Three hip cowpokes who lived at Harmony Ranch in Tumbleweed Valley. Their live-action Saturday morning program combined live-action, puppets, cartoons, films and guest stars. The Riders' popular catchphrase was "It may be the easy way, but it's not...the Cowboy way."

The Riders in the Sky included:

• Paul Woodrow Chrisman as Woody Paul, a dimwitted King of the Cowboy fiddlers known as the man with the "eight-gallon head and in a ten-gallon hat."
• Douglas Bruce Green as Ranger Doug Ranger Doug, the Idol of American Youth, a yodeling, old fashioned cowboy hero who plays the guitar.
• Fred LaBour as Too Slim, the mustachioed Too Slim, the comical Man of Many Hats who plays the bass fiddle.

Woody Paul, Ranger Doug and Too Slim

Other characters on Harmony Ranch included a variety of puppets:

• Annie Oak, the cowgirl
• Wyatt Burp, Mrs. Burp, and the Burp daughters
• The Deputy
• Teacher's Pet, a little girl in round-rimmed glasses
• Buffalo Bill, a buffalo
• Harry Coyote, a coyote.
• Carla Cactus, a cactus plant
• Mr. Adler, the vulture
• Two Jaws, a talking longhorn cattle skull
• Mean Chili, a cantankerous pot of stew
• Rattlesnake, a talking reptile.

TRIVIA NOTE: The group's successful National Public Radio program "Riders Radio Theater" was the inspiration for their CBS children's television program and later RIDER'S RADIO THEATER: THE TELEVISION SHOW on the TNT Network.