James Lawrence The fact that a great show ran only one season does not doom it to being forgotten (The Honeymooners is well remembered), but it surely does not help. Most people have never heard of Yancy Derringer, the public at large is not clamoring for it to be featured on TV, and it is hard to find. Nevertheless, even after all these years I fondly remember watching the exciting adventures of Yancy and his silent Indian companion Pahoo (actor X Brands).The premise of the series is simple enough. After the Civil War, Yancy (actor Jock Mahoney), who fought for the south, returns to New Orleans to find much has changed. His family's plantation is in ruins. The war brought social upheaval and its companion, crime. Yancy travels with Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah (Wolf Who Stands In Water), the Pawnee who saved his life. They communicate in sign language, in which Yancy is fluent. Apparently (I am not sure of this), in his early years Pahoo had his tongue cut out when captured by other Indians, leaving him forever wordless.Yancy is sought out by John Colton (actor Kevin Hagen), a northerner appointed by the US government to act as administrator of New Orleans. Colton asks Yancy to be his secret agent, fighting against crime and skulduggery of all sorts, and Yancy agrees.Yancy is well suited for the task. A well-to-do gambler, suave lover, and rich dresser, a man of taste and erudition, he fits in well with those at the top of society. Yet, he is also comfortable with the lowliest dockworker, bar girl or former slave, rebel and Yank, never acting like he is above them, though he is always much better dressed. His ability to befriend those in all walks of life facilitates his task of gathering information for Colton.His actions often get the bad guys mad, and place him in danger. In addition to his fists, which he uses effectively, he packs hidden derringer pistols. Pahoo secretes a knife and a shotgun, and is proficient in their use. Before the series started, Pahoo had saved Yancy's life, and by his strange code, this made him responsible for Yancy, and fiercely loyal to him. Keep an eye out for Pahoo to disappear, because this usually means he will soon pop up unexpectedly to use his gun or knife at Yancy's service.The scenery, music, and elegant clothing paint a breathtaking picture of the charm of old New Orleans, while the often-dark lighting and seedy crimes show the other side of this fascinating coin.There are some shortcomings. Yancy is so pleased with himself he sometimes is insufferable. His clothes are always clean and pressed no matter what he has gone through. The half-hour format does not leave much time for character development. Despite these flaws, the show is always entertaining, and the plots are usually interesting.Apparently, the show was so successful in its first year (1958-1959) that the network (CBS) wanted to buy the rights to the show from its originators, Mary Loos and Richard Sales. They did not want to sell, so the network pulled the plug.If Yancy Derringer is televised in your town, consider yourself lucky, and make sure not to miss an episode!

ezzaj I loved this series when I was a kid. The main thing I remember was that it had an espionage component, and Yancy was always undercover. Pahoo was totally cool and carried unusual weapons: Pahoo carried a sawed off shotgun over his shoulder, and a big knife, I think. This was the first wire work for stunts that I ever saw. When the shotgun blast hit the bad guys it would send them flying across the room. You saw all this on TV! It's a commonplace type of rigging nowadays, but then it was completely new. I think Yancy carried a sword cane as well as his derringers which were concealed around his body. Would love to see an episode again.

xelrfrank From what I remember of the monochrome series, Yancey and his partner were the original "Miami Vice"-coolness embodied. Similar partnerships were seen in TV, such as Robert Urich and his partner "Hawk" as the PI. There was also Wild, Wild West, with Robert Conrad and his partner...but Yancey was just plain smooth..I have known about Jock Mahoney's history as a stunt man, from his days as an actor with the Three Stooges as the handsome, (albeit clumsy)guitar playing cowboy to Range Rider, to Yancey, to Tarzan, and beyond, but what about X Brand, his faithful Native American partner? Who was the actor, and was "X Brand" a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 50's commercials that compared their products to "Brand X"? Does anyone know his biog? I would hope that TVLand or some other enterprise would give us all a chance to enjoy Yancey and Pahoo again...

Ben Burgraff (cariart) "Yancy Derringer" was one of those series that dared to be different, a 'Western' that was set in post-Civil War New Orleans. If your memories of Jock Mahoney are of him as a lean, middle-aged Tarzan in his two 1960s appearances as the Ape Man, the show may be something of a surprise. He is soft-spoken, smooth, and dapper, here, and altogether 'cool'.Loaded with a laid-back charm, an Indian partner (X Brand) unique in series television in his status as the hero's 'equal' and not just a 'sidekick' (an episode where the pair take the grievances of the Indian nations to Congress is a personal favorite), and one of the most beautiful theme songs of fifties television, the short-lived program is certainly as 'watchable' as the more successful "Have Gun, Will Travel", "Wanted: Dead or Alive" and the other more 'adult' westerns of the period.If the series re-emerges on one of the 'nostalgia' cable channels, check it out...you won't be disappointed!