Bart Kellogg
From "Quiet Day in Tucson"
Bart Kellogg
From "Quiet Day in Tucson"
Played by GENE RUTHERFORD
Bart Kellogg can only be seen from a
perspective of what he isn't. That meaning, it would be easier if you
made a list of what he wasn't. Bart was never a ladies' man, although he
did show his charm and flashed a brace of bright, white teeth whenever
he passed the feminine types on the Tucson boardwalks. He wasn't as
regular a visitor as we would have hoped, but when he showed up you
couldn't mistake him for anyone else. His voice could shake three years
of dust from the rafters of his favorite cantina. He seemed the type to
wander into town for the enjoyment of seeing a few folks, belting down a
few gallons of red eye, and drifting off. Although he might be compared
to a tumbleweed, coming and going as the winds caused him to drift, Bart
Kellogg did attach himself to a few special people. One of them was Buck
Cannon.
Buck took to the man like someone who might pet a stray dog and then
keep a close eye on him, just on the off chance he might lunge. Everyone
knew to give the big man a wide berth. Maybe it was his size that filled
strangers with caution. He did fill a doorway. When Bart Kellogg made
his first appearance into town in the High Chaparral episode called
"A Quiet Day in Tucson" he was nothing more than a rawhider,
mountain man with more interest in getting a good fistfight in before he
got into more serious business - getting stoned drunk. When Buck, Blue
and Manolito first confronted the big man, none of them were willing to
match him in a drink or a round of fighting. Blue and Mano both cringed
under his large hand slapping their backs. Buck was amiable but tried to
avoid his request for a knock-em-down-drag-out fight. Once the fight was
finished, and Bart had blown off his head of steam, then the real work
commenced. Buck and Bart finished off a bottle together. Bart's
tag-along brother, Bob, would attest to the fact that big ol' Bart could
not hold his liquor. The stuff subdued the man like a warm bottle to a
drowsy babe.
There was an uncompromising fairness to Bart Kellogg, something that
he expected to see in other people. He stood clear-eyed and a bit cocky.
There also seemed to be a playful side to the man. During the Turkey
Shoot in "For What We Are About to Receive", there is no
mistake that a good friendly competition wouldn't suffer through a bit
of teasing, cajoling, and tomfoolery. Once the hombres from High
Chaparral saw what the game really was, they couldn't resist trying
their own hand at tipping the scales to victory. Bart tried his best to
win the bird, but alas he met up with the straight shooting of Manolito
Montoya, and smiled in defeat.
Overall, Bart is one of those fellows who would back you in a
dangerous situation. And look forward to the face-off. In him, loyalty
has no lack. There seemed to be an endearing side to him as well, even
gallant, once you pulled all that trail grime from his clothes. It was a
quality that Buck was able to see through, and once recognized, turned
him into an asset. If Buck Cannon liked Bart, and Blue and Manolito
trusted his carefree loyalty, then he must have been worthy of their
trust as well. Too bad he didn't have a permanent place at the ranch.
But he had surely carved a place in our hearts as a man that helped add
color to the West. (By Rusty LaGrange)
See Gene Rutherford as Bart Kellogg in Return to Supporting
Characters
From "For What We Are About to Receive"
