Lancer

1 9 6 8 – 1 9 7 0 (USA)
51 x 50 minute episodes

The story of Murdoch Lancer (played by Andrew Duggan) – a twice-widowed sheep and cattle rancher struggling to defend his vast 100,000-acre ranch in California’s San Joaquin Valley against would-be land grabbers during the 1870s with the help of his two sons (half-brothers) and his ward.

Oldest son Scott (Wayne Maunder), whose genteel Irish mother died in childbirth, was raised by his maternal grandfather in Boston, where he graduated from college and became a gentleman.

Younger son Johnny (James Stacy) was taken from his father by his Mexican mother when he was two years old. He grew up on the Mexican frontier and went by the name Johnny Madrid, earning a reputation as a fast gun and narrowly escaping death before the rifles of a Mexican firing squad.

Men from Johnny’s past occasionally showed up to cause problems for Johnny and his newfound family.

Teresa O’Brien (Elizabeth Baur) became Murdoch’s ward – and a surrogate sister to the two boys – when her father, Murdoch’s ranch foreman, was murdered.

Lancer was one of many Westerns that tried to imitate the successful Bonanza formula, but with little success.

James Stacy lost his left arm and leg in a motorcycle accident in 1973 when a drunken motorist hit him in Bel Air’s Benedict Canyon. His girlfriend, Claire Cox, was killed in the accident. After he recovered, Stacy appeared in roles created to accommodate his disability.

In 1995, Stacy was charged with molesting an 11-year-old girl. After fleeing to Hawaii and attempting suicide by jumping off a cliff, he stood trial in California and received a six-year prison sentence.

He died of anaphylactic shock in September 2016 after being administered an antibiotic injection. He was 79.

Murdoch Lancer
Andrew Duggan
Scott Lancer
Wayne Maunder
Johnny Madrid Lancer
James Stacy
Teresa O’Brien
Elizabeth Baur
Jelly Hoskins
Paul Brinegar

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