Q: I am trying to remember the name of a TV series that was produced by Warner Bros. in the 1950s and '60s. It had three different stories, one shown each week. One was "Maverick" and I believe another was "Kings Row."
A: "Warner Bros. Presents" was the umbrella title for a 1955-56 series on ABC rotating three shows: "Kings Row," "Casablanca" and "Cheyenne." Two failed, while "Cheyenne" — starring Clint Walker — had a long run. But, according to "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable Shows," "Cheyenne" seldom ran once a week, often sharing a time slot with series including "Sugarfoot," "Bronco" and "Shirley Temple's Storybook." As for "Maverick," it was a stand-alone series, although one that shuffled lead actors in different episodes, among them James Garner as Bret, Jack Kelly as Bart and, after Garner left in a contract dispute, Roger Moore as Beau and Robert Colbert as Brent. And, of course, it inspired several later series and a big-screen film.
A prolific career
Q: On the old "Andy Griffith Show" a young lady named Elinor Donahue played Andy's girlfriend. I believe she also played a teenager on Robert Young's sitcom. But I heard nothing about her after "Andy Griffith."
A: Donahue, now 83, was indeed older daughter Betty Anderson on "Father Knows Best" before playing Ellie Walker in the first season of "The Andy Griffith Show." In a 2006 interview for the Archive of American Television, she says she had a three-year contract with Griffith's show but asked out of it because "I didn't feel I was doing my best." That interview, by the way, lasts about 3½ hours; one listing of her credits after "Andy Griffith" has more than 60 roles in movies and TV, including as a series regular, a recurring player or a guest star.
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