Old Stable Men

OLD STABLE MEN

Earle Hodgins

William Fawcett

Charles Seel

George Selk

Hank Patterson

   They make not look alike,
   but like wrinkled and shrunken fruits and vegetables,
   age has scroonched their heads and faces
   into a frowning and squinting similarity.
   Moreover, they always fill the same roles--
   stablemen, station masters, stagehands, porters, attendants,
   miners, townsmen, codgers, and other old-timers.

   Selk and Patterson are most known for their roles
   in tv Gunsmoke--George Selk as stable owner Moss Grimmick,
   and Hank Patterson as stableman Hank Miller.
   Ironically, in contrast to Gunsmoke where Patterson
   was only seen stabling horses for a few seconds
   in about thirty episodes, Have Gun-Will Travel gave him his most
   meaningful roles. Check out the episodes 'In an Evil Time'
   and 'Unforgiven,' to see him act up a storm.
   As for George Selk, he gets a lot more screen time
   than usual in the episode 'Tap Day for Kitty,'
   where he tags along with Matt, like Watson with Sherlock Holmes,
   trying to solve the mystery of a shooting
   in which Kitty is the main suspect. He again spies on her,
   along with the other bemused boys, in the b&w hour 'Miss Kitty.'