FOUND! Rare Episode of ‘Gunsmoke’ Spinoff ‘Dirty Sally’
Before I even get started, I’ve got to come clean about Dirty Sally starring Jeanette Nolan: I’ve never seen this spinoff from Gunsmoke, which lasted just 13 episodes during the winter of 1974. It feels like I really should have been more aware of this show, and its relatively short stay on the CBS television lineup.
However, there’s a good reason why I wasn’t watching it way back then. In fact, most of the country was watching something else on a competing network.
The final two episodes of the 16th season of Gunsmoke introduced Sally Fergus to TV audiences. Sally is a crusty old junk collector who, along with a young former outlaw named Cyrus Pike, travels to California to find their fortune in gold; they also had a mule named Worthless. Sally was played by the classically trained Jeanette Nolan and Cyrus was played by Dack Rambo.
Everett Collection
Jeanette would play Sally one more time on Gunsmoke, during the 17th season. But it would be almost three years from Sally’s first appearance until the premiere of her own show.
Dirty Sally ended up being spun off from Gunsmoke because of the tremendous amount of viewer mail that the producers of that show received asking for more Sally. According to TV Guide Magazine critic Cleveland Amory, the Gunsmoke office told Nolan they received more mail on that episode than on any other segment in the series’ 19 years.
Even two years after the original airing of those episodes, people were still writing in because they loved Jeanette’s character and the great chemistry between Sally and Cyrus, as well as the show’s more humorous take on the Old West.
Everett Collection
However, when the spin-off show finally arrived, it wasn’t necessary greeted with open arms. Amory wrote in his review of the show in the March 2, 1974 issue of TV Guide Magazine: “CBS bills Dirty Sally as a half-hour Western. They were sure right about the ‘half’ part, because if we ever saw half a show, that is it. It’s so thin, you can lose weight just watching it.” Amory also expresses disgust toward the show’s theme song, detailing the lyrics: “She nursed him and she cursed him / And she taught him right from wrong / … She was a grandma to the lad/ He was the son she never had.”
Why Was Dirty Sally Cancelled?
You might be wondering, if there was such a demand for the show, why was it cancelled so quickly? For the first couple of episodes, the show performed well in the ratings, even though it was up against the massively popular Sanford and Son. However, as time went on, viewership continued to decline until the network lost faith in the show.
Dirty Sally sounds like something you might watch when no one else is around. Truthfully, I think they really goofed when they decided to name the show after Jeanette Nolan’s character.
Jeanette Nolan in MacBeth, 1948. Everett Collection
Speaking of Nolan, contrary to her character on the show, she really was a beautiful lady. Jeanette looking the way that she did on Dirty Sally was a testament to two things: her acting ability and as the show’s fantastic makeup department.
Where Can You Watch Dirty Sally Today?
Sadly, at this point, Dirty Sally has completely disappeared, and the only place that one can see the character is to catch her appearances on the Gunsmoke episodes previously mentioned. Additionally, the show isn’t available on any of the streaming services, and you can’t purchase it on DVD or Blu-Ray.
Because there were only 13 episodes, Dirty Sally never ran in syndication and it’s likely that the original recordings were taped over or, even worse, destroyed simply to make room for other archived programs. With all that said, all is not lost.
Apparently, way back in 1974, someone used their cassette tape recorder to capture the audio from an episode of the show and you can listen to it on YouTube.
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TV Westerns of the 50's & 60's
September 2021
’50s and ’60s TV Westerns roundup, celebrating the shows and stars of their golden age.
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