The 10th season opener, "Blue Heaven" features young Kurt Russell, son of actor Bing Russell, as runaway Packy Kerlin, in search of his destitute alcoholic mother Elena (Diane Ladd), turning tricks outside Dodge City. Enter wanted fugitive Kip Gilman (Tim O'Connor), who insists on posing as Elena's husband and Packy's father, trying to escape a trio of men from Texas accusing him of theft and murder, hoping to prove his innocence with the aid of a sympathetic Festus. No doubt when this episode premiered on September 26 1964, the folks in Cleveland Ohio were watching to spot their beloved horror host Ghoulardi, known professionally as Ernie Anderson, who makes a very brief appearance 15 minutes in, offering directions for a dollar. Anderson and Tim Conway had been writing partners in Cleveland, before Tim's comic antics were noticed by Steve Allen, who figured he could play Ernie's straight man role opposite Conway in Hollywood. It was Tim who implored his friend to join him on the West Coast, and this cameo (billed only as 'Man') was only the beginning for Ernie, who eventually became ABC's busiest voice-over artist, doing promos for all their shows, after leaving Cleveland behind at the end of 1966. At the time he made this episode of GUNSMOKE, Ernie couldn't resist doing a spoof of the longtime Western series on his own primetime special on WJW-TV 8, THE ERNIE ANDERSON SHOW, playing the Marshal himself, opposite 'Big Chuck' Schodowski, who portrayed the Parma bank robber known only as 'The Stranger.' Wisely choosing Schodowski to fill Ghoulardi's shoes, Big Chuck remained in the public eye, a "big fish in a small pond," on the station from 1963 until his retirement in 2007. The memory of Ernie Anderson, who passed away in 1997, continues to be celebrated each year at Halloween time in Cleveland, at the annual GHOULARDI FEST.
Review of Blue Heaven
