Jefferson Drum

Overview

Jeff Richards played the title role in Jefferson Drum, a Western television series about a widowed newspaper editor raising his young son in the frontier town of Jubilee. Richards’ character, Jefferson Drum, was a crusading journalist. His son, Joey, was played by ten-year-old Eugene Mazzola, who also used the name Eugene Martin. The printer in Drum’s office was Lucius Coin, portrayed by Cyril Delevanti. The town bartender, Big Ed, was played by Robert J. Stevenson, who later served on the Los Angeles City Council. Hal J. Smith, best known for playing the town drunk Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show, appeared five times on Jefferson Drum as a character named Hickey.

One episode, “Pete Henke,” aired on November 20, 1958. In it, Strother Martin played Henke, a violent sharpshooter who stirred up trouble. Drum challenged Henke to a fistfight in the saloon. Henke won the third round by throwing a blinding substance into Drum’s eyes, temporarily blinding him. The saloon hostess who provided the substance later appeared at Henke’s medicine show. Drum ultimately knocked Henke down with a punch. The episode also featured Frank Wolff as Sam Creighton and Bert Remsen as Jim Ford.

The series premiered on Fridays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, going up against reruns of I Love Lucy on CBS and Leave It to Beaver on ABC. For its second batch of episodes, it moved to Thursdays at the same time. Rebroadcasts aired during the first half of 1959. Produced for Screen Gems by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, a company better known for game shows, Jefferson Drum ran for parts of two seasons before being cancelled.

Cast

Jeff Richards played Jefferson Drum. Eugene Mazzola (billed as Eugene Martin) portrayed Joey Drum. Cyril Delevanti played Lucius Coin. Robert J. Stevenson portrayed Big Ed. R.G. Armstrong appeared as Kreiger in "Law and Order"; Jerry Hopper also appears in this episode. John Ashley played Tim Keough in "Arrival", the series premiere. Jim Bannon, Jean Byron, and Russell Johnson appeared as Tay Beloin, Angela, and The Sundown Kid, respectively, in "A Very Deadly Game". Gregg Barton, Virginia Gregg, and Harry Lauter appeared as Yance Meeker, Louise Hammond, and Vince Meeker, respectively, in "The Hanging of Joe Lavett". Dan Blocker, Lane Bradford, and Dan Sheridan appeared as Craig, Hank, and Leo in the segment entitled "Stagecoach Episode." Robert Bray and Charles Tannen played Jack Page and Dandy Case, respectively, in the episode "Obituary". Andy Clyde played Hepburn in "The Keeney Gang"; L.Q. Jones appeared in the same segment as Burdette. Mike Connors appeared as the title guest star in "Simon Pitt", the series finale; Ted de Corsia and Patrice Wymore appeared in this episode as Jim Kind and Goldie, respectively. Abby Dalton, Ron Hagerthy, and Douglas Kennedy appeared as Eloise Barton, Will Barton, and Dallas, respectively, in "Thicker than Water". Francis De Sales and Kenneth Tobey appeared as Bass Williard and John Wallach, respectively, in "$50 for a Dead Man." Andrew Duggan, Paul Sorensen, Rex Lease, and Philip Ahn appeared as Charles McGowan, Benson, Tobin, and Charles Wong, respectively, in "The Cheater". Douglas Fowley played Wooley in "Wheel of Fortune", with Richard Webb as Duane, and Jeanne Cooper as Phoebe West. Bruce Gordon played Juan Cavanaugh in "A Sad Day for a Tinhorn". James Griffith, Robert Vaughn, and Anna Karen appeared as Troy Bendick, Shelly Poe, and Bess, respectively, in the episode "Return." Skip Homeier played Kading in "The Post". Douglas Kennedy appeared as Dallas in "Thicker Than Water". John Larch played John Larkin in "The Bounty Man". Gardner McKay, Paul Richards, Dennis Cross, and Irene Tedrow appeared as Simon Easton, Les Groves, Gideon Easton, and Mary Easton, respectively, in "Showdown". Anna Karen Morrow appeared as Bess in the episode "Return". Gregg Palmer and Rand Brooks appeared as Grant and as Ray Comstock, respectively, in "Band of Iron".