I wish that they would have done what you suggest in the late '70s or '80s. It's unfortunate now because the remaining cast is getting up there in age or have passed away. Roberto Contreras, who played Pedro, died a few years ago and Cameron Mitchell died about 10 years ago. About the only main players left are Mark Slade, Henry Darrow, and Linda Cristal. Some of the ranch hands are still around and occasionally make it to the reunion parties, Bob Hoy, Don Collier usually attend. Ted Markland, who played Reno, just underwent quadruple bypass surgery. I don't know whatever happened to Jerry Summers (Ira). Rudy Ramos is still busy acting.
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DanteAcosta
19 years ago
Yep, and the great Rodolfo Acosta who played Vaquero died in 1974.
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chips76309
19 years ago
It's a pity this show didn't last longer because it was very well done. I was sorry to see Mark Slade leave and be replaced (in a way) by the weaker character Wind.
Perhaps if we all vote at TVonDVD we can get this series issued on DVD? That would be grand!
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mausermike63
19 years ago
It's really was a shame that they cancelled the show. The show's ratings weren't the reason for it being cancelled. NBC was restructuring its lineup and decided that they wanted only to finance only one Western program, since westerns tended to be pricey. Between BONANZA and THE HIGH CHAPARRAL they choose the former. BONANZA had been on many years and it had passed its prime, in my opinion.
What really makes it a shame was that the producers of THE HIGH CHAPARRAL had planned to have more of its stories centered around the ranch hands in the cancelled season. Only a few stories up to then had centered around the supporting cast and they had decided to turn more attention on them for story ideas. I think the show could have gone on for at least a couple more seasons.
Looking back, it's hard to believe NBC didn't pursue a reunion idea in the late '70s. Afterall, the network was in last place. After the success of GILLIGAN'S ISLAND's reunion movie, you'd think that it would have given them some ideas. Westerns in the late '70s were practically non existant and for them to bring back the cast for a movie would have satisfied a lot of fans of the show and of the genre.
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chips76309
19 years ago
Oh my, that would have been a gold mine for the writers - to look at some of the ranch hands for stories! How did you learn about that?
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mausermike63
19 years ago
I read an interview with either David Dortort, the executive producer, or one of his junior execs and it was indicated that the cancelled fifth season was going to include stories centered around characters of the Bunkhouse Gang. The cancelled fifth season was in its early stages of planning and it came as a surprise to most people because the show was still in the top 20 in the ratings and in Europe it was even higher than in the States.
It was either at the High Chaparral Homepage or one of the actors' own websites where I read the interview.
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