Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
Before Jay Ward's Dudley Do-Right humorously mocked the Canadian Mounties, there was Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, a series that was actually kind to the reputation of the venerable crimefighting force.
As an officer in the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, Sergeant
Preston trekked through the rocky terrain of Canada astride his horse
Rex, searching for gangsters with the aid of his Alaskan dog, Yukon
King. While other law officers were out talking to witnesses and
victims, Preston and Yukon King would sniff for their own clues, and no
one ever beat them to the bad guys.
The man who played Preston, the six-foot Richard Simmons (not the
excitable fitness guru of the same name), had no intention of being an
actor when he was discovered by studio mogul Louis B. Mayer in Palm
Springs, California. Simmons was breaking in an Arabian horse at the
time, and Mayer was struck by his athleticism. When Mayer convinced
Simmons, who worked as a pilot when he was not breaking horses, that he
would be acting in an "outdoor role," Simmons decided to take the job.
Like many of television's early shows, Sergeant Preston first began as a radio show in 1947 and ran until 1955. It was created by George W. Trendle, of The Green Hornet
fame. Originally broadcast on CBS Thursday nights, the show then
enjoyed a successful Saturday morning run, adding two unforgettable
heroes to the growing television world.
|
 |
| 
