John Ford

Question: I enjoy watching those AFI (American Film Institute) specials, but what is AFI's function?

Answer: Founded in 1967, AFI is a film school: Directors David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Schrader, Carl Franklin and Amy Heckerling all went there. Its initial funding came from the then-recently created (and now embattled) National Endowment for the Arts, the MPAA and the Ford Foundation, a heavy hitter in early corporate-sector support for the arts read more

Question: Sir, could you please tell me who the main stars were on Wagon Train? Thank you.

Answer: Thanks for the respect, Teri (I get so little), but as the old boot-camp admonishment goes, don't call me "sir" — I work for a living!

There are a few answers to that question, the first being the cast list (which I'll run down in a moment) and the second being a list of guest stars, since episodes revolved around one-shot characters who came and went. But any fan of the show would whittle it down to one actor: the opinionated, tough-as-leather Ward Bond.

In the series, which ran on NBC from 1957-62 before jumping to ABC and finishing out its run there in 1965, Bond played Major Seth Adams, who led the train each season from St. Louis to California with assistant wagon master Bill Hawks (Terry Wilson) and cook Charlie Wooster (Frank McGrath) by h read more