# The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok is an American Western television series that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955, through 1958, and, at the same time, on ABC from 1957 through 1958. The Kellogg's cereal company was the show's national sponsor. The series was also exported to Australia during the late 1950s.

## Synopsis

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok starred Guy Madison as the legendary Old West lawman (in real life, also a gunfighter) United States Marshal James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, and Andy Devine as his comedy sidekick, Jingles P. Jones. The series was set in the 1870s, with Hickok and Jones based at Fort Larabee.

## Production

The series was produced by William F. Broidy Productions. It consisted of 113 episodes, the last 13 of which were made in color. In 1957 Screen Gems bought the Broidy company's assets, which included 100 Hickok episodes on film. Tommy Carr was the director. Kellogg's cereals sponsored it.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 13 | 13 | April 14, 1951 (1951-04-14) | July 8, 1951 (1951-07-08) |
| 2 | 13 | 13 | October 14, 1951 (1951-10-14) | January 6, 1952 (1952-01-06) |
| 3 | 22 | 22 | January 27, 1952 (1952-01-27) | June 30, 1952 (1952-06-30) |
| 4 | 13 | 13 | September 13, 1953 (1953-09-13) | December 6, 1953 (1953-12-06) |
| 5 | 13 | 13 | November 21, 1954 (1954-11-21) | February 13, 1955 (1955-02-13) |
| 6 | 13 | 13 | September 4, 1955 (1955-09-04) | November 27, 1955 (1955-11-27) |
| 7 | 13 | 13 | September 2, 1956 (1956-09-02) | November 25, 1956 (1956-11-25) |
| 8 | 13 | 13 | February 19, 1958 (1958-02-19) | May 16, 1958 (1958-05-16) |

## Other media

Devine and Madison portrayed their roles on Mutual radio from April 1, 1951, to 1956.
During the 1950s, several episodes of the television show were spliced together and released as 16 feature films by Allied Artists.
| Title | Director | Cast | Year |
| The Ghost of Crossbones Canyon | Frank McDonald | Russell Simpson, Gordon Jones, John Doucette | 1952 |
| Behind Southern Lines | Thomas Carr | Rand Brooks, Jonathan Hale | 1952 |
| Trail of the Arrow | Thomas Carr | Monte Blue, Terry Frost, Raymond Hatton | 1952 |
| The Yellow Haired Kid | Frank McDonald | William Edward Phipps, David Bruce, Marcia Mae Jones | 1952 |
| Border City Rustlers | Frank McDonald | Gloria Talbott, Isabel Randolph, George J. Lewis | 1953 |
| Secret of Outlaw Flats | Wesley Barry, Frank McDonald | Kristine Miller, John Crawford, Richard Avonde | 1953 |
| Six Gun Decision | Frank McDonald | Gloria Saunders, David Sharpe, Lyle Talbot | 1953 |
| Two Gun Marshal | Frank McDonald | Michael Vallon, Pamela Duncan, Francis McDonald | 1953 |
| Marshals In Disguise | Frank McDonald | Anthony Sydes, John Eldredge, Guy Beach | 1954 |
| Outlaw's Son | Frank McDonald | Sally Fraser, Robert Hyatt, Fred Kelsey | 1954 |
| Trouble on the Trail | Frank McDonald | Martha Hyer, Robert Blake, Byron Foulger | 1954 |
| The Two Gun Teacher | Frank McDonald | Carole Mathews, Ann Carroll, Rory Mallinson | 1954 |
| The Matchmaking Marshal | Frank McDonald | Bobby Jordan, Anna Lee Carroll, Forrest Taylor | 1955 |
| Phantom Trails | Wesley Barry, Frank McDonald | Byron Foulger, Robert Filmer, Harry Harvey Jr. | 1955 |
| Timber Country Trouble | Frank McDonald | Frances Charles, Henry Blair, Harry Lauter | 1955 |
| The Titled Tenderfoot | Frank McDonald | Jeanne Cagney, Marshall Reed, Clayton Moore | 1955 |

## Guest stars

* Mike Ragan appeared in three episodes, as Gus in "The Tax Collecting Story", as Collier in "Mexican Rustlers Story" (both 1951), and Malone in "The Doctor's Story" (1953).
* Carole Mathews appeared twice, first as Miss Jennings in "The Slocum Family" (1951) and then as Anne Hardy in "Blacksmith Story" (1952).
* Ewing Mitchell, as Mr. Harker in "Chain of Events" (1953)
* Gloria Saunders, as Sally Jones in "Boulder City Election" (1951)
* William Tannen, as Rand in "The Doctor's Story" (1953) and as Tom Maples in "The Maverick" (1954)

## Award nominations

| Year | Award | Result | Category |
| 1955 | Emmy Award | Nominated | Best Western or Adventure Series |