Circus Boy
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| Written by | See Episode List |
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| Template:Pluralize from text of origin | United States |
| Original languageTemplate:Pluralize from text | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 49 |
| Production | |
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| Running time | 24–26 minutes |
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| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
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| Network | ABC |
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Circus Boy is an American Western adventure family television series that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1957. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960.[1]
Summary
Set in the late 1890s, the title of the series refers to a boy named Corky. After his parents, "The Flying Falcons," were killed in a trapeze accident, young Corky (Micky Dolenz – billed at the time as Mickey Braddock)[2] was adopted by Joey the Clown (Noah Beery, Jr.), and the whole Burke and Walsh Circus family. When school was brought up for Corky, Joey said he was a school teacher for many years before joining the circus and could easily handle his education.
The young boy quickly found a role with the circus as water boy to Bimbo, a baby elephant whom Corky would come to consider his pet. Riding Bimbo's back, Corky dealt with adolescent problems, and helped the show's adults including Joey, owner/promoter Big Tim Champion (Robert Lowery) and head canvasman Pete (Guinn Williams), keep the circus successful as the traveling show moved from town to town each week.
Outside of an elephant being the animal companion, the series was similar to popular "boy and his dog" shows of the time, such as Lassie/Jeff's Collie, and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin.
Unusually, the opening credits billed the regular actors by their character names, rather than their own names.
Cast
Series regulars
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Mickey Braddock | Corky Foster |
| Noah Beery, Jr. | Uncle Joey the Clown |
| Robert Lowery | Big Tim Champion |
| Guinn Williams | Pete |
| Bimbo | Corky's pet elephant |
Recurring roles and notable guest stars
| Actor | Role | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Billy Barty | Little Tom | Episodes 1 and 2 |
| Tom Brown | Ned Bailey | Episodes 29 |
| Andy Clyde | Col. Jack Bixby | Episodes 2, 18, 31 and 39 |
| Jane Darwell | Mamie, the seamstress | Episode 17 |
| Coco Dolenz sister of Micky Dolenz |
Annie Simmons | Episode 26 |
| Coco from the orphanage | Episode 42 | |
| Anthony Caruso | Gambino | Episodes 3 and 22 |
| Ed Hinton | Mike | Episode 18 |
| Sheriff | Episode 43 | |
| Glenn Keyes | Episode 48 | |
| Sterling Holloway | Elmer Purdy | Episodes 15, 37 and 44 |
| Brad Johnson | Frank Dillard | Episode 27 |
| Russell Johnson | Ben Osgood | Episode 5 |
| Ralph Moody | Casey Perkins | Episodes 6 and 41 |
| Chief Spotted Horse | Episode 9 | |
| Ezra Hillman | Episode 23 | |
| Nan Leslie | Muriel | Episode 30 |
| Ken Osmond | Skinny | Episode 23 |
| Hal Peary | Al Garson | Episode 33 |
| Slim Pickens | Curly | Episode 8 |
| Dan White | Deputy Gus, Sheriff and Ben Otis | Episodes 16, 21 and 26 |
| Willard Waterman | Mayor Humphrey | Episode 42 |
First episode guest stars
The following cast appeared in the debut episode only. Several sources erroneously list these three, as well as Billy Barty from Episodes 1 and 2, as series regulars.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Leo Gordon | Hank Miller |
| Eddie Marr | Barker |
| Olin Howlin | Swifty |
Episodes
Series overview
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Season 1 (1956–57)
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Season 2 (1957)
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References in The Monkees
Micky Dolenz sings the theme to the series in "The Monkees at the Circus", an episode of The Monkees. When asked by Mike Nesmith "What 'is' that?", Dolenz responds "It's the theme song for an old TV series". Their song "Porpoise Song" contains references to the series, most notably with the line "riding the back of giraffes for laughs is alright for a while." In their song, "I'm Going to Buy Me a Dog", Mickey Dolenz says he can train a dog. Davy Jones says, "I thought you only trained elephants."[3][4][5]
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
- ^ Matt Messina, "Western on NBC Agenda," New York Daily News, June 7, 1966, p. 69.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pamela RobertsonWojcik (2002). Soundtrack Available: Essays on Film and Popular Music. Duke University Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-8223-2797-X.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.James E. Perrone (2006). The Words and Music of Carole King. PraegerPublishers. p. 16. ISBN 0-275-99027-3.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jim DeRogatis (2003). Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard. p. 638 pages. ISBN 0-634-05548-8.
