| Sky King |
 |
| NBC/ABC Network |
| 1953 - 1954 |
| Drama |
| 30 Minutes |
Set in the Arizona Territory, Kirby Grant
starred as Skylar "Sky" King, a former WWII
Naval aviator who patrolled his Flying
Crown Ranch in his twin engine Cessna called
The Songbird.
Sky's assistants included:
- Gloria Winters as Penny, Sky's niece
- Ron Hagerthy as Clipper, Sky's nephew and co-pilot
- Norman Ollestad as Bob Carey, a neighbor
- Chubby Johnson as Jim Bell, the Sky's ranch foreman.
- Ewing Mitchell as Sheriff Mitch Hargrove, the lawman
from the nearby town of Grover City, Arizona.
Sky king, Penny
and Clipper
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 Songbird was once referred as The Flaming
Arrow in the 1952 episode "Designing Woman." Sky
first plane was a Cessna T-50 Bobcat.
"Out of the clear
blue
of the western sky comes ...SKY KING!"
| Announcer: |
Look! Here comes Sky King. Sky
King, America's favorite flying cowboy. Presented by America's
favorite peanut butter - Peter Pan peanut butter.
|
| 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. |
| 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! |
| |
--Opening narration with
commercial |
Kirby Grant (a.k.a. "Sky
King")
TRIVIA NOTE:
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.
In real life, Kirby
Grant was an aviator who logged time as a WWII Air Force flight instructor.
Aerial footage for the series was shot by Paul Mantz, a one time advisor to Amelia Earhart.
Obituaries: Kirby Grant: 12/30/1985; Ewing Mitchell:
09/03/1988; Norman Ollestad: 02/19/1979;
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