Two-thirds of the way through the first season's production, Pat Buttram was severely injured in an explosion and was hospitalized for several months. In order to complete the production run, his sidekick role was filled in the remaining episodes by Chill Wills, Fuzzy Knight and Alan Hale Jr. Wills and Knight wore the same costume as Buttram so that long shots of stock footage could be easily used, but there was no disguising Hale's bulk - he wore his own distinctive clothing. Pat Buttram's ...[Read Story ]