Hughes appeared in three different episodes of "Gunsmoke" between 1961 and '62, playing the roles of Joey Glover, Timmy (in "Us Haggens", which introduced Ken Curtis in the role of Festus) and Tommy. From 1961 to 1964 he also had three appearances on "Wagon Train" (playing Adam Bancroft as a Boy, Mark Basham, and Matt). Two of his three appearances on "Lassie" were in the role of Billy Joe (in the 1961 episodes "Cracker Jack" and "Yochim's Christmas"), while in 1964 he played Ricky Sutton in the episode "Climb the Mountain Slowly".