Memories of 1950's Television ~ "Fury" Starring Peter Graves

I don't care if my age is showing when I do these articles. I grew up with television; were both toddlers and grew into our teens together. If you have such memories as I, then we are a part of living history and should be glad to share this first hand information. When I was little we had fun and carefree programs about the difficult situations we could all get into and the non-earth shattering consequences. None of these were critical, but the innocence of youth is something that today's television has taken away. Hope I can bring you back to the good old days and for those who were not around back then; an appreciation of days gone by.

Saturday mornings were filled with kids shows back then and although I was always a city girl, I was intrigued by western themed shows with ranches and plenty of wide open spaces to enjoy. One of the shows I loved was "Fury" a story about a boy named Joey who was adopted by Jim Newton after his wife and son were killed in an accident. Joey was saved from a life of crime by Jim and brought to Jim's ranch where he developed a relationship with a horse named Fury. Fury was a wild mustang and the correlation of the boy who needed to be steered on the right path and a horse who needed love to survive was the basis of this warm and fuzzy show. Each week someone who needed to be taught a life lesson was the subject of the show and Fury and Joey were the rescuers.

Fury played on television for five seasons totaling 116 episodes and replayed in syndication as "Brave Stallion" until 1966.

The stars of the show were:

Peter Graves as Jim Newton

Bobby Diamond as Joey Newton

Highland Dale as Fury

Peter Graves, born Peter Aurness was a familiar face on television and in movies for decades. He was the half brother of James Arness; also a fixture on television. Graves played a German spy in the movie Stalag 17 pretending to be a prisoner of war. He is probably best known for his long role as Jim Phelps on "Mission: Impossible" from 1967-1973. Who could forget his role as Captain Clarence Oveur in the movies "Airplane!" and "Airplane II: The Sequel?" Remember when the young boy came up to see the cockpit and he asked him if he ever saw a grown man naked?
We lost Peter Graves to a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 83 and he left behind his wife Joan of 50 years, three daughters and six grandchildren. He will be sorely missed but fortunately his many film appearances will keep him in our minds and hearts for many years to come.

Bobby Diamond played in "The Nanette Fabray Show" in 1961 and for a season as the cousin of Dobie Gillis in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." During the Vietnam was as a high school student his interest in draft deferment sparked his vocation as an attorney and continues to practice today. Over the years he has played a part here and there in numerous television shows along with practicing law in Los Angeles.

Highland Dale was the beautiful black stallion who played Fury and went on to play another role in the epic movie "Giant" where Highland Dale played a horse named "War Winds."

Sources:

http://www.crazyabouttv.com/fury.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Graves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Diamond