Temple Houston (TV series)

Temple Houston is based loosely on the career of the real-life circuit-riding lawyer Temple Lea Houston (1860–1905), son of the more famous Sam Houston. Little, however, binds all the episodes together under a common framework. The series variously cast the characters and situations in both an overtly humorous and a deadly serious light. Author-historian (and attorney) Francis M. Nevins asserts of the first episode entitled "The Twisted Rope", "Clearly, the concept here is Perry Mason out West", going so far as to note that Temple Houston's court opponent "apes Hamilton Burger by accusing Houston of 'prolonging this trial with a lot of dramatic nonsense'".[2] Later episodes turned Houston into more of a detective than a lawyer. Over the course of the series, the bulk of the narrative sees Houston actually gathering evidence, rather than trying cases. In the end, the series largely eschewed criminal law in favor of overtly humorous plots, such as in the episode "The Law and Big Annie", in which Houston uses his legal expertise to help a friend decide what to do after he inherits an elephant.[2]

The producers tried to avoid any storylines that would embarrass the two surviving children of Temple Houston who were still living when the series aired.[5]

Hunter as Houston

The unused pilot with Hunter cast as lawyer Timothy Higgins, was released in theaters in December 1963 as The Man from Galveston. Hopeful of success in the series and being paid $5,000 per episode, Jeffrey Hunter, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, described the historic figure that he played as "one of the finest lawyers in the last part of the 19th century." Indeed, Temple Houston at the age of 20 was the youngest practicing lawyer in Texas. He was the county attorney in Brazoria County south of Houston, until he accepted appointment as the district attorney of the 35th Judicial District, which then encompassed 26 counties in the Texas Panhandle, based in the frontier community of Mobeetie in Wheeler County.[7]

As a member of the Texas State Senate from 1885 to 1889, Temple Houston became involved with a dispute with the legendary cattleman and rancher Charles Goodnight, sometimes called "the father of the Texas Panhandle". At issue was fencing of grasslands to accommodate large ranchers. Houston sided unsuccessfully with the smaller ranchers who wanted free grassland. One historian described the real Temple Houston as "a flamboyant figure in his black frock coat and shoulder-length auburn hair topped off with a white Stetson. He liked to lace his arguments with literary allusions and could enthrall a courtroom or legislative chamber."[7] Houston gave the dedication in 1888 for the new state capitol building in Austin, Texas. He subsequently worked for Oklahoma statehood, which came to fruition two years after his death. Houston lost races for Texas attorney general and territorial governor of Oklahoma. In the series, Houston located his clients by traveling with the circuit court and being available as needed.[7]

Jeffrey Hunter described the Temple Houston that he sought to emulate as having "many sides to his character. He was a flamboyant orator; he was a bit of a dandy; he was tough; he was gentle; he was an excellent marksman," all features which gave the series greater latitude with a western format. Houston was also described as follows:

He would ride, shoot, fight, drink, and love with the best of them and maybe better than most. The modesty that he displays in day-to-day life would disappear as soon as he enters a courtroom, becoming the flamboyant attorney famous throughout the American Southwest.[7]

Though Hunter was an optimistic person and a collegial colleague on the set, Temple Houston proved illusory for his long-term career prospects. Hunter thought that the series had found its voice beginning with the 12th episode, "Enough Rope", by having adopted the light-hearted approach of ABC's former Maverick western series.[8] As Hunter explained the change in format, the series was "conceived in humor and delivered in dead seriousness. Then, about halfway through the season, NBC decided to return to the tongue-in-cheek approach. By that time it was too late. The big joke around town was that the series was about a synagogue in Texas."[7]

In taking the Temple Houston role, Hunter was compelled by a scheduling conflict to bow out of John Ford's final western film, Cheyenne Autumn. Hunter died in 1969 at the age of 42, having undergone unsuccessful brain surgery following a stroke that had been apparently triggered by a household fall. Oddly, the Hunter-Houston parallel prevailed in death too: Houston succumbed to a brain hemorrhage just three days after his 45th birthday.[7]

Because the show produced so few episodes, it had little presence on the domestic syndication market. However, it appears to have enjoyed limited international syndication. The series was shown in Japan in 1963,[10] and on Australian regional television station GTS-4 in 1974.[11]

In the United Kingdom the series was shown on BBC One television between October 1964 and July 1965, inspiring one of the few pieces of memorabilia from the show—a 1965 British annual.[12]As in the US, the pilot The Man From Galveston was never shown on UK TV but did duty as a cinema second feature in April 1964 (supporting Warner's Mary, Mary).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Temple Houston (TV series).

• Temple Houston at IMDb
• Temple Houston at TV.com
• The Man from Galveston at IMDb
• Temple Houston: The Story Behind a Forgotten Western.
• Temple Houston at the Classic TV Archive