Q: Could you tell me anything about Dale Robertson? He played on "Tales of Wells Fargo" in the '60s. How old was he when he passed away, and what year?
A: The man the New York Times called a "popular, strong-minded star of westerns on television and in the movies" died of complications from lung cancer and pneumonia in 2013; he was 89. Besides "Tales of Wells Fargo" (1957-62), his TV series included "Iron Horse" (1966-68), "Death Valley Days" (where he hosted from 1968-72) and "J.J. Starbuck" (1987-88). He also appeared on "Dynasty" in 1981 and "Dallas" in 1982. He once estimated that 70% of his movie and TV roles were in westerns. He was a skilled rider in real life and, according to the Times, "never lost his disdain for Eastern actors, who he thought just played at being cowboys. He said you could spot them by the way they walked around a horse."
Killer still on the loose
Q: We just found out "Grand Hotel" is not returning. Do you know who killed Santiago, the hotel owner?
A: No. And it may be the show didn't, either. When the series was canceled last year, executive producer Brian Tanen told TVLIne.com that "we left it with a number of possible suspects. It felt like half of the cast was angry with him — Gigi, Mrs. P, the stepdaughters, Felix and Mateo. We were really hopeful that we could do a Season 2 and play out that question. I've toyed a lot with various ideas about who it could have been, but honestly, I keep changing my mind. I really like the idea that someone is arrested who did not do the crime and a lot of Season 2 would be about trying to clear their name." He did not offer any other hints, adding that "somewhere deep in my heart, I'm hopeful that there's life for the show — if not on ABC then possibly on another platform." But so far that has not happened.
E-mail brenfels@gmail.com.
