Here is a newspaper article that appeared in November of 1967, in which High Chaparral creator and producer David Dortort explains his vision for the show.

 Chaparral Inherits Western Audience

To those who ride the range faithfully each Sunday evening, “High Chaparral” is no stranger, padnuh. It follows hard on the heels of “Bonanza.” With no more than a saddle-break for a trip to the refrigerator, a feller can bid goodnight to the Cartwrights and say “howdy” to the Cannon family, 9-10 p.m., But for you non-cayuse types out there in living room land, a visit to Arizona Territory in the 1870s could be an eyeopener, westernwise. David Dortort, “Chaparral’s” creator-producer and the Dortort of “Bonanza” renown, planned the show that way. Dortort sees the hour-long color series as more than a cowboys-‘n’-Indians stereotype. The program is keyed to the efforts of the Cannon family to establish a cattle ranch in spite of the militant opposition from the Apache, the bandidos and the austerities of the desert. And herein lies the “We try to correct the stereotype of the stupid Mexican and the savage Indian, by giving insight into their cultures,” says Dortort. ”Too often, the Mexican in a Western is presented as a sullen character usefuf as background color, or as a foil to manufacture some questionable humor What of  his emotions, his commitment to the land, his dreams? “And the Apache. Certainly he fought like a demon. With reason. He was fighting for his homeland. To give the complete picture, we must recall his courage, the sense of honor as he interpreted it, and his reaction to the outrages perpetrated against his people, and the ‘why’ of his anger and his response.” Filmed on location near Tucson, Ariz. many local Puna, Papago and Apache Indians appear in the series. Initial days of location filming turned up one surprise — Nino Cochise, grandson of the famed Apache leader. Nino not only appeared in several episodes, but acts as technical advisor. Leif Erickson, Linda Cristal, Mark Slade, Henry Darrow & Cameron Mitchell Leif Erickson stars as Big John Cannon, a grizzled patriot seeking his destiny in the Arizona Territory. Cameron Mitchell, veteran of countless Westerns, is his firebrand brother, Buck. Mark Slade plays John’s son. Billy Blue. Linda Cristal appears as John’s second wife, Victoria, and Henry Darrow as her brother, Manolito.  The ” B u n k h o u s e Gang” rounds out the record-size permanent cast of 11. Don Collier, former star of his own s e r i e s , “The Outlaws,” appears as Sam Butler. Rodolfo Acosta as Vaqaero, Ted Markland as Reno, Roberto Contreras as Pedro. Robert Hoy as Joe and Jerry Summers as Ira. Now — what about the people who populate the video tale?

Leif Erickson, Linda Cristal, Mark Slade, Henry Darrow & Cameron Mitchell

Erickson. starting as a soloist with Ted Fio-Rito’s band, has moved through top-starring roles on Broadway, in motion pictures and on television. His first film was “Wanderers of the Wasteland.'” He was featured in “Conquest” with Greta Garbo. Other films included “The Snake Pit'”, On the Waterfront.” and “Tea and Sympathy.” He starred two years on Broadway in “Tea and Sympathy” opposite Deborah Kerr and toured with “Sunrise at Campobello” as Franklin D. Roosevelt. He guest-starred on various shows, including “Bonanza” Cameron Mitchell is the complete opposite of his television brother John. As Buck, he backs his brother to the hilt, but would just as soon be in town having fun. Mitchell gave up a promising career in European features to return to the United States for his first love, Westerns. Bom of strict Scotch-German parents. Mitchell is the first man in the family not to follow the ministry. He worked as an NBC page before obtaining his first part in the 1939-40 season of “Taming of the Shrew.” Features included “They Were Expendable” with John Wayne, followed by “Cass Timberlane.” “High Barbaree” and others. Mitchell returned to Broadway to star as Willy Loman’s younger son. Happy, in the Pulitzer-Prize winner, “Death of a Salesman” and in 1952 appeared in the motion picture Next to acting. Mitchell loves baseball. While filming “The High Chaparral” at Tucson,  he agreed to pitch for the local press team against the Cleveland Indians. The results were surprising. He reminded the Indians he still has an unsigned contract from the Detroit Tigers in his desk drawer. (They wanted him as a pitcher when he finished high school.) Linda Cristal, often referred to as the “Pearl of the Argentine.” b r i n g s Latin warmth and beauty to the series. Born in Buenos Aires, she started for Spain at 16 to become a nun following the death of her parents. The ship developed mechanical trouble and stopped in Mexico for repairs. Mexican producer-director Miguelito Aleman. son of the then president. Miguel Aleman. spotted the avenhaired, brown-eyed beauty and cast her in her first film, “When the Fog Lifts.” She went on to star in nine Aleman films. Linda came to the United States and co-starred in such film successes as “Comanche” and “The Alamo.” She is fluent in English, Italian,French and Spanish. When -The Wackiest Ship in the Arms'” went off the air. Mark Slade felt his career was finished and headed for Europe. “When I returned my agent said he had an interview with David Dortort for a new Western.” said Slade. “I wanted to go fishing and wasn’t interested. “The agent insisted I keep the date. I waited 45 minutes in the office. I was going to stay only five more minutes and then go fishing, when I was called in. At first Dortort though I was a real wise guy, until I read for the part. I was told not to go anywhere that day. not even fishing. My agent called that night and I was on my way to Arizona and filming the next day, in the role of Billy Blue. “It’s every young actor’s dream to be in a Western. Since coming here in 1960 I only did one Western episode. I had two lines to say. I never thought I would be given a Western series .. . it’s great ” Henry Darrow. who costars as Manolito. was born Henry Thomas Delgado. “I kept being typecast as a Latin.” said Darrow. “I’d been advised to change my name for years but I refused to believe that it would make a difference.” Darrow’s manager finally insisted. The name change proved an acting breakthrough for Darrow, who gets a chance to play everything f r o m Western heavies to Hungarians. Oddly enough. Darrow didn’t start out to be an actor. Born in New York City, at age 13 he and his parents moved back to their native Puerto Rico. “Everyone always said I would be an actor. However, my ‘bag* was political science, which I studied at the University of Puerto Rico. I was going to be an interpreter.” A friend told him of a contest that offered a dramatic scholarship. “I gave it a go.” said Darrow. “I won and chose the Pasadena Playhouse.” He graduated with a B.A. in Theater Arts. From 1956-65 he played in 12 feature films and 75 television shows including such series as “Gunsmoke”, “The Iron Horse”,  “Wild. Wild. West,” “Bonanza,” “Daniel Boone,” and “T H E. Cat.” Darrow doesn’t seem to mind being typecast again, because he finds the role of Manolito Montoya intriguing “Manolito has a dual nature,” said Darrow. “When he is well-dressed, he is one person. When he wears his beard he is another — he gets the itch to shove on. He becomes a rogue.”

*************************************************

Want to meet cast and crew members of The High Chaparral? Register today for The High Chaparral Reunion.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 27th, 2014 at 7:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.