LARAMIE - THE COMPLETE SERIES (NBC 1959-1963) John Smith, Robert Fuller, Robert Crawford, Jr., Hoagy Carmichael, Spring Byington, Dennis Holmes, Roy Barcroft, Stuart Randall

Laramie, considered by many to be one of the best family westerns of all time, debuted on NBC on September 15th, 1959. The central characters were Slim Sherman (John Smith) and his 14-year old brother Andy (Robert Crawford, Jr) – two brothers looking after the family ranch in Wyoming in the 1870s. Their father had been shot and killed by a land-grabber.

Only Jonesy (Hoagy Carmichael), a friend of their father who had helped to raise the two boys, was around to help run the ranch.

In the first episode, a drifter named Jess Harper (Robert Fuller) wandered in and was persuaded to settle down and throw in his lot with the Shermans.

In addition to raising cattle, the boys used their ranch as a relay stagecoach station for Great Central Overland Mail running into and out of nearby Laramie, which provided the series with a constant stream of guest stars, including established names such as Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson, alongside up-and-coming actors like Leonard Nimoy and Adam West.

Young Andy left the series in 1961 (he was sent to boarding school in Missouri with Jonesy accompanying him) and two new cast members were added to the household; Mike Williams (Dennis Holmes), an orphan whose parents had been killed by Indians), and Daisy Cooper (Spring Byington), who took over the job of housekeeper and surrogate mother in the all-male household.

Other guest stars included Eddie Albert, Nanette Fabray, Clu Gulager, Lloyd Nolan, James Best, John McIntire, Brian Keith, Gena Rowlands, Madlyn Rhue, Jim Davis, Claude Akins, George Kennedy, Simon Oakland, Vince Edwards, Beverly Garland, Edgar Buchanan, Dennis Miller, Vera Miles, Denver Pyle, Robert Vaughn, Rod Cameron, Sandra Knight, Ron Harper, Ross Martin, Karen Steele, Warren Oates, Russell Johnson, Jack Elam, Ruta Lee, Pat O’Malley, Joanne Linville, Robert Blake, Susan Oliver, Cloris Leachman, Ivan Dixon, Yvonne Craig, Jean Byron, Lew Ayres, DeForest Kelley, Tom Skerritt, Jannette Nolan, Dawn Wells, Alan Hale, Jr., Lee Van Cleef.

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Number of DVDs: 24

Quality: 9/10

Running Time:  92 hrs 25 mins (approx)

Aspect Ratio: Full Screen

NOTES: This is a fan-made DVD set. Not    a studio release.