Brown singer Snookie Lansonġ957 - James Stewart for the sixth time Dinah Shore and George Montgomery Roy Rogers and wife Dale Evansġ958 - Pat Boone Eddie Bracken Guy Madisonġ959 - Vice-President Richard Nixon Art Carney Jimmy Dean Wendell Coreyġ960 - Andy Williams Craig Stevens Dale Robertsonġ961 - Eddie Arnold Peter Brown George Maharis and Martin Milnerġ962 - Lorne Green Dan Blocker and Michael Landon of "Bonanza"ġ963 - Rock Hudson Paul Lynde Arthur Godfrey Paul Anka John Russellġ964 - Lorne Green Dan Blocker Michael Landon were back, joined by Pernell Robertsġ965 - Fess Parker Glenn Ford Frankie Avalonġ966 - Forrest Tucker Ken Berry and Larry Storch ("F Troop") Elizabeth Montgomerey Agnes Moorehead and Dick York of 'Bewitched'ġ967 - Robert Lansing Adam West (Batman) Christopher George James Rhodes Patty Duke Shari Lewisġ968 - Judy Carne David Canary Herb Alpert ski champ Jean-Claude Killy Frankie Randall and Jennie Smith John Havlicek of the Boston Celticsġ969 - Hugh O'Brian Chuck Connors Lorne Greene Mark Slade Noel Harrison D.J. Brown James Stewart and Wilbur Shaw as flagmenġ953 - Dinah Shore and husband George Montgomery Andy Devine Don Ameche Captain Video and the Video Ranger Wilbur Shaw and Mauri Roseġ954 - Robert Cummings Jack Carson Abbott and Costello Lola Albrightġ955 - Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham Indy "500" champ Bob Sweikert Jon Hall Dinah Shore and George Montgomeryġ956 - Roy Rogers Joe E. Vandenbergġ952 - Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy comedian Joe E. Doolittle were back for their third timeġ950 - Prize fighter Jack Dempsey William Boyd, ("Hop-along Cassidy") Indy "500" winner Wilbur Shaw, and James Stewart was back for his fourth timeġ951 - Actor Ronald Reagan Andy Devine ventriloquist Paul Winchell Wilbur Shaw Air Force Generals Nathan F. "Jimmy" Doolittle actor James Stewartġ949 - Ohio Governor Frank Lausche James Stewart and Gen. "Jimmy" Doolittle actor James Stewartġ948 - Air Force General James H. Louis Cardinals baseball team Graham McNameeġ947 - Air Force General James H. The programme was given a second screening on BBC Alba, the dedicated Scottish Gaelic language digital television channel and is now (from September 2011) being repeated on that channel.Celebrities who attended the All-American Soap Box Derbyġ935 - Cowboy star Tom Mix World War flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker Indianapolis "500" winner Bill Cummins radio announcers Graham McNamee and Tom Manningġ936 - Dizzy and Daffey Dean of the St. After they left, further episodes were made but audience figures dropped and the show was cancelled,
The writing and producer team of May and Hally made the first ninety-nine half-hour episodes.
The series was funded by the Gaelic Television Committee, and according to government reports, had the effect of creating jobs and boosting the economy in the islands. It was shot entirely on location on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides from 1992–96, and after 1996 interior scenes were shot in Studio Alba, which was originally built to accommodate it in Stornoway. Regular cast members included Simon MacKenzie, Anna Murray, Kenny MacRae, Duncan MacNeil and Tony Kearney. Among the Gaelic writers employed were Donald Smith, Iain Finlay Macleod, and Aonghas 'Dubh' MacNeacail. Īlong with Janice Hally, Ann Marie Di Mambro was a scriptwriter for the series. It was nominated for awards for production and writing from The Celtic Film Festival and Writers Guild of Great Britain. Viewers were in accord with him as it achieved a 30% audience share and made it into the top ten of programmes viewed in Scotland, despite that fewer than 2% of the Scottish population could speak Gaelic. Kenneth Roy, television critic of Scotland on Sunday, described it as "a credit to the company and a smack in the face to those of us who were doubtful" and after a few episodes said "it is even better than it looked at first glance quite simply the best thing to have happened to television in Scotland for a long time". Although the concept was initially greeted with derision by the press, when the show aired it received unanimous praise from reviewers. Machair was written in English and translated into Gaelic, then given English subtitles and broadcast at peak viewing time.
They went on to conduct actors' workshops, screentests, and writing courses to train the talent they had found to a professional standard for television. Their initial proposal for Head of Drama at Scottish Television, Robert Love, included details not only of the characters and storylines for the show but details of the process required to find, recruit and train actors and writers.
As there was no history of large-scale television drama output in the Gaelic language, the pair spent two years of preparatory work on the creation of the show. The series was created and developed by Peter May and Janice Hally who was also the storyliner and principal scriptwriter.