Sky King is a 1940s and 1950s American radio and television adventure series. The title character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler (or Skyler) "Sky" King. The series was likely based on a true-life person, Jack Cones, the Flying Constable of Twentynine Palms during the 1930s.
Although it had strong cowboy show elements, King always captured criminals and even spies and found lost hikers using his plane.
King's personal plane was called the Songbird. Though he changed from one plane to another over the course of the series, the later plane was not given a number (i.e., "Songbird II"), but was simply known as Songbird.
He and his niece, Penny (and sometimes Clipper, his nephew) lived on the Flying Crown Ranch, near the (fictitious) town of Grover, Arizona. Penny and Clipper were also pilots, though still relatively inexperienced and looking to their uncle for guidance and mentoring. Penny was an accomplished air racer and rated multiengine pilot, who Sky trusted to fly the Songbird.
The musical score was largely the work of Herschel Burke Gilbert.
Radio
The radio show, based on a radio story by Roy Winsor, was the brainchild of Robert Morris Burtt and Wilfred Gibbs Moore, who also created Captain Midnight, first aired in 1946. Several actors played the part of Sky, including Earl Nightingale and John Reed King.
Like many radio shows of the day there were many "radio premiums" offered to listeners. On November 2, 1947 in the episode titled "Mountain Detour" the Sky King Secret Signalscope was used. Listeners were advised to get their own for only 15 cents and the inner seal from a jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter (produced by sponsor Derby Foods). The Signalscope included a glow-in-the-dark signaling device, whistle, magnifying glass and Sky King's private code. With the Signalscope you could also see around corners and trees.[1] The premiums were innovative, such as the Sky King Spy-Detecto Writer, which had a "decoder" (cipher disk), magnifying glass, measuring scale, and printing mechanism in a single package slightly over 2 inches long. Other notable premiums included the Magni-Glo Writing Ring, which had a luminous element, a secret compartment, a magnifier, and a ballpoint pen all in the crownpiece of a "fits any finger" ring. The radio show ran until 1954, being aired simultaneously with the television version.
Television
The television version starred Kirby Grant as Sky King and Gloria Winters as his teen-aged niece Penny. Other regular characters included his nephew Clipper, played by Ron Hagerthy, and Mitch the sheriff, played by Ewing Mitchell. Unlike many "lawman-acquaintance" characters on other shows, Mitch was competent, intelligent and skilled. He was always coming to Sky for help, due to friendship and recognizing the utility of Sky's flying skills. Other recurring characters included Jim Bell, the ranch foreman, played by Chubby Johnson as well as Sheriff Hollister played by Monte Blue and Bob Carey played by Norman Ollestad.
Many of the storylines would parallel those used in such dramatic potboilers as Adventures of Superman with the supporting cast repeatedly finding themselves in near death situations and the hero rescuing them with seconds to spare. Penny was particularly adroit at falling into the hands of spies, bank robbers (the best place to hide stolen loot was apparently in the Arizona desert) and other n'er-do-wells.
Like most TV cowboy heroes of the time, Sky never killed the bad guys, even though one episode had him shooting a machinegun into his own stolen plane.
Largely a show for kids, although it sometimes aired in primetime, Sky King became an icon in the aviation community. Many pilots (including American astronauts) who grew up watching Sky King name him as an influence.
Though plot lines were often simplistic, Grant was able to bring a casual, natural treatment of technical details which led to a level of believability not found in other TV series involving aviation or life in the American West. Likewise, villains and other characters were usually shown as intelligent and believable, rather than as two-dimensional. The writing was generally well above the standard for contemporary half-hour programs, though sometimes the acting was not.
The later episodes of the television show were notable for the dramatic opening with an air-to-air shot of the sleek, second Songbird banking sharply away from the camera and its engines roaring, while the announcer proclaimed "From out of the clear blue of the Western sky . . .comes Sky King!" The short credit roll which followed was equally dramatic, with the Songbird swooping at the camera across El Mirage Dry Lake, California, then pulling up into a steep climb as it went away. The end title featured a musical theme, with the credits superimposed over an air-to-air shot of the Songbird, cruising at altitude for several moments then banking to the left and turning away (similar to the opening shot).
The show also featured spectacular, low-level flying, especially with the later Songbird. Many shots showed the Cessna "down amongst the rocks and the trees," a way to show the speed of the plane as the desert flashed by in the background.
The television show began airing on Sunday afternoons on NBC between September 16, 1951 and October 26, 1952. These episodes were rebroadcast on ABC's Saturday morning lineup the following year November 8, 1952 until September 21, 1953, when it made its prime-time debut on ABC's Monday night lineup. It then aired twice-a-week in August and September of 1954, before ABC pulled the plug on it. New episodes were produced when the show went into syndication in 1955. The last episode, Mickey's Birthday, aired March 8, 1959. CBS began airing reruns of the show on early Saturday afternoons (at 12 pm Eastern/Pacific times; late Saturday mornings at 11 am Central/Mountain times) on October 3, 1959 and continued to do so until September 3, 1966.
All 72 episodes of the series have been released on DVD in North America.[2][3]
Production notes
At the beginning of the television series, Sky flew a Cessna T-50 twin-engine "Bamboo Bomber." The plane, a World War II surplus UC-78B, was owned by legendary Hollywood pilot Paul Mantz[4] and flown by employees of his Paul Mantz Aerial Services for filming of the flying sequences.[5] At least two other T-50s are known to have been used for on-ground and in-the-cockpit scenes as well as a Beechcraft in a lost episode.[6]
The best-known Songbird was a twin-engine Cessna 310B. The airplane used was the second production 310B (N5348A), which was provided by Cessna at no cost to the producers and piloted by Cessna's national sales manager for the 310, Bill Fergusson. Fergusson got the job after the motion picture pilot already selected was deemed unqualified to land the airplane at some of the off-airport sites required. Some months after a library of stock footage had been compiled, additional sequences were filmed using a different airplane.[7] The original 310B was eventually destroyed in a 1962 crash at Delano, California, that killed its owner-pilot.[8] Cockpit sequences were filmed using the static test fuselage, also provided by Cessna.[9]
A byproduct of the use of the Cessna 310 as Sky King's "Songbird" was the 310 series becoming known as Songbirds. Cessna has never given the 310 a type name (e.g., the Piper 140 "Cherokee"), but because of its use in Sky King, Cessna 310s are known as "Songbirds" within the aviation community.
A unique introduction featured the triangular Nabisco logo flying across the screen, accompanied by the sound of the Songbird flying past. Nabisco included plastic figures of characters from the show and the Songbird in packages of Wheat Honeys and Rice Honeys breakfast cereals.[10]
Though set in Arizona, the series was filmed in the high desert of California. The ranch house used for exterior shots of the Flying Crown Ranch is an actual home in Apple Valley, California, although it has been extensively remodeled since its use as headquarters of the "Flying Crown Ranch." Other locations were shot in and around Apple Valley and the nearby San Bernardino Mountains, George Air Force Base and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Interior filming was done at the General Service studio.
While expensive for a kids' show, most of the budget went into aircraft, vehicles and sets. This meant that some standard production methods had to be abandoned, giving the series a more realistic look. For instance, in some shots, pilot Bill Fergusson actually did taxi the 310B rather than the more common (but time-consuming, thus costly) method of simulating movement by towing or dolly shots.
The budget issue also forced the frequent reuse of stock footage, sometimes flipped over to show planes banking the opposite direction, thus sometimes letters and numbers were seen in mirror-image.
The black-and-white film masked the actual paint scheme of the Cessna 310B, which was done in a rich multi-color pattern of Coronado Yellow, Sierra Gold and White, with a gold interior.[11]
The show was filmed and shown during three periods as sponsors changed: 1951-52 (Derby Foods), 1955-56 and 1957-62 (Nabisco, though the copyright notices continued to name Derby Foods). It continued in syndication for years afterward, and was a staple on Saturday morning television into the mid-1960s. There are 72 episodes available for sale on DVD.
The series Sky King ended production in February 1959. There were no additional episodes filmed after that date.
There has long been a rumor that a vault fire destroyed the only prints of 64 other episodes. This is incorrect, though. There were only 72 episodes produced in total.[12][13]
Remarkably, Nabisco sold rights to the series to Grant in 1959. In later years, Grant considered bringing back the series and even a "Sky King" theme park, but nothing ever happened on either of these projects. At least one writer has boilerplated a "Sky King" film, but none has been produced.
Was Kirby Grant a Pilot?
On May 20, 2008 at 2207 hours, Kirby Grant, III, confirmed that his father was a pilot and he flew with him many times. This was confirmed by e-mail to Officer Glenn E. Kresge, United States Department of Defense Police, (and by Kent Volgamore and by Guy Maher, article below).[citation needed] He was turned down for pilot training during World War II because of color blindness.[citation needed]
The Cessna T-50 used in the first episodes of the series was provided by Paul Mantz Air Services and flown by several pilots, and the Cessna 310B used in later episodes was provided at no cost by Cessna and flown by Cessna employee Bill Fergusson. In the article "310 B Goes To Hollywood," Mr. Bill Fergusson from the Cessna Corp. recalls how Kirby Grant flew the 310B like a real pro in no time.[citation needed] Thus, he was referring to the transition from the T-50 to the 310 B. The newspaper article can be found at Kae Vee's Place.[citation needed]
Numerous references to Grant's flying skills came from co-workers, personal friends, and historian Kent Volgamore, who wrote the book for the Sky King DVD's.[citation needed] Volgamore clearly states Grant was a pilot, and started his flying career in a Waco 1929.[citation needed] References: Airport Journals Jan. 2006 interview with Gloria Winters. Winters stated Grant and her late husband were both pilots. She stated twice in the interview that Kirby Grant was a pilot and her late husband was a crop duster.
Trivia
Jimmy Buffett referenced Sky and his niece Penny in his 1974 hit "Pencil Thin Mustache", singing the lyrics "I remember bein' buck-toothed and skinny, writin' fan letters to Sky's niece, Penny".
Regular cast
Notable guest stars
- James Brown as Matt Reynolds in "The Man Who Forgot" (1952)
- Jill St. John (as Jill Oppenheim) as Gretchen Gluckman in "Two-Gun Penny" (1952)
- Ed Hinton as Red O'Brian in "Danger at the Sawmill" (1958)
- Gregg Palmer as Frank Kinnard in "The Runaway" (1958)
See also
References
References: Airport Journals Jan. 2006 interview with Gloria Winters. Winters stated Grant and her late husband were both pilots. She stated twice in the interview that Kirby Grant was a pilot, and her late husband (Dean Vernon) was a crop duster and sound engineer on Sky King.
