Hec Ramsey Only Birds and Fools (1972–1974) Online
- Original Title :
- Only Birds and Fools
- Genre :
- TV Episode / Western
- Year :
- 1972–1974
- Directror :
- Harry Morgan
- Cast :
- Richard Boone,Rick Lenz,Harry Morgan
- Writer :
- Harold Jack Bloom,Richard Fielder
- Type :
- TV Episode
- Time :
- 1h 14min
- Rating :
- 7.9/10
New Prospect hosts the first flight by two airplane inventors, but a cloud hanging over the celebrated exhibition is Hec's investigation of a mysterious murder. Doc Coogan attempts to heal a family torn asunder by alcoholism.
| Episode cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 | Richard Boone | - | Hec Ramsey |
 | Rick Lenz | - | Chief Oliver Stamp (as Richard Lenz) |
 | Harry Morgan | - | Doc Amos B.Coogan |
 | Robert Foxworth | - | Jonas Goodwin |
 | Cliff Potts | - | Tom Bailey |
 | Fionnula Flanagan | - | Nellie O'Shea |
 | Charles Aidman | - | Clyde Harris |
 | Katherine Helmond | - | Emily Harris |
 | Harold J. Stone | - | Robert Pierce |
| Dennis Rucker | - | Constable Arne Tornquist |
| Don Mantooth | - | John (as Donald Mantooth) |
 | Jocelyn Jones | - | Elizabeth Harris |
| Owen Bush | - | Bartender |
 | Francis De Sales | - | Wingate |
 | Harry Harvey | - | Drew (as Harry Harvey Sr) |
Last show of the series.
During a drunken, rambling, intoxicated statement after his arrest Clyde Harris (Charles Aidman) mentions he is "beating the drum for Carrie Nation ..". Carrie Nation was a real life female temperance (anti-alcohol) leader in America in the late 1800s and early 1900s, famous for destroying saloons with a hatchet. She lived in Guthrie, Oklahoma, from 1902-1906, the time period of this series.
Hec Ramsey (Richard Boone) asks Tom Bailey (Cliff Potts) where he got his ideas for his glider. Tom says he read "Progress in Flying Machines" by Chanute, and Bird Flight: Basis of the Flying Art" by Lilienthal. Octave Chanute and Otto Lilienthal were aviation pioneers in the late 19th century, prior to the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers in 1903.
The plot for this episode involves heavier than air flight by glider. The first controlled powered airplane flight occurred about year after the setting for this story by the Wright brothers in 1903 at Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
The glider flight lasts for 3 minutes and 30 seconds of air time, but that time includes cut away shots to the crowd watching the flight.