The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok is an American Western television series that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication,[1] but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955,[2] through 1958, and, at the same time, on ABC from 1957 through 1958.[3] The Kellogg's cereal company was the show's national sponsor.[1] The series was also exported to Australia during the late 1950s.[citation needed]
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | |
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Genre | Western |
Directed by | |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 8 |
No. of episodes | 113 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Producer | William F. Broidy |
Cinematography |
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Editors |
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Running time | 25 mins. |
Production company | Romson Productions |
Original release | |
Network |
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Release | April 15, 1951 September 24, 1958 | –
Synopsis
editThe Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok starred Guy Madison as the legendary Old West lawman (in real life, also a gunfighter) United States Marshal James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, and Andy Devine as his comedy sidekick, Jingles P. Jones. The series was set in the 1870s, with Hickok and Jones based at Fort Larabee.[4]
Production
editThe series was produced by William F. Broidy Productions. It consisted of 113 episodes, the last 13 of which were made in color.[5] In 1957 Screen Gems bought the Broidy company's assets, which included 100 Hickok episodes on film.[6] Tommy Carr was the director. Kellogg's cereals sponsored it.[5]
Episodes
editSeason | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 13 | April 14, 1951 | July 8, 1951 | |
2 | 13 | October 14, 1951 | January 6, 1952 | |
3 | 22 | January 27, 1952 | June 30, 1952 | |
4 | 13 | September 13, 1953 | December 6, 1953 | |
5 | 13 | November 21, 1954 | February 13, 1955 | |
6 | 13 | September 4, 1955 | November 27, 1955 | |
7 | 13 | September 2, 1956 | November 25, 1956 | |
8 | 13 | February 19, 1958 | May 16, 1958 |
Other media
editDevine and Madison portrayed their roles on Mutual radio from April 1, 1951, to 1956.[7]
During the 1950s, several episodes of the television show were spliced together and released as 16 feature films by Allied Artists.[5]
Guest stars
edit- Mike Ragan appeared in three episodes, as Gus in "The Tax Collecting Story", as Collier in "Mexican Rustlers Story" (both 1951), and Malone in "The Doctor's Story" (1953).
- Carole Mathews appeared twice, first as Miss Jennings in "The Slocum Family" (1951) and then as Anne Hardy in "Blacksmith Story" (1952).
- Ewing Mitchell, as Mr. Harker in "Chain of Events" (1953)
- Gloria Saunders, as Sally Jones in "Boulder City Election" (1951)
- William Tannen, as Rand in "The Doctor's Story" (1953) and as Tom Maples in "The Maverick" (1954)
Award nominations
editYear | Award | Result | Category |
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1955 | Emmy Award | Nominated | Best Western or Adventure Series |
References
edit- ^ a b "Breakfast cereal mascots: Beloved and bizarre". CBS News. 7 April 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
- ^ Hawes, William (December 26, 2001). Filmed Television Drama, 1952-1958. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-1132-0. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 34–37. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 1177–1178. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- ^ a b c Erickson, Hal (1989). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987'. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 101–102. ISBN 0-7864-1198-8.
- ^ "SG Purchases Broidy Assets". The Billboard. April 13, 1957. p. 28. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
- ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
External links
edit- The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok at IMDb
- The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok at CVTA
- Behind-the-scenes production photos Collection of Stephen Lodge.