Before James Bond, Roger Moore Replaced James Garner On A Hit Western Series

Roger Moore is best known for his work as James Bond, but before 007, he was one of the rotating leading men on the popular ABC horse opera "Maverick." Although not the show's original star (nor its last Maverick standing), Moore played Beauregard "Beau" Maverick for 15 episodes during Season 4, replacing James Garner as co-lead opposite Jack Kelly.

The cousin of brothers Bret (Garner) and Bart Maverick (Kelly) and a Civil War veteran who spent time in England, Beau first appeared in the Season 4 premiere "The Bundle from Britain." This occurred because Garner quit "Maverick" after three seasons, prompting the studio to hire Moore to replace him at the behest of Jack Warner. Warner adored the actor after he previously headlined the short-lived ABC program "The Alaskans."

"I really didn't want to do another television series. And I honestly did feel that Jim [Garner] was so popular that anybody coming in would be resented," Moore recalled when speaking to author Ed Robertson for the behind-the-scenes book "Maverick: Legend of the West." "It's very difficult to follow somebody in an established role." Of course, this wouldn't be the last time Moore would do so.

Ironically, Moore appeared on "Maverick" before. On Season 2's "The Rivals," he plays John Vandergelt III opposite both Garner and Kelly in a rare two-brother episode where both main Mavericks are on screen together. Even funnier, John hires Bret to temporarily switch identities, years before Moore would officially replace Garner.

Although nobody wanted to see Garner go (especially after appearing in one of the greatest Western TV episodes of all time), Moore was the obvious replacement. Beau Maverick was always meant to be a different character — a "white sheep" who was honored for his accidental heroism during the Civil War — but it wasn't like Moore was a complete stranger. He already had experience with "Maverick" scripts beyond his Season 2 guest spot.

"While we were doing 'The Alaskans,' there'd been a writers' strike," Moore explained when discussing his time on the show. "We were given 'Maverick' scripts where they had just changed the name, some of the time, and my character, Silky Harris, was saying Bret Maverick lines (they even had 'My old Pappy used to say' in one script)." This script recycling not only prepared Moore to join "Maverick," a Western with no bad seasons, it likely helped convince the creative team he was a right fit.

By the time Moore arrived alongside Jack Kelly, he fought to make Beau Maverick truly his own, and the two leads' chemistry proved it could work. "Jack and I had a lot of laughs doing it, I must say," Moore later recalled. "I also remember Leslie Martinson directing the first episode. He thought we were both completely insane." Beau was a feature of "Maverick" for the majority of Season 4, but eventually Moore followed Garner's example and abandoned ship.

Moore did everything in his power to make Beau Maverick his own rather than just a Bret Maverick clone, but evidently, that wasn't what the studio wanted. Despite being told that he wouldn't be getting James Garner's sloppy seconds, Moore noticed that the scripts were never quite tailored to his character. The last straw was when he was asked to play an "English stumblebum" on another series he considered a "Sugarfoot" dupe. 

"At that point, I asked to be released from my contract," Moore remembered. "As a matter of fact, I think they offered me that show in order to get me to ask for my release." But before he left "Maverick," Moore was famously photographed alongside Jack Kelly and Robert Colbert, who was brought on as yet another Maverick brother: Brent. Colbert — who starred in two Season 4 episodes — previously worked with Moore on "The Alaskans" and appeared on "Maverick" opposite Kelly earlier in Season 4 as another character.

Moore's run as Beau Maverick concluded with the Season 4 episode "Red Dog." Although a fitting end to his tenure, Moore's (and later Colbert's) exit would be the final nail in the "Maverick" coffin. With only Kelly still on board, the ABC program was axed during its shortened 5th season of 13 episodes, which aired alongside reruns of Garner's old entries. Moore, though, would thrive after leaving "Maverick," finding success as Simon Templar on "The Saint," which ran for six seasons.