The Adventures of Champion (TV series)
| The Adventures of Champion | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Champion the Wonder Horse |
| Genre | Western/Children's |
| Written by | Oliver Drake Peter Dixon Paul Franklin Eric Freiwald Paul Gangelin Orville H. Hampton Robert Schaefer |
| Directed by | George Archainbaud Ford Beebe Thomas Carr William McCarthy Frank McDonald Robert G. Walker |
| Starring | Barry Curtis Jim Bannon |
| Theme music composer | Norman Luboff (music) Marilyn Bergman (lyrics) |
| Opening theme | "Champion, the Wonder Horse" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Armand Schaefer |
| Producers | Gene Autry Louis Gray Eric Jenson |
| Production locations | Newhall, California and Lone Pine, California |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Flying A Productions |
| Distributor | CBS Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 23, 1955 – March 3, 1956 |
The Adventures of Champion is an American children's Western series that aired from September 23, 1955, to March 3, 1956, for 26 episodes on CBS. In the United Kingdom, the series was re-broadcast under the title Champion the Wonder Horse.[1] Unusually for a black and white show, the series was repeated on and off by the BBC in the UK throughout the 70s, 80s and early 90s, with its final BBC broadcast being the episode "The Stone Heart" on 23 January 1993.[2]
Synopsis[]
Set in the 1880s in the Southwest,[3] the series starred Barry Curtis as 12-year-old Ricky North, who lived on his uncle's ranch in the American Southwest. Ricky's uncle, Sandy North, was played by Jim Bannon. Ricky's companions were a wild Mustang stallion, Champion, and a German Shepherd, Rebel, played by Blaze.[4]
Related shows[]
The television program used characters similar to those in the 1949–50 radio serial, The Adventures of Champion. The radio serial told of young Ricky West (rather than Ricky North), who was raised on a ranch by his adoptive Uncle Smoky (rather than Sandy). Ricky was often accompanied by his German Shepherd, Rebel.
Beginning in 1950, The Gene Autry Show, a western/cowboy television series, aired for 91 episodes on CBS.[5] The Adventures of Champion was a prime time spinoff for the 1955–1956 season.
TV Champ[]
In real life, the Wonder Horse, Champion, was owned by Gene Autry who, over many years, owned a succession of celebrity horses bearing the same name. The horse starring in The Adventures of Champion was known as Television Champion, or TV Champ, for short. He was distinguished by his chestnut coat, blond mane and tail, four white stockings and broad white facial blaze. TV Champ made frequent appearances with Autry in films and television during the 1950s. Unlike his fictional namesake, TV Champ was a gelding.
The horse that played Champ was bred in the United Kingdom. The mare rejected the foal then called Dawn that was hand reared by Walter Ellams and his daughter Patricia. Due to the foal being hand reared it was extremely tame and was then later sold to play Champion.
Blaze[]
Ken Beck and Jim Clark, in their book, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television's Greatest Animal Stars, quote animal trainer Bob Blair as identifying the dog as J.R., the canine that had the title role in The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin TV program. "Rebel was played by J.R. and was owned by Frank Barnes. He was the best-trained dog in the business," Blair said.[6]
Filming[]
Filmed by Flying A Productions,[7] the series was shot on location within California. Vasquez Rocks. 34°28′48″N 118°19′00″W / 34.479887°N 118.31657°W was used for the introduction and episodes. The Andy Jauregui Ranch at Placerita Canyon, Newhall 34°22′37″N 118°28′30″W / 34.377°N 118.475°W was also used for several exteriors.
WikiMiniAtlasEpisodes[]
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Saddle Tramp" | September 23, 1955 | |
| A prospector helps Ricky capture a gang of rustlers. | |||
| 2 | "Crossroad Trail" | September 30, 1955 | |
| A young ranch hand falls in with bad companions, but when Ricky is blinded from a fall the ranch hand comes to his aid. | |||
| 3 | "Salted Ground" | October 8, 1955 | |
| Ricky and Sandy try to prevent a store owner from buying a salted gold mine from con men. | |||
| 4 | "The Medicine Man Mystery" | October 15, 1955 | |
| Ricky believes the ventriloquist dummy being stuffed into a box is a real boy, but when Sandy investigates he discovers thieves have hidden jewelry inside the dummy. | |||
| 5 | "Lost River" | October 22, 1955 | |
| A drought has struck the valley where the Norths have their ranch. Champion searches for a waterhole to help a herd of wild horses, and an elderly woman is being forced to sell her ranch for less than its worth. | |||
| 6 | "Renegade Stallion" | October 29, 1955 | |
| A prospector who just found gold is killed by outlaws, who then stampede a herd of wild horses to hide evidence of their crime. The sheriff believes Champion is responsible for the prospector's death, and tries to have him shot. | |||
| 7 | "Canyon of Wanted Men" | November 5, 1955 | |
| A crooked horse trader tries to get the ranchers to allow him to round up all wild horses in the valley. When they resist, the man breaks down fences so it appears as though the wild herds are destroying property. | |||
| 8 | "Challenge of the West" | November 8, 1955 | |
| Ricky tries to prove an outlaw's son didn't rob Sandy's ranch. | |||
| 9 | "The Outlaw's Secret" | November 15, 1955 | |
| A man confesses to robbing a stage coach, but claims a banker was his partner in his crime. | |||
| 10 | "Hangman's Noose" | November 22, 1955 | |
| A man discovers oil on a neighboring ranch and plans to kill the ranch owner and frame another rancher for the crime. When Ricky finds evidence, his life is in danger. | |||
| 11 | "King of the Rodeo" | November 29, 1955 | |
| A carnival owner steals Champion and offers a prize to anyone who can ride the horse. | |||
| 12 | "A Bugle for Ricky" | December 6, 1955 | |
| Ricky obtains a bugle and must use it to signal for help when he is trapped by outlaws. | |||
| 13 | "The Stone Heart" | December 13, 1955 | |
| Ricky tries to help a wounded prisoner who had been forced to take part in a jail break, and is now in danger from the escaped outlaws. | |||
| 14 | "The Deer Hunters" | December 20, 1955 | |
| Ricky rescues a fawn caught in a snare by trappers providing meat for railroad construction workers. Ricky and Sandy try to convince the construction boss to find a new source of meat for his work crew. | |||
| 15 | "The Golden Hoax" | December 27, 1955 | |
| Champion discovers stagecoach robbers are hiding money in an abandoned mineshaft. Ricky and Sandy try to capture the criminals. | |||
| 16 | "Johnny Hands Up" | January 3, 1956 | |
| Ricky and Sandy help a young lawman who is being held responsible for the mistakes of the former law officer. | |||
| 17 | "Black Kachina" | January 10, 1956 | |
| An evil medicine man holds a tribe's chief captive while attempting to incite violence between natives and ranchers. | |||
| 18 | "Mystery Mountain" | January 17, 1956 | |
| When an Easterner is tricked into performing gold assays for a swindler Ricky and Sandy come to the man's rescue. | |||
| 19 | "Rails West" | January 24, 1956 | |
| Ricky and Sandy are able to persuade the railroad to bypass the range used by Champion and a herd of wild horses, but when prospectors believe they've found gold in the area they refuse to give up their claim. | |||
| 20 | "The Real Unfriendly Ghost" | January 31, 1956 | |
| Ricky and Sandy search for a missing man in a ghost town. They discover an eccentric living resident, and suspect there may be an actual ghost there. | |||
| 21 | "Andrew and the Deadly Double" | February 7, 1956 | |
| Mary Jane, Ricky's young neighbor, learns her newly appointed guardian, Uncle Andrew, plans to sell her ranch and force her to move East with him. When Mary Jane suspects her guardian is an imposter she is taken captive by the man. | |||
| 22 | "Bad Men of the Valley" | February 14, 1956 | |
| An ex-convict and his wife buy a ranch near the North's ranch and try to begin a new life. Former gang members threaten to hurt the man's wife if he doesn't help with a bank robbery. | |||
| 23 | "The Return of Red Cloud" | February 21, 1956 | |
| Red Cloud returns to his tribe, but he is framed for murder. Ricky and Sandy work to prove him innocent. | |||
| 24 | "Brand of the Lawless" | February 28, 1956 | |
| An escaped outlaw and his gang plot to rob a bank. When a posse pursues them the gang leader tries to blackmail the escaped man's sister in order to get grubstake money from her. | |||
| 25 | "The Die-Hards" | March 3, 1956 | |
| A newly arrived Southern doctor treats Ricky's dog, Rebel. But lingering hard feelings over the Civil War may force the doctor and his wife to leave the area. | |||
| 26 | "Calhoun Rides Again" | March 3, 1956 | |
| An old cowboy returns to the area and helps Ricky and Sandy capture a gang of outlaws. | |||
Title song[]
 | This section does not cite any sources. (July 2021) |
Although uncredited, the title song was sung by Mike Stewart, and later recorded by Frankie Laine. It was written by Marilyn Bergman and Norman Luboff.
"Champion the Wonder Horse! Champion the Wonder Horse!
Like a streak of lightnin' flashin' cross the sky,
Like the swiftest arrow whistlin' from a bow,
Like a mighty cannonball he seems to fly.
You'll hear about him everywhere you go.
The time'll come when everyone will know
(Up to episode 2, this line is "I wish there's not a man who doesn't know")
The name of Champion the Wonder Horse!"
The version recorded by Frankie Laine contains an additional verse, and repeats the chorus. (According to YouTube, Laine had intended to record an album for children, but this was never completed.) Laine's version was recorded on the Philips label, with Paul Weston and his Orchestra.
In 1991, the song was re-issued on Laine's album On the Trail Again.
Print media[]
| This section does not cite any sources. (July 2021) |
During the years 1953 to 1960, comic annuals were published by World Distributors, Daily Mirror and Purnell. Second-hand copies of these may be obtained. 'Ricky North' became 'Ricky West' in these, as with the radio serial.
Champion also had his own comic book, Gene Autry's Champion, published by Dell Comics from 1951 to 1955, which continued as Gene Autry and Champion from 1955 to 1959.
Starting from the issue dated 4 June 1966, Champion the Wonder Horse ran as a comic strip in the UK comic book Buster. Minor characters in the strip included Sheriff Sean Kelly, Gentleman Tom, the bare-knuckle boxing champion, Dick Crabtree, the town's ambulance-chasing lawyer, and Nicky Brandwood, queen of the saloon.
Home release[]
| This section does not cite any sources. (July 2021) |
In 2005, a set of six DVDs was released in the UK, by Pickwick Group Limited, under license from Encore Home Video. The set is entitled The Adventures of Champion the Wonder Horse and sub-titled "the complete television series on 6 DVDs".
The set includes 23 of the original 26 episodes. The missing episodes are "Mystery Mountain", "The Golden Hoax", and "Real Unfriendly Ghost". DVD 6 includes a bonus film entitled Horses and Guns, starring Gene Autry and one of his several horse-stars named Champion.
In August 2018, a 16mm film of "Real Unfriendly Ghost", dubbed in French, was discovered in the Archives of the University of Maryland by missing episodes hunter Ray Langstone.
References[]
- ^ Hughes, Howard (2007). Stagecoach to Tombstone: The Filmgoers' Guide to the Great Westerns. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9780857730466. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ "Search – BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-10-13. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- ^ Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- ^ "The Gene Autry Show". July 23, 1950. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2018 – via IMDb.
- ^ Beck, Ken; Clark, Jim (2002). The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television's Greatest Animal Stars. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 9781418557379. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
- ^ "Television Film" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 11, 1955. p. 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-13. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
External links[]
- 1955 American television series debuts
- 1956 American television series endings
- 1950s American children's television series
- Black-and-white American television shows
- CBS original programming
- English-language television shows
- Television series about horses
- 1950s Western (genre) television series
- Television series by CBS Studios