Daniel Boone Existing Somewhere Between Fact and Fiction

September 2, 2024March 14, 2024 / thewritelife61 / Leave a comment

This month we are Riding the Range. Up first is Daniel Boone. I remember watching this series with my son when he was in second and third grade and loved everything western. He bought vintage western board games and read western stories. He wore a cowboy hat around the house with a pair of boots. Email was somewhat new then, but he was able to contact Fess Parker and Clayton Moore. They both sent him back nice emails, and Clayton Moore sent him an autographed biography.

When I decided to do a series about westerns and include Daniel Boone, I was surprised to learn that it was on the air from 1964-1970. That means it went off the air when I was in fourth grade—I always assumed it was produced in the fifties.

The series was on NBC during those years. It starred Fess Parker as Daniel Boone and Ed Ames as Mingo, his Cherokee friend. Boone’s wife Rebecca was portrayed by Patricia Blair and his son Israel was played by Darby Hinton. Dallas McKennon played store owner Cincinnatus. For the first two seasons before just vanishing, his daughter Jemima (Veronica Cartwright) was on and for the final two seasons, Rosy Grier, former NFL player, was Gabe Cooper.

From Cartwright’s complaints, it seems that Blair complained about having an older daughter and felt it made her seem older than she wanted to appear, so the show just got rid of a kid. If you have read my former blogs about disappearing characters, you realize that this is just one of many shows that insult viewers’ intelligence enough to just remove a character without an explanation, assuming everyone will just accept it.

Unfortunately for kids who tuned in to learn about their hero, the show did not contain a lot of historical accuracy. The show is set in the 1770s and 1780s in the town of Boonesborough, Kentucky. Daniel Boone had ten children, but only two in this show. In real life, Boone was an explorer, but on the series, he was much more of a family man. One episode was centered around Aaron Burr, but it was about an event that happened in 1806?!?!

The inconsistencies were so bad that at one point, the Kentucky legislature condemned the show. A coalition of activists asked the local television station to not air 37 different episodes in reruns because they were offensive to the local Native Americans.

Oddly, one area they did try to stay true to was the construction of the fort. They used authentic wooden pegs to build it like it would have been at the time, and it collapsed, having to be replaced by modern construction. Why the fort was the only authentic fact they worried about is beyond me.

Ed Ames did not love playing Mingo on the show. He admitted that he signed on for a regular paycheck, assuming the show would not last long. In 1968, he told TV Guide “Work is tight and if you get a decent part on Broadway every three years, you’re lucky. Whereas you can just keep hackin’ ‘em out week after week on TV. And then, of course, you have to eat.” He ended up getting more fan mail than Parker, and it caused some bad blood between them.

There were three versions of the theme song used during the show’s run. It was written by Vera Matson and Lionel Newman. Fess Parker originally sang the song for the show, but later seasons used a version by the Imperials. The song played up Boone as a larger-than-life hero:

“Daniel Boone was a man. Yes, a big man.

With an eye like an eagle and as tall as a mountain was he.

Daniel Boone was a man. Yes, a big man.

He was brave, he was fearless, and as tough as a mighty oak tree.

From the coonskin cap on the top of ol’ Dan to the heel of his rawhide shoe,

The rippin’est, roarin’est, fightin’est man the frontier ever knew.”

Parker not only sang for the show, but he directed five of the episodes.

Although the history was embarrassing on the show, the series is often celebrated for the attitude Daniel Boone displayed that every man was to be treated with respect and as an equal. That is not to say that it was ever politically correct, as we think of that term today, but for the era it debuted, it was a refreshing, perspective. One episode that demonstrates this is season 2, episode 4. Rafer Johnson (an Olympian and civil rights activist) plays a former enslaved person who is stealing trappers’ furs to sell to earn money to return to Africa. Boone tells him he can’t condone the stealing and “arrests” him for that crime. However, he takes him into his custody to protect him and raises enough money for him to travel to Africa, refusing to return him to the former slave owner.

Before the show ended, Parker wanted to open a Daniel Boone amusement park in Kentucky. He bought some land near the junction of I-71 and I-75, but before he could build Frontier World, another park opened nearby in Ohio and Boone’s never happened. He did later buy a ranch in California and started the Fess Parker Winery.

I guess Fess Parker enjoyed making people dizzy whether it was riding a roller coaster, drinking wine, or trying to figure out if the television Boone was a good or bad influence on the fans who watched the show.

Give Me a Sarsaparilla: Hopalong Cassidy

January 1, 2024December 30, 2023 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We are celebrating Classic TV for the first month of 2024. Our first choice is a western many kids never missed: Hopalong Cassidy.

📷wideopencountry.com Bill Boyd with Topper

Hopalong Cassidy was introduced to the world by Clarence E. Mulford in 1904 in short stories, and a book was released in 1906. Originally the character had a wooden leg which resulted in his nickname. The first big-screen Hopalong Cassidy film aired in 1935. His nickname was now attributed to a gunshot wound. It starred Bill Boyd, a forty-year-old actor. Boyd’s Hopalong was quite different from the book character. This film Hopalong was a clean-cut hero who drank only sarsaparilla and never took the first shot. By 1948, 66 original movies had been made with ten different sidekicks. That seems like a lot, but from just 1950-1959, about 700 western films were made.

Producer Harry Sherman had become tired of the films. So Boyd invested all of this money buying the rights to the character from Mulford and the rights to the earlier films from Sherman.

In 1949, NBC began showing the older movies on television. Westerns were huge on television, in movies, and in literature in the fifties, and Hopalong became very popular again. Boyd received all the revenue from the merchandise being sold.

Boyd was offered another show in 1952. From 1952-1955, the show was on the air. There was a different format for the new show. Instead of the typical two companions from the films, Edgar Buchanan took on the role of Red Connors. It was Buchanan’s first television role, but it would not be his last. Boyd provided voiceover for the series. He was now a US Marshal instead of foreman of the Bar 20 ranch. Hopalong still fought crime riding his horse, Topper.

The new series was composed of 40 new episodes, along with 12 older theatrical features that were cut down to 30-minute episodes.

One of the reviewers on imdb discussed the show as “being a couple of notches above most of the contemporaries in quality.” He said outdoor scenes were actually filmed outside. He acknowledged that both Boyd and Buchanan were good actors, and Edgar provided both comic relief and dramatic support. The relationship the actors had, along with good writing, produced several really good episodes. He went on to provide information about three of his favorite shows:

“1. Grubstake–A terrific half-hour mystery. Prospector Percy Helton has struck gold. He was grubstaked by five partners. Two have been murdered. A third is Red. Who is the murderer? There is a slew of suspects in a movie-level cast–Christopher Dark, Michael Fox, Robert Paquin, and Timothy Carey(!). Gladys George steals the show as a flighty landlady engaged in a humorous romance with old codger Helton. The solution to the mystery is first rate.

2. The Feud–Two ranchers are bitter enemies. The son of one is murdered from ambush. Suspician naturally falls on his old enemy, B stalwart Steve Darrell, but foreman Hugh Beaumont, soon to become Beaver’s dad, is the culprit. He is having an affair with Darrell’s wife and hopes to get both her and the ranch when Darrell is lynched for the murder. There are some bitter scenes between the jealous Darrell and his unfaithful wife, and even a hot and heavy one between the woman and Beaumont. Perhaps not original, but certainly an adult slant compared to a typical Lone Ranger or Gene or Roy plot.

3. Lawless Legacy–An ordinary plot but given a big lift by Lone Ranger on vacation Clayton Moore as a vicious murderer.”

The series propelled Boyd back into stardom, and he became a famous celebrity, giving talks around the world. Although Hopalong is not as well known today as The Lone Ranger or the Cartwright Boys, his television show is still considered a classic. In 2009, the US Postal Service issued twenty postage stamps honoring early television programs. In this series, which included The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Dragnet, I Love Lucy, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, Perry Mason, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Boyd was pictured sitting on his horse Topper.

In addition to the films and television series, there were 104 radio shows and hundreds of comic books.

By 1955, Boyd was tired of his role and ready to retire. While he was ready to step out of the entertainment business, he wanted to ensure that his staff would continue to have jobs. CBS was getting ready to air a little show they thought might be successful, and his entire crew moved to that series, Gunsmoke, which continued to provide employment for another two decades.

Hopalong Cassidy’s films on television introduced westerns to an entirely new generation and kept westerns in the spotlight for the decade. By March of 1959, eight of the top ten shows were westerns and the television schedule featured thirty different western shows.

I think Boyd was smart to purchase the rights and he was definitely in the right place at the right time to benefit during the fifties. And kudos to him for taking care of his cast and crew.

The Lone Ranger Rides Again . . . And Again . . . And Again

June 14, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 4 Comments

Like most of the westerns we are studying this month, The Lone Ranger first aired as a radio series. In 1933, the masked hero and his best friend Tonto, traveled throughout the Old West, capturing outlaws and putting them behind bars.

Fran Striker began reworking some old scripts about westerns in 1932. Those stories became The Lone Ranger. George Trendle brought Striker in to work on the radio scripts in 1933 when the show debuted. Striker continued to pen books about the hero with his first being The Lone Ranger in 1936 and his last The Lone Ranger on Red Butte Trail in 1961, 25 in all.

The television show began in 1949 and ran for eight years. Clayton Moore portrayed the ranger and Jay Silverheels portrayed Tonto. Silverheels was a full-blooded Mohawk Indian from the Six Nations Indian Reservation in Ontario, Canada. In season three, Moore was temporarily replaced by John Hart, but he returned for the final two years. The other recurring character we see during the series is the ranger’s nephew Dan Reid played by Chuck Courtney. This was ABC’s first big television hit.

The show began and ended the same way. As the show opened, the Lone Ranger’s horse would rear up on his back and the ranger shouted “Hi-Yo Silver.” At the end of the show, someone would as “Who was that masked man?” Another repeated phrase from the series was “Kemo sabe.” Tonto called the Ranger this which translates to “faithful friend.”

The backstory of the ranger is that a patrol of six Texas Rangers was massacred and only the Lone Ranger survived. He now wears a mask to protect his real identity and he and Tonto, who nursed him back to health, travel around bringing justice to the territories. The ranger owns a silver mine which is why he named his horse Silver and why he carries silver bullets.

MGM film veteran producer Jack Chertok was brought in to produce the show. He would later produce Ann Sothern’s show Private Secretary and My Favorite Martian.

This show was produced and filmed differently than most shows in the classic age. Seventy-eight episodes were broadcast for consecutive weeks. Then they were all shown for a second time. After 156 weeks, they decided to film another 52 shows but there was a controversy and Moore left the show and was replaced by John Hart. Again the 52 filmed shows were consecutively shown and then rerun. For the next season, the original creator George Trendle sold the rights to Jack Wrather in 1954. Wrather hired Moore again and produced another 52 shows which were shown and then rerun. For the final year, only 39 episodes were produced with Sherman Harris taking over as producer. The final season was the only one shot in color. Because there were only new episodes in five of the eight years, only 221 shows were produced.

At this point, film stars were still avoiding television, seeing it as a temporary competition with films. Therefore, most of the guest stars we see on the show were actors who went on to have successful television careers. Some of those include Michael Ansara, James Arness, Frances Bavier, Hugh Beaumont, Dwayne Hickman, Stacy Keach Jr., Marjorie Lord, Martin Milner, Denver Pyle, and Marion Ross.

The Lone Ranger" Texas Draw (TV Episode 1954) - IMDb — Photo: imdb Marion Ross guest starred

This was one of the first series to be nominated for an Emmy; unfortunately, it lost to the first version of The Life of Riley starring Jackie Gleason. The nomination came in 1950 at the second Emmy ceremony. The early years had very limited categories for awards.

General Mills was the original sponsor for the show. They also sponsored the radio show from 1941-1961.

The Lone Ranger, first created and broadcast in Detroit, turns 86 this week | Michigan Radio — Photo: michiganradio.com

The theme music was the classical piece, the William Tell overture. Rossini composed the piece in 1829.

Like Adam West and Batman, Clayton Moore really embodied the character of the Lone Ranger. After the show ended, he would make up to 200 appearances a year as the crime fighter. In 1979, Jack Wrather, who owned the rights to the character, sued him, but Moore won a countersuit allowing him to continue appearing as the masked hero.

The Lone Ranger was never permanently retired. Two animated series were released in 1966 and 1980. Also, both Silverheels and Moore starred in two big-screen features: The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958).

In addition, Moore slipped into his costume again for a film in 1958 to promote the Lone Ranger Peace Patrol to convince kids to buy US Savings Bonds. A 2013 movie reboot came out with Armie Hammer in the starring role.

The Lone Ranger has had an iconic place in history for 87 years now. Almost every generation recognizes the hero, and his black mask is at the Smithsonian Museum. It’s pretty incredible for a show that really had five years’ worth of episodes made and has been off the air for 64 of those years. Although this era did not often portray African Americans or Native Americans very well, this show was about friendship, and I read very little about negative portrayals of anyone on the television series. You can easily find the episodes on DVD, Youtube, or a variety of network channels.

When my son who is now 29 was about 9, he was enthralled by westerns and watched The Lone Ranger and Daniel Boone. Internet and email were newer forms of technology, but he was able to reach out to Fess Parker and Clayton Moore. Both were very kind. Moore sent him his autographed book with a written note. He still enjoyed discussing his time as the crime fighter. A classic man from a classic show.