Lets Talk Westerns by Terry Alexander

TELEVISION WESTERNS NEARLY DIED by the 70s and have never dominated the small screen like they did in the 50s and 60s. The three existing networks were filled with westerns during this period. Since then, westerns have struggled to stay on the small screen—most have only lasted a season or two. An occasional TV movie came along once in a blue moon to appease the appetite of western fans. In 1975 a television show was created based on the movie Blazing Saddles. It was called Black Bart, and it was a show no one was meant to see.

Before we jump into the series, we need more information on the movie Blazing Saddles. It came to life in the mind of Andrew Bergman. It originally was titled Tex-X and was to star James Earl Jones as Bart with Alan Arkin to direct. That version fell through, and later Mel Brooks got involved with the project.

Mel Brooks brought Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Alan Uger into the fold, with five writers working on the script. Originally Richard Pryor was to be cast as Black Bart, but Warner Brothers studio was nervous about Pryor’s reputation for drug use and declared he was uninsurable. Another version was that before filming could begin, Pryor called Mel Brooks and told him he was in Cleveland and didn’t know how he got there. Either way, Cleavon Little got the role of Black Bart.

Next came the casting of The Waco Kid. Gene Wilder wanted the role, but Brooks wanted an older actor to play the kid. John Wayne was offered the part and read the script. He told Brooks that the part was too “blue” for his fans, but he would be the first in line to see the completed picture. Dan Dailey was considered but turned the role down due to his ill health. Johnny Carson was offered the role, but he too turned it down for unknown reasons. Gig Young was given the role, but he collapsed on the first day of filming due to Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome. Brooks called Wilder, and he was given the part of The Waco Kid.

Slim Pickens, Alex Karras, David Huddleston, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, and John Hillerman rounded out the cast. Gene Wilder was originally offered the role of Hedley Lamarr but turned it down, and the role went to Korman. Currently the only main cast members still alive are Mel Brooks and Burton Gilliam.

During the filming the working title was Black Bart, although Mel Brooks didn’t like the title and thought people would confuse it as a movie about the old west outlaw or the 1948 movie which starred Dan Duryea and Yvonne DeCarlo. The Purple Sage was also considered. Brooks said the name came to him one morning during his shower. And Blazing Saddles became the official title. An interesting note, Brooks advertised for a Frankie Lainetype to sing the title song. A few days later Laine contacted him and offered his services. He sang the title song thinking it was a serious western.

The world premiere was on February 7, 1974, and the movie proved to be a hit. It was nominated for three academy awards, one for Best Supporting Actress for Madeline Kahn. It won a Writers Guild award for Best Comedy Movie. Brooks feared Warner Brothers would want to make a sequel or a film series, without his involvement, based on the movie when he mentioned his concern to his attorney. A clause was put into the contract that a sequel would only be attempted after the movie had been developed into a television show. Due to the vulgar nature of the film, Brooks knew a television show was unlikely.

A television movie was filmed and shown on CBS in April of 1975. The movie starred Louis Gossett Jr. as Black Bart. Steve Landesberg played a character similar to The Waco Kid, a former confederate soldier named Reb Jordan. Millie Slavin played Belle Buzzer, based on the character played by Madeline Kahn. Mayor Hedley Lamarr was no longer the Mayor. Noble Willingham was now Mayor Fern Malaga. Rueben Moreno and Brooke Adams also appeared in the film. It was directed by Robert Butler and written by Andrew Bergman, Frank Shaw, and Michael Elias. Several noteworthy actresses were considered for the Belle Buzzer character—Sally Kellerman, Tammy Grimes, and Amanda Blake. Bert Remsen, Lou Frizzell, and Sorrell Booke were considered for the role of the Mayor. The movie was terrible, and the plans for a TV show supposedly went on the shelf.

In 1977 studio executives approached Mel Brooks with the idea of making a sequel to Blazing Saddles. He reminded them of the clause in the contract. They informed him that a series had been in production since ’75. When he said that he hadn’t seen a show on television, they took him to the studio and showed him three episodes. Brooks said later, “The contract said they just had to make it. They didn’t have to show the damned thing.”

The Warner Brothers executives made the show just to hang onto the rights to Blazing Saddles and the hope to make a sequel. A season for the Black Bart program was six episodes. While the studio had writers working on a movie script, they continued to churn out episodes of Black Bart.

Four seasons of the show were filmed. At six episodes per season, that’s 24 episodes of this stinker languishing in a vault somewhere just waiting for the day they will be released on a DVD collection. The original 30-minute pilot was included in the 30th anniversary DVD release of the movie.

By 1979, Warner Brothers Studio executives had determined that American tastes had changed, and the window to make a Blazing Saddles sequel had closed. Louis Gossett said, “They cancelled the show, if a show that was never meant to be seen by anyone can be cancelled.”

Steve Landesberg commented, “It was a sick joke.”

—TERRY ALEXANDER and his wife, Phyllis, live on a small farm near Porum, Oklahoma. They have three children, thirteen grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Terry is a member of The Oklahoma Writers Federation, Ozark Creative Writers, Tahlequah Writers, Western Writers of America, and the Western Fictioneers. If you see him at a conference, though, don’t let him convince you to take part in one of his trivia games— he’ll stump you every time.