Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster
Sugarfoot
Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster
In the
mid-1950’s, Warner Brothers Studios had a stable of fine television westerns.
One of the lightest-hearted of the group was Sugarfoot,
starring Will Hutchins as wannabe lawyer Tom Brewster.
A sugarfoot in western terminology is not a flattering thing to be.
It implies a person one step below tenderfoot, and a tenderfoot is a
greenhorn at everything. Tom
Brewster apparently didn’t mind that he was called a sugarfoot.
He went right on studying for his law degree through correspondence
courses, while he traveled the unsettled western frontier in search of
adventure. He was a gentle cowboy
with a sense of humor and a strong sense of justice.
Often, he had the opportunity to practice law and defend the rights of
the citizens in the corrupt towns he wandered through, as someone was always
sure to ask him for a little help. A
little help usually meant a whole lot of trouble for Tom.
Tom Brewster was
a mild-mannered man. He had plenty
of opportunity for gunplay and fisticuffs, but mostly he was a well-meaning
person with a big dose of naiveté. Always
trying to find the best way out of trouble was a real problem for him because
The Canary Kid, a notorious gunman, was the spitten’ image of Tom Brewster and
sure to show up at the right place and wrong time to create havoc in
Brewster’s life. The episodes
which featured both The Canary Kid and Tom Brewster were some of the finest in
television history.
Sugarfoot
was an hour in length, shot in black and white, and ran on ABC in a crazy
pattern which included Cheyenne and Bronco.
It premiered on 17 September 1957, ran for four seasons, and had a total
of 69 episodes filmed. During its
first two seasons, it alternated with Cheyenne.
When Clint Walker got into his dispute with Warner Brothers in 1958 and Bronco
was born, it alternated with Bronco
during its third year as part of the Cheyenne
Show. During its fourth season,
it alternated with both Bronco and Cheyenne.
There were six
Dell comic books on Sugarfoot, and
every one of them are big collector items averaging around $15 each in today’s
markets.
Will Hutchins was born marshal Lowell Hutchason on 5 May 1932 in Los Angeles, where he still lives. After serving in the Army in Paris with the Signal Corps and before becoming an actor, he worked at a variety of jobs, including special delivery messenger, bus boy, grocery store clerk, delivery boy and hand bill passer. The part of Tom Brewster was tailor-made for him by executive producer William T. Orr, one of the few times a series was made specially for an unknown star. Will Hutchins reminded Orr of the late, great Will Rogers. Hutchins talked like Rogers and had the same lazy manner and personality. Signing a Warner Brothers contract in September 1956, Hutchins made such an impact with the television audiences that Orr decided he was worthy of his own television series, and history was made. After Sugarfoot, Hutchins went on to success as Woody Banner in Hey Landlord and then as Dagwood Bumstead in Blondie, not to mention hundreds of other performances.
Sugarfoot
SUGARFOOT,
SUGARFOOT
Easy
lopin', cattle ropin' SUGARFOOT,
Carefree as the tumbleweeds
A-joggin' along with a heart full of song,
And a rifle and a volume of the law.
SUGARFOOT,
SUGARFOOT
Never
underestimate a SUGARFOOT,
Once you got his dander up
Ain't no one who's quicker on the draw.
You'll
find him on the side of law and order,
From the Mexicali border, to the rolling hills of Arkansaw;
SUGARFOOT,
SUGARFOOT
Easy
lopin', cattle ropin' SUGARFOOT,
Ridin' down to cattle town
A-joggin' a-long with a heart full of song
And a rifle and a volume of the law.
(Text and photos by Sandy Sturdivant)
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