The Gabby Hayes Show (1950)

A 1950s children's show, sponsored by the Quaker Oats Company. It underwent a number of changes in format, but the host was always the veteran actor George "Gabby" Hayes. Hayes had often portrayed sidekick characters in Western films featuring Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers. A Sunday version of the show was broadcast from 1950 to 1952. In a frame story, Gabby would narrate historical tales to child actors Clifford Sales and Lee Graham. The episodes dramatized the lives of historical figures, such as the naval commander John Paul Jones, the lawman and professional gambler Wyatt Earp, and the outlaw Belle Starr. A weekday version of the show was broadcast from 1951 to 1954. These episodes had Gabby narrating humorous tall tales, and then shifted to depicting scenes lifted from old Western films. A re-edited version of the series was broadcast in 1956, featuring longer scenes from Western films. Then the series ended permanently, though several episodes were available for syndication until the end of the decade.