''Sergeant Preston of the Yukon'' is a half-hour long American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, broadcast in color on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Thursday evenings at 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. from September 29, 1955, to September 25, 1958. It was based on the

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

Challenge of the Yukon ''Challenge of the Yukon'' is an American radio adventure series that began on Detroit's WXYZ and is an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title changed from ''Challenge of the Yukon'' to ''Se ...

.''

Synopsis

Richard Simmons Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons (born July 12, 1948) is an American fitness personality and public figure, known for his eccentric, flamboyant, and energetic personality. He has promoted weight-loss programs, most prominently through his ''Swe ...

starred as Sergeant Preston, who patrolled the Yukon Territory in search of renegades and outlaws, during the time of the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s.Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present, 1st Edition'', pages 553 - 554, Ballantine Books, 1979 In every episode Preston was assisted by his

Alaskan Malamute The Alaskan Malamute () is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance to haul heavy freight as a sled dog and hound. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Canad ...

Yukon King, who had been raised by a female wolf. In episodes taking place during the summer he rode his horse Rex.Ken Beck & Jim Clark, ''The Encyclopedia of TV Pets'' (ebook), Thomas Nelson, 2002 The show’s theme music was the overture to

Emil von Reznicek Emil Nikolaus Joseph, Freiherr von Reznicek (4 May 1860, in Vienna – 2 August 1945, in Berlin) was an Austrian composer of Romanian-Czech ancestry. Life Reznicek's grandfather, Josef Resnitschek (1787–1848), was a trumpet virtuoso and b ...

's opera ''

Donna Diana ''Donna Diana'' is a comic opera in three acts by Emil von Reznicek. The libretto, written by the composer, is based on a German translation by Carl August West (Joseph Schreyvogel) titled ''Donna Diana oder Stolz und Liebe'' (... or Pride and Lov ...

''. As the theme played the announcer stated: "Sergeant Preston of the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...

, with Yukon King, swiftest and strongest lead dog, breaking the trail in the relentless pursuit of lawbreakers in the wild days of the Yukon." At the end of each episode Preston would turn to his dog and say "Well, King, this case is closed."Dennis McLellan, Richard Simmons Actor, ''Calgary Herald'' (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), January 18, 2003, page 138]

Production

The series was filmed in mountainous sections of California and Colorado. Trendle-Campbell-Meurer produced the first two seasons, and in its last season the

Jack Wrather John Devereaux Wrather Jr. (May 24, 1918 – November 12, 1984), was an entrepreneur and petroleum businessman who became a television producer and later diversified by investing in broadcast stations and resort properties. He is best known for p ...

Corporation purchased the rights and produced ''Sergeant Preston of the Yukon''.

Cast

Recurring roles

Sergeant William Preston ''Challenge of the Yukon'' is an American radio adventure series that began on Detroit, Michigan, Detroit's WXYT (AM), WXYZ and is an example of a Northern (genre), Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title c ...

*Yukon King (dog) *Rex (horse)

Guest stars

The guest stars on ''Sergeant Preston'' included: *

Francis De Sales Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...

appeared in five episodes, concluding as Cy Bartok in "The Diamond Collar". *

Kelo Henderson Paul Lars Henderson, Jr. (August 8, 1923 – December 10, 2019) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Clint Travis in the American western television series ''26 Men''. Henderson was born and raised on a ranch in P ...

, played Pete Hollis in the 1958 episode "Escape to the North". * Ed Hinton appeared twice in 1956 as Barry Jeffers in "Remember the Maine" and as Lefty "Red" Burke in "The Rookie". * I. Stanford Jolley was Sam Haley in "The Fancy Dan" (1956) and Frisco in "Gold Rush Patrol" (1958). *

Tyler MacDuff Tyler Glenn Duff Jr. (September 12, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and television actor. Life and career MacDuff was born in Hollywood, California. He attended Woodrow Wilson Junior High. MacDuff joined the U.S. Navy in 194 ...

played Bill Corey in "Lost River Roundup" in 1957. * John M. Pickard appeared four times in 1956–1957 in different roles, including the role of Red Brody in "Old Ben's Gold". *

Robert Shayne Robert Shayne (born Robert Shaen Dawe, October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992) was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series '' Adven ...

, was in the 1957 episode, "The Mark of Crime." *

William Boyett William Boyett (January 3, 1927 – December 29, 2004) was an American actor best known for his roles in law enforcement dramas on television from the 1950s through the 1990s. Early years Boyett was born in Akron, Ohio, and lived there until th ...

appeared as Constable Malloy in "Gold Fever" from 1956, and appeared as Cary Braddock in "Ten Little Indians" from 1957. *

Dan Blocker Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the long-running NBC Western television series ''Bonanza''. Biography Early life Blocker was born ...

played 'Mule' Conklin in "Underground Ambush" from 1957.

Release

Syndication

Because the series was filmed in color it remained popular long after its original prime-time broadcast. Starting in the early 1960s it was shown on Saturday mornings. The popular show aired internationally for decades. During the 2010s, the series was shown on GRIT classic TV/movie network, and on

FETV FETV (abbreviation for Family Entertainment Television) is an American cable and satellite television network owned by the Family Broadcasting Corporation. Marketed as "satellite and cable network featuring classic and inspirational programming ...

(Family Entertainment TV).

DVD

Timeless Media Group Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released a two-disc best-of set featuring ten episodes from the series in Region 1 on November 21, 2006. Infinity Entertainment]has released all three seasons of the series on DVD in Region 1.

Comic books

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

had produced Sergeant Preston comics based on the radio version, and then from 1956 to 1959 they brought out 29 issues based on the television series. In the 1980s Don Sherwood adapted the series into comic books, with scripts by Stan Stunell.

Sponsorship

In 1955, the

Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. S ...

company gave away land in the Klondike as part of the

Klondike Big Inch Land Promotion file: Klondike_Big_Inch_Land_Promotion_Certificate.jpg, Klondike Big Inch Land Promotion Certificate The Klondike Big Inch Land promotion was a marketing promotion run by the Quaker Oats Company in 1955 and created by Bruce Baker, a Chicago adve ...

which was tied in with the television show. Genuine deeds each to one square inch of a lot in Yukon Territory, issued by Klondike Big Inch Land Co. Inc., were inserted into Quaker's

Puffed Wheat Puffed grains are grains that have been expanded ("puffed") through processing. They have been made for centuries with the simplest methods like popping popcorn. Modern puffed grains are often created using high temperature, pressure, or extrusi ...

and

Puffed Rice Puffed rice and popped rice (or pop rice) are types of puffed grain made from rice commonly eaten in the traditional cuisines of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. It has also been produced commercially in the West since 1904 and is popul ...

cereal boxes.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0182633, title=Sergeant Preston of the Yukon 1955 American television series debuts 1958 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows Television series based on radio series Television shows adapted into comics Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction Klondike Gold Rush in fiction CBS network films Television series by Universal Television 1950s Western (genre) television series Canadian Western (genre) television series