Horror Legend Sid Haig Guest Appeared In This Forgotten Western Series - Twice

One of the many joys of being a horror fan is tracing the lineage of your favorite writers, directors, and actors through their cinematic journey. When it comes to the latter, seeing actors famous for their horror roles in other media typically showcases their ability to play different characters. After all, horror is a genre of extremes and theatricality, and isn't one where actors are merely playing versions of themselves. Actors famous for horror tend to be both instantly recognizable while being chameleon-like character actors, too.

Sid Haig was one of these actors. He had a distinctive grizzled visage, which made him perfect for playing a lot of "heavies," as the classic Hollywood term for a villain archetype goes. His wild-eyed gaze and intense demeanor made him perfect for Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie's Firefly trilogy of "House of 1000 Corpses," "The Devil's Rejects," and "3 From Hell." Yet his range as an actor allowed him to turn up in all sorts of genre fare from sci-fi to westerns. One western series he guest-starred in is a fairly obscure, nearly forgotten series called "Iron Horse," which aired on ABC from September 12, 1966, to January 6th, 1968. The show concerned a gambler, Ben Calhoun (Dale Robertson), who wins an incomplete railroad line in a poker game. Each episode generally followed his attempts to build the line while facing various hindrances and antagonists. 

Haig appeared in one episode each of the show's two short seasons. He was Vega in Season 1's "Town Full of Fear," and Rias in Season 2's "The Return of Hode Avery." What's especially wild (and telling) is that "Iron Horse" is far from the only series in which Haig appeared multiple times in multiple roles.

Part of the reason Sid Haig had such a lengthy and varied career was his versatility, and his archetypal specialty intersected brilliantly. He could not only play the heavy, but a wide variety within that type. In 1967, the same year he appeared in the second season of "Iron Horse," he turned up in two episodes of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." in two different roles. He appeared in four different parts in four episodes of "Gunsmoke," "Fantasy Island," and "The Fall Guy." He played three different parts in one series, "Alias Smith and Jones," and two different roles in "Police Story," "Switch," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," and "MacGyver." His record for most appearances in the same show as different characters goes to the original "Mission: Impossible," however. Over that series' first five seasons, Haig played eight different roles in nine episodes (one of those was a two-parter, hence the repeat appearance).

While many of the series listed above still enjoy considerable popularity, shows like "Iron Horse" have sadly been forgotten. Fortunately, at least for this series, it's available to stream on Tubi. Sure, the quality may not be tops, but at least you can see Haig play a couple of no-good western bandits that way. There's also more going for the series than Haig's guest appearances: a young Ellen Burstyn (billed as Ellen McRae) plays Calhoun's on-again, off-again paramour, Julie Parsons. Apparently, the series became a little notorious for its then risque depiction of Calhoun as a ladies' man, which makes it intriguing from a historical perspective. Though there's no shortage of films and shows to consume today, some unique pleasures can still be found in the forgotten works of the past.