Richard Mulligan starred as Sam Garret, an actor who played the brave and courageous "Jed Clayton - US Marshal" on a fictional television series.

But the actor and the TV character were nothing alike.  In reality, Sam's TV persona was a staunch upholder of the law in the Old West, but at home, Sam was just a bumbling dad.

Sam's ineptness off screen was once the target of an exposé reporter who started snooping around Sam's family to see if Sam's status as a hero on TV matched his home life.

US Marshall Jed Clayton

The fictional frontier dangers that Sam faced on his TV show once surfaced for real when Sam earned the ire of a 84-year-old gunfighter who didn't like the way Sam had portrayed his historical character on TV and so he challenged the actor to a shootout.

At times, Sam's popularity as a western hero drew negative reviews from his friends, like the time he went on a camping trip and soon became the target of resentment when all the kids of a fellow camper, Fred Gilman (Victor French) found Sam more interesting than their father.

But the fury of a gunslinger and the resentment of a friend were nothing compared to Sam's wife, Ruth (Mariette Hartley) who became very jealous when Sam's old girlfriend landed a part on Sam's TV show and that part involved kissing US Marshall Jed Clayton.