In the 1950s and ’60s,television Westerns were all the rage. Each of the Big Three networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) had their fair share of horse operas, with one of the biggest beingGunsmoke. The highly-popular Western program ran for a total of 20 seasons on CBS and eventually wrapped up in 1975. However, considering how long the show lasted on the network, it isn’t surprising that a spin-off spawned from the original series. TitledDirty Sally, this program starredJeanette Nolanas “Dirty” Sally Fergus (called so her for her vagabond appearance) andDack Ramboas Cyrus Pike, two characters who first appeared in the aforementioned Western.
The ‘Dirty Sally’ Story Began on ‘Gunsmoke’
DuringGunsmoke’s 16th season,the Western giantaired a two-part episode called “Pike” in March 1971, which doubled as a season finale. Sometimes called “Dirty Sally” on streaming,the two-parter introduced the Sally Ferguson and Cyrus Pike characters after the latter, an outlaw, is shot after a bank robbery. Sally helps nurse Pike back to good health and even protects him from the criminal elements who had previously betrayed him. “Folks always said I had a heart bigger than a brain,” Sally says upon first discovering the injured young man. From there, the pair develop a kinship as Sally tries to steer Pike away from a life of crime, and the rest is history.
Compared to other episodes,“Pike”/“Dirty Sally” was so well-received byGunsmokeaudiences that the network was inclined to bring Jeanette Nolan back againthe following season. In the Season 17 episode “One for the Road,” she helps a drunkard named Lucius Prince (Jack Albertson) to work through his issues with his daughter. After Sally’s successful appearances onGunsmoke, CBS was interested in spinning off the character into her own series, though it became clear that Nolan’s dynamic with Dack Rambo, who played Cyrus Pike, couldn’t be replicated with anyone else. To that end, Rambo returned forDirty Sally, and the pairtraveled across the Old Westin search of new problems to help solve.
Interestingly,Jeanette Nolan was no stranger toGunsmokeeven before she was cast as Sally Ferguson. The actress — who has appeared in notable Westerns fromThe Man Who Shot Liberty ValancetoThe Horse Whisperer— was the most prolific female guest star on the long-running CBS series. Having first appeared in the Season 3 episodes “Potato Road” and “Amy’s Good Deed” as two separate characters, she showed up again in both Seasons 6 and 10 (again, as different characters) before playing Sally Fergus in the Season 16 two-parter. But before returning as Sally on a third occasion in Season 17, she returned toGunsmokeas Miss Emma Grundy inthe famous Christmas episode, “P.S. Murry Christmas.”
‘Gunsmoke’ Ending Explained: Does the Classic TV Western Go Out With a Bang?
The Emmy-winning Western starring James Arness, Milburn Stone, and Amanda Blake lasted for over 600 episodes.
‘Dirty Sally’ Didn’t Last Long on Television
But as far asDirty Sallywas concerned, the series garnered some initial interest upon first airing in January 1974. “Dirty Sallywas a far cry fromthe traditional violent Western,“Tim BrookesandEarle Marshwrote of the program inThe Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. In fact,the series was often more comedic in naturein comparison to the more adultGunsmoke. Together, Sally and Pike wandered across the open frontier — along with her mule, Worthless — with their sights set on the gold rush out in California. While Pike was always eager to get to the West Coast, Sally was constantly distracted by the problems of others, including a pig farmer played byWagon TrainstarJohn McIntire— who, off camera, was Jeanette Nolan’s real-life husband.
But despite how well-received Sally’sGunsmokeappearances were, the show didn’t last very long. It didn’t help that CBS slotted the program to air on Friday nights at 8:00 pm,a death sentence for the new series.Dirty Sallyaired 13 episodes total but produced 14, the last of which went unaired. A year beforeGunsmoke’s own cancellation,Dirty Sallycame to an abrupt end, and neither Sally nor Pike made it to California. Unfortunately,Dirty Sallyis a series that is simply impossible to find an existing copy of. Apart from what we know fromThe New York Timesor other outlets who reviewed and reported on the series back in the ’70s, there’s not much by way of actual material that we can go back and review — and that’s too bad. ConsideringGunsmoke’s influence on television and Westerns at large, it’s a shame that its one and only spin-off never got its due.
Dirty Sallyis not available anywhere for streaming, but the two-part “Dirty Sally"Gunsmokeepisodes can be found on Paramount+.
Watch on Paramount+
Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in rough-and-tumble Dodge City.
