Rusoff and directed by Lew Landers. Gene Vincent played himself and sang several songs, as did Ashley. It was Ashley's first sympathetic lead role. He was offered a part on the TV series Matinee Theatre, in an episode called "The Alleyway" with Janis Paige, and asked for the movie to be postponed so he could take it. However, Samuel Arkoff of AIP refused, and got an injunction preventing Ashley from appearing on TV. "I never really forgave him for that", said Ashley. "I was very upset about it. I felt they could shift the schedule one day to allow me to do it. As it turned out, and I'm sure they had their reasons, they couldn't do it." This led to Ashley's refusing to re-sign his contract with AIP. Television After his AIP contract wound up, Ashley worked steadily on TV. He was cast in the episode "Elkton Lake Feud" of the syndicated western television series Frontier Doctor, starring Rex Allen and directed by William Witney. He also appeared in the Henry Fonda show The Deputy ("The Wild Wind"), The Millionaire ("Susan Johnson", playing an aspiring singer) and Wagon Train ("The Amos Gibben Story"). Ashley thought he was often cast in Westerns because "I was from Oklahoma, and could ride, and had a bit of an accent when I first came out here. I always seemed the young Billy the Kid gunslinger." Ashley returned to features with the lead in High School Caesar (1960), playing a tyrant at high school; it was made for an even smaller budget than his AIP films and was distributed by Roger Corman's Filmgroup. He went back to TV, guesting on Death Valley Days ("The Holdup-Proof Sale"). Ashley later said that at this stage of his career, he had no interest in the production side of things. "I was just having fun doing it", he said. Straightaway From 1961 to 1962, Ashley was cast in a co-starring role with Brian Kelly on the ABC adventure series Straightaway, set in an automobile mechanic shop and often focusing on the sport of drag racing. Ashley would occasionally sing. It ran for 26 episodes. While a cast member of Straightaway, Ashley appeared in the 1961 episode, "The Holdup-Proof Safe" of then syndicated western anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. He played the role of Sandy, a young rodeo performer who wants to become a deputy