The Roy Rogers Show

You say that Roy Rogers went as Roy Rogers just like Dale Evans. Roy's real name was Leonard Franklin Slye. Roy Rogers is just a roll he played. I know it's not in the credits as him being Leonard, but neither does John Wayne list himself as Marion Robert Morrison in the credits of his shows. As far as "King of the Cowboys", what about Daniel Boone being "King of the Wild Frontier"? Check out the "Legendary Cowboy Kings DVD" that has a whole passel of singers listed as "Kings". What I'm saying is that John Wayne can be a "King of the Cowboys" as well as all of the other giants we all know and love. They are all great in my book. Heroes every one. I've just got ten DVDs that I picked up from www.oldies.com of the Roy Rogers Show. I enjoy them all just like I do Gene Autry, another great "King" in my book. Don't forget Dale Evans, "Queen of the West". We'll see them all in Hillbilly Heaven. Fred Salter

Yes, Pat Brady's comic relief was pretty lame. But the fault lies in the director and the writers, not Mr. Brady. It was silliness obviously created for the show's audience: kids. Watching these shows today, I sometimes get frustrated over his character, which was certainly over the top silliness. But, as a kid, I was thoroughly amused and didn't see him through adult eyes, so it was effective as it was meant to be to the audience it was meant for.

As far as gas stations go, for Nellie Bell (Nelly Bell?) (Nellie Belle?) (NellieBell?) (can't seem to find the definitive spelling), it really never occurred to me as a kid. It was just accepted that, somehow, Pat's Jeep always had access to fuel. lol. Which, if I may digress a bit, is why adding so much realistic violence from the 60s, and later, on TV and movies was so damaging to children, I feel. The violence and actions of criminals on TV and in movies, since the 60s, makes some kids think that that's normal and, apparently, acceptable. The results are in today's news headlines.

The entertainment industry would be doing a great service to today's children if they'd produce shows and movies that are 'realistic' without underscoring, amplifying and promoting violence, and making criminals of all ages seemingly successful and heroic. While PBS provides great programming for very young kids, I can think of no regular network programs for preteens or teens that don't exhibit violent, criminal behavior in at least one character. We need more shows that present old-fashioned values that helped bring Americans together, not values that create divisiveness and glorify antiheroic behavior.

Oh how I wish THIS would show up in reruns! This and "Lassie" (with Tommy Rettig) were my favorite shows as a kid, in an era of great kiddie shows. In my little-girl eyes, Dale really had the perfect life--she got the horse AND Roy! It didn't matter what the plots were; they were basically all the same anyway. But there was something about Roy and Dale that was very appealing, and Pat and Nellybelle were fun too. One nice thing about it was Dale was not a damsel in distress; she was Roy's partner, and although secondary, she did her part to help him get the bad guys. ["Annie Oakley" had a female lead without a male costar, except for her kid brother. I think these two shows helped contribute to the rise of femininism in the 60's.] Every kid knew "Happy Trails" by heart, and Roy and Dale sang it right to us at the end of every show. Wonderful memories!

This show was already in Saturday morning re-runs when I first watched it. And, I loved it!

The "good vs. evil" plots might seem corny, by today's standards. But, we have to remember that this was produced during comparatively simpler times. When morality was just as black-and-white as the film stock the studios used.

Furthermore, the hero and heroine practiced what they preached! Nor did they preach using four-letter words. Unlike, say, Dennis Franz on NYPD BLUES.

Last, but not least? This was not a "steampunk" Western.

The fictional city in which Roy and Dale made their home was contemporaneous with the shows' audience. It's just that the locals maintained a 19th-century ambiance for the tourist trade, similar to Virginia City, Nevada. So, the mixture of "old and new," especially modes of transportation, was most definitely _not_ anachronistic!

In short, I am unalterably convinced that this show should be praised, rather than condemned, for the beneficial values it tried to instill in its mostly young viewers. That some of us might not have grown up to live by those values is--to paraphrase Shakespeare--not the fault of this show's stars. But, of ourselves.

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.