The Real McCoys

The Real McCoys is a sitcom that was created by Irving Pincus which aired on ABC-TV and CBS. The show was produced by Walter Brennan, Danny Thomas, and Irving Pincus. It starred Kathleen Nolan, Lydia Reed, Richard Crenna, Michael Winkelman, Madge Blake, Andy Clyde, and Tony Martinez.  The Real McCoys aired from October 3, 1957, to June 23, 1963, and had a total of 6 seasons and 224 episodes. In this article, we are going to know more about this iconic series.

Summary

The story of The Real McCoys tells the story a family that lives in the Appalachian Mountains. The family then moved to California to work and live on a farm that they inherited from their relative. The McCoy family consist of Grandpa Amos McCoy who is played by Walter Brennan, Luke McCoy played by Richard Crenna, Lukes wife Kate McCoy who is played by Kathleen Nolan, Tallahassie McCoy played by Lydia Reed, and Little Luke McCoy portrayed by Michael Winkleman.

The farm that the McCoys inherited was previously owned by an uncle named Ben McCoy. To manage the farm properly the family joined the Grange farm association and hired Pepino as their farmhand because he said that he used to work for Uncle Ben as a foreman on the farm. In one episode, Pepino officially became an American Citizen and used the surname McCoy. Kate plays a mother figure for Luke’s younger siblings Little Luke and Hassie. Several episodes of the Real McCoy included a moral theme which consistently shows the conservative views of Walter Brennan. Some of these episodes are Gambling is a Sin, How to Win Friends, Honesty is the Best Policy, When There’s a Will, and Beware a Smart Woman.

One of the most memorable episodes would probably be the one entitled The New Hell, which aired on October 30, 1958. The episode pits folklore against science because Grandpa McCoy’s divining rod proved to be greater than a geologist’s equipment when locating a new water source on the farm.

Syndication

From 1962, The Real McCoys aired on ABC series was aired every weekday mornings. After that, it was syndicated and the show was also aired on the former The Nashville Network in the late 1990s into 2000 and it was distributed by SFM Entertainment. It was aired Mondays through Fridays at 6:00 and 6:30 pm Eastern time. During the show’s last season, the Real Mccoys was aired on CBS under the title The McCoys.

On June 2012, Inception Media Group or IMG announced that they would release a complete series set that featured all 224 remastered episodes of The Real McCoys. However, the release never happened and the rights of the show were later moved to SFM Entertainment who released The Real McCoys Complete Series on August 2017 and it is only a manufactured-on-demand or MOD and it was exclusively released on Amazon.com.

Interesting Facts About The Real McCoys

  • The promotions of the series stated that the McCoy’s farm is located 20 miles northwest of the Los Angeles City Hall. If you would look at it in a real map, it would be very close to the Mission San Fernando Cemetery where Walter Brennan was buried.
  • Richard Crenna was just 32 years younger than Walter Brennan who played his on-screen grandfather.
  • Richard Crenna was the only cast who appeared in all 224 episodes of The Real McCoys.
  • When The Real McCoys moved to CBS, some of the continuing characters were removed. Such as Luke’s wife Kate and his little brother Little Luke.
  • When taping an episode in February 1961, Kathy Nolan was thrown from a horse and got injured. That’s why she missed four months of work because she was in and out of the hospital several times.
  • Richard Crenna was 18 years older than Lydia Reed and Michael Winkelman who both played his younger siblings.
  • Everett Greenbaum, the writer of the show, said that whenever they are not filming, Walter Brennan often made anti-Semitic and racist remarks on the set of the show.

We hope you had fun reading all about The Real McCoys. Now it’s time to binge-watch this iconic TV series. Curious for more? Click here you want to know more about other classic TV shows.

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