Jack Kelly

The various anti-heroic Mavericks were dapper professional poker-players roaming the Old West with the benefit of superb scripts. The series had an enormous cultural impact during a time when there were only three television networks and most cities had only three TV channels to choose from.<br /><br /> Mavericks demanding filming schedule had caused production to lag behind early on. The producers decided to give Bret Maverick (James Garner) a brother so as not to run out of episodes long before the end of the season. Thus, Kelly was introduced as Bart Maverick in "Hostage!", the eighth episode of the series. While he may not have matched Garner's popularity on Maverick, Kelly did have his enthusiastic admirers. Possessing a deep voice, a John Barrymore-like profile and an easy-going screen presence, Kelly enjoyed an attentive following among female viewers of the series. Series creator Roy Huggins was extremely critical of Kelly's acting in Huggins' Archive of American Television interview, noting that Kelly "dropped a funny line like a load of coal," but mentioned that Kelly was more amusing than Garner "off camera." Read Less