# Bus Stop (TV series)

Bus Stop is a 26-episode American drama which aired on ABC from October 1, 1961, until March 25, 1962, starring Marilyn Maxwell as Grace Sherwood, the owner of a bus station and diner in the fictitious town of Sunrise in the Colorado Rockies. The program was adapted from William Inge's play, Bus Stop, and Inge was a script consultant for the series, which followed the lives of travelers passing through the bus station and the diner. Maxwell's co-stars were Richard Anderson as District Attorney Glenn Wagner, Rhodes Reason as Sheriff Will Mayberry, Joan Freeman as waitress Elma Gahrigner, Bernard Kates as Ralph the coroner, and Buddy Ebsen as Virge Blessing. Increasingly, as it became difficult to have guest stars be characters arriving by bus every week, the stories became more about people in the town which left little for Maxwell's character to do and led to her leaving the series after 13 episodes. She said, "There was nothing for me to do but pour a second cup of coffee and point the way to the men's room."

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | "Afternoon Of A Cowboy" | Stuart Rosenberg | Sally Benson (teleplay), Rex O'Haogain | October 1, 1961 (1961-10-01) |
| 2 | "Success Story" | Stuart Rosenberg | Luther Davis (teleplay), Rex O'Haogain | October 8, 1961 (1961-10-08) |
| 3 | "The Resurrection of Annie Ahern" | Don Medford | Don M. Mankewicz & Jerome Thomas (teleplay), Robert L. Palmer | October 15, 1961 (1961-10-15) |
| 4 | "The Covering Darkness" | Robert Altman | Jean Holloway & John Meredyth Lucas | October 22, 1961 (1961-10-22) |
| 5 | "Portrait of a Hero" | Robert Altman | Luther Davis (teleplay), Jonathan Hughes | October 29, 1961 (1961-10-29) |
| 6 | "The Glass Jungle" | Francis D. Lyon | Norman Jacob | November 5, 1961 (1961-11-05) |
| 7 | "Cherie" | Don Siegel | Robert Blees (teleplay), William Inge | November 12, 1961 (1961-11-12) |
| 8 | "Accessory By Consent" | Robert Altman | Gilbert Ralston (teleplay), Stephen Becker | November 19, 1961 (1961-11-19) |
| 9 | "The Man From Bootstrap" | Joseph Pevney | Howard Browne | November 26, 1961 (1961-11-26) |
| 10 | "A Lion Walks Among Us" | Robert Altman | Ellis Kadison (teleplay), Tom Wicker | December 3, 1961 (1961-12-03) |
| 11 | "Call Back Yesterday" | Lamont Johnson | Samson Raphaelson | December 10, 1961 (1961-12-10) |
| 12 | "...And The Pursuit Of Evil" | Robert Altman | Dennis Arbuthnot & Howard Browne (teleplay), Wilbur Daniel Steele | December 17, 1961 (1961-12-17) |
| 13 | "The Runaways" | Arthur Hiller | Sally Benson (teleplay), Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. | December 24, 1961 (1961-12-24) |
| 14 | "Jaws Of Darkness" | Stuart Rosenberg | Alvin Sargent (teleplay), Henry Farrell | December 31, 1961 (1961-12-31) |
| 15 | "Summer Lightning" | Robert Altman | Harry Kleiner (teleplay), John Whittier | January 7, 1962 (1962-01-07) |
| 16 | "Cry To Heaven" | Stuart Rosenberg | John Francis O'Mara (teleplay), Nunnally Johnson, Patrick Quentin | January 14, 1962 (1962-01-14) |
| 17 | "The Stubborn Stumbos" | Richard L. Bare | Edmund L. Hartmann (teleplay), Jean Muir | January 21, 1962 (1962-01-21) |
| 18 | "Turn Home Again" | Stuart Rosenberg | Harry Kleiner (teleplay), Howard Browne | January 28, 1962 (1962-01-28) |
| 19 | "How Does Charlie Feel?" | Richard L. Bare | Roy Huggins | February 4, 1962 (1962-02-04) |
| 20 | "Put Your Dreams Away" | Ted Post | Harry Kleiner (teleplay), Howard Browne | February 11, 1962 (1962-02-11) |
| 21 | "The Opposite Virtues" | Herman Hoffman | James P. Cavanaugh & Marie Baumer | February 18, 1962 (1962-02-18) |
| 22 | "The Ordeal of Kevin Brooke" | James B. Clark | Frank Fenton (teleplay), Rex O'Haogain | February 25, 1962 (1962-02-25) |
| 23 | "Door Without A Key" | Robert Altman | Howard Browne (teleplay), Robert Altman | March 4, 1962 (1962-03-04) |
| 24 | "Verdict of 12" | Felix E. Feist | Harry Kleiner (teleplay), Howard Browne | March 11, 1962 (1962-03-11) |
| 25 | "County General" | Robert Altman | David Shaw | March 18, 1962 (1962-03-18) |
| 26 | "I Kiss Your Shadow" | John Newland | Barry Trivers (teleplay), Robert Bloch | March 25, 1962 (1962-03-25) |

## Controversial episode

The episode "A Lion Walks Among Us", with guest star Fabian Forte and directed by Robert Altman, was highly controversial because of its depiction of violence. Twenty-five ABC affiliates refused to air the program. It attracted negative comment from politicians in Washington. The episode was shown to a Congressional Committee discussing violence on TV.