''Red Ryder'' was an American radio western series based on the popularity of the comic strip ''

Red Ryder Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

'' by

Stephen Slesinger Stephen Slesinger (December 25, 1901 – December 17, 1953) was an American radio, television and film producer, creator of comic strip characters and the father of the licensing industry. From 1923 to 1953, he created, produced, published, develo ...

and

Fred Harman Fred Charles Harman II (February 9, 1902 - January 2, 1982) was an American cartoonist, best known for his popular ''Red Ryder'' comic strip, which he drew for 25 years, reaching 40 million readers through 750 newspapers. Harman sometimes used th ...

. It debuted on February 3, 1942 on the

NBC 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 ...

Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . and was broadcast three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. After the sixth episode Langendorf Bread became its prime sponsor. The final episode was broadcast in 1951.

History

Since "Red Ryder" aimed a young audience the violence was toned down a bit. Unlike the comics Red was not active as a lawman, but mostly worked as a

cowhand A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

. Only when the stories asked for it did he get involved in acting like a (deputy) sheriff. Red also never killed his enemies, only shot their guns out of their hands. Another difference was the name of Red's sweetheart. In the comics her name was Beth Wilder, while on the radio she was named Jane Bruce. Originally the show was successful enough to beat its rival, ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'', in radio ratings. However, when the network sold the series to the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

it was no longer broadcast in the east side of the United States. Mutual and Langendorf continued the series on the West Coast

Don Lee Network The Don Lee Network, sometimes called the Don Lee Broadcasting System was an American regional network of radio stations in the old-time radio era. Origin Don Lee made a fortune as the exclusive West Coast distributor of Cadillac automobiles. He ...

through the 1940s at 7:30pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, always with the familiar organ theme, "The Dying Cowboy" ("

Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" is a cowboy folk song. Also known as "The Cowboy's Lament", "The Dying Cowboy", "Bury Me Out on the Lone Prairie", and "Oh, Bury Me Not", the song is described as the most famous cowboy ballad. Members of the West ...

"). The introduction of television also meant the end of the radio series and its transfer to the small screen.

Cast

* Red Ryder:

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

(1942–1944), Carlton KaDell (1945) and Brooke Temple (1946–1951). * Buckskin:

Horace Murphy Horace Murphy (June 3, 1880 – January 20, 1975) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1953. Early years Born in Osceola, Arkansas, Murphy was playing cornet by age 11, and six years later led the ...

Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 282. * Little Beaver: Tommy Cook (1942 on),

Frank Bresee Frank Bresee (August 20, 1929 – June 5, 2018) was an American radio actor, radio historian, and board game designer. He hosted the "Golden Days Of Radio" program which began in 1949 and aired on the Armed Forces Radio Network from 1967 to 1995. B ...

(1942–46, alternating with Cook), Henry Blair (1944–47), Johnny McGovern (1947–50),

Anne Whitfield Anne Whitfield (born August 27, 1938) is an American former actress on old-time radio, television, stage, and film. Her first name is sometimes seen spelled Ann. Early years Born in Oxford, Mississippi, Whitfield was the daughter of Richard N. ...

(1950–51) and Sammy Ogg (1950–51). * Roland Rawhide Rollinson: Arthur Q. Bryan

Club

The Red Ryder Victory Patrol, a club founded in 1942 to encourage people in conservation practices that would help the war effort, was directly inspired by the radio show's popularity. Young listeners could get application cards from their local grocery stores and mail them in. In return there would receive a membership card, a certificate, a secret decoder and a 32-page comic book about "Red Ryder". In 1944, Warner Bros. produced a parody of the character in the short ''Buckaroo Bugs'': Red-Hot Ryder (whom the narrator described as "Brooklyn's famous fighting cowboy"). The character was portrayed as a bumbling simpleton, harassed by Bugs Bunny.

Sources

American children's radio programs American radio dramas Western (genre) radio series 1942 radio programme debuts 1951 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs Mutual Broadcasting System programs Radio programs based on comic strips NBC Blue Network radio programs Don Lee Network programs {{US-radio-show-stub