The Adventures of Champion (TV series)
| The Adventures of Champion | |
|---|---|
The Adventures of Champion Titlecard
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| Also known as | ''Champion the Wonder Horse'' |
| Genre | Western/Children's |
| Written by |
Oliver Drake Peter Dixon Paul Franklin Eric Freiwald Paul Gangelin Orville H. Hampton Robert Schaefer |
| Directed by |
George Archainbaud Ford Beebe Thomas Carr William McCarthy Frank McDonald Robert G. Walker |
| Starring |
Barry Curtis Jim Bannon |
| Theme music composer | Norman Luboff (music) Marilyn Bergman (lyrics) |
| Opening theme | "Champion, the Wonder Horse" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Armand Schaefer |
| Producer(s) |
Gene Autry Louis Gray Eric Jenson |
| Location(s) | Newhall, California and Lone Pine, California |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Flying A Productions |
| Distributor | CBS Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 23, 1955 – March 3, 1956 |
The Adventures of Champion is an American children's Western series that aired from September 23, 1955 to March 3, 1956 for 26 episodes on CBS. In the United Kingdom, the series was re-broadcast under the title Champion the Wonder Horse.
The series starred Barry Curtis as 12-year-old Ricky North, who lived on his uncle's ranch in the American Southwest. Ricky's uncle, Sandy North, was played by Jim Bannon. Ricky's companions were a wild Mustang stallion, Champion, and a German Shepherd, Rebel, played by Blaze. (Ken Beck and Jim Clark, in their book, The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television's Greatest Animal Stars, quote animal trainer Bob Blair as identifying the dog as J.R., the canine that had the title role in The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin TV program. "Rebel was played by J.R. and was owned by Frank Barnes. He was the best-trained dog in the business," Blair said.)
The television program used characters similar to those in the 1949-50 radio serial, The Adventures of Champion. The radio serial told of young Ricky West (rather than Ricky North), who was raised on a ranch by his adoptive Uncle Sandy. Ricky was often accompanied by his German Shepherd, Rebel.
Beginning in 1950, The Gene Autry Show, a western/cowboy television series, aired for 91 episodes on CBS.The Adventures of Champion was a prime time spinoff for the 1955-1956 season.
In real life, the Wonder Horse, Champion, was owned by Gene Autry who over many years owned a succession of celebrity horses bearing the same name. The horse starring in The Adventures of Champion was known as Television Champion, or TV Champ, for short. He was distinguished by his chestnut coat, blond mane and tail, four white stockings and broad white facial blaze. TV Champ made frequent appearances with Autry in films and television during the 1950s. Unlike his fictional namesake, TV Champ was a gelding.
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