The Everglades (TV series)

Not to be confused with The Glades (TV series).

This article is about the television series. For other uses, see Everglades (disambiguation).

The Everglades is an American crime-adventure television series that aired in syndication for one season from 1961–62 and in reruns. Ron Hayes starred as Constable Lincoln Vail, a law enforcement officer of the fictional Everglades County Patrol who traveled the Florida Everglades in an airboat, a vehicle which was often the focus of the program. Hayes, a northern California actor and stuntman, was an avid outdoorsman and conservationist.

The Everglades
Ron Hayes (Lincoln Vail) being made up for a scene
Genre	Adventure fiction, Crime drama
Created by	Albert Wilmore
Written by	Stuart Jerome Richard Donovan Stephen Kandel
Directed by	Jack Herzberg (19 episodes) John Floria (14) Franklin Adreon (4)
Starring	Ron Hayes Gordon Casell
Theme music composer	Warren Barker Jerry Keller
Opening theme	"The Everglades"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	38
Production
Executive producer	Ivan Tors
Producers	Budd Schulberg Johnny Florea
Camera setup	multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Ziv-United Artists
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	October 9, 1961 (1961-10-09) – June 26, 1962 (1962-06-26)

Gordon Casell appeared in five of the 38 half-hour episodes as Chief Anderson, Vail's superior. Steve Brodie made three appearances as Captain Andy Benson; Dan Chandler was twice cast as Vail's sidekick, airboat guide Pete Hammond. Future film star Burt Reynolds appeared twice in the role of Lew Johnson and once as Trask.

Guest stars included R.G. Armstrong, Victor Buono, Roger C. Carmel, Paul Carr, Jack Cassidy, Lonny Chapman, John Doucette, Penny Edwards, Frank Ferguson, Luke Halpin, Douglas Kennedy, Robert Knapp, Paul Lambert, Tyler McVey, Larry Pennell, Mala Powers, Chris Robinson, Johnny Seven, Ray Teal, Bill Travers and Dawn Wells.

Background

The original script for the series, "Son of the Everglades", was written by model and actor Albert Wilmore of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, who spent his free time sailing and fishing in Whitewater Bay, before the Everglades became a national park. Wilmore was fascinated by the myriad birds, wildlife and mangrove estuaries in the shallow waters, and the native Seminoles. His son Scott recalled that Wilmore decided to meld a wildlands backdrop and use native Seminoles, with a park ranger, and high-speed airboats. Wilmore pitched the story to a number of production companies in Miami and Hollywood, Florida.

After Wilmore's wife Edith died, Scott discovered a deed for an acre of land within Everglades National Park. Scott explained that the deed was a gift from the Seminoles, acknowledging Albert's efforts for their inclusion in the production. Originally, the director wanted to use white actors in reddish makeup instead.

Scott Wilmore later sold the land, under threat of eminent domain, to the National Park Service for $300.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"The Escape"	Unknown	Unknown	October 9, 1961 (1961-10-09)
2	"Heat in Town"	Unknown	Unknown	October 16, 1961 (1961-10-16)
3	"Greed of the Glades"	Unknown	Unknown	October 23, 1961 (1961-10-23)
4	"Primer for Pioneers"	Unknown	Unknown	October 30, 1961 (1961-10-30)
5	"Angry Town"	Unknown	Unknown	November 6, 1961 (1961-11-06)
6	"The Photographer"	Unknown	Unknown	November 13, 1961 (1961-11-13)
7	"Clay Island Murder"	Unknown	Unknown	November 20, 1961 (1961-11-20)
8	"Lie Detector"	Unknown	Unknown	November 27, 1961 (1961-11-27)
9	"Flight at Boca Chico"	Jack Herzberg	Teddi Sherman	December 4, 1961 (1961-12-04)
Vail is forced to judge a deadly duel between the heads of two feuding families.
10	"The Experts"	John Florea	Richard Donovan & William Woodfield	December 11, 1961 (1961-12-11)
11	"Good Boy"	Unknown	Unknown	December 18, 1961 (1961-12-18)
12	"The Long Walk"	Unknown	Unknown	December 26, 1961 (1961-12-26)
13	"The Brand"	Unknown	Unknown	January 1, 1962 (1962-01-01)
14	"Young Osceola"	Unknown	Unknown	January 8, 1962 (1962-01-08)
15	"Force Ten"	Unknown	Unknown	January 15, 1962 (1962-01-15)
16	"The Running Target"	John Florea	Stephen Kandel	January 22, 1962 (1962-01-22)
17	"The Hostage"	Unknown	Unknown	January 29, 1962 (1962-01-29)
18	"Black Honeymoon"	Unknown	Unknown	February 5, 1962 (1962-02-05)
19	"Edge of Panic"	Unknown	Unknown	February 12, 1962 (1962-02-12)
20	"Emergency Treatment"	Unknown	Unknown	February 19, 1962 (1962-02-19)
21	"Final Hours"	Unknown	Unknown	February 26, 1962 (1962-02-26)
22	"River of No Return"	Unknown	Unknown	March 5, 1962 (1962-03-05)
23	"Friday's Children"	Franklin Adreon	Story by : Roland Martone Teleplay by : William Woodfield	March 12, 1962 (1962-03-12)
24	"Rowboat Teacher"	Unknown	Unknown	March 19, 1962 (1962-03-19)
25	"Curtains for Kocomo"	Unknown	Unknown	March 26, 1962 (1962-03-26)
26	"Fatal Information"	Unknown	Unknown	April 3, 1962 (1962-04-03)
27	"Killer in Calico"	Unknown	Unknown	April 10, 1962 (1962-04-10)
28	"Keene's Choice"	Unknown	Unknown	April 17, 1962 (1962-04-17)
29	"The Perfect Crime"	Unknown	Unknown	April 24, 1962 (1962-04-24)
30	"Unwanted: Dead or Alive"	Unknown	Unknown	May 1, 1962 (1962-05-01)
31	"The Stranger"	Unknown	Unknown	May 8, 1962 (1962-05-08)
32	"Hideout"	Unknown	Unknown	May 15, 1962 (1962-05-15)
33	"Price of Evil"	Unknown	Unknown	May 22, 1962 (1962-05-22)
34	"A Day's Occupation"	Unknown	Unknown	May 29, 1962 (1962-05-29)
35	"The Rookie"	Unknown	Unknown	June 5, 1962 (1962-06-05)
36	"The Four Day Weekend"	Unknown	Unknown	June 12, 1962 (1962-06-12)
37	"Appointment with Death"	Unknown	Unknown	June 19, 1962 (1962-06-19)
38	"The Expedition"	Jack Herzberg	Kathleen Blatz	June 26, 1962 (1962-06-26)

Production

South Florida shooting locations included Everglades National Park, Andytown, Coopertown, Frog City, Sweetwater and Forty Mile Bend along the Tamiami Trail.

The original plan was to use white actors as Seminoles with makeup and studio-produced costumes, but native Seminoles, wearing their traditional dress, were used. They were pleased to have the comparatively easy work as both extras and, because of their expertise and mechanical abilities, to operate and maintain the airboats. They had little prior employment opportunities living within the Everglades, other than beading, giving airboat rides and wrestling with alligators for the tourist trade. Few were given speaking parts and nearly all of them were denied entry into the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the actors union.

Because the show was on a tight budget (an episode was completed every two-and-a-half days), Chandler was given little training on airboats, so there were a few unintentional "flybys" and at least one crash, leaving the actor swinging from an overhanging tree. Hays, however, became an accomplished air boat driver and formed close bonds with the Seminoles who supplied and maintained them.

During 1961, Tors was filming the first of his two Flipper feature films in Miami and the Florida Keys; Dan Chandler was signed for a recurring role in his Flipper TV series, and for a part in the 1964 movie sequel, Flipper's New Adventure.

References

• The Everglades at IMDb
• McNeil, Alex (1996), Total Television, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-024916-8.