''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' is an American
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
* Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
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, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...
that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
series began in
syndication,
[ but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955, through 1958, and, at the same time, on ABC from 1957 through 1958.] The Kellogg's
The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...
cereal company was the show's national sponsor. The series was also exported to Australia during the late 1950s.
Synopsis
''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' starred Guy Madison as the legendary Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
lawman (in real life, also a gunfighter
Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the te ...
) United States Marshal
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a Government agency, bureau within the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Depa ...
James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, and Andy Devine
Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature f ...
as his comedy sidekick, Jingles P. Jones. The series was set in the 1870s, with Hickok and Jones based at Fort Larabee.
Production
The series was produced by William F. Broidy
William F. Broidy (1915–1959) was an American film and television producer.
Early life
William F. Broidy was born on April 12, 1915, in Chelsea, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He had a brother, Steve Broidy, who later became the head of ...
Productions. It consisted of 112 episodes, the last 13 of which were made in color.[ In 1957 ]Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
bought the Broidy company's assets, which included 100 ''Hickok'' episodes on film. Tommy Carr was the director. Kellogg's
The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...
cereals sponsored it.
Episodes
Season 1 (1951)
Season 2 (1951-52)
Season 3 (1952)
Season 4 (1953)
Season 5 (1954-55)
Season 6 (1955)
Season 7 (1956)
Season 8 (1958)
Other media
Devine and Madison portrayed their roles on Mutual 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 transm ...
from April 1, 1951, to 1956.
During the 1950s, several episodes of the television show were spliced together and released as 16 feature films by Allied Artists.
Guest stars
* Mike Ragan appeared in three episodes, as Gus in "The Tax Collecting Story", as Collier in "Mexican Rustlers Story" (both 1951), and Malone in "The Doctor's Story" (1953).
*Carole Mathews
Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress.
Early years
Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmot ...
appeared twice, first as Miss Jennings in "The Slocum Family" (1951) and then as Anne Hardy in "Blacksmith Story" (1952).
* Ewing Mitchell, as Mr. Harker in "Chain of Events" (1953)
*Gloria Saunders
Gloria Ella Saunders (September 29, 1927 – June 4, 1980) was an American actress of film and television, primarily from the late 1940s to 1960.
Background Career
Saunders acting career began on stage. She was discovered when she performed ...
, as Sally Jones in "Boulder City Election" (1951)
* William Tannen, as Rand in "The Doctor's Story" (1953) and as Tom Maples in "The Maverick" (1954)
Award nominations
References
External links
*
''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok''
at CVTA
Collection of Stephen Lodge.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The
1951 American television series debuts
1958 American television series endings
1950s Western (genre) television series
Television series set in the 1870s
CBS original programming
American Broadcasting Company original programming
Cultural depictions of Wild Bill Hickok
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
Black-and-white American television shows
Television series by Sony Pictures Television