''Death Valley Days'' is a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

Western in the United States. It was broadcast on the

Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, CBS, and NBC from September 30, 1930, to September 14, 1951. It "was one of radio's earliest and longest lasting programs."French, Jack & Siegel, David S. (eds.) (2014). ''Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 43-49. Beginning August 10, 1944, the program was called ''Death Valley Sheriff,'' and on June 29, 1945, it became simply ''The Sheriff.''

Format

''Death Valley Days''

Radio's first Western, ''Death Valley Days'' "dramatized pioneer life in the United States."Reinehr, Robert C. and Swartz, Jon D. (2008). ''The A to Z of Old-Time Radio''. Scarecrow Press, Inc. . P. 78. The program has been described as "the most successful of heearly western dramas."MacDonald, J. Fred (1979)
''Don't Touch That Dial!: Radio Programming in American Life, 1920-1960''
Wadsworth Publishing Company. It was said to present true stories of the old West, with "CBS ssertingthat because of its reputation for accuracy in broadcasting the dramatic history of the development of the West, ''Death Valley Days'' was recommended by teachers to their students wherever it was heard to supplement their studies at school." Radio historian John Dunning commented, "By 1940, the show's reputation for historical accuracy was well-established."Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . P. 158. That accuracy was attested to by the recognition received by the program. "''Death Valley Days'' won awards from the Governors of California, Nevada, and Utah and historical societies including the Native Daughters of the Golden West, and from the University of Washington." Each episode began with a bugle call, followed by an announcer's introduction of The Old Ranger ("a composite character who had known the bushwhackers, desperados, and lawmen of the old days by first name"). For nearly six years, the program also included Western songs by John White, known as "The Lonesome Cowboy."

''Death Valley Sheriff'' and ''The Sheriff''

Beginning in 1944, a modernized version of ''Death Valley Days'' was presented with the title ''Death Valley Sheriff'', which the following year was changed to simply ''The Sheriff''. Instead of "The Old Ranger," the host/narrator was Sheriff Mark Chase of Canyon County, California.

Personnel

Host/narrator

As an anthology series, ''Death Valley Days'' had no continuing cast of characters other than The Old Ranger, who introduced and narrated each episode. Over the years, The Old Ranger was played by

Jack MacBryde John N. MacBryde (1883–1966) was an American stage and radio actor. He is best known as the original voice of the Old Ranger on the radio series ''Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television antholog ...

, Tim Daniel Frawley, George Rand, and Harry Humphreys. In the later versions (''Death Valley Sheriff'' and ''The Sheriff'') Sheriff Mark Chase was portrayed by Robert Haag, Donald Briggs, and Bob Warren. Announcers were

George Hicks George Hicks may refer to: * George Hicks (trade unionist) (1879–1954), British trade unionist and politician * George Hicks (footballer) (1902–?), English footballer * George Elgar Hicks (1824–1914), English painter * George Hicks (RAF off ...

, Dresser Dahlstead, and

John Reed King John Reed King (October 25, 1914 – July 8, 1979) was an American radio and television game show host who hosted numerous game shows during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Career King was one of the announcers for ''The American School of the Air' ...

Creator/writer

Ruth Cornwall Woodman was a writer for McCann Erickson when that advertising agency's executives decided to launch ''Death Valley Days''. As one of the few agency employees who wrote for radio, Woodman was assigned to write the scripts for ''Death Valley Days''. "The program's sponsor, Pacific Coast Borax Company, stipulated that the writer should have a first-hand knowledge of the

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

region," so for 14 years Woodman went to Death Valley each summer to gather information that she could use in her scripts. Each summer's trip provided enough material for Woodman to write scripts for the next season of the program. She continued to write for the program after its radio broadcasts ended and the televised version began. A 1962 newspaper article noted, "Mrs. Woodman has written every one of the ''Death Valley Days'' scripts for 31 years -- which amounts to more than 1,000 stories."

References

{{Reflist Death Valley Western (genre) radio series 1930 radio programme debuts 1951 radio programme endings 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs NBC radio programs NBC Blue Network radio programs CBS Radio programs ABC radio programs Radio programs adapted into television shows 1950s American radio programs Anthology radio series