Johnny Nuance: Showdown at Silverango Canyon
Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear as Iowahawk unearths a long-lost script from the classic western, “Johnny Nuance!”
Although it ran a scant 13 episodes, the western series ‘Johnny Nuance’ still prompts fond memories among baby boomers who followed the exciting weekly adventures of the treaty-slinging frontier diplomat. Featuring former matinee idol Lash LaDouche in the title role, the series debuted on CBS on March 4, 1958 as a mid-season replacement for the low rated ‘Walter Cronkite Presents Hackleigh Rich Tobacco Flavor Playhouse.’ After its brief run, it was replaced by the SciFi classic ‘Enigma Sector.‘
Lash LaDouche went on to star in several other short-lived CBS series, including the 1964 sitcom ‘I Married a Hag,’ the 1968 variety show ‘Flip Out,’ and the gritty 1975 police drama ‘Torino Squad.’ He retired from acting in 1978 to found the LaDouche Winery in St. Helena, California, but is still frequently recognized by fans — an experience he relishes.
“I am proud of my work on Johnny Nuance,” says LaDouche. “The scripts might have been awful, but we taught youngsters that you didn’t have to be violent, or foolhardy, or particularly courageous to be a hero.”
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EPISODE SEVEN: SHOWDOWN AT SILVERANGO CANYON
THEME (sung by Eddie Fontaine and the Frontiersmenaires)
Johnny Nuance! Johnny Nuance!
From the shores of Martha’s Vineyard he rode his horse out West,
With a treaty in his holster and a medal on his chest,
Bringing law and justice to a wild and violent land,
Talking was his creed and sanctions were his brand!
Johnny Nuance! Johnny Nuance! (Hyahhh!)
Outlaws feared his blazing pen!ANNOUNCER: Johnny Nuance… brought to you by Twenty Oxen Team Bleacho.
ACT I — TROUBLE BREWS
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Visit Iowahawk for the rest of this exciting tale of violence and heartbreak in a multilateral West that never was!