American western television series
Pony Express Genre Western Written by Directed by Starring Country of origin United States Original language English No. of seasons1 No. of episodes35 Producers
Tom McKnight
Robert Stillman
Camera setup Single-camera Running time 25 mins. Production company California National Productions Network Syndication Release October 7, 1959 (1959-10-07 ) [ 1] – May 31, 1960 (1960-05-31 )
Pony Express is an American Western television series about the adventures of an agent in the 1860s of the Central Overland Express Company, better known as the Pony Express .[ 2] The half-hour program starring Grant Sullivan and Don Dorrell was created by California National Productions .[ 2] Pony Express ran for thirty-five episodes in syndication from the fall of October 1959 until May 1960. In its final days, the series just managed to coincide with the centennial of the Pony Express (April 3, 1860).[ 3]
Overview
The series featured two recurring roles: Grant Sullivan as Brett Clark, a roving investigator for the company, and Don Dorrell as Donovan, a young Pony Express rider. The majority of the weekly episodes involved Clark and Donovan solving various Pony Express mysteries.[ 4]
Production
Pony Express was filmed at Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth in Los Angeles County , California .[ 5] It was one of several western-themed television shows produced by CNP, such as Boots and Saddles (1957–1958).[ 6] CNP created the series for the 100th anniversary of the actual Pony Express.[ 3]
The Pony Express pilot, the first Western television pilot shot in color,[ 1] was shot in February 1957 with James Best in the lead. This version did not sell (although Best was included in a TV Guide photo feature on upcoming TV westerns in June of that year) but was later aired, slightly re-edited, as an episode of the syndicated series.
Guest stars
Episodes
See also
References
^ a b "Do You Remember... "Pony Express" " .
^ a b Jackson, Ronald; Abbot, Doug (April 23, 2008). 50 Years of The Television Western . AuthorHouse. p. 181. ISBN 978-1434359254 .
^ a b Erikson, Hal (November 5, 2001). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years 1947-1987 . McFarland & Company. p. 181. ISBN 978-0786411986 .
^ Marill, Alvin H. (2011). Television Westerns: Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags and Sidewinders . Scarecrow Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-8108-8132-7 .
^ Aaker, Everett (2017-05-16). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary . McFarland. p. 404. ISBN 978-1-4766-2856-1 .
^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present . New York: Penguin Books . p. 112. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8 .
External links