Red Ryder (radio series)
{{Short description|American radio western series}}
{{About|the 1940s US radio show| the American comic strip|Red Ryder}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox radio show
| name = Red Ryder
| image =
| caption =
| other_names =
| format = Western
| runtime = 15 minutes
| start_time = 7:30 p.m.
| end_time =
| runtime_note =
| country = United States
| language = English
| home_station = Mutual Broadcasting System
| syndicates = NBC Blue Network, Don Lee Network
| television =
| presenter =
| starring = Reed Hadley
Carlton KadDell
Brooke Temple
Arthur Q. Bryan
Horace Murphy
Jim Mather
Robert Blake
Dan White (actor)
Tommy Cook
Frank Bresee
Henry Blair
Johnny McGovern
Sammy Ogg.
| announcer = Ben Alexander
Art Gilmore{{cite book|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967|author1=French, J.|author2=Siegel, D.S.|date=2013|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786471461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfLaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|page=140|accessdate=2017-01-13}}
| creator =
| writer = Paul Franklin, Albert Van Antwerp {{cite book|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967|author1=French, J.|author2=Siegel, D.S.|date=2013|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786471461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfLaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|page=140|accessdate=2017-01-13}}
| director =
| senior_editor =
| editor =
| exec_producer =
| narrated =
| rec_location =
| rem_location =
| oth_location =
| first_aired = {{Start date|1942|2|3}} {{cite book|title=Those Great Old-Time Radio Years|author=Sher, A.J.|date=2013|publisher=Xlibris US|isbn=9781483679099|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NX56AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA161|page=161|accessdate=2017-01-13}}{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1951}}
| num_series =
| num_episodes =
| audio_format =
| opentheme = "The Dying Cowboy" (Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie)
| othertheme =
| endtheme =
| sponsor = Langendorf bread
| website =
| podcast =
}}
Red Ryder was an American radio western series based on the popularity of the comic strip Red Ryder by Stephen Slesinger and Fred Harman. It debuted on February 3, 1942 on the NBC Blue NetworkCox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-3848-8}}. and was broadcast three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.{{cite book|title=Those Great Old-Time Radio Years|author=Sher, A.J.|date=2013|publisher=Xlibris US|isbn=9781483679099|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NX56AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA161|page=161|accessdate=2017-01-13}}{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}} After the sixth episode Langendorf Bread became its prime sponsor.{{cite book|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967|author1=French, J.|author2=Siegel, D.S.|date=2013|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786471461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfLaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|page=140|accessdate=2017-01-13}} The final episode was broadcast in 1951.{{cite book|title=The A to Z of Old Time Radio|author1=Reinehr, R.C.|author2=Swartz, J.D.|date=2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9781461672074|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5uzfQjhlUXoC&pg=PA217|page=217|accessdate=2017-01-13}}
History
Since "Red Ryder" aimed a young audience the violence was toned down a bit. Unlike the comics Red was not active as a lawman, but mostly worked as a cowhand. Only when the stories asked for it did he get involved in acting like a (deputy) sheriff.{{cite book|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967|author1=French, J.|author2=Siegel, D.S.|date=2013|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786471461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfLaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|page=140|accessdate=2017-01-13}} Red also never killed his enemies, only shot their guns out of their hands. Another difference was the name of Red's sweetheart. In the comics her name was Beth Wilder, while on the radio she was named Jane Bruce.{{cite book|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967|author1=French, J.|author2=Siegel, D.S.|date=2013|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786471461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfLaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|page=140|accessdate=2017-01-13}}
Originally the show was successful enough to beat its rival, The Lone Ranger, in radio ratings. However, when the network sold the series to the Mutual Broadcasting System it was no longer broadcast in the east side of the United States.{{cite book|title=Those Great Old-Time Radio Years|author=Sher, A.J.|date=2013|publisher=Xlibris US|isbn=9781483679099|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NX56AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA161|page=161|accessdate=2017-01-13}}{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}} Mutual and Langendorf continued the series on the West Coast Don Lee Network through the 1940s at 7:30pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, always with the familiar organ theme, "The Dying Cowboy" ("Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie"). The introduction of television also meant the end of the radio series and its transfer to the small screen.
Cast
- Red Ryder: Reed Hadley (1942–1944),{{cite book|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967|author1=French, J.|author2=Siegel, D.S.|date=2013|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786471461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfLaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|page=140|accessdate=2017-01-13}} Carlton KaDell (1945) and Brooke Temple (1946–1951).{{cite book|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967|author1=French, J.|author2=Siegel, D.S.|date=2013|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786471461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfLaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|page=140|accessdate=2017-01-13}}
- Buckskin: Horace MurphyTerrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-4513-4}}. P. 282.
- Little Beaver: Tommy Cook (1942 on), Frank Bresee (1942–46, alternating with Cook), Henry Blair (1944–47), Johnny McGovern (1947–50), Anne Whitfield (1950–51) and Sammy Ogg (1950–51).
- Roland Rawhide Rollinson: Arthur Q. Bryan
Club
The Red Ryder Victory Patrol, a club founded in 1942 to encourage people in conservation practices that would help the war effort, was directly inspired by the radio show's popularity. Young listeners could get application cards from their local grocery stores and mail them in. In return there would receive a membership card, a certificate, a secret decoder and a 32-page comic book about "Red Ryder".{{cite book|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967|author1=French, J.|author2=Siegel, D.S.|date=2013|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786471461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfLaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|page=140|accessdate=2017-01-13}}
In 1944, Warner Bros. produced a parody of the character in the short Buckaroo Bugs: Red-Hot Ryder (whom the narrator described as "Brooklyn's famous fighting cowboy"). The character was portrayed as a bumbling simpleton, harassed by Bugs Bunny.
Sources
{{Reflist}}
Category:American children's radio programs
Category:American radio dramas
Category:Western (genre) radio series
Category:1942 radio programme debuts
Category:1951 radio programme endings
Category:1940s American radio programs
Category:1950s American radio programs
Category:Mutual Broadcasting System programs
Category:Radio programs based on comic strips
Category:NBC Blue Network radio programs
Category:Don Lee Network programs
{{US-radio-show-stub}}