Before Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy Guest-Starred In A Western Series We Don't Talk About Anymore

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Almost every single cast member of the original "Star Trek," as well as show creator Gene Roddenberry, racked up multiple credits in the Western genre. This is logical, as the Western was an overwhelmingly dominant genre from the inception of film through the 1960s, so there were many movies and TV shows to choose from. 

Case in point: William Shatner was in episodes of "The Virginian," "Outlaws," "The Big Valley," and "Gunsmoke." DeForest Kelley was in "The Lone Ranger," "Gunsmoke," "Zane Gray Theater," and dozens of others; Kelley was an established Western star. James Doohan was on "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza," and "The Virginian." George Takei was on "Death Valley Days." Walter Koenig was on "The Virginian" too, albeit he didn't turn up until after "Star Trek." Nichelle Nichols is the only cast member who doesn't have a Western on her resume. Gene Roddenberry himself wrote scripts for shows like "Boots and Saddles," "Have Gun — Will Travel," and also "The Virginian." 

For the purposes of this article, we note that Leonard Nimoy, who played the emotion-repressing, ultra-logical, half-Vulcan Spock on "Star Trek," also starred in multiple Westerns in the 1950s and early 1960s. He was in "Broken Arrow," "Wagon Train," "Gunsmoke," and "Bonanza," among others. You can bet your sweet bippy he was also on "The Virginian." 

Nimoy was also on a little-talked-about three-season ABC Western from 1957 that was famous for its raft of notable guest stars. The show was called "Tombstone Territory," and Nimoy appeared in an episode called (sigh) "Indian Giver" playing (again, sigh) a First Nation character named Little Hawk. Nimoy, it should be noted, is not of First Nation descent and was born in Boston, the child of Ukrainian Jewish parents. 

"Tombstone Territory," as one might infer from the title, takes place in Tombstone, Arizona, the site of the 1881 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Trekkies will instantly intuit that there was also a "Star Trek" episode, "Specter of the Gun," in which the crew of the USS Enterprise was transported into the events of the Gunfight, making it the second time Leonard Nimoy visited Tombstone. 

The main character of "Tombstone Territory" a Wyatt Earp-like character named Clay Hollister, played by Pat Conway. The narrator and co-star of the show was a newspaper editor named Harris Clayton Claibourne, played by Richard Eastham. The narrations at the beginning of every episode were literally ripped from the headlines of the real-life newspaper The Tombstone Epitaph. Other notorious figures from the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral swing in for guest spots in a few episodes. Curly Bill Brocius, for instance, was played by Robert Foulk. Doc Holliday was played by Gerald Mohr. 

The premise of "Tombstone Territory" wasn't terribly unique. It was yet another series about the comings and goings of lawless criminals and the sheriffs that arrested them. It was a straightforward, uncomplicated program. Its standout feature was its self-professed historical accuracy. Each episode came with a chyron declaring that it was made with the express approval of one Clayton A. Smith, the then-current editor of the Tombstone Epitaph, as well as an historian named D'Estell Iszard. 

Leonard Nimoy appeared in "Indian Giver" from the show's third season, playing an Apache named Little Hawk who is wrongfully accused of stealing horses. Sheriff Hollister has to protect the accused man from an angry lynch mob so that he can be granted a fair trial. 

Casting Leonard Nimoy as a First Nation character isn't as culturally sensitive as a modern audience would prefer, of course, but at least racism seems to be a big part of the episode. And the show's main characters defend the First Nation character as he flees a desperate scene. 39 episodes of "Tombstone Territory" can be streamed via a Streampix subscription, available through Prime Video. The show, however, ran for 91 episodes overall, and "Indian Giver" isn't one of the episodes available. Resourceful internet sleuths may be able to find it, however. Every episode was also released on DVD back in the '10s, and one might be able to find the DVDs on the second-hand market. There's always a way to find old movies and TV shows. 

"Tombstone Territory" featured a lot of familiar faces, and combing through episodes will have cineastes reenacting the Leonard DiCaprio pointing meme. Among the many guest stars were John Carradine, Lon Chaney, Jr., the prolific Alan Hale Jr., Angie Dickinson, William Conrad, James Coburn, Michael Landon, Elisha Cook, and Lee Van Cleef. Bing Russell also appeared in the series, and some people might know him better as the father of Kurt Russell. Kurt, however, didn't start acting until 1962, after "Tombstone Territory" was off the air, so none of the young kids on the series are Kurt. 

If one delves into comic book history, one will learn that "Tombstone Territory" was popular enough to warrant a 1960 comic book adaptation. Dell Comics put it out, and it was drawn by artist Dan Spiegle. "Tombstone Territory" is barely discussed in the 2020s, but it was a big enough hit to last for 91 episodes.