The Gene Autry Show

The Gene Autry Show is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum.[1]

The Gene Autry Show
Title card
Also known asMelody Ranch
GenreWestern
Directed byGeorge Archainbaud
D. Ross Lederman
StarringGene Autry
Champion
Pat Buttram
Bob Woodward
Theme music composerGene Autry
Ray Whitley
Opening theme"Back in the Saddle Again"
Ending theme"Back in the Saddle Again"
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes91
Production
Running time25 minutes
Production company(s)Flying 'A' Productions
DistributorCBS Television Film Sales
Release
Original networkCBS
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseJuly 23, 1950 (1950-07-23) –
August 7, 1956 (1956-08-07)
Chronology
Related showsThe Adventures of Champion
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch
Buffalo Bill, Jr.

Overview
Gene Autry

Series star Gene Autry had already established his singing cowboy character on radio and the movies. Now he and his horse Champion were featured in a weekly television series of western adventures. Gene's role changed almost weekly from rancher, to ranch hand, to sheriff, to border agent, etc. Gene's usual comic relief and sidekick, Pat, was played by Pat Buttram. During the first season, Gene's sidekick was played by Chill Wills twice (as Chill) and by Fuzzy Knight four times (as Sagebrush). Alan Hale, Jr. played a bad guy in several episodes of Seasons 1 and 2, but he also played Gene's sidekick, Tiny, in two episodes of Season 1.

By this time, Autry had established his own production company, Flying 'A' Productions, and acted as executive director for the series.

The series lasted five seasons. The first four were in black and white, and the final season (thirteen episodes) was in color. Color was experimented with in two episodes of the first season. The theme song Back In the Saddle Again was written by Autry and Ray Whitley and sung by Autry.[2]

Among the guest stars, Nan Leslie and Mike Ragan were cast in different roles four times from 1950 to 1955.

Dick Jones was cast in ten episodes of The Gene Autry Show and acted in two other Flying A Productions, The Range Rider and Buffalo Bill, Jr..[3]

Spin-off

The Gene Autry Show had a 26-episode prime-time spin-off called The Adventures of Champion in 1955-1956.

Ewing Mitchell appeared seven times on The Gene Autry Show and seven times as well on The Adventures of Champion in the latter as Sheriff Powers.

Home media

Timeless Media Group has released all five seasons on DVD in Region 1, fully restored and uncut.[4][5][6][7]

On December 10, 2013, Timeless Media released The Gene Autry Show- The Complete series.[8]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 26 June 7, 2011
The Complete Second Season 26 November 22, 2011
The Complete Third and Fourth Seasons 26 April 10, 2012
The Complete Fifth Season 13 May 21, 2013
The Complete Series 91 December 10, 2013
gollark: https://i.osmarks.tk/bees.png
gollark: What? No. Bees.
gollark: Bees care not for pathetic human tribalism. Bees are immune to bribery.
gollark: Replace all politicians with incorruptible bees.
gollark: I'm serious, yes.

References
  1. 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. 189–192. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
  2. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 521. ISBN 9780307483201. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  3. "Dickie Jones". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-04-16. Retrieved 2011-05-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2011-10-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2012-02-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-03-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-09-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.