Ripcord (TV series)

Did You Know?

• Ripcord aired in Brazil in the 1960s under its original title at the same time as in the United States.
• The show aired in the UK on BBC1 in 1964, with repeats until October 1965.
• A popular Ripcord tie-in toy consisted of a large plastic parachute with a plastic skydiver figure that could be thrown in the air.

Cast

Larry Pennell portrayed Theodore "Ted" McKeever, a handsome, audacious, and brave skydiver. Ken Curtis played James "Jim" Buckley, an older, level-headed mentor and best friend to Ted. Paul Comi appeared as pilot Chuck Lambert, a character phased out midway through the first season and replaced by Shug Fisher as Charlie Kern. Fisher and Curtis had been bandmates in the musical group Sons of the Pioneers. Curtis later played Festus Hagin on Gunsmoke, while Pennell guest-starred as Dash Riprock on The Beverly Hillbillies.

Production

Actual skydiving stunts were performed by Bob Fleming, an airline pilot, and Joe Mangione, both from Brooklyn, New York. Fleming also doubled as the pilot when not in a scene. In 1962, a stuntman transfer between two airplanes, filmed from a third, failed due to turbulence; both aircraft touched and crashed, but all three men parachuted to safety. The footage was later used in a second-season two-parter episode.