Rex Trailer

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Rex Trailer

Rex Trailer meets a young fan in Worcester, MA on December 10, 2006

Rex Trailer is a Boston, Massachusetts based television personality, broadcast pioneer, and Country and Western recording artist. He is best known as the host of the children's show Boomtown.

Contents

[edit] Early Life

Rex Trailer was born in 1929 and grew up just outside of Fort Worth, Texas. He learned his cowboy skills while spending summers on his grandfather’s ranch. As a rodeo performer, he met western movie star Gabby Hayes who hired him to work at his Catskills summer ranch for kids. Hayes encouraged him to break into television as an on-air personality. [1]

Postcard-sized vintage souvenir photo of Rex and Goldrush, probably given out at a personal appearance during either the Philadelphia or Boston years (the lack of the "Boomtown" name suggests the former).
Postcard-sized vintage souvenir photo of Rex and Goldrush, probably given out at a personal appearance during either the Philadelphia or Boston years (the lack of the "Boomtown" name suggests the former).

[edit] Television Pioneer

In 1947, Trailer went to work for the DuMont Television Network in New York City as a production coordinator. He later became the host of the network's Oky Doky Ranch. This show featured Rex Trailer as a cowboy and Oky Doky was a cowboy puppet.

Although this has some obvious similarity to the Howdy Doody show, Oky Doky had already been established in local television before being moved to the network, so there is some debate of who came first.

After the Oky Doky series ended, Trailer heard that the Westinghouse TV station in Philadelphia (WPTZ) needed a host for a Western-style children's show. Rex Trailer and his horse "Gold Rush" moved to Philadelphia and hosted television shows from 1950 until 1956. "Ridin’ the Trail with Rex Trailer" featured him as the host for movie westerns. He also had a daily 15-minute program featuring songs, games and dances with Trailer and his guitar. This show went by various names, including "Hi-Noon with Rex Trailer", "Saddlebag O' Songs" and "Rex Trailer's Ranch House". [2]




The 78 rpm version of Hoofbeats and Cowboys Don't Cry.
The 78 rpm version of Hoofbeats and Cowboys Don't Cry.

[edit] Recording Artist

Trailer recorded Country and Western Music for ABC-Paramount Records, among other labels. At one time, c. 1950, Trailer recorded with Bill Haley and his Saddlemates, who gained fame later as Bill Haley and His Comets. In 1955, Cowboys Don't Cry and a song later used regularly on the Boomtown show, Hoofbeats, were released together in the 78 rpm and 45 rpm vinyl record formats. Trailer released at least one 33 1/3 rpm 12" vinyl album, as Rex Trailer and the Playboys, titled Country and Western in 1960. Another album with some overlap in playlists also exists, by Rex Trailer and his Cow Hands, titled Western Favorites, but information on its release is not readily found.


[edit] The Boomtown/Boston Years

In 1956, Rex Trailer moved to Boston and hosted a weekend-morning children's show Boomtown on WBZ-TV. This series proved to be his greatest success, airing through 1974 and establishing Trailer as a major local celebrity within the signal of Boston's TV Channel 4. Rex performed songs while playing guitar, and showed off his authentic cowboy skills with horse-riding tricks, rope tricks and skilled use of the bull-whip. He led the studio audience of children in sing-alongs and simple contests of skill, and introduced cartoons and other children's programming segments. He was aided by various sidekicks over the years, including Pablo, Cactus Pete, and Sgt. Billy.

Rex Trailer's fame, good name, and crowd-pleasing talents made him a popular draw at many personal appearances in the area. He was also able to successfully team with a local travel agency in chaperoning children on an annual series of large-scale school-vacation trips to California tourist attractions. In the early 1960's, Trailer (and Gold Rush) led an actual wagon train across the state of Massachusetts, ending at the State House in Boston, to call public attention to the needs of the mentally retarded. In addition, Trailer also encouraged his young fans to hold neighborhood charity fund-raisers called "Backyard Carnivals Against Dystrophy", offering how-to kits on air.

[edit] Recognition

The retrospective book Rex Trailer: The Boomtown Years by Shirley Kawa-Jump was published in 1997.

Trailer was inducted into the Massachusetts Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. He was included in the first group of honorees inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in Brockton MA on May 5th, 2007.

A documentary film titled, Rex Trailer's Boomtown was produced by Milford, Massachusetts native Michael Bavaro. The film was broadcast on WBZ-TV on June 18, 2005 as a special and was nominated for a New England Emmy award for best historical documentary. Jay Leno, Jimmy Tingle, Mayor Tom Menino, Steven Wright and more than 100 grown-up kids share their Boomtown memories, and attest to the enduring stature of its host. The broadcast version of the film and archive material were presented to and are now part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Television & Radio in New York City.

Rex Trailer

Rex Trailer at That's Entertainment in Worcester, MA on December 10, 2006

[edit] Still on the Trail

Rex Trailer continues to work in the television industry, and teaches on-air performance at Emerson College in Boston, as well as appear in other media; for instance, he had a minor role in the 1990 Cher/Winona Ryder movie Mermaids. He still makes regular personal appearances, and performs live on occasion, even performing at a couple of Boston rock clubs in the last few years as a special guest. On December 10th 2006, Rex performed several songs (including the Boomtown theme and some of his own Christmas songs) and signed free autographs for hundreds of fans old and young at That's Entertainment in Worcester, MA. The event was part of Trailer's official 50th Anniversary of Boomtown celebration tour. Then Worcester Mayor Tim Murray officially proclaimed it "Rex Trailer's Boomtown Day" throughout the city to mark the occasion.[3]

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Rex Trailer : the Boomtown years by Shirley Kawa-Jump Publisher: N. Attleborough, Mass : Covered Bridge Press, 1997. ISBN: 0924771984 9780924771989
  2. ^ Rex Trailer : the Boomtown years by Shirley Kawa-Jump Publisher: N. Attleborough, Mass : Covered Bridge Press, 1997. ISBN: 0924771984 9780924771989
  3. ^ Niles, David (2006-12-10). Rex Trailer. telegram.com video. Worcester Telegram. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
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