Editing Alias Smith and Jones (section)

==Cast and characters==
Heyes was deemed "cunning," with Curry "gunning." Heyes/Smith was considered the brains of the duo and an excellent poker player. Curry/Jones was the master [[Gunfighter|gun hand]] and the brawn. Usually, Heyes figured out ways to make money and save the twosome from precarious situations. Starting with "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap" (season two, episode 16), a slightly revamped introduction partially explained why the renowned duo did not split to evade capture—they were cousins. Roger Davis' original theme voiceover referred to the characters as "latter-day Robin Hoods." The new introduction replaced that description with the phrase "Kansas cousins." It remained so after [[Ralph Story]] reworked the introduction, once Davis assumed the Heyes role. After Davis took over as Heyes, his distinctive voice could no longer be used in the theme introduction. Ralph Story was brought in to provide narration for the series (he, rather than Davis, had done so in the pilot).

When the cousins were children, all four of their parents were slaughtered during the "border wars" just before the Civil War (q.v. [[Bleeding Kansas|Kansas-Missouri Border War]]) ("The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg", season two, episode 17). In "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap," Heyes remarks, "My cousin and I are not Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry." Curry also speaks of their "sage old grandfather." In the first episode with Davis, "The Biggest Game in the West" (season two, episode 19), Heyes shouts to Curry: "Yes sir! Cousin, you're all right!" In the episode "Don't Get Mad, Get Even," Curry and Heyes both make reference to their Irish grandfather Curry.

Recurring characters include:
*Kyle Murtry ([[Dennis Fimple]]) and Wheat Carlson ([[Earl Holliman]]), members of the Devil's Hole Gang, formerly led by Heyes and Curry.
*Harry Briscoe ([[J. D. Cannon]]) is a Bannerman detective who occasionally finds himself on the wrong side of the law.
*Patrick "Big Mac" McCreedy ([[Burl Ives]]) and Señor Nestor Armendariz ([[Cesar Romero]]) are two ranchers on opposite sides of the U.S.-Mexico border/[[Rio Grande]] waging a feud over a valuable bust which represents land that had been owned by Armendariz until the river temporarily switched course, moving the border with it, allowing MacCreedy to sell the land. Heyes and Curry get stuck in the middle.
*Clementine "Clem" Hale ([[Sally Field]]) is an old friend who has no problem with blackmailing the reformed outlaws when necessary. Field had appeared in only one episode before Duel's death, and she could not return due to being pregnant with her second child. Several scripts intended for her were rewritten to feature Georgette "George" Sinclair, who was played by [[Michele Lee]]. In the third season, Field did appear as Clem one last time, doing love scenes with former ''Flying Nun'' co-star [[Alejandro Rey]].
*Soapy Saunders ([[Sam Jaffe]]) and Silky O'Sullivan ([[Walter Brennan]]) are retired confidence men on whom the boys call when in need of a large sum of cash and a good con to get them out of trouble.

===Recasting of Hannibal Heyes===
In the early morning hours of December 31, 1971, series star Pete Duel died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 31. He was reportedly suffering from depression and had been drinking heavily when he shot himself. Upon learning of Duel's death, executive producer Jo Swerling Jr. initially wanted to end the series, but ABC refused.<ref name= "go on">{{cite book|last1= Snauffer| first1= Douglas |last2= Thurm| first2= Joel|title=The Show Must Go on: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series| publisher= McFarland| year= 2008| isbn= 978-0-7864-3295-0}}</ref>{{rp|27–28}} Swerling later stated:

<blockquote>ABC said, "No way!" They said, "You have a contract to deliver this show to us, and you will continue to deliver the show as best you can on schedule or we will sue you." Hearing those words, Universal didn't hesitate for a second to instruct us to stay in production. We were already a little bit behind the eight ball on airdates. So, we contacted everybody, including Ben (Murphy), and told them to come back in. The entire company was reassembled and back in production by one o'clock that day shooting scenes that did not involve Peter — only 12 hours after his death.<ref name= "go on" />{{rp|28}}</blockquote>

Series writer, director, and producer Roy Huggins contacted actor [[Roger Davis (television actor)|Roger Davis]] (who provided narration for the series, and who had also appeared in episode 19 "Smiler with a Gun") the day of Duel's death to fill the role of Hannibal Heyes, and actor/voice man Paul Frees came in to loop Duel's unfinished [[Dubbing#ADR/post-sync|ADR]] on "The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg".<ref>episode 33, "The Men Who Corrupted Hadleyburg"</ref> Davis was fitted for costumes the following day, and began reshooting scenes Duel had previously completed for an unfinished episode the following Monday. According to Swerling, the decision to continue production so soon after Duel's death was heavily criticized in the press at the time.<ref name= "go on" />{{rp|29–30}}