Series regulars or semi-regulars in 'Father Murphy' from 1970-1982:
- Byron Thames as Matt Sims (1981-1983)
- Katherine Cannon as Mae Woodward (1981-1983)
- Kirk Brennan as David Sims (1981-1983)
- Lisa Trusel as Lizette Winkler (1981-1983)
- Merlin Olsen as John Michael Murphy (1981-1983)
- Moses Gunn as Moses Gage (1981-1983)
- Richard Bergman as Father Joe Parker (1981-1983)
- Scott Mellini as Ephram Winkler (1981-1983)
- Timothy Gibbs as Will Adams (1981-1983)
- Chez Lister as Eli (1982-1983)
1970-1982 Episode Guide for 'Father Murphy':
(Episodes with dates prior to 1970 aired as reruns.)
Season 1, episode 1
W: Michael Landon D: Michael Landon
With Burr DeBenning (Paul Garrett), Spencer Milligan (Arnie Winkler), Charles Tyner (Howard Rodman), Dave Adams (Glen Gray), Roy Jenson (Hogan), Joe Massengale (Sheriff), Darrell Sandeen (Father Connelly), Naomi White (Kate Winkler). Series premiere. In the late 1800s, John Murphy wanders into a wild mining town, runs afoul of the greedy town boss and establishes a school for some children who have suddenly been orphaned.
Season 1, episode 2
W: Michael Landon D: Michael Landon
With Burr DeBenning (Paul Garrett), Spencer Milligan (Arnie Winkler), Charles Tyner (Howard Rodman), Dave Adams (Glen Gray), Roy Jenson (Hogan), Joe Massengale (Sheriff), Darrell Sandeen (Father Connelly), Naomi White (Kate Winkler). John Michael Murphy opens an orphanage-school in an abandoned saloon, but the authorities threaten to close it.
Season 1, episode 3
W: Michael Landon D: Michael Landon
With Nicky Katt (Chester), Erwin Fuller (Sloan). A handsome but ineffectual priest joins the school and provides comic opposition to Murphy and a pair of brothers in the orphanage, one of whom has a bed-wetting problem.
Season 1, episode 4
W: Paul W. Cooper D: Leo Penn
With Mykleti Williamson (Lijah), Henry Kendrick (Sawyer), Austin Judson (Doc), Charles Cooper (Sheriff). Murphy befriends a hate-filled black boy and teaches him a useful trade. But a wagon wreck causes the boy to lose the use of his hand, and Murphy must help him cope.
Season 1, episode 5
W: Frank Telford D: William F. Claxton
With Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Ivy Bethune (Miss Tuttle), Christina Applegate (Ada), Tom Clancy (Mitchell), Ted Gehring (Friendly), Bob G. Anthony (Griffith), Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Joe Massengale (Lee), Jerry Wills (Clyde). While in town to sell two cows for much needed money, Father Parker receives a sign to purchase a horse to enter into the town's $1000 jackpot horse race.
Season 1, episode 6
D: William F. Claxton
With Shannen Doherty (Drusilla Shannon), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Ivy Bethune (Miss Tuttle), Jack Elam (Eli McQuade), Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Duncan McLeod (Warden Hunsing). A mountain man deposits a young boy at the orphanage. The "boy" turns out to be a young girl, attracting the amorous attentions of young Ephram.
Season 1, episode 7
D: William F. Claxton
With Shannen Doherty (Drusilla Shannon), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Jack Elam (Eli McQuade), Duncan McLeod (Warden Hunsing), Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Jimmy Mair (Stanley). Father Murphy fights to get four of his youngsters out of a workhouse, and learns why mountain man Eli McQuade abandoned Dru at the orphanage.
Season 1, episode 8
D: Leo Penn
With Nicky Katt (Chester), Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Bob Anthony (Griffith), Graham Jarvis (Simpson), Elizabeth Hoy (Helen), Jordan Rhodes (Asa Taylor), Laura Wallace-Rhodes (Sarah Taylor), Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Ivy Bethune (Miss Tuttle). The need for state aid may force the school to sever ties with the Church -- and "Father" Murphy.
Season 1, episode 9
W: John T. Dugan D: William F. Claxton
With Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Ivy Bethune (Miss Tuttle), Steve Levitt (Philbert Potts). When the owner of Gold Hill shows up talking constantly to his invisible mother it brings more than a few laughs -- and worries from the Gold Hill folks that he might actually find gold and they will have to leave.
Season 1, episode 10
D: William F. Claxton
With Douglas Fowley (Amos Perry), Amzie Strickland (Ruby Dobbins), Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Grant Owens (Sam Perry), Ivy Bethune (Miss Tuttle), Jimmy Mair (Stanley). Claiming he's an orphan because his parents are dead, an old man joins the school to achieve a lifelong ambition -- to learn to read and write.
Season 1, episode 11
D: William F. Claxton
With Michael Pataki (Ned Adams), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Bob G. Anthony (Griffith), Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Glenda Young (Cissy), Will Hunt (Asef). When Will happens upon a large gold nugget, his drunken father shows up in town and kidnaps him, convinced the boys know where there's more.
Season 1, episode 12
D: Victor French
With Fran Ryan (Toby's Mom), Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Don Knight (Toby), John Pickard (Clyde Hubbard), Ivy Bethune (Miss Tuttle), Frances Bay (Alma Hubbard), Tracey Gold (Jenny), Jenny Beck (Henrietta), Mickey Jones (Leon). While Murphy and Mae are gone, the kids talk Moses into letting a gambler temporarily use the school as a gambling house -- in exchange for a percentage of the profits and a piano.
Season 1, episode 13
W: Don Balluck D: William F. Claxton
With Frank Marth (Knight), Ned Wilson (Forsyth), Roger Torrey (Marshal), Randy Morton (Jeff), Molly Copsey (Sue Ann), Jenny Beck (Henrietta). A runaway Southern boy, formerly a bugler in the rebel army, comes to the school and has trouble accepting Moses' status there. The boy becomes involved with the local chapter of the K.K.K. and the group tries to run Moses out of town.
Season 1, episode 14
W: Paul W. Cooper D: William F. Claxton
With Juanin Clay (Amanda Singer), Elizabeth Hoy (Helen), Kristina Callahan (Sister Therese), Paul Barselou (Emmett), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Randy Powell (Warren Collier), Maggie Pelletier (Eileen), Gary Thomas (Phillip). A pretty accomplice to a bank robbery is in a stagecoach wreck near Gold Hill while escaping from her crime, and to avoid capture she dons the habit of a nun who died in the accident.
Season 1, episode 15
W: Michael Landon
With Jason Tomarken (Archibald Rodman), Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Bob Anthony (Griffith), Robert Cornthwaite (Warren Hays). When Mr. Rodman's unruly son is kicked out of boarding school, Rodman enrolls him at Gold Hill and makes him pose as an orphan in order to spy on the school, where he learns the secret of Murphy's disguise.
Season 1, episode 16
W: Michael Landon D: William F. Claxton
With Brenda Benet (Rachel Hansen), Sid Conrad (Mr. Barnsley), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Ivor Barry (Butler), Garrett Grant (Arnold), Steven Schwimmer (Tim), Brian Scott (Jason), Michael Reynolds (John). A widow with a railroad fortune comes to Gold Hill hoping to adopt a son to take over the family business. She's very taken with Will, who would rather stay with Murphy, but Murphy is torn between his love for the boy and the advantages of his adoption.
Season 1, episode 17
W: Paul W. Cooper D: William F. Claxton
With Corey Feldman (Henry Wade), Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Taylor Lacher (O'Bannion), George Dickerson (Mr. Wade), Suzanne Adkinson (Nita Gallagher), Jody Carter (Mrs. Yunker), Will Hunt (Rudd), Henry Kendrick (Sawyer), Bill Smillie (Stokely), Vadia Potenza (James). The death of an abandoned child drives Father Parker to forsake the priesthood. He moves to Jackson where the only job he can find is cleaning out the saloon.
Season 1, episode 18
W: Michael Landon D: Maury Dexter
With Leslie Landon (Kate Jones), Hal Landon Jr. (Ira Eaves), Tina Yothers (Beatrice), K Callan (Janes Sanders), Neil Billingsley (Chris Gains), Del Hinkley (Orville Sanders), Erik Holland (Sven Johnson), Nina Shipman (Olga Johnson), Matt Freeman (Arnie), Darien Dash (Jared), David Downing (Marcus Washington), Starletta DuPois (Thelma Washington). The orphanage stages an open house to introduce the orphans to prospective adopting parents.
Season 1, episode 19
W: Larry Bischof D: William F. Claxton
With Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Jenny Beck (Henrietta), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Jerry Gatlin (Rawlins), Ari Zeltzer (Winston), Joshua Schulman (Harold), Ann Doran (Abby). Father Parker sells the kids' favorite old horse, Laddie, not realizing their attachment to it.
Season 1, episode 20
W: Chris Abbott D: William F. Claxton
With Burr DeBenning (Richard Garrett), Ted Markland (Frank), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Bob G. Anthony (Griffith), George Loros (Ed), Amanda Peterson (Elizabeth), Glenda Young (Meg), C. Lindsay Workman (Nate), Vernon Weddle (Theo), Henry Kendrick (Sawyer), Wilfrid Hyde-White (Willoughby). Richard Garrett, the equally evil brother of deceased Paul Garrett, arrives in town to pick up where Paul left off. Problems erupt when Matt gets a crush on Richard's daughter.
Season 1, episode 21
W: Chris Abbott D: William F. Claxton
With Donna Wilkes (Emma Walker), Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Jerry Hardin (Ray Walker), Burr DeBenning (Richard Garrett), Brooke Bundy (Madeline Walker), Ivy Bethune (Miss Tuttle), Stuart Nisbet (Spencer Nelson), Sparky Watt (Whitehead), Frank Sprague (Mr. Williams), Terry Wills (Clemson). A friend of Murphy has a teenage daughter he cannot control so he brings her to Gold Hill. She proves to be a bad influence on the Gold Hill kids, but trouble really comes when she falls in love with Murphy and he spurns her advances.
Season 1, episode 22
With Donna Wilkes (Emma Walker), Charles Tyner (Mr. Rodman), Jerry Hardin (Ray Walker), Burr DeBenning (Richard Garrett), Brooke Bundy (Madeline Walker), Ivy Bethune (Miss Tuttle), Terry Wills (Clemson), Joe Massengale (George), Austin Judson (Al), Jenny Beck (Henrietta). Emma feels rejected when John Murphy proposes to teacher Mae Woodward, and as a matter of revenge divulges the secret of "Father" Murphy's identity to Rodman, causing the church to reverse its support for the new parish.
September 28, 1982: Happiness Is. . .
Season 2, episode 1
W: Michael Landon, Frank Telford, Ron Bishop, Paul W. Cooper D: William F. Claxton
With Simeon Holloway (Minister), William Bryant, Charles Lampkin, Fred Pinkard. Mae and Murphy honeymoon in the city, where they meet a streetwise black orphan and end up adopting him.
Season 2, episode 2
W: Michael McGreevey D: Joseph Pevney
With Burr DeBenning (Richard Garrett), Bob Anthony (Griffith), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Ted Markland (Frank), Christian Hoff (Josh Timmons), James Hess (Earl Timmons), Joe Massengale (Clint), Katie Hanley-Credre (Sarah Timmons). When Murphy accidentally kills an abusive father whose son is at Gold Hill, Murphy has trouble coping with his grief.
Season 2, episode 3
With Christopher Stone (Samuel Clemens), Tom Reese (Packard), Robert F. Hoy (Turner), Mitzi Hoag (Mrs. Douglas), Burr DeBenning (Paul Garrett), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Bob Anthony (Griffith), Cal Bartlett (Marshal Robinson), Jack Dunlap (Deputy), Orville Sherman (Judge). Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) arrives in Jackson and sets up a newspaper to fight the evil influence of Garrett. Ephram and Will join him as copyboys/reporters, and they become the inspiration for Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.
Season 2, episode 4
With Peter Haskell (Alex Clark), John Fiedler, Ivan Bonar (Samuel Collier), Jon Lormer (Station Agent), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Robert Moberly (Byron Sutherland), Martin Rudy (John Page). Murphy and Mae join the Pinkertons on a cross-country train chase when one of their young orphans becomes heir to a large inheritance and is kidnapped in order to keep her from showing up to claim it.
Season 2, episode 5
With James Cromwell (Farley Webster), Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Francesca Jarvis (Mrs. Simmons), Bob Anthony (Griffith). Mae announces joyously that she's pregnant and the whole community rejoices -- except Will, who feels ignored and runs away when the baby is born.
Season 2, episode 6
With James Cromwell (Farley Webster), Jack Perkins (Hector), Courtenay McWhinney (Adamantine LaBelle), Heather McAdam (Polly), Gene Dynarski (Policeman), Gavin Mooney (Desk Sergeant), Gary Pagett (Patrolman). After running away to St. Louis, Will has fallen in with an elderly woman who teaches children to survuve by stealing; Murphy enlists Farley's help in searching for Will, and tries to convince him to come home.
Season 2, episode 7
With Todd Lookinland (T.J. McCandless), Mary-Robin Redd (Miss Emma), Bob Anthony (Griffith), Michelle Downey (Serena Kirkpatrick), Garin Bougle (Billy Kirkpatrick). Lizette begins work as an apprentice seamstress in town and falls in love with an arrogant, spoiled teenager.
Season 2, episode 8
With Dub Taylor (Billy Bob), John Pickard (Colter), Eddie Quillan (Grizzly), Bruce M. Fischer (Big Jake), Pat Cranshaw (Bum), Pat Buttram, Parley Baer (Banker), Phil Chambers (Sheriff), Jay Fletcher (Blackjack). Murphy and Moses find trouble on a freight run when an old yarn-spinner convinces a whole town that Murphy is a famous bank robber. The fireworks begin when the real robber shows up.
Season 2, episode 9
W: Paul W. Cooper
With Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Robert O'Reilly (Clete Walker), James Nolan (Judge), Ned Bellamy (Floyd Walker), Paul Barselou (Emmett), Edith Fellows (Louise Walker), David Kaufman (Nolan Walker). Young Matt is witness to a bank robbery, in which one of the robbers is a friend who is the sole support of a sick mother, and Matt must wrestle with his conscience as he decides whether or not to turn him in.
Season 2, episode 10
With Burr DeBenning (Paul Garrett), Bob Anthony (Griffith), Charles Cooper (Sheriff), Dylan Tucker (Lucas Powell), Phillip Clark (Al Clayton), Adam Postil (Dicky Willis), Cletus Young (Donen). An ex-gunfighter is released from prison and comes to Gold Hill to retrieve his son, but finds the son is still in love with his father's old criminal image.
Season 2, episode 11
With Jenny Beck (Henrietta), Mary Beth Evans (Josephine), Warren Munson (Dr. Thompson), Kellie Martin (Flossie), Nancy Berggren (Alma), Eric Johnson (Jeter), Hugh Reilly (Gibbons), Darryl Cooksey (Lyman), Robert Darnell (Owen). A teenage girl in town becomes pregnant and, after a suicide attempt fails, she's found by the Murphys and brought to Gold Hill.