Because of her then-husband, Philip Liebmann (grandson of Charles Liebmann of Rheingold Breweries), Darnell put her career on hiatus. She returned to 20th Century-Fox in August 1955, by which time the studio had entered the television field. Darnell was eager to appear on Ronald Reagan's "General Electric Theater". In 1958, Darnell appeared in the episode "Kid on a Calico Horse" of NBC's "Cimarron City" along with a cast of other guest stars, including Edgar Buchanan. That same year, she held the guest-starring title role in "The Dora Gray Story" on NBC's "Wagon Train". The character of Dora is an attractive young woman trying to reach San Francisco who has inadvertently joined with a gun runner, played by John Carradine, to reach the west. Robert Horton carries the cast lead in the segment, and Mike Connors appears as Miles Borden, Dora's erstwhile love interest, a corrupt United States Army lieutenant bitter over his meager pay of $54 per month. Dan Blocker, more than a year before "Bonanza", also guests in this segment.