Why I left John Wayne, said “No” to Clint, quit my series and married Stanley Kramer! Karen Sharpe!

[@lpheitman]

Karen is as great an interview as she is an actress. What an intelligent woman and great communicator! She sure made your role easy. Karen was one of my favorites. She was a level above and really stood out. Thanks Rob for inviting Karen to share her movie and TV experiences.

[@markr.devereux3385]

The HIGH and the MIGHTY was really memorable fillm. It ended up nominated for academy award. I love this woman.

[@robr1656]

She is a great story teller with a lot of class. Thanks for this Rob.

[@maryuline2585]

Good Morning. Thank you for always having great interviews . You are the only one keeping our childhoods of Westerns alive!!

[@AWordonWesterns]

Thanks, mary. Great memories aren't they? We try hard!

[@peace-yv4qd]

As a nine year old boy I saw the High and the Mighty at the drive-in in Long Beach California. Movies back then were an escape during the difficult times growing up. Sometimes I would spend all day in a darkened theatre watching the double features over and over. Movies smoothed out the rough times during those days.

[@djdiscoworm]

todays Hollywood Should Be Ashamed Of Ignoring Our Great American Actors in the Past. Exept For You Rob, Thank You o Much. I Love her Story. Truly Hollywood . I was raised in Hollywood in the early 60s. peace,Polyester My father was a Dj for the L.A. basin Country and Western Music. we had the greats over.

[@AWordonWesterns]

Awesome, disco. Thanks. Who were some of the performers who dropped by?

[@djdiscoworm]

Patsey Cline, hank Williams, Johnny Cash and June Carter. I was a Little boy in the 59's and we were living in Compton. their City Hall aired on Tv some of the best talent. In the early 60's we lived in Hollywood. i went to hollywood jr. High. I was In Math Class The day Kennedy was Killed. My dad Smiley Monroe narrated the Hollywood Christmas Parade for radio. we were looking over the Parade in a Balcony.

[@djdiscoworm]

Hank Williams sr. song. Straight Out Of Compton''

[@KyleCowden]

She's really Sharpe. The nostalgia is off the chart with Rob and his interviews.

[@AWordonWesterns]

Thanks, Kyle.

[@arlineabdalian8974]

Many thanks, Rob, RJ and Team AWOW for another interesting interview. Karen Sharpe is delightful and very articulate with a wealth of information to impart. Many thanks again for this excellent oral history. Be well, all of you.

[@markhendon]

Great episode, I love hearing stories about John Wayne and Jim Arness. Things had come out on the internet about them becoming enemies later on in life. I like to believe they were not true. Thanks Rob, for what you do

[@delcannon5051]

Loved that story about Stanley Kramer and Karen's meeting and marrying.

[@philigan2339]

I can't thank you enough for these interviews. We are so blessed to be able to see & learn from these. I hope you can keep this up for many, many years. 🙏🙏🙏

[@janicerosenthal8798]

What a beautiful woman and a beautiful interview. She’s so refreshing and great storyteller. Wonderful ❤

[@AWordonWesterns]

Glad you enjoyed it, Janice. Thanks

[@joansmith1195]

Great interview and fun to watch..

[@1YUPIK]

Wonderful interview! Congratulations!

[@TERoss-jk9ny]

Once again, Rob, you have outdone yourself again. Great interview.

[@rlsfrny]

What a marvelous interview, Rob. And a marvelous woman.

[@eddiearmer3580]

Love your interviews Rob, and thank you. Growing up in England in the 60s, I remember with great fondness The Range Rider, Cheyenne Body and many more Westerns and characters. They were aired early evening on our black and white TV....did you have same problems in the US with errant tv aerials messing with the vertical holds, infuriating!? These great shows have stayed with me, and I still dream of becoming a cowboy. Your terrific prorammes transport me back to happy times. Keep up the great work Rob, which I watch on my phone, when not interupted by a bad signal.....just like the old days.

[@AWordonWesterns]

Thanks, Eddie. An antenna on your phone probably won't help much! LOL

[@robertwoodstribute5472]

I do love your interviews and themes, just so wonderful to have someone like you Rob.. thanks for doing a such exemplary work, congrats !!!! 👏👏👏

[@atreb56]

Thanks for this engaging interview. What a wonderful storyteller.

[@karltork6040]

What a marvelous guest and interview. And thank you again for mentioning Victor Jory, who is so under appreciated.

[@AWordonWesterns]

Glad you enjoyed it, Karl. It's always nice to shine a light on the great Victor Jory!

[@markr.devereux3385]

Victor Jory unappreciated ? He was like a God to me growing up in SAN DIEGO. The police lieutenant on the weekly episodes of MANHUNT set in the city of San diego was huge.

[@AWordonWesterns]

@@markr.devereux3385 Lucky you, Mark. It was a syndicated series and wasn't carried where I grew up. I know Jory from his feature films and later guest star appearances on TV. He was always an interesting performer. What a voice! I'm going to track it down. Thanks.

[@karltork6040]

It aired in the Chicago area. I have a bad D.V.D. from a memorabilgia show, that is all I've found. I believe he played Lt. Fanukin. Nice to know three of us remember. He also did an episode of "Banacek", he and Broderick Crawford played old gangsters.

[@markr.devereux3385]

@karltork6040 if he was an actor in the 1930s when he looked middle aged even at that time and on MANHUNT he looked a little grizzled but always suit and tie and hat. The credits used to show the old city jail near the harbor before it was demolished where the detectives had there offices. I remember as a kid picking up my grandfather when he got released at the portal and he complained about rats and cockroaches. It was a Spanish neo colonial architecture.

[@djdiscoworm]

Rob You Just don't Age !!! Again, Great work. Peace, Djdiscoworm you-tube

[@JimPack-jy3rr]

Robert Stack was in the "High and the Mighty"? That must be how he landed his part in "Airplane"!

[@US_Joe]

Great episode Rob - Thank you and have a good week. 🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎

[@pattiwhite9575]

She was in so many great projects. She needs more time to discuss more of old hollywood. I am sure she is a wealth of knowledge of a lot of goings on in the industry.

[@mjemigh3304]

Another good one, Rob! Even Dick West, the all-American boy, was a little less irritating than usual.

[@jerryconnos6112]

Very cool interview will you be doing video for John wayne birthday

[@AWordonWesterns]

Our Friday Night movie, WORD'S WAYBACK, will continue our John Wayne movies through the rest of the month. My guest for next Sunday's A WORD ON WESTERNS/WAYNE will be Janet Arness talking about Duke and his good friend (and her husband), James Arness. They both have a May 26th birthday that day. It's gonna be a party, jerry!

[@paulkitt-er9dr]

Remarkable lady. Nice episode of Range Rider too.

[@prycerobertson4695]

I like to envision the main title to Johnny Ringo as a cross between The Rifleman and James Bond.

[@AWordonWesterns]

I see it!

[@terryhurlburt9113]

I first saw Karen in the Don Durant Western "JOHNNY RONGO" and fell in love with her. She broke my heart when she said that she hated that show. Wonderful actress and another good interview. Thanks, Rob! Rob, as a post script. Don Durant's gun was an actual gun built during the Old West. It was called a "LAMATTE". Steve McQueen's sawed off .30-.30 Winchester was never around during the West. It was the most popular toy that sold well after WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE left the air.

[@terryhurlburt9113]

Rob, didn't you do an earlier interview with Karen about her appearance on "THE WILD WILD WEST?" It was then that I heard her say that she hated her role on "JOHNNY RINGO." As a 6yr. old, I "hated" girls but fell in love with her "LAURA" on Johnny Ringo. I also had a crush on Patricia Blair in "THE RIFLEMAN." So much for a little boy who "hated girls!" LOL!

[@AWordonWesterns]

This AWOW episode is an extended one that combines her two past episodes. We are getting many new viewers and I've been trying to include everything we shoot to make them longer. Thanks, terry.

[@sammychicken4290]

Kind regards from Adelaide, South Australia 🇦🇺

[@AWordonWesterns]

Howdy, back at ya down under, Sammy.

[@alellefson4778]

Wow, Rob... Your stuff is always fascinating... but THAT was amazing... I liked the longer running time [but, then again, how could you help it?]... When he was little my son LOVED Range Rider... He even called himself Dick West [and this was the early 2000's, not 1957 :) Good job, Brother!

[@AWordonWesterns]

That is sooo cool. Dick West the all American boy!

[@karenleemallonee684]

Oh, she is just lovely! I have a DVD of Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? and Karen is on the Special Features and she speaks of the making of the film & the actors, she's very interesting! Just a week or so ago I watched an interview with her Daughter, Kat, with Harvey Brownstone , she resembles her Mother very much! I didnt know about the Westerns she made, The Range Rover was a lot of fun, thank you!!! 👍👍

[@AWordonWesterns]

Thanks, Karen. Yes, the resemblance is amazing. I had fun doing Harvey's show too.

[@karenleemallonee684]

@@AWordonWesterns I believed I watched it the night it premiered! I should watch it again, my memories don't seem to be sticking like they used to...😉

[@markr.devereux3385]

Yes I remember the feature which I watched. Guess who's coming to dinner is one of the best KRAM ER MOVIES. SHE also was around for a MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD. she has some great memories of another of my all time favorite comedies.

[@wiseguymaybe]

I know what happened between Karen and Jerry Lewis when she made Disorderly Orderly. She is a very classy lady, so I won't bring it up either, I just know it wasn't a pleasent experience for her. Love this interview Rob and really like Karen Sharpe. In my opinion still a lovely looking lady.

[@hiramnoone]

She might have realized she was working with a genius. But only if they were filming in France.

[@wiseguymaybe]

@@hiramnoone A genius huh? Okay, Lets hear it in her own words kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpWrXodvZrBjqrc

[@PhilippinesFarmLife]

I don't think I could speak if I saw John Wayne standing next to the camera. Mrs. Kramer has worked with everyone who was anybody AND then being married to Mr. Kramer, WOW! Thank you Mr. Word for this video. Where are you going to do FUTURE INTERVIEWS, since you mentioned you have left the Autry.

[@AWordonWesterns]

On location. I'm hoping to be able to book guests easier and will be able to have longer conversations.

[@hiramnoone]

Wayne suggested Bob Cummings as the pilot who loses his nerve in "The High and the Mighty" because Bob was a friend and also a licensed pilot with his own plane who had also been a flight instructor during WW2. Director Bill Wellman, a pilot himself was okay with that casting, but a couple of factors came into play before anything official was decided. One being that by that time Cummings had been mostly locked into comedic roles and it was wondered if the public would accept him in such a serious part, and Robert Stack who'd admired the novel by Ernest K Gann also wanted the part, so approached Wellman and was able to persuade the Director to at least give him an interview before a final casting decision was made. Once that happened (okay, now get ready to fill in the famous Paul Harvey line) it became obvious to Wellman that long shot Stack was indeed more suitable, and so Robert Stack, five years before he became a household name as Eliot Ness, got to play a very un Ness-like character losing his cool in a crisis in a standout role among an ensemble of other fine actors in a highly successful John Wayne non Western.

[@AWordonWesterns]

Thanks, Hiram. Both Bob's were friends of mine and both were wonderful men. But Cummings got shafted a couple of times. He also was the lead in 12 ANGRY MEN on TV, live. Henry Fonda saw it, optioned it and took the lead role for the B&W feature version, which he produced. It was also the film debut of TV director Sidney Lumet. When I interviewed Fonda years later about the film, he was still RAGING MAD at Eric Plescow and Arthur Krim (of United Artists) who released the small, intimate film and premiered it at the huge Radio City Music Hall theater to a mostly empty house. He felt it should have been handled differently and he was right.

[@hiramnoone]

@@AWordonWesterns Pretty impressive that you knew them both, Rob. Both having had early success in films were later much bigger stars on television. Yet Fonda being one of the biggest names in movies for decades had nothing like the success of either of the two Bobs on the telly, despite having a couple of shots at it in series himself. There are a lot of both ways examples of that. Big in movies, but no success on the tube. Huge star on TV, but a no go in films. Being such similar mediums it just doesn't seem to compute. So wunna those conundrums that'd make a great PHD subject if someone could solve it, I think. "12 Angry Men" is of course now a classic and one of Fonda's best, with a collection of then little known television and stage actors who almost to a man became extremely well known and regarded in movies and TV after that film's release. Didn't know Cummings had done it first on live tv. Were any of the remaining tv eleven picked to do the film do you know?

[@AWordonWesterns]

@@hiramnoone Two from the live broadcast. Joseph Sweeney, Juror #9, and George Voskovec, #11. You're right about the stellar cast in the movie. Everyone was solid, actually in both versions.

[@hiramnoone]

@@AWordonWesterns I woulda guessed more, but I can understand why Fonda wouldn't have wanted to use too much of the original cast, particularly with himself replacing Cummings in the film. Had his version bombed with most of the tv cast intact? Sure wouldna been hard to figure where all the fingers would be pointing afterward. Now I gotta find out who the resta those jurors on TV were.

[@hiramnoone]

Studio 1 1954. Cummings juror #8, Franchot Tone Juror #3, Edward Arnold #10, Paul Hartman #7, John Beal #2, Walter Able #4, Bart Burns #6, Norman Fell #1, Lee Philips #5, and Larkin Ford #12. Also with Vincent Gardenia as the baliff And Betty Furness to show the jurors to the fridge. Yep that cast was solid all right.

[@wesmcgee1648]

She's great walking talking history!

[@johnpeddicord4932]

Enjoyed the interview

[@isapluschke3643]

Ms Karen is fun to listen, too

[@davidburroughs2244]

The only thing the Kid did that was really wrong was letting Karen Sharpe get away in the long run

[@davidhileman8251]

Possibly the ONLY actress who could make me take my eyes off of Barbara Eden in the same scene! Karen Sharpe was in the pilot for "I Dream of Jeannie" as Larry Hagman's fiancée.

[@ScotWalt858]

Thanks for sharing

[@AWordonWesterns]

Thanks for watching!

[@eddiearmer3580]

.....I meant Bodie 🌞

[@prycerobertson4695]

Walter Greene scored several episodes of The Range Rider and its sister series The Gene Autry Show (both shows were done by Autry's Flying A Productions). His other credits include Woody Woodpecker and Pink Panther cartoons (the former succeeding Clarence Wheeler), several B-movies, and the Tarzan TV series (the one with Ron Ely). Irving Friedman later went to work for Screen Gems.

[@AWordonWesterns]

Thanks, pryce. I always like Greene's scores and didn't know he did work for Woody Woodpecker. Thanks!

[@markr.devereux3385]

SCREEN GEMS home of GUNSMOKE and my grandmother from Columbia studios was an assistant editor and had such stories of the cast being like a surrogate family. The full hour episodes were a challenge of film cutting final edit & sound ready for broadcast on Saturday evenings.

[@prycerobertson4695]

Screen Gems was not involved with Gunsmoke, which was produced (as well as aired) by CBS for its entire run.

[@staciekidd6719]

She is still beautiful. She gave a wonderful interview. Not to be a pain but have to ask if you found a place for Janet Arness interview from last year during their birthday? Is there ever an interview you have done that you don't use? You do a wonderful job! Keep it up!

[@AWordonWesterns]

Thanks, stacie. Janet's stories of her romance and love affair with Jim are very special. I've been saving my conversation with Janet because this coming Sunday lands on Jim's birthday and I thought it would be a perfect way to celebrate! Yep, next Sunday is May 26th. We get lucky sometimes. Other times...not so lucky. We always try and use every interview. Once, during a full day of interviews at the Autry, we lost all of the audio. The only sound was recorded on the cameras and it's practically unusable. Very frustrating. RJ, however, feels that he will be able to finally save the conversations using AI. We hope to have those available soon. Thanks again. And don't miss Janet next Sunday!

[@staciekidd6719]

@@AWordonWesterns Thanks so much! Appreciated.

[@OldBiker54]

LeMat Revolver

[@Troy_nov1965]

I use Lemats in Red Dead Redemption Online

[@edwardhall1829]

That is the LeMat Grapeshop Pistol or based on it.

[@hiramnoone]

Elkanah Bent, the villain in John Jakes's "North and South" trilogy carried one. I remember with everyone else carrying Colt Army models and Dragoons I had to look it up to see what one looked like.

[@joycecasper-zu7pn]

🎉

[@markrandle4368]

took me awhile to remember Paul Goddards name, from Lost in Space.

[@colonialradio1]

Mark Goddard. He sadly passed away last October.

[@AWordonWesterns]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqjPeGynn95jntEsi=fb976PuwGvLfoN1l Mark is in our 2023 Memorial Tribute. Wish I could have had him on the show to talk about his career. Thanks, Col.

[@barbararustici574]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻✨👍🏻

[@JSB1882]

I always wonder why Jock Mahoney went by so many changes in his name.

[@JesseOaks-ef9xn]

Did she do the riding in that short? She was a good horsewoman.

[@calvincraft2580]

Cant possibly tell you enough how I dont care!

[@seymourwrasse3321]

Wayne actually got Arness the part on Gunsmoke

[@seymourwrasse3321]

there actually was a pistol with a shotgun barrel, it was the LeMat revolver made between 1856-1865. LeMat's revolver was used by such famous Confederate officers as Major Generals Braxton Bragg, Stonewall Jackson,J. E. B. Stuart, Richard H. Anderson, and Captain Henry Wirz. Confederate Major General J. E. B. Stuart "was known to favor the LeMat revolver". General Beauregard's personal engraved LeMat, which he carried throughout the war, is preserved at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.

[@AWordonWesterns]

Amazing. Thanks for the info, seymour. It was rare to see such an unusual revolver for TV.