Robert Rockwell

Robert Rockwell spent eight years preparing for his role in the western series "The Man From Blackhawk," and it all began with a hobby. "About eight years ago," says Bob, "I discovered that I was a direct descendant of Zachary Taylor, the 12th President of the United States, and naturally, I became fascinated with the whole idea. I started buying books about Taylor's life and the history of that period." As a pastime, he conducted research on Taylor and his era, collecting books, maps, and photographs, and set up a special section in his den for these volumes. "Of course, our kids loved that. They thought it was pretty exciting that their father was related to a U.S. President, and their history class at school had to hear all about it!" Rockwell, a favorite among viewers of "Our Miss Brooks," in which he played the bashful teacher, Mr. Boyington, received a call one day inquiring if he would be interested in a TV series of his own. He was immediately intrigued by the idea of a change in character, and the projected role was that of Sam Logan, a rough and ready insurance field agent in "The Man From Blackhawk." This role offered a good contrast to his portrayal of a school teacher and allowed him to put his six feet, three inches height to work in some exciting action scenes. During lunch, the writer-producer began to fill Bob in on the history of Sam Logan and the era in which he uncovered insurance fraud. "It all sounded familiar to me," recalls Rockwell, "and I asked, 'Does this take place in the 1800s—around the time Taylor was President?'"