Can anyone tell me WTF he was doing on this show? Others may disagree, but I have never talked to anyone that had a positive impression of his performance on this show. Wolders made as convincing a cowboy/Ranger as Pee Wee Herman might have. He struck me as a paisley-wearing poof with an accent. Your non-trollish thoughts are welcome.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
I believe that Robert Wolders was added to the cast of Laredo due to the problems the production encountered regarding Neville Brand.I'm a huge fan of Laredo & I got a kick out of the Eric Hunter character.Eric was quite a contrast to Chad,Joe & especially Reese & just about any TV western cowboy at that time.His outrageous clothes,worldly & sophisticated European style,intellect & polished manners were fun to watch.Seeing Eric & Chad compete for the ladies was a hoot too,Eric usually won.I realize that Eric was not everyone's cup of tea & some fans outright dislike him.Not me,I felt he added a fresh dimension to Laredo in its second season.I also think his character fit in well due to Laredo being as much a comedy series as it was an action/adventure western.
shareI never liked this character for the simple reason that he took time away from the other 3.
shareGus, you're absolutely right. Wolders added nothing and likely hastened the demise of Laredo.
"It's a hard country, kid."
Many of us like the character of Erik. In a previous post, Powersroc made the case for Erik's place in the show better than I can. I will add, though, that Erik's clothes gave the other Rangers one more thing to joke about, so that alone made his addition worthwhile. And, no, the addition of Wolders' character didn't hasten the show's cancellation. Laredo was barely renewed after the first season. It was a borderline case and almost didn't see a second season. The ratings actually improved in the second year. Problems arose, though, from Neville Brand's alcoholism and erratic behavior both on and off the set. There were several times that he didn't show up for work, so he had to be written out of a few episodes. NBC offered to guarantee Laredo two more seasons if Universal Studios could guarantee Neville Brand's participation. He was, after all, the star of the show. The studio couldn't, so the series was cancelled. I, for one, wish we could have seen those two additional seasons or at least one of them.
shareI totally agree with you.Laredo easily had more seasons left in it & should have run much longer.All of the elements were there:action-adventure,humor & a terrific chemistry among the cast.Besides Laredo(1965-'67),one of my other favorite westerns was The High Chaparral(1967-'71). Both shows were on the NBC Network & I would have loved to have seen a crossover episode between the two series.The Rangers could have chased an outlaw gang to Arizona where they would have met the Cannon family of THC.Unfortunately Laredo ceased production the same year that THC premiered.
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I agree powersroc. That would have been an excellent idea. I guess I'll have to get Laredo on DVD. Already have the first 3 seasons of THC.
shareI lived in southern Missouri when this show was on so I am aging myself. We only had one channel TV (KYTV Springfield) and Laredo was one of the shows that I really enjoyed watching. I was very shocked when it was cancelled and just found out sadly that a lot of the issue was Neville Brand's drinking problem. I agree also that it could gone on longer. Maybe that is why they tested Claude Akins was to get Brand to straighten up. Today unfortunately Mr. Brand would have probably been fired and "tranferred" and Mr. Akins would have come on board and seeing Claude Akins' ability to to that kind of comedy, Sheriff Lobo, it would have probably worked.
I also agree with the way this thread started that Robert Wolders was NOT a good fit. From the get go he impressed me as a dandy who probably would have never gotten into the Texas Rangers at that time. No disrespect to Mr. Wolders who is still in the business but some parts and characters just do not fit. As I recall, he was not in too many episodes so maybe the producers also saw that his character was not working. He is the only member of the cast still living as far as I know. To the rest of the crew, Rest In Peace guys and thanks for a lot of enjoyable laughs.
I must correct myself. William Smith is still with us and still kicking it. My sincere and respectful apologies to Mr. Smith.
shareRobert Wolders was a regular cast member in the second season and appeared in 22 out of 26 episodes.
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