Morgan Starr + Jennifer


Can anyone figure out what happened to Morgan Starr and Jennifer?. 1 day they were at Shiloh and then The New 1's arrive.

reply

It's Hollywood, baby!

reply

Jennifer and Starr were in Season 4 (him during the end, her to replace Betsy, who had run afoul of tptb over her contract and getting married, according to an interview she gave). When Season 5 began, it was probably easier to bring in a new family (with a girl that they thought would play better with the guys).

I believe, but have no basis other than opinion, that Mr. Dehner (Morgan Starr) did not wish to be tied into a series. It could also have been that some viewers didn't like the dynamic he brought into the show, but again, that's only opinion.

reply

I liked the Morgan Starr character, and would've been happy to see him last at least a whole season. Always been a fan of John Dehner. Jennifer didn't seem to have any chemistry with the guys, and also she didn't appear to be that great of an actor. But, why did Ross Elliott come back, and Clu Gulager leave?

reply

Clu Gulager was only gone for about 9 months (3 of which were summer) between season 4 and season 5. He made a film during that time. He came back for a year or two afterward. Then he went back into film. His imdb bio says that he found acting to be very painful, personally, and he got more into things "behind the scenes".

As to Morgan Starr... My own opinion on this... The episodes he was in, while very interesting, tended to lead away from the the guys who made the show popular (The Virginian, Trampas, the other hands) to viewers.

When he was on, you rarely saw any of the other actors, and I think maybe the viewers didn't care for that. His episodes were alot more serious too (rather than the playful you'd get with the other guys).

I never did warm up to the Jennifer character. Diane Roter though, was a better actress than Sara Lane (at least in the first season that I'm watching on Encore Westerns right now). Maybe she improved over time, but her voice had no inflection the first episodes I've seen with her.

reply

I would concur with your guess that Dehner didn't like doing a series. As good an actor as he was, I always wondered why he never took a lead role in TV. He didn't mind doing weekly radio, though, playing the radio version of Paladin on "Have Gun Will Travel".

reply