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REX TRAILER'S BOOMTOWN (TV)

Summary

This televised special celebrates the classic 1950s children's series "Boomtown" and its memorable star, Rex Trailer. The program begins as a number of fans, including celebrities like Jay Leno, Tom Bergeron and Mike O'Malley, share their fond memories of the series, which aired on weekends from 1956 to 1974, describing the cowboy host as "the essence of cool." The show was set in Texas, though filmed in Boston, and Trailer comments on his real-life upbringing on a Texas ranch and how movie star George "Gabby" Hayes convinced him to try out showbiz rather than a rodeo career, as television was a newly-popular medium. Trailer first hosted the "Oky Doky Ranch" series and then headed to the Westinghouse station in Philadelphia, where he appeared on a number of other similar Western-themed kids' shows. When the station was sold to NBC, Trailer had thirteen weeks left on his contract, which he explains then bloomed into a twenty-year career. In April 1956 cowboys were "all the rage," and Trailer gave the newly-constructed "town" the name "Boomtown" after the 1940 Clark Gable picture.

A number of notable television figures, including Vin Di Bona and Billy O'Brien, discuss their early careers working on the show, recalling that Trailer rode a horse named Gold Rush and had two sidekicks: Pablo, played by Richard Kilbride – who was not, in fact, actually Mexican – and Hubert the Swan, an overly-chatty puppet voiced by Kilbride. The show was known for featuring a great number of children in every episode who would act as Trailer's "posse" for the day and assist with his adventures and games, memorably entering the set to the tune of "Hey, Look Me Over." Sports journalist Steve Burton, who now reports from the very same set, admits that while the "town" looked impressive on television, it was much less realistic in person. The program was also something of a "Wild West show," with Trailer showing off his riding skills and rope tricks, and he recalls shooting outdoor episodes that featured stagecoach "robberies" and other stunts. Fans recalls that he often made comments about gun safety, however, and Trailer explains that he decided to eschew guns altogether after President Kennedy's death in 1963. Kilbride passed away from cancer in 1967, and Trailer decided to tell the children honestly about "Pablo's" death, then performing solo for six months. He then hired Terrence Currier, who appeared on the show as "Cactus Pete," a rascally cowboy modeled after Hayes. O'Brien also appeared as "Sergeant Billy" every other week, and Sam Donato then joined the series as "Uncle Sam."

The show also had a "Critter Corner" segment, featuring animal visitors, as well as a yearly cross-country trip to California, involving record-breaking numbers of guests. Trailer, also a pilot, describes how he incorporated his love of flying into the show, sometimes arriving in helicopters alongside guests like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. He also made a number of personal appearances at parades and other events, and Steven Wright and other fans recall their childhood excitement at meeting their first celebrity live and in color. Later, he taught television workshops at Emerson College and helped aspiring reporters with their on-air skills, while also enjoying a songwriting career on the side. Currier notes that he was always "sensitive" about the incorporation of commercials into "Boomtown," as he preferred to focus on entertaining and educating children but also needed to make money from the show. Trailer explains that the show eventually ended in 1974, partially because of the shift in cultural interest from cowboys to spacemen, but he calculates that over 200,000 children appeared on the show over the course of its two-decade run. The cast and the viewers comment on their interest in a "Boomtown" reunion, and the program concludes as the fans offer their greetings to Trailer and Wright reflects that he was "like Johnny Carson for kids." Commercials deleted.

Details

  • NETWORK: CBS Boston
  • DATE: June 18, 2005 1:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:47:02
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:86266
  • GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Children's programs; History
  • SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 2005
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Rex Trailer … Executive Producer
  • Michael Bavaro … Executive Producer, Director, Writer
  • Mike Calarese … Co-Producer
  • Liam O'Malley … Co-Producer
  • Jon Aldrich … Music by
  • Tom Bergeron … Interviewee
  • Steve Burton … Interviewee
  • Terrence Currier … Interviewee
  • Vin Di Bona … Interviewee
  • Sam Donato … Interviewee
  • Jay Leno … Interviewee
  • Billy O'Brien … Interviewee
  • Mike O'Malley … Interviewee
  • Rex Trailer … Interviewee
  • Steven Wright … Interviewee
  • Clark Gable
  • John F. Kennedy Jr.
  • Richard Kilbride
  • George 'Gabby' Hayes