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Fictional Cattlemen

John Cannon: The Rancher Behind The High Chaparral

Big John Cannon wanted a cattle empire in the Arizona Territory of the 1870s, and the series follows what it cost his family.

Who Is John Cannon?

John Cannon, called Big John, is the owner of the High Chaparral Ranch in the NBC western The High Chaparral, which ran from 1967 to 1971. Leif Erickson played him, and David Dortort created the show and served as executive producer. A television archive page describes the premise this way: the Cannon family runs a ranch in the Arizona Territory in the 1870s, and John wants to build a cattle empire despite hostility from Indians.

Cannon is fiction, and this entry treats him as a television character. He belongs on a cattlemen's hall of fame site as one of the most visible portrayals of a southwestern cattle rancher on American television.

The High Chaparral Ranch and Its Setting

The ranch lies in the Arizona Territory, a setting that distinguishes the show from the Texas trail dramas that dominated the genre. The sources reviewed do not give acreage or herd size, so the ranch's scale is a matter of the show's description of an ambition and not of numbers.

Location filming took place at Old Tucson in Arizona. Studio work was done at Paramount for seasons one to three and at Warner Bros. for season four. A Tucson newspaper photo gallery, a look at the show filming around Tucson, covers the production years of 1966 to 1971.

The Cannon Family and the Montoyas

John's son, Billy Blue, played by Mark Slade from 1967 to 1970, helps him, as does his brother Buck, played by Cameron Mitchell. In the first episode Billy Blue's mother is killed. John then marries Victoria Montoya, whose powerful family is headed by Don Sebastian Montoya, and her brother Manolito, played by Henry Darrow, moves in with them.

The marriage places a Mexican land-owning family at the center of an Anglo ranch story, which gave the series a different mix of characters from many of its peers. Manolito's move into the ranch house also put a Montoya inside the Cannon household every day, a daily reminder of the alliance behind the marriage.

What Made John Cannon Work

Cannon works because the show ties his ambition to relationships. The ranch is a business and a household at once, and the Montoya alliance is part of both.

As a portrait of frontier ranching, the show offers these points:

  • He set out to build a cattle empire in hostile territory and treated land as a long-term project.
  • He married into the Montoya family, joining his ranch to an established landowning clan.
  • He worked with relatives, including his brother Buck and his son, rather than relying only on hired hands.
  • He accepted the risks of the setting, including conflict with Indians, as part of the cost of the plan.
  • His limits were personal: his first wife died in the opening episode, and the empire he sought was never shown as complete.

Run, Ratings and Production Details

The series ran four seasons and 96 one-hour episodes, or 97 if the two-hour pilot is counted as two. Season one aired Sundays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern in 1967 and 1968, and seasons two to four aired Fridays at 7:30 p.m. through 1971.

The pilot was two hours long, and the show kept a large ensemble cast, a feature that set it apart from single-hero westerns of the same period.

Why the Show Is Remembered

The High Chaparral is remembered for its Arizona setting and its mixed Anglo and Mexican household, and for placing a cattle ranch in the desert Southwest rather than on the Texas plains. Its ranch stands for the idea that a rancher's real work in a territory was to hold ground, and the show keeps that idea in front of the audience week after week. Further background is available in the series reference article.

Readers curious about real ranching in the Southwest can browse the ranching section on farm.FM, where one farm.FM story, a story about Arizona cattle ranching, covers the region.

Timeline

  1. 1870sThe series is set in the Arizona Territory
  2. 1966Filming around Tucson begins
  3. 1967The High Chaparral premieres on NBC with Leif Erickson as John Cannon
  4. 1968Series moves from Sundays to Fridays for season two
  5. 1970Mark Slade leaves the role of Billy Blue
  6. 1971The series ends after four seasons

Frequently asked questions

Who is John Cannon?

John Cannon, known as Big John, is the fictional owner of the High Chaparral Ranch in the Arizona Territory in the NBC series The High Chaparral, played by Leif Erickson.

When did The High Chaparral air?

The series ran on NBC from 1967 to 1971, over four seasons and 96 one-hour episodes, or 97 if the two-hour pilot is counted as two.

Where was The High Chaparral filmed?

Location scenes were shot at Old Tucson in Arizona. Studio work was done at Paramount for seasons one to three and at Warner Bros. for season four.

Who created The High Chaparral?

David Dortort created the series and was its executive producer. It follows the Cannon family and their Arizona Territory cattle ranch in the 1870s.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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