"Temple Houston" was rushed onto the 1963 schedule in only four weeks after a previously planned drama, "The Robert Taylor Show", based on case files of the former United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, was abandoned with four unaired episodes. In addition, the "Temple Houston" pilot episode was unusable for the introduction to the new series because James Coburn, who played the secondary character, a gunslinger turned U.S. marshal, would not accept a role in a series. Coburn's character was hence assumed by Jack Elam as George Taggart. A leading character actor in film and television, Elam had just left the short-lived ABC/Warner Bros. western, "The Dakotas", which had replaced Clint Walker's long-running "Cheyenne" series early in 1963.