Soapy Smith in the TV series The Alaskans.

Jefferson Randolph Smith
Alias "Soapy"
BIG DEAL
The Alaskans TV series
Season 1 - Episode 6
1959

(Click image to enlarge)

 

id you ever hear of Jefferson Randolph Smith?
He just happens to be my brother-in-law. Sure he's got a reputation, most of it's bad, but the point is, Soapy's a big man in Alaska, and I'm gonna be a big man too.

 

 —"John Matthews" played by Jesse White

 

 

In this 1959 TV series two adventurers, played by 32 year old Roger Moore as "Silky Harris" and Jeff York as "Reno McKee," head to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush, hoping to get rich by taking advantage of prospectors headed to and from the Dawson gold fields. Dorothy Provine also stars as their friend, Rocky Shaw, a saloon entertainer.

In this episode (Big Deal, season 1 - episode 6) Silky and Reno discover a lost hotel deed, and stumble upon a scheme by con man "Soapy" Smith, played by John Dehner, to seize control of the entire district of Alaska. Dehner also plays "Soapy" in the episode, Remember the Maine (season 1 - episode 12).

Soapy explains his plan
BIG DEAL
The Alaskans TV series
Season 1 - Episode 6
1959

 (Click image to enlarge)

 

Sure, it's not very accurate, it is from 1959 after-all, but the following monologue by "Soapy" exposes the fact that someone in the show did some research on the real Soapy Smith, capturing his standard tactics, and in my opinion they captured Soapy pretty well.

"Gentlemen, there's more gold concentrated in Alaska than any place on earth right now. But tomorrow who knows. Gold strikes have a way of ending fast. So cash in while you can is my motto. That's why we're here today. With all due modesty I can say that I own the town of Skagway. I ask myself, 'why stop at Skagway?' With a little organization we can run Alaska, the way I run Skagway. It's all in knowing how. Now I can tell you the trick, if you make it worth my while. My men are in every saloon, every gambling casino in Skagway. They meet every boat, make friends with the new comers, they size 'em up, steer 'em to where we can get their money the easiest and fastest. But a lot of the money gets away once they leave Skagway. I hate to see it go. So, I suggest that we divide up the whole territory of Alaska. We divide it in sections. Each one of us controls a section. Each section pays me a percentage. I know how to organize, you don't.

The first rule is this: Always keep on the good side of  the people. Sure, I'll take anything a man's got, if he's fool enough to give it to me, but after that, what? Do you let him starve? Desperate men can make a lot of trouble. We'll have soup kitchens for the poor. We take up collections for widows and orphans. We promote church buildings. I even feed stray dogs.

Never rob the local people. We stick to the transients. They don't have any friends to complain to. They don't vote for the town counsel. Now if the town counsel is with you, then you have nothing to worry about. Just don't attract any attention."

 

Below is the entire episode for your enjoyment!

  

"In one instance I heard of, a holdout worked too well. It was designed to operate without any tell-tale movement of the hands or legs, a wire about the chest projecting the lazy-tongs arm when the gambler took an especially deep breath. It worked without a slip for more than a week. Then, in the middle of a game the wearer had to sneeze. The sudden intake of breath operated the device and out popped an ace in full view of the other players!"

— Thomas M. Johnson, 1933