The Roy Rogers Show

Not to be derogatory, but I always wondered why Roy Rogers was the King of the Cowboys and John Wayne wasn't. What WAS John Wayne, anyway? Oh yeah, The Duke. Oh well. I guess it was because Wayne couldn't sing with the Sons of the Pioneers, although Wayne did sing a little in "Hatari" and didn't have that bad of a voice... but I digress.

Who could resist Roy Rogers' charm? I mean, he was the nicest guy in the world. He even smiled while he was roundin' up the bad guys after they'd been bested.

Dale had the best post-menopausal vibrato I'd ever heard after she got a little older - but she was Roy's partner and could pull her gun on an ornery desperado as fast as any of the ranch hands.

Roy had Trigger (horse) and Bullet (dog), but, Pat Brady had Nellybell (a jeep). Pat Brady was played by Pat Brady, just as Roy Rogers played Roy Rogers and Dale Evans played Dale Evans. Were there any actors in this series who played anyone other than themselves? I mean, did Trigger and Bullet even have different names than their stage names? Pat was a great comedian - goofy face and lovable. A great sidekick for Roy.

And of course, Roy and Dale sang "Happy Trails" at the end of each show. That right there was worth the half hour watch.

Yeah, when I watched this as a kid in the 50s I was a little confused about the time period this was set in. i know they didn't have cars or jeeps in the 1880s. Now that the show is in reruns in can see that is is set in the 40s or early 50s. There is electricity and radios and I've even spotted other cars. And horses are still ridden on the roads. It was a couple of years ago I was in Gilbert AZ. at a strip mall and a rider pulled up on a horse and "parked" it into a parking stall. Funny as heck.

WHEN WE HAD CBS with THE GENE AUTRY SHOW, the National Broadcasting Company answered with THE ROY ROGERS SHOW. It was as if the two friendly rivals were truly slugging it out; although not going toe to toe for their ratings, they still had to establish who was truly number one TV Cowboy.

WHEREAS THE "B" MOVIE fans were very familiar with this sort of series Western from studios like Republic*, Coluimbia, Monogram and Producers Releasing Corporation, no real beach head had been established on the newly created realm of Television.

WELL THAT SURE didn't last very long as Flying A Productions (GENE AUTRY, ANNIE OAKLEY,RANGE RIDER) and Bar Double R produced the ROY ROGERS SHOW. Others, many others followed.

AS FAR AS the Rogers production, there was far more continuity with more regular cast members. Roy and Dale Evans Mrs. Rogers in real life) always managed to get involved with whatever local hugs had planned for 'Mineral City' and vicinity. They were great help to somewhat laid-back and inept middle aged Sheriff, played by Harry Harvey. Then there was "Roy's comical sidekick", Pat Brady, thrown in for,. that's right, comic relief.

THE ONE THIG that always was a puzzlement to us as kids was that whereas Roy rode his palomino horse, Trigger and Miss Dale rode her mare, Buttermilk; why did Pat Brady drive a jeep with the name of "Nellie-belle?" After all, how could one have a Jeep, an automobile, in the Old West? THE ANSWER OF course is that THE ROY ROGERS SHOW, as were so many of the old "B" Western Sderies Poctures, was set in the modern, then contemporary times of the 1950s.

WE ALSO WOULD like to make mention of one other regular cast member. That would be Bullet, Roy's faithful German Shepard puppy dog.

ROY KNEW THAT he needed all the help ion his 'rivalry' with Gene. And, as any schoolboy knows, people just love dogs.

NOTE: * Both men had worked at Republic and Roy had been a member of the Western Musical group, THE SONS OF THE PIONEERS when he arrived there. When Gene went to the Service in World War II, it was the former Leonard Sly ()Roy's birth name) who replaced him. Upon his return, Gene established his own company, FLYING A PRODUCTIONS and struck a deal for release with Columbia.

Despite what one reviewer said, the Roy Rogers TV show was an excellent show for us kids in the 50s. If that reviewer did any research he would see that people in Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, California, etc did ride horses for ranch work and in their daily lives, with cars, including Jeeps being driven in the same era.

As for shooting guns out of the hands of outlaws instead of killing them, that was simply role modelling for kids. The Lone Ranger did it; so did Roy Rogers. It was about values. Disarming an outlaw was more important than killing him. It tried to teach children that the value of a life was important. Respect and dignity were valued. Yes, these were all fantasy shows with unrealistic concepts and ideals, but so are the Star Wars movies.

The violence displayed in today's society is more associated with the TV shows and movies shown decades after the 50s. Perhaps, if those 50s values had continued on into the 60s and 70s, instead of the violent 'reality' displayed on TV and in the movies that became the standard, America and the world might be a better, safer place today. I say, "shame" on the entertainment industry for promoting the violence to children on TV, in the movies, and in the music that has become today's norm.

One of the previous writers complains of anachronisms and mysteries in the Roy Rogers Show. well, they sure entertained us when we were younger. Heck, I was in my 40's when I realized that Pat Brady's Jeep, Nellybelle ran forever and never was seen pulling into a gas station. I never saw a gas station in the show. I guess that must be Hollywood. Our heroes wouldn't kill someone so they shot the gun out of their hands. Tough shot to make? Not in Hollywood.

It's amazing that anyone could have a problem with this show. Roy had a code for his little buckaroos. The world would be a heck of a different place if just half the population followed that code. Of course, a lot of people do follow it, just under a different name. Call it the Golden Rule, Koran, Torah, whatever. All of them, including Roy's code, gave the rules for treating your fellow man and the world that was provided by a Supreme Being.

Yes, sadly the museum in Victorville closed but I understand it has reopened in Branson. The previous writer should go to the Roy rogers website and read some of the mail. Read Roy and Dale's books. Their life is the epitome of the American dream. Nothing comes easy in life. You'll see that in their books and it was taught in their shows and movies. Yes the museum closed but most likely because we who grew up with Roy and Dale are getting into our last days. One of the best memories of my childhood was shaking Roy's hand at a rodeo in Madison Square Garden in NYC.

So who was your hero in London, Canada?