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Songbird,
The - Twin-engine Cessna airplane known as the "Songbird," flown by Skylar
J. "Sky" King (Kirby Grant), "America's Favorite Flying Cowboy" and the
proprietor of the Flying Crown Ranch on the western adventure SKY
KING/NBC/ABC/1952-59.
Sky, a former WWII naval aviator tuned rancher, used his plane to
patrol his property and fight the bad guys who messed with his ranch and nearby
neighbors.
The Songbird (I.D. #N87832 later #N5248A) was a Cessna 310-B with wing-tip tanks
that provided fuel for more than a thousand miles of air travel. It cruised an
average speed of 210 mph. The Cessna 310-B was flown during episodes 39-72
(1956-59) During episodes 1-39 (1951-56), Sky flew a twin engine Cessna T-50
Bobcat. The Songbird was once referred as The Flaming Arrow in the 1952 episode
"Designing Woman."
Sky king, Penny
and Clipper
Assisting Sky was his niece, Penny King (Gloria Winters); his nephew, Clipper
(Ron Hagerthy); local Bob Carey (Norman Ollestad); Jim Bell, the Flying Crown
Ranch foreman (Chubby Johnson) and the local sheriff Mitch Hargrove (Ewing
Mitchell) from the nearby town of Grover City, Arizona.
In real life, Kirby Grant had been an aviator who spent a WWII tour of duty as
an Air Force flight instructor. Aerial footage for the series was shot by Paul
Mantz, a one time advisor to Amelia Earhart.
The SKY KING program originated on radio where it ran from 1946 to 1954.
Originally a daily fifteen minute serial, by 1947 it had become a twice-weekly
thirty minute program sponsored by Peter Pan on ABC. It aired on Mutual from
1950-1954.
"Out of
the clear blue
of the western sky comes ...SKY KING!"
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Announcer: |
Look! Here comes Sky King. Sky King,
America's favorite flying cowboy. Presented by America's favorite peanut
butter - Peter Pan peanut butter. |
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Female: |
Yes friends, this is the time to enjoy high
adventure with Sky King but first, let me remind you that any time is a
good time to enjoy creamy, smooth Peter Pan peanut butter. It's extra good
because it's extra fresh. |
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Announcer: |
So, if you want the
freshest peanut butter, get America's favorite peanut butter - Peter Pan.
It's just 60 seconds old when you open the jar. And now your favorite
flying cowboy ...SKY KING! |
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--Opening narration with commercial |
Kirby Grant (a.k.a. "Sky King")
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