Facts About "The Big Valley"

It was a good, but not great western.

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In perusing through a list of old TV shows of the 60s, I noticed The Big Valley. Occasionally, when I was sufficiently bored and had a lack of entertainment options, I would watch The Big Valley.

There were three Barkley sons. There was Jarrod, the lawyer, Nick the hot head, and Heath the illegitimate son. In addition, there was Audra, the beautiful sister and Barbara Stanwick as the family matriarch, Victoria. The Barkleys were forced to defend their massive empire against all comers. So, here are some things you didn’t know about The Big Valley.

1: Who was the TV character who was the fastest draw? That would be Nick Barkley.

Nick Barkley, aka Peter Breck, had his draw time at 16/100 of a second. His draw was nearly as quick as his temper.

2: A Barkley son went missing. For the first season, there was a fourth Barkley son, Eugene Barkley, played by Charles Briley.

Briley was drafted by the US Army and never made it back to the show. Maybe that’s what happened to Chuck Cunningham of Happy Days, a son who also went missing.

3: All the Barkleys, with the exception of Victoria, were shot at some point during the series.

Heath was shot the most. Including the times he was shot by the other Barkley boys who didn’t want to share their inheritance. Okay, that last part wasn’t true.

4: On the other side of the coin, all the Barkleys killed somebody during the series, with the exception of Eugene.

Even Victoria killed two guys each season. Maybe it was a hereditary thing.

5: Peter Breck actually played pro basketball for the Rochester Royals in 1948.

Maybe that’s where he learned his quick draw.

6: Nick Barkley always had trouble being in the gallery at a court proceeding.

He always felt the need to speak up out of turn. He should have been voted, “Most Likely to be Held in Contempt of Court.”

7: After “The Big Valley,” Richard Long did a comedy, “Nanny and the Professor.”

Just to clarify, he played the professor.

8: Linda Evans really felt like Barbara Stanwick was a second mother to her.

Stanwick even gave Evans designer clothes, which contrasted greatly with the animal skin clothing given to her by her then husband, John Derek. Well, the animal skin clothes were handmade. Did that make them designer clothes?

9: Variety had an interesting take on “The Big Valley” at its premier.

Variety said, “The Big Valley registers on the home screen as Bonanza in drag.” I had never thought of that before. Victoria Barkley was like Ben Cartwright. Only I’m not sure Stanwick wore a wig.

10: Barbara Stanwick was considered the “Queen of the Set.”

She also, when describing herself said “I’m a tough old broad from Brooklyn.” Hollywood royalty and European royalty aren’t quite the same thing.