Post by Kaz ~;~ on Jul 17, 2010 11:11:08 GMT -5
===============
Series Summary:: The series revolves around the lives of a mountain family who originally hailed from the fictional community of Smoky Corners, West Virginia. The McCoys moved to California, where they became dirt farmers. The family consisted of Grandpa Amos McCoy, the head of the family (Walter Brennan), his grandson Luke (Richard Crenna), Luke's new bride Kate (Kathleen Nolan), teenage sister Hassie (Lydia Reed), and 11-year-old brother Little Luke (Michael Winkelman). The double-naming of the brothers was explained in the first episode by the elder Luke: Because their parents were so excited over the birth of the younger boy, "they forgot all about me!"
When they arrived at the new ranch, which had been in the family (it was originally owned by an uncle, Ben McCoy, who had died), they also gained a Hispanic ranch hand named Pepino (Tony Martinez), who worked with them and eventually became part of the family. The McMichaels, a brother-and-sister family, lived on the hill not far from the McCoys, and Amos and George would sometimes spat. Kate was friendly with Flora McMichael, George's sister, and got involved with a lot of the life in the community. She also served as a mother figure for Luke's younger siblings, Hassie and Little Luke. Many of the episodes had a moral theme, as one of the 1957 segments entitled "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man" with Joseph Kearns.
Just before the show ended its run on ABC, Nolan decided to leave the show because of a contract dispute, and Winkelman and Reed were becoming hard to handle. The three were written out of the series: the character of Kate was killed off, Hassie left home to attend college, and Little Luke joined the Army. Luke became a widower, and many of the stories revolved around Grandpa trying to match him up with a new wife. This nearly worked when Luke met Louise Howard (played by Janet De Gore), a widow with a young son, Greg (played by Butch Patrick).
====================
(Series Cast)
Richard Crenna ... Luke McCoy
Walter Brennan ... Grandpa Amos McCoy
Michael Winkelman ... Little Luke
Lydia Reed ... Hassie
Tony Martinez ... Pepino
Kathleen Nolan ... Kate McCoy
Andy Clyde ... George MacMichael
Madge Blake ... Flora MacMichael
