1959-10-25)
5	5	"Panic"	Irvin Kershner	Lester Aaron Pine	November 1, 1959 (1959-11-01)
6	6	"The Scavengers"	Robert Ellis Miller	Sara Segal	November 8, 1959 (1959-11-08)
7	7	"School Days"	Irvin Kershner	Jack Laird	November 15, 1959 (1959-11-15)
8	8	"Dark Secret"	Irvin Kershner	Story by : David Victor Teleplay by : Shimon Wincelberg	November 22, 1959 (1959-11-22)
9	9	"Misfits"	Irvin Kershner	Arnold Belgard	November 29, 1959 (1959-11-29)
10	10	"In Memoriam"	Irvin Kershner	Irving H. Cooper	December 6, 1959 (1959-12-06)
11	11	"The Vagrants"	Irvin Kershner	Peggy and Lou Shaw	December 20, 1959 (1959-12-20)
12	12	"Gun City"	Irvin Kershner	William Link and Richard Levinson	December 27, 1959 (1959-12-27)
13	13	"The Death of Gray"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Richard Newman	January 3, 1960 (1960-01-03)
14	14	"Angry Town"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Terence Kilpatrick	January 10, 1960 (1960-01-10)
15	15	"Goldseeker"	Bernard McEveety	Andrew J. Fenady	January 17, 1960 (1960-01-17)
16	16	"Glory"	Irvin Kershner	Arnold Belgard	January 24, 1960 (1960-01-24)
17	17	"The Unwanted"	Irvin Kershner	Peter B. Germano	January 31, 1960 (1960-01-31)
18	18	"The Crime"	Irvin Kershner	David Lang	February 7, 1960 (1960-02-07)
19	19	"Noblesse Oblige"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Jack Laird	February 14, 1960 (1960-02-14)
20	20	"Land"	Irvin Kershner	Gene L. Coon	February 21, 1960 (1960-02-21)
21	21	"He's Only a Boy"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Terrence Kilpatrick	February 28, 1960 (1960-02-28)
22	22	"Take Dead Aim"	Frank Baur	Richard Newman	March 6, 1960 (1960-03-06)
23	23	"The Rattler"	Irvin Kershner	Sara Sagal	March 13, 1960 (1960-03-13)
24	24	"You Steal My Eyes"	Irvin Kershner	Terrence Kilpatrick	March 20, 1960 (1960-03-20)
25	25	"Fair Game"	Irvin Kershner	Richard Newman	March 27, 1960 (1960-03-27)
26	26	"Unsurrended Sword"	Irvin Kershner	Peter B. Germano	April 3, 1960 (1960-04-03)
27	27	"The Captive of Temblor"	Irvin Kershner	Milton S. Gelman	April 10, 1960 (1960-04-10)
28	28	"Blind Marriage"	Irvin Kershner	Arnold Belgard	April 17, 1960 (1960-04-17)
29	29	"Absolution"	Irvin Kershner	Peggy and Lou Shaw	April 24, 1960 (1960-04-24)
30	30	"A Grave For Johnny Yuma"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Palmer Thompson	May 1, 1960 (1960-05-01)
31	31	"In Memory Of A Son"	Irvin Kershner	Peggy and Lou Shaw	May 8, 1960 (1960-05-08)
32	32	"Paint a House with Scarlet"	Irvin Kershner	Frederick Louis Fox	May 15, 1960 (1960-05-15)
33	33	"Grant of Land"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Frank Chase	May 22, 1960 (1960-05-22)
34	34	"Night on a Rainbow"	Irvin Kershner	Peggy and Lou Shaw	May 29, 1960 (1960-05-29)
35	35	"Lady of Quality"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Hendrik Vollaerts	June 5, 1960 (1960-06-05)
36	36	"The Earl of Durango"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Peggy and Lou Shaw	June 12, 1960 (1960-06-12)

Season two (1960–61)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
37	1	"Johnny Yuma at Appomattox"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Andrew J. Fenady	September 18, 1960 (1960-09-18)
38	2	"The Bequest"	Irvin Kershner	Albert Aley	September 25, 1960 (1960-09-25)
39	3	"The Champ"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Sam Ross	October 2, 1960 (1960-10-02)
40	4	"The Waiting"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Bruce Geller	October 9, 1960 (1960-10-09)
41	5	"To See the Elephant"	Irvin Kershner	Jack Laird	October 16, 1960 (1960-10-16)
42	6	"Deathwatch"	Irvin Kershner	Christopher Knopf	October 23, 1960 (1960-10-23)
43	7	"Run, Killer, Run"	Bernard McEveety	Frederick Louis Fox	October 30, 1960 (1960-10-30)
44	8	"The Hunted"	Irvin Kershner	Peggy and Lou Shaw	November 6, 1960 (1960-11-06)
45	9	"The Legacy"	Bernard McEveety	Frank D. Gilroy	November 13, 1960 (1960-11-13)
46	10	"Don Gringo"	Irvin Kershner	Cyril Hume	November 20, 1960 (1960-11-20)
47	11	"Explosion"	Irvin Kershner	Frederick Louis Fox	November 27, 1960 (1960-11-27)
48	12	"Vindication"	Bernard McEveety	Albert Aley	December 4, 1960 (1960-12-04)
49	13	"The Scalp Hunter"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Harry Julian Fink	December 11, 1960 (1960-12-11)
50	14	"Berserk"	Bernard McEveety	Frank Chase	December 18, 1960 (1960-12-18)
51	15	"The Hope Chest"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Pat Fielder	December 25, 1960 (1960-12-25)
52	16	"The Liberators"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Terrence Kilpatrick	January 1, 1961 (1961-01-01)
53	17	"The Guard"	Bernard McEveety	Frederick Louis Fox	January 8, 1961 (1961-01-08)
54	18	"The Promise"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Frederick Louis Fox	January 15, 1961 (1961-01-15)
55	19	"Jerkwater"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Harry Julian Fink	January 22, 1961 (1961-01-22)
56	20	"Paperback Hero"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Frederick Louis Fox	January 29, 1961 (1961-01-29)
57	21	"The Actress"	Irvin Kershner	Bruce Geller	February 5, 1961 (1961-02-05)
58	22	"The Threat"	Irvin Kershner	Christopher Knopf	February 12, 1961 (1961-02-12)
59	23	"The Road to Jericho"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Cyril Hume	February 19, 1961 (1961-02-19)
60	24	"The Last Drink"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Archie L. Tegland	February 26, 1961 (1961-02-26)
61	25	"The Burying of Sammy Hart"	Bernard McEveety	Pat Fielder	March 5, 1961 (1961-03-05)
62	26	"The Pit"	Irvin Kershner	Terrence Kilpatrick	March 12, 1961 (1961-03-12)
63	27	"Shriek of Silence"	Irvin Kershner	Edward W. Walsh	March 19, 1961 (1961-03-19)
64	28	"Two Weeks"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Frank Chase	March 26, 1961 (1961-03-26)
65	29	"Miz Purdy"	Bernard McEveety	Harry Julian Fink	April 2, 1961 (1961-04-02)
66	30	"The Ballad of Danny Brown"	Bernard McEveety	Jack Curtis	April 9, 1961 (1961-04-09)
67	31	"The Proxy"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Jack Laird	April 16, 1961 (1961-04-16)
68	32	"Decision at Sweetwater"	Bernard McEveety	Margaret Armen	April 23, 1961 (1961-04-23)
69	33	"Helping Hand"	Irvin Kershner	Archie L. Tegland	April 30, 1961 (1961-04-30)
70	34	"The Uncourageous"	Bernard McEveety	Peter B. Germano	May 7, 1961 (1961-05-07)
71	35	"Mission: Varina"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Margaret Armen	May 14, 1961 (1961-05-14)
72	36	"The Calley Kid"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Sam Ross	May 21, 1961 (1961-05-21)
73	37	"Ben White"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Christopher Knopf	May 28, 1961 (1961-05-28)
74	38	"The Found"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Pat Fielder	June 4, 1961 (1961-06-04)
75	39	"The Hostage"	Bernard McEveety	Frederick Louis Fox	June 11, 1961 (1961-06-11)
76	40	"The Executioner"	Bernard McEveety	Story by : Peggy and Lou Shaw Teleplay by : Peggy and Lou Shaw, and Archie L. Tegland	June 18, 1961 (1961-06-18)

Series highlights

The first episode, "Johnny Yuma", is set in early 1867. It shows Johnny Yuma returning to his hometown nearly two years after the end of the war. His father, Ned Yuma, the sheriff, had been killed by a gang who took control of the town. Dan Blocker plays the gang leader. Yuma gets his father's shotgun in this episode.

The third episode, entitled "Yellow Hair", has Yuma captured by the historical Kiowa chief Satanta, played by native Mexican Rodolfo Acosta, whose fictional adopted white daughter is played by Carol Nugent, Nick Adams' wife.

Several place names mentioned throughout the episodes clearly place the action in post-Civil War Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Forts noted in episodes, such as Fort Griffin and Fort Concho, were actual frontier Texas outposts of the late 1860s and are now state historic sites. In a first-season episode, Yuma encounters rag-tag rebel CSA soldiers in the corrupt mining town of La Paz, Arizona. The actual town of La Paz was the seat of Yuma County between 1862 and 1870; it stood in the Confederate Arizona Territory, which existed briefly during the Civil War. Nothing remains of La Paz but crumbling foundations and a historical marker.

Singing the theme song over the titles each week, Johnny Cash also appears as a frustrated would-be rapist playing a banjo with mounting intensity as he excitedly peers through a window at his tied-up prey in the 13th episode, "The Death of Gray".

In "Vicious Circle", Yuma identifies the Confederate unit he served in as the 3rd Texas, but he does not indicate the branch of service. Other episodes show saddlebags stenciled with CSA and an old uniform jacket with yellow collar and cuffs, indicating his regiment was likely the 3rd Texas Cavalry.

Robert Blake guest stars as an extremely young gunslinger in the episode titled "He's Only a Boy".

The 25th episode, "Fair Game", gained attention at the end of 2015 because it appears to be a principal source for Quentin Tarantino's feature The Hateful Eight, including a female prisoner (Patricia Medina) and a few significant plot twists.

After the show's original run on ABC finished in June 1961, it was picked up by NBC and rerun as a summer replacement series from June to September 1962.

Cancellation

The Rebel was a ratings success for ABC, commanding a 35% share of the Sunday-evening audience in its time slot, and was actually scheduled to be renewed for a third season, as part of a new hour-long series entitled The Rebel and The Yank, which would have again starred Nick Adams as the Rebel, and future The Virginian star James Drury starring as "the Yank", a former Union soldier working as a doctor in the Southern United States. Despite the show's success, ABC decided to pass on the series due to two factors, first, its violence (at a time when the network was trying to withdraw from violent programming), and second, the network's new "counterprogramming" format, in which a different type of show was scheduled against the network competition in that time slot, such as a comedy or variety show against an action-adventure show. Thus, The Rebel was cancelled, The Rebel and The Yank project never came to fruition. The series was replaced by a new variety show, starring Steve Allen. This program was not a success, lasting less than four months.^[3]

Theme song

The show's theme song, "The Rebel" alias "The Ballad of Johnny Yuma", was composed by Richard Markowitz, with lyrics by Andrew J. Fenady. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.^[4] It was recorded by Johnny Cash, but it was not released as a single until April 1961, shortly before the show went off the air. Nick Adams recorded the theme, which was released on Mercury Records (#71607) by March 1960. During syndication, the theme song was replaced by the DeWolfe Music Library instrumental track "Dodge City No. 1" by Jack Trombey.

Popular culture

Two episodes of the sitcom Seinfeld referenced the first line of The Rebel theme song. In the episode "The Heart Attack", Jerry retorts to Kramer that Johnny Yuma is a Rebel. The Rebel was also a 1966 Allan Sherman song from the album Allan Sherman Live!; and later, in 1994, it was applied to the compilation album My Son, the Greatest.

Merchandise

Board Game

At the time, a board game based on the show was released by Ideal^[5] in 1961.

Comic Book

At the time, Dell Comics (or Dell Publishing Co.) issued only four stories that were based on The Rebel^[6] in their Four Color Comics anthology series, Issue #1076 and Issue #1138, released in 1960 and Issue #1207 and Issue #1262, released in 1961.

Home Media

On August 18, 2015, Timeless Media Group released The Rebel- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.^[7] The 11-disc set contained all 76 episodes of the series as well as bonus features.