The Adventures of Champion is an American Western serial radio drama directed by William Burch about screen cowboy Gene Autry's horse Champion. Each 15-minute episode was broadcast weekday afternoons on the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1949 and 1950.[1] (Another source says that the program ran "June to November 1949.")[2]
The radio series was a spin-off from Gene Autry's Melody Ranch, a CBSradio network Sunday-afternoon program featuring the singing cowboy from 1940 to 1956. Jack French and David S. Siegel, in their book Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967, opined: "The Adventures of Champion was not a spin-off of [Autry's] popular radio show, Melody Ranch, even though both programs had the efforts of the same people. Just grasping the basic scenario of The Adventures of Champion required a substantial suspension of belief in what its juvenile listeners knew to be gospel. Champion was Autry's horse and had a major role in all of his movies, television programs, and personal appearances."[2]
Format
Episodes focus on 12-year-old Ricky West, who is raised in the wilderness by his adoptive Uncle Smoky and his German Shepherd named Rebel. Champion is depicted as a wild horse who lets only Ricky ride him. While the series covered gold mines, rustlers, and Indian problems, the primary focus was on the faith and loyalty between a boy, a dog, and a horse.[3] Stories ran in five installments each, beginning on Monday and ending on Friday.[2]
Cast
Little is known about the cast of the program. French and Siegel wrote, "However, one of the most curious mysteries about this series was who played the leads of Ricky and Uncle Smoky; contemporary accounts of the program have been unsuccessful in unearthing their identities, and the vast Autry Library and Research Services in Los Angeles, CA, has no record of who the performers were."[2] One participant who was identified was Dave Light, an animal imitator who provided sounds of all animals on the program.[2]
^Rosenkrantz, Linda (September 11, 2005). "Trigger had film hay-day". Union Tribune San Diego. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
^ abcdeFrench, Jack; Siegel, David S. (2013). Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967. McFarland. pp. 13–14. ISBN9780786471461. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
^Magers, Boyd. "Adventures of Champion". Western Clippings. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
adventures, champion, this, article, about, radio, show, television, series, series, american, western, serial, radio, drama, directed, william, burch, about, screen, cowboy, gene, autry, horse, champion, each, minute, episode, broadcast, weekday, afternoons, . This article is about the radio show For the television series see The Adventures of Champion TV series The Adventures of Champion is an American Western serial radio drama directed by William Burch about screen cowboy Gene Autry s horse Champion Each 15 minute episode was broadcast weekday afternoons on the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1949 and 1950 1 Another source says that the program ran June to November 1949 2 The Adventures of ChampionGenreJuvenile adventure serialRunning time15 minutesCountry of originUnited StatesLanguage s EnglishSyndicatesMutualTV adaptationsThe Adventures of ChampionDirected byWilliam BurchOriginal releaseJune 20 1949 1949 06 20 November 1949 1949 11 Contents 1 Background 2 Format 3 Cast 4 Television adaption 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBackground EditThe radio series was a spin off from Gene Autry s Melody Ranch a CBS radio network Sunday afternoon program featuring the singing cowboy from 1940 to 1956 Jack French and David S Siegel in their book Radio Rides the Range A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air 1929 1967 opined The Adventures of Champion was not a spin off of Autry s popular radio show Melody Ranch even though both programs had the efforts of the same people Just grasping the basic scenario of The Adventures of Champion required a substantial suspension of belief in what its juvenile listeners knew to be gospel Champion was Autry s horse and had a major role in all of his movies television programs and personal appearances 2 Format EditEpisodes focus on 12 year old Ricky West who is raised in the wilderness by his adoptive Uncle Smoky and his German Shepherd named Rebel Champion is depicted as a wild horse who lets only Ricky ride him While the series covered gold mines rustlers and Indian problems the primary focus was on the faith and loyalty between a boy a dog and a horse 3 Stories ran in five installments each beginning on Monday and ending on Friday 2 Cast EditLittle is known about the cast of the program French and Siegel wrote However one of the most curious mysteries about this series was who played the leads of Ricky and Uncle Smoky contemporary accounts of the program have been unsuccessful in unearthing their identities and the vast Autry Library and Research Services in Los Angeles CA has no record of who the performers were 2 One participant who was identified was Dave Light an animal imitator who provided sounds of all animals on the program 2 Television adaption EditA television series called The Adventures of Champion aired for 26 episodes on CBS during the 1955 1956 season and starred Barry Curtis and Jim Bannon See also EditThe Adventures of Champion TV series Gene Autry s Melody RanchReferences Edit Rosenkrantz Linda September 11 2005 Trigger had film hay day Union Tribune San Diego Retrieved May 2 2014 a b c d e French Jack Siegel David S 2013 Radio Rides the Range A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air 1929 1967 McFarland pp 13 14 ISBN 9780786471461 Retrieved 28 September 2016 Magers Boyd Adventures of Champion Western Clippings Retrieved May 2 2014 External links EditThe Adventures of Champion at IMDb Matinee Classics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Adventures of Champion amp oldid 1135941303, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
