The Roy Rogers Show

This show was already in Saturday morning re-runs when I first watched it. And, I loved it!

The "good vs. evil" plots might seem corny, by today's standards. But, we have to remember that this was produced during comparatively simpler times. When morality was just as black-and-white as the film stock the studios used.

Furthermore, the hero and heroine practiced what they preached! Nor did they preach using four-letter words. Unlike, say, Dennis Franz on NYPD BLUES.

Last, but not least? This was not a "steampunk" Western.

The fictional city in which Roy and Dale made their home was contemporaneous with the shows' audience. It's just that the locals maintained a 19th-century ambiance for the tourist trade, similar to Virginia City, Nevada. So, the mixture of "old and new," especially modes of transportation, was most definitely _not_ anachronistic!

In short, I am unalterably convinced that this show should be praised, rather than condemned, for the beneficial values it tried to instill in its mostly young viewers. That some of us might not have grown up to live by those values is--to paraphrase Shakespeare--not the fault of this show's stars. But, of ourselves.

One of the previous writers complains of anachronisms and mysteries in the Roy Rogers Show. well, they sure entertained us when we were younger. Heck, I was in my 40's when I realized that Pat Brady's Jeep, Nellybelle ran forever and never was seen pulling into a gas station. I never saw a gas station in the show. I guess that must be Hollywood. Our heroes wouldn't kill someone so they shot the gun out of their hands. Tough shot to make? Not in Hollywood.

It's amazing that anyone could have a problem with this show. Roy had a code for his little buckaroos. The world would be a heck of a different place if just half the population followed that code. Of course, a lot of people do follow it, just under a different name. Call it the Golden Rule, Koran, Torah, whatever. All of them, including Roy's code, gave the rules for treating your fellow man and the world that was provided by a Supreme Being.

Yes, sadly the museum in Victorville closed but I understand it has reopened in Branson. The previous writer should go to the Roy rogers website and read some of the mail. Read Roy and Dale's books. Their life is the epitome of the American dream. Nothing comes easy in life. You'll see that in their books and it was taught in their shows and movies. Yes the museum closed but most likely because we who grew up with Roy and Dale are getting into our last days. One of the best memories of my childhood was shaking Roy's hand at a rodeo in Madison Square Garden in NYC.

So who was your hero in London, Canada?

Not to be derogatory, but I always wondered why Roy Rogers was the King of the Cowboys and John Wayne wasn't. What WAS John Wayne, anyway? Oh yeah, The Duke. Oh well. I guess it was because Wayne couldn't sing with the Sons of the Pioneers, although Wayne did sing a little in "Hatari" and didn't have that bad of a voice... but I digress.

Who could resist Roy Rogers' charm? I mean, he was the nicest guy in the world. He even smiled while he was roundin' up the bad guys after they'd been bested.

Dale had the best post-menopausal vibrato I'd ever heard after she got a little older - but she was Roy's partner and could pull her gun on an ornery desperado as fast as any of the ranch hands.

Roy had Trigger (horse) and Bullet (dog), but, Pat Brady had Nellybell (a jeep). Pat Brady was played by Pat Brady, just as Roy Rogers played Roy Rogers and Dale Evans played Dale Evans. Were there any actors in this series who played anyone other than themselves? I mean, did Trigger and Bullet even have different names than their stage names? Pat was a great comedian - goofy face and lovable. A great sidekick for Roy.

And of course, Roy and Dale sang "Happy Trails" at the end of each show. That right there was worth the half hour watch.

Despite what one reviewer said, the Roy Rogers TV show was an excellent show for us kids in the 50s. If that reviewer did any research he would see that people in Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, California, etc did ride horses for ranch work and in their daily lives, with cars, including Jeeps being driven in the same era.

As for shooting guns out of the hands of outlaws instead of killing them, that was simply role modelling for kids. The Lone Ranger did it; so did Roy Rogers. It was about values. Disarming an outlaw was more important than killing him. It tried to teach children that the value of a life was important. Respect and dignity were valued. Yes, these were all fantasy shows with unrealistic concepts and ideals, but so are the Star Wars movies.

The violence displayed in today's society is more associated with the TV shows and movies shown decades after the 50s. Perhaps, if those 50s values had continued on into the 60s and 70s, instead of the violent 'reality' displayed on TV and in the movies that became the standard, America and the world might be a better, safer place today. I say, "shame" on the entertainment industry for promoting the violence to children on TV, in the movies, and in the music that has become today's norm.

You say that Roy Rogers went as Roy Rogers just like Dale Evans. Roy's real name was Leonard Franklin Slye. Roy Rogers is just a roll he played. I know it's not in the credits as him being Leonard, but neither does John Wayne list himself as Marion Robert Morrison in the credits of his shows. As far as "King of the Cowboys", what about Daniel Boone being "King of the Wild Frontier"? Check out the "Legendary Cowboy Kings DVD" that has a whole passel of singers listed as "Kings". What I'm saying is that John Wayne can be a "King of the Cowboys" as well as all of the other giants we all know and love. They are all great in my book. Heroes every one. I've just got ten DVDs that I picked up from www.oldies.com of the Roy Rogers Show. I enjoy them all just like I do Gene Autry, another great "King" in my book. Don't forget Dale Evans, "Queen of the West". We'll see them all in Hillbilly Heaven. Fred Salter