Cowboy TV and movie memorabilia, by Jim Trautman
Saddle up collectors, TV               cowboys rule
 
By Jim Trautman
Dozens of aspiring young actors and actresses grew up to               be television cowboys and cowgirls during the glory years of               westerns.
 
From Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, to Gene Autry, to Hopalong               Cassidy's William Boyd.
 
Many of the classic TV westerns came to mind during a Christmas               vacation visit to Travel Town in California.
 
My wife, Tina, and I spent Christmas with our daughter, son-in-law               and four-year-old grandson, Preston, in Los Angeles.
 
Travel Town, at the base of Griffith Park, is a museum filled               with old trains and we had the pleasure of squeezing ourselves               into the Melody Ranch train, which made a large circuit around               the museum.
 
For Tina and myself, it was a trip back into our days as               kids watching early television cowboy shows. Of course Melody               Ranch was the name of Gene Autrys radio show and then became               part of his television show which aired on CBS from 1950-56.
 
Todays 500 channel universe seems devoid of cowboy               shows, but in the early days of television and into the early               1960s the TV schedule was loaded with cowboy shows.
 
And not just on weekday afternoons or Saturdays for kids;               the evenings were filled with prime time oaters for the adult               audience, as well. In fact, in 1959, there were 29 western shows               in prime time.
 
The list of cowboy or western TV shows was endless. Roy Rogers               and Dale Evans, The Lone Ranger, Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, Rin-Tin-Tin,               The Gabby Hayes Show, Red Ryder and Little Beaver, Gene Autry,               Hopalong Cassidy, Sky King, Range Rider, Davy Crockett.
 
More shows were only broadcast in a specific region rather               than nationally. Ranger Joe was broadcast from a Philadelphia,               Pa., station.
 
Almost half of the top 25 shows in 1958 were westerns. Gunsmoke               was #1, followed by Tales of Wells Fargo, Have Gun Will Travel,               The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Restless Gun, Cheyenne,               Zane Grey Theatre, Wagon Train, Sugarfoot.
 
Others would follow: The Lawman, The Rebel, The Rifleman,               The Texan, Maverick, Rawhide and, of course, Bonanza, starring               the famous Voice of Doom of World War II Lorne Greene.
 
So return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust               and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver. The Lone Ranger Rides Again.'
 
Many of the early television programs were cowboy shows that               had been on radio. In some instances, the radio show even continued               while the TV show aired, such as Gunsmoke and The Lone Ranger.
 
Three shows had a direct connection to a Detroit radio station, WXYZ. Two of the programs were westerns and the other featured               a modern day masked crime fighter called the Green Hornet.
 
The two westerns were The Lone Ranger and Sgt. Preston of               the Yukon. All were created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker.               The Green Hornet was written to be the grand nephew of the Lone               Ranger. The main casting of each was the same, and the hero on               each show had a sidekick.
 
The Green Hornet sidekick was Kato, originally Japanese,               but after December 7, 1941, he suddenly became Filipino.
 
There was The Lone Ranger and Tonto. After finding the wounded               Texas Ranger, Tonto tells him, You only Ranger left - you               lone Ranger. Controversy still rages over whether the Lone               Ranger had a first name. It is clear that his last name was Reid,               but after 80 years the debate continues. The radio show debuted               in January, 1933 and a first name was never mentioned.
 
Sgt. Preston had a canine sidekick, Yukon King - the               swiftest and strongest lead sled dog in the Northwest. In several episodes it was Yukon King who saved Sgt. Prestons               life and solved the case. Each show ended with Sgt. Preston talking               to Yukon King and telling him that the case was closed.
 
About 99% of the products connected to cowboy shows were               directed at the kid market. It was a smart marketing strategy               since almost every show was sponsored by a product that a kid               would want to acquire.
 
Like Ralphie in a Christmas Story going to the mailbox each               day looking for his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring. Save those               box tops, labels, bug mom and dad to buy a certain product. There               was always the promise that you would consume whatever the product               was.
 
During the Christmas season, the magazines were filled with               official cowboy products. The Roy Rogers Show even issued a Merchandise               Catalogue. Saddle bags for your bike, six guns and holsters sets,               all official.
 
Items ran the spectrum               from cap guns, picture cards, decoder rings, outfits so you could               dress like your favourite cowboy star, colouring books, pop up               books, comic books, puzzles, pennants, cup and cereal bowls with               your favourite cowboys image on the bowl or inside, souvenir               photos for your wall or scrapbook.
 
Even though Davy Crockett was a hit as a hero, he never had               his own TV show. The first three episodes aired on the Walt Disney               weekly show. Davy was killed at the Alamo in Episode 3, but he               was so popular that he returned from the dead for three more               episodes of his early life.
 
Items connected to Davy sold like hot cakes: coon skin caps,               tee shirts, metal lunch boxes, puzzles, games and comic books.               There was even a 45 RPM record, The Ballad of Davy Crockett. Topps Gum Company of Brooklyn, New York, issued two sets of picture               cards included in each pack was that wonderful pink slab of gum.
 
(Currently, individual cards sell for $10. An unopened pack               can fetch $40 or more.)
 
The Marx Toy Company manufactured a playset of Davy Crockett               at the Alamo.
 
Many shows were sponsored by cereal. The marketing belief               was that kids loved to have cereal in the morning and if box               tops were required for a premium, they would eat even more.
 
Sgt. Preston of the Yukon was sponsored by Quaker Puffed               Wheat and Rice.
 
Do you remember the ad? Quaker Puffed Wheat and Rice               are fired from cannons. In 1950 one of the premiums was               a beautiful set of colour picture cards, one inside each box.               A complete set contained 36.
 
In connection with that show, probably the most unique cereal               premium ever issued was a Klondike Big Inch Land Deed Certificate. Issued in 1955, it was a real one-inch parcel of land.
 
Several years ago, a story appeared in the newspaper that               an individual was advertising to purchase other inch deeds so               that he could make a large parcel of land.
 
In the late 1940s, a unique Canadian-only premium was an               Official Mountie Badge. This item is very rare.
 
The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans show was sponsored by the Post               Cereal Company. Two sets of picture cards were issued as cereal               premiums. In 1952, 36 Stand-Up Pop Up cards with a painted scene               were produced. Later, a set of 3D cards was issued with scenes               from the television show.
 
Playsets made by the Marx Company of the U.S. and Canada               were popular during the 1950s and many were made for the western               shows. Each came in a cardboard box with a scene of what was               to be found inside.
 
A playset contained approximately 100 pieces, ranch fences,               animals, figures, furniture, pots, pans, usually a flag pole               and instructions. The figures were made of hard plastic and represented               the main characters that appeared on the show.
 
The playsets provided hours of play time in one box. There               were several versions of the Roy Rogers Ranch and also sets for               Rin-Tin-Tin, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Lone Ranger Ranch, and               others.
 
The Dollcraft Novelty Company of New York City produced Lone               Ranger and Tonto dolls dressed in realistic western outfits.               In fact, there were several different outfits for each one.
 
For the 70th Anniversary in 2003, Cheerios, one of the old               sponsors of the show, issued a large commemorative cereal box               set that included old advertising and a miniature lunch box.
 
Scheduled for release for sometime this year is a new Lone               Ranger movie with Johnny Depp playing Tonto.
 
One of the most               prolific producers of consumer goods produced for a cowboy character               was The Hopalong Cassidy Show. It starred Hollywood cowboy star               William Boyd. The show was one of the first to hit the TV airwaves               in 1948 on station KTLA, Los Angeles.
 
Boyd, who had played Hopalong Cassidy in movies and serials,               wisely purchased all the rights and immediately began his own               TV show. Hundreds of collectible items were issued over the many years that the show ran.
 
Even regional shows produced items for their viewing public.               Many years ago, a gift from my mother-in-law (who knew I was               a packrat collector) was a milk glass mug from the Ranger Joe               Show that aired in Philadelphia.
 
Ranger Joe was sponsored by a local cereal called Rice Honnies               from 1951-52. Nabisco purchased the company in 1954 and Ranger               Joe was replaced, or put out to pasture, by Buffalo Bee.
 
As I get older, one thing strikes me about those old cowboy               shows. It was the lack of violence. The Lone Ranger and Hopalong               Cassidy only shot when necessary and then aimed for the bad guys               gun hand. Sgt. Preston had Yukon King corner the bad guy. Justice               was served, but in a more gentle manner.
 
Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
 
There are thousands of items connected to the early cowboy               TV shows. The one book that does a great job of not only that               type of show, but character collectibles, is Hakes Guide               To Character Toys.
 
1 - Autographed 1955 Gene Autry photo
 
2 - 1950s Lone Rangers Golden Book
 
3 - A 1956 Television Favourites hard cover book
 
Jim Trautman resides in Orton, (which is soon to disappear,               or so says Canada Post.) Email Jim at Trautman@sentex.net or               call 519-855-6077.