{"id":39245,"date":"2014-12-01T03:02:33","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T03:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=39245"},"modified":"2014-12-01T03:02:33","modified_gmt":"2014-12-01T03:02:33","slug":"tinseltown-talks-a-high-chaparral-thanksgiving-with-henry-darrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2014\/12\/01\/tinseltown-talks-a-high-chaparral-thanksgiving-with-henry-darrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinseltown Talks – A High Chaparral Thanksgiving with Henry Darrow"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Still of Henry Darrow in his 2012 film Soda Springs. Courtesy 2C Entertainment. (All photos provided by Henry Darrow)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

High Chaparral Cast photo – Leif Erickson, Mark Slade, Henry Darrow and Linda Cristal.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Cameron Mitchell and Henry Darrow Shot while filming the second season High Chaparral episode, The Glory Soldiers.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

For What We Are About to Receive – the Thanksgiving episode. Henry on the burro with Leif Erickson on the horse in the background.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Screen shot from the banquet scene in the episode For What We Are About to Receive – the Thanksgiving episode. Darrow is pictured in the front right.<\/p><\/div>\n

Come November, Henry Darrow\u2019s thoughts typically turn to turkeys – and burros.<\/p>\n

Darrow, who played Manolito in the popular 60s western television series \u201cHigh Chaparral,\u201d recalls a memorable Thanksgiving episode, \u201cFor What We Are About to Receive,\u201d first broadcast on NBC on Nov. 29, 1968.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent that episode looking for a lost turkey that I\u2019d won in a shooting contest,\u201d said Darrow, from his home in Wilmington, N.C. \u201cThe bird falls off my wagon and in one scene we\u2019re all out in the desert making various turkey sounds trying to catch it. That was a fun episode.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the plot, Manolito\u2019s buckboard holding the turkey is stolen, forcing him to seek alternative transportation.<\/p>\n

\u201cA burro!\u201d recalled Darrow, laughing. \u201cI can still picture myself riding that animal \u2013 it was very boney and uncomfortable!\u201d<\/p>\n

Darrow published his autobiography \u201cHenry Darrow: Lightning in the Bottle,” co-written with Jan Pippins, in 2012 (see www.henrydarrowbook.com) and has appeared in over 130 film and television roles including all 98 \u201cHigh Chaparral\u201d episodes.<\/p>\n

The series has yet to be released on DVD in the U.S., but can be seen weekly on the INSP cable channel.<\/p>\n

Back in the 60s, the show was one of numerous TV westerns dominating network television.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 15 of the top 20 shows were westerns,\u201d said Darrow. But the series stood out for several reasons, including being praised for its realistic treatment of life and conflict in the Old West.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also the first show to feature a Hispanic family alongside an Anglo family in prime time,\u201d noted Darrow.<\/p>\n

The show was created by \u201cBonanza\u201d producer David Dortort, who was looking for a Hispanic actor to play Manolito.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got lucky when he saw me in a play,\u201d said Darrow, whose parents were from Puerto Rico although he was actually born in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

Darrow was a teenager when his family returned to Puerto Rico, where he studied at the university before heading back to the U.S. to take up acting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a kid in Puerto Rico, I\u2019d get out of school and go down to a small, local theater and for a quarter could see all the great cowboy stars like Charlie Starrett (the Durango Kid), Buck Jones, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThen, as a young adult, I got to play one on TV!\u201d<\/p>\n

Darrow says he wanted Manolito to have his own easy-going personality, but also drew on previous stage work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI styled him after two Shakespearean characters I played: Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet, which added a comedic touch, and Iago from Othello, which mixed a little darkness to the character. He was a free spirit!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh Chaparral\u201d also starred Leif Erickson, as head of the Cannon family\u2019s Arizona ranch, as well as Linda Cristal, Mark Slade, and Cameron Mitchell.<\/p>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Cover of Darrow’s 2012 autobiography.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cCam (Mitchell) was quite a character,\u201d said Darrow. \u201cHe introduced me to horse and dog racing, and poker, but I learned a lot from watching him and his inventiveness on the set.\u201d<\/p>\n

During summer shooting on location in the Southwest, Darrow says ground temperatures could exceed 120 degrees. \u201cIf you got knocked down during a fight scene and brushed your skin against a rock out in the sun, it would burn you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the heat, Darrow remembers Mitchell usually dressed in black.<\/p>\n

\u201cCam would jump into the horse troughs when it was hot and after dripping a bit when he got out, you couldn\u2019t tell his black shirt and pants were wet,\u201d he said. \u201cVery smart!\u201d<\/p>\n

Planning for the final banquet scene of the Thanksgiving episode, after a turkey is finally caught and cooked, Darrow remembers Mitchell saying he would serve the peas, leaving the mashed potatoes for Darrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Cam grabbed the potatoes,\u201d laughed Darrow. \u201cHe was always doing something unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n

The meal was also interrupted by neighbors and local Apache Indians, each claiming ownership of the turkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of fighting, we ended up sharing the meal,\u201d explained Darrow. \u201cIt was like the first Thanksgiving all over again \u2013 a wonderfully written episode for the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Darrow will be attending a \u201cHigh Chaparral\u201d reunion on March 19, 2015, in Tucson (see www.thehighchaparralreunion.com).<\/i><\/p>\n

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 450 magazines and newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Come November, Henry Darrow\u2019s thoughts typically turn to turkeys – and burros. Darrow, who played Manolito in the popular 60s western television series \u201cHigh Chaparral,\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nTinseltown Talks - A High Chaparral Thanksgiving with Henry Darrow - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2014\/12\/01\/tinseltown-talks-a-high-chaparral-thanksgiving-with-henry-darrow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tinseltown Talks - A High Chaparral Thanksgiving with Henry Darrow - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Come November, Henry Darrow\u2019s thoughts typically turn to turkeys – and burros. 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