Julie Adams guest-stars as Helen, the widow of Ben Cartwright's old friend Josh Layton. As beautiful as she is charming, Helen has a fatal flaw: She is a chronic gambler, one who tends to drag her lovers down into her own bottomless pit of debt and despair. Now Helen has caught the eye of Hoss-much to Ben's dismay. Marshall Reed and Lyle Talbot also appear in this episode, which was written by Richard N. Morgan. "The Courtship" first aired on January 7, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi