The Roy Rogers Show

The Roy Rogers Show
Genre Western
Directed by George Blair
John English
Leslie H. Martinson
Don McDougall
Christian Nyby
Robert G. Walker
Starring Roy Rogers
Dale Evans
Pat Brady
Trigger, the Golden Palomino
Bullet, the Wonder Dog
Ending theme "Happy Trails"
Composer(s) Lou Bring
Nat Farber
Frank Worth
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 100 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Larry Kent
Jack Lacey
Roy Rogers
Arthur Rush
Producer(s) Bob Henry
Jack Lacey
Cinematography Joe Novak
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Roy Rogers Productions
Release
Original network NBC
Picture format Black-and-white
Audio format Monaural
Original release December 30, 1951 – June 9, 1957

The Roy Rogers Show is an American Western television series that broadcast 100 episodes on NBC for six seasons between December 30, 1951 and June 9, 1957. The show starred Roy Rogers as a ranch owner, Dale Evans as the proprietress of the Eureka Cafe in fictional Mineral City, and Pat Brady as Roy’s sidekick and Dale's cook. Brady's jeep Nellybelle had a mind of her own and often sped away driverless with Brady in frantic pursuit on foot. The Jeep was first called LuLubelle in the 1952 series. Animal stars were Roy's Palomino horse, Trigger, and his German Shepherd wonder dog, Bullet.

Plot

Like Rogers’s and many other Western films of the 1930s through 1950s, the series featured traditional cowboys and cowgirls riding horses and carrying six-shooters in a contemporary setting where they coexisted with automobiles, telephones, and electric lighting. No attempt was made in the scripts to explain or justify this strange blend of 19th-century characters with 20th-century technology. Typical episodes followed the stars as they rescued the weak and helpless from the clutches of dishonest lawmen, claim jumpers, rustlers, and other "bad guys."

Production

Interior shots for the show were filmed at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio, with much of the outdoor action footage filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California The program was originally sponsored by General Foods (Post Cereals and Jell-O). The show's theme song, “Happy Trails”, was written by Dale Evans and sung over the end credits by Rogers and Evans.

The show received an Emmy nomination in 1955 for Best Western or Adventure Series, but it lost out to the syndicated Stories of the Century, an anthology series starring and narrated by Jim Davis.[1] The series finished #27 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1951-1952 season and #30 for 1954-1955.[2]

The show was merchandised for the juvenile market with comic books, playsets, western costumes, Roy Rogers Longbows, toys, and many other items.

References

  1. ↑ Alex McNeil, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present, 4th ed., New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 793
  2. ↑ http://www.classictvhits.com/tvratings/index.htm
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