Only the Rocks Live Forever is the first episode of James A. Michener's Centennial. It first aired on October 1, 1978.
Plot[]
In 1756, a young Arapahoe child learns his father has been killed in battle and is taught the lesson that 'only rocks live forever'. The child is called Lame Beaver. 1795, a French-Canadian trapper named Pasquinel meets Lame Beaver and they begin trading - pelts for blankets, silver, beads, etc. from around the world. Lame Beaver says he'd like a gun next time the white man returns. The Pawnee also are interested in guns. A doctor introduces Pasquinel to a silver-smith to form a partnership to finance his trading trips. The silver-smith has a daughter, Lise, who is immediately captivated with the Canadian. When Pasquinel delivers the gun to the Pawnee chief, he meets Scottish mountain man, Alexander McKeag. Clay Basket, daughter of Lame Beaver, gives McKeag life-saving care when he is wounded. - Source: IMDb.com
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Raymond Burr (as Herman Bockweiss)
- Barbara Carrera (as Clay Basket)
- Richard Chamberlain (as Alexander McKeag)
- Robert Conrad (as Pasquinel)
- Richard Crenna (as Colonel Frank Skimmerhorn) - credit only (though shortly introduced in the beginning)
- Chad Everett (as Major Maxwell Mercy) - credit only (though shortly introduced in the beginning)
- David Janssen (as Paul Garrett and Narrator)
- Alex Karras (as Hans Brumbaugh) - credit only
- Brian Keith (as Sheriff Axel Dumire) - credit only
- Sally Kellerman (as Lise Bockweiss)
- Donald Pleasence (as Sam Purchas) - credit only
- Lynn Redgrave (as Charlotte Buckland Seccombe) - credit only
- Dennis Weaver (as R. J. Poteet) - credit only (though shortly introduced in the beginning)
Guest starring[]
- Michael Ansara (as Lame Beaver)
- Henry Darrow (as Alvarez)
- Ray Tracey (as Young Lame Beaver)
- Robert Walden (as Dr. Richard Butler)
- Clint Walker (as Joe Bean)
Co-starring[]
- Maria Yolanda Aguayo as Blue Leaf
- Monika Ramirez as Blue Leaf (14 yrs.)
- Robert Tessier as Rude Water
- Ivan Naranjo as Gray Wolf
- Annette Charles as Senora Alvarez
- David Yanez as Lame Beaver (9 yrs.)
Supporting cast[]
- Steve Shemayme as Pawnee Chief
- Ken Yellow Moon as 2nd Arapaho
- Duane Loken as 1st Cheyenne
Crew (and other credits)[]
Closing credits:[]
- Directed by: Virgil W. Vogel
- Written for Television by: John Wilder
- Director of Photography: Duke Callaghan
- Producer: Howard Alston
- Executive Producer: John Wilder
- Music: John Addison
- Associate Producers: George E. Crosby & Susan Lichtwardt
- Art Director: Jack Senter
- Film Editor: Robert Watts, A.C.E.
- Set Decorations: Joseph J. Stone & John M. Dwyer
- Sound: Edwin J. Somers, Jr.
- Casting by: Mary Petterson & Geno Havens
- Costume Designer: Helen Colvig
- Unit Production Manager: Burt Bluestein
- 1st Assistant Director: Gary Grillo
- 2nd Assistant Director: Bruce Shurley
- Sound Effects Editor: Brian Courcier
- Music Editor: Dave Kahn
- Costume Supervisor: Robert Ellsworth
- Technicolor
- Titles & Optical Effects: Universal Title
- "This Program Has Been Recommended by: The National Education Association"
- "A John Wilder Production"
Images[]
