Show Sam Elliott is “Conagher” in adaptation of Louis L’Amour story By Jay Boobn tMri S'KOfc As a close friend of the Lie western novelist Louis L’Amour Sam Elliott considers his newest project a literal labor of love The tall lanky and deep-voice- d star of such films as “Lifeguard" and “Mask” and TVs “Hie Yel- low Rose" expands his creative horizons by also serving for die first lime as executive producer and writer of co- “Conagher" the new adaptation of a L’Amour story that debuts Monday on cable’s TNT (with repeats slated Wednesday Saturday and next Sunday) The venture is a family effort as well since Elliott’s wife Katharine Ross not only is the principal actress in the piece but she also contributed to the script The tale features Elliott in the title role of a frequent stage- coach passenger drawn to lonely prairie widow Evie Teale (Ross) and her children (Cody Braun Anndi McAlee) whose isolated home has become a rest stop for the coach line's drivers and travelers The lives of Conagher and Evie become meshed more deeply through the heartfelt thoughts she writes down on paper scraps then leaves attached to tumblew'eeds that Conagher then tends to find Directed by noted cin- ematographer Reynaldo (“Risky Business" “Urban Cowboy”) Villalobos the drama also includes Barry (“Northern Exposure”) Corbin longtime character actor Dub Taylor and the late Ken (“Gun-stnok’) Curtis in its cast A true veteran of the western genre since his first professional movie credit was 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (in wihich his spouse Elliott became acquainted with L’Amour through appearing in television versions of three of the latter’s other e’ d) sigas: “The Sacketts” (1979) "The Shadow Riders” (1982) and “The Quick and the Dead” (1987) ‘‘Over the years Katharine and I developed a real nice social relationship with Louis and his family” Elliott reflects “and when 1 with him on ‘The Sacketts he mentioned ‘Conagher’ to me just asking whether I’d read it 1 hadn’t and he suggested that Katharine and 1 both should and we knew what he was talking about as soon as we did” Though Elliott then had no idea he would be as instrumental as he Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross star as Conn Conagher and Evie Teale in TNT s "Conagher41 premiering Monday at 6 pm orator in acting — which they had done previously on “The Shadow Riders" the 1979 horror movie “The Legacy” and the 1981 miniseries “Murder in Texas” — and also in writing was “really rewarding already had passed away (in 1988) That’s the only downside” Claiming he never saw entering done when the opportunity was right and when I could do it without alienating anybody and I actually did some of it on ‘The Quick and the movies as a career necessity Elliott Dead’” is that it happened after Louis the production aspect of making explains “The only reason I embarked on this thing initially was to really remain true to Louis' material It’s always seemed to me that in adapting a teleplay from a novel the screenplay writers have gone pretty far afield and it’s perplexed me why somebody has to improve on something when it’s as good as it is in its original form particularly Louis’ stuff Katharine and I were both bent on remaining true to his book in this case and we did that” Elliott says 24 i working with wife Ross as a collab- became in producing the story (“I no more could have afforded to buy one of Louis books than anything else”) he adds “Our conversations would often drift back to (the idea of filming) ‘Conagher and finally it happened The unfortunate part of it I’ve rewritten some other filings I’ve With such other TV projects in his background as 1980’s "Wild 1986 Times” and the biography “Houston: The Legend of Texas” the western format still seems a natural for Elliott who just-repeat- ed maintains that he continues to enjoy that category “for the things about it that I think appeal to most people generally speaking I love the simplicity of the form and the fact that the delineation between good and evil is without much well-defin- Standard-Examin- i er ed Ogden Utah |