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.

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.

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.

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.

I just picked a copy of a joint biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and the story behind the television series was an interesting one.

Both were winding up their contracts at Republic Pictures where they didn't make much money from the studio itself. Herbert J. Yates ran a pinch penny operation to say the least. Their money came from Roy's shrewd business sense and merchandising of the Rogers/Evans name. But they decided to get into the new medium of television.

The problem they foresaw was Yates selling or leasing their old films for television showing while they were making new product. So Roy and Dale had to go to court to enjoin Yates from selling the films so as not to compete with the weekly half hour western show they were planning. The films eventually made it to television, but not until after the series went into syndication. By that time Republic Pictures was no more.

I certainly remember the show as a kid watching it. It was little more than an extension of the films. No doubt existed that Roy and Dale would rout the bad guys in the end.

Roy operated out of the Double R Bar Ranch and Dale had her own business, very advanced thinking especially for folks as conservative as these two were. Instead of a saloon she ran a small diner type establishment for travelers who were going by car or horse.

What I remember best was Pat Brady though. He was a funny guy who was a friend of Roy and Dale, but he was more of a hindrance at times than a help. Roy had the patience of Job with him, but Dale would really get exasperated at times.

Pat didn't ride a horse, he had a jeep which he named NellyBelle. The jeep I swear had its own personality. One thing you could always depend on, that in a crisis that jeep would always let you down. Pat had his own swear oath, a G rated one to be sure. I've never heard anyone else use the phrase 'mustard and custard' and it was usually directed at that cantankerous jeep NellyBelle.

Roy's show ran for about six seasons and by that time the western was becoming more of an adult enterprise for television as well as the big screen. Still I do have fond memories of it and I even use Happy Trails as my way of saying goodbye.