Circus Boy

CIRCUS BOY, starring future "Monkees" drummer/singer Mickey Dolenz (then as billed as Mickey Braddock)in the title role, spent the 1956-57 Prime Time TV Season on NBC and the next on ABC. I enjoyed it when it re-ran on Saturday mornings thru 1960. There could be 70+ episodes of CIRCUS BOY as back in those days they produced as many as 39 new episodes a season. Nowadays, costs being what they are, you're fortunate to get 20-24. The Circus Boy was Corky, an orphan taken in by Big Tim Champion's turn of the 19th century Circus. He was water boy for Bimbo, a baby Elephant. As a 7 or 8 year old at the time, I found the show quite fascinating and, of course, envied Corky to no end. I mean, who wouldn't want a pet elephant? Coincidently (?) Disney released the popular, similarly-themed TOBY TYLER in 1960. Source Material: THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY TO PRIME TIME NETWORK & CABLE SHOWS.

I watch certain OTA and others that cable picks up for one reason: to be able to re watch old television shows-in this case Kid's TV I grew up in the late 40s and 50s with this stuff and it provides a nostalgic hour or 2 whether it is COZI, ANT, METV or which ever one is available. Must be quite popular since I have watched the field grow over the last 4 or more years and am grateful for it. I prefer the stations which limit their format to 50s-60s and early 70s shows and forget about after 1980 as they are covered elsewhere . There is room and market for each target segment,looks like. But that is me. By 1970 i was way past kid show interest. But there were some adult shows with a 70-76start which i associate with 'youth' . Howdy Doody was a real kid favorite in 1952 as i recall. Capt Video or other shows with cardboard sets that shook and toppled sometimes. But, so did late night(prime time) detective shows from 1950-53. top ..that is what early , live mostly, TV was all about. Certainly not up to CSI: any city for special effects graphics and audio. a different entity entirely. But just having a television in the neighborhood or local grill was a big deal. Circus Boy is a refined ,well honed kid's show by early TV standards.

I watched this when I was 16 years old never knowing this little boy would grow up to be later on the monkeys a musical program.I also remember Noah Berry Jr. in this show who later would be James Garners father in Rockford files.I learned to know him on this show and saw him a lot more shows in years to come to always enjoy his acting. I remember this show Circus Boy and wondered who this little boy was. If I remember correctly this was on Saturday morning I'm not sure tho.It was a good show as I remember I always enjoyed it I watched it every week faithfully.It is good to have these websites to enjoy these old shows over again and to find out thing about them. Thanks a lot for the info.

Circus Boy was a typical example of a 50s show that was perfect for us at that time, but would be unlikely today. As such, it's wonderfully nostalgic for those of us who were kids then.

In the 50s we saw a rash of shows with the same basic theme--a boy loses his parents and is adopted by someone who is kind and also cool and the kid gets to live with men and have all kinds of adventures.

We had Fury (a boy on a ranch), Circus Boy, Rin Tin Tin (a boy wit the cavalry), and Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (though in this case the boy's father is present, but not his mother. I include it because the kid gets to live with the men and have the adventures, so it had a similar feel.) They all seem to be inspired by the movie Captains Courageous, even though they were on TV 20 years later. Back in the 50s, kids couldn't wait to be grownups and this kind of show fed their fantasies. Parents liked the shows because they encouraged kids to grow up to be responsible adults.

Note that we never had any shows where an orphan gets adopted by a bunch of women and gets to hang out baking pies and cleaning carpets. That wouldn't be much of a fantasy. Mothers were normally home all day, while fathers were gone to a mysterious job all day. So men had a cachet that housewives didn't have. (Things are different now.)

As a girl, I ate up all these shows and daydreamed of being in the same situation (I was usually adopted by firemen and I lived at the firehouse).

Circus Boy is based on the adventures of young orphan Corky (Micky Dolenz nee Braddock) who along with his Uncle, Joey the Clown (Noah Beery Jr.) work for the Burke and Walsh Circus owned by 'Big' Tim Champion (Robert Lowery). Other regulars are Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as the cantankerous general handyman Pete and as himself Bimbo the Elephant, who actually gets top billing over Williams. There are also a few recurring characters that generally bring mayhem with each appearance. Set in the Pre-Automobile Age, the circus travels from town to town along the dusty roads of the West setting the stage for a new drama each week. Episodes are a blend of action, humor and family conflict.

After watching Circus Boy again after these many years, there are several takeaways to be had.

(1) Burke and Walsh should invest in fireproof tents.

(2) If you are a Circus Act looking for long term employment Burke and Walsh is probably not for you. A large number of episodes have Big Tim Champion, always pleased to pick up performers for a discount, hiring a new act (often with personal problems) to replace a previous act. Big Tim goes through high wire performers like a pair of cheap socks.

(3) If the Burke and Walsh circus comes to your town turn and run the other way. Townspeople looking for entertainment are instead usually treated to a large dose of pandemonium. Incidents such as forest fires, stampedes and water reservoir poisoning are not uncommon. The circus is also somewhat lax in keeping the wild animals secured.

But things typically turn out pretty well and in the end the victims usually have a good laugh at the misadventures. Running for two seasons then released into syndication, Circus Boy was one of the iconic Saturday Morning Fare of the 1950's. Any resemblance to programming peers Rin-Tin-Tin and Fury was purely intentional, but all managed to capture a sense of adventure for kids of that era.