TV WESTERNS—ANNIE OAKLEY
Scott Harris
and I have begun work on 52 Weeks • 52
Western TV Shows, the sequel to 52
Weeks • 52 Western Novels and the just released 52 Weeks • 52 Western Movies. The issue is there were 39 new Western
TV shows which premiere on the network schedules in 1959 alone, and that number
didn’t even cover the Westerns already on the air. Clearly, having to choose 52
shows out of the hundreds that have aired over the history of television is a
daunting task. Some shows deserving of attention are unfortunately going to be
left on the cutting room floor. To partially remedy the situation, I’m going to
be taking a look at some of the shows that won’t make it into 52 Weeks • 52 Western TV Shows, but are
deserving of honorable mention. In this format, I’ll also have more room to
feature many of the TV tie-in books, comics, and collectibles from each of the
shows—plus I won't be hammpered by the 550 word count limitation for each book entry. First up...
ANNIE OAKLEY
STARRING GAIL
DAVIS,
BRAD JOHNSON, JIMMY HAWKINS
81 TWENTY-FIVE
MINUTE EPISODES
DECEMBER
1953—MAY 1957
Deputy Craig handled all the fisticuffs, but it was the sharpshooting Annie who saved the day—often rescuing the mischievously annoying Tagg in the process. As for parents who might be concerned by her exploits, in one episode Annie refers to her mother’s death, but there was no mention of her mysteriously absent father.
Davis had previously co-starred with Gene Autry in 14 features, but was not originally considered to play the historically iconic female sharpshooter. Autry and executive producer Armand Schaefer auditioned girls who could ride, and girls who could shoot, but they couldn’t find a girl who could do both, not realizing she was right there under their noses. Up until her death in 1997, Davis never stopped being Annie Oakley, visiting kids in hospitals and other venues everywhere. Target, Annie’s horse, was played by three similarly colored Palominos. Tagg’s horse was Pixie.
Each episode opens with Annie shooting a neat hole in the center of a nine of spades playing card, being held up by Lofty, while standing upright on the saddle of her trusty Palomino Target, who is galloping at top speed. For a kid there wasn’t anything more thrilling. In the pilot episode for the series, Bull's Eye, Billy Gray played Tagg, but quickly moved on when the pilot didn’t sell and he was offered the role as James Bud Anderson, Jr. on television’s Father Knows Best. Also in the original pilot, Annie’s uncle was Sheriff Luke McTavish (Kenneth MacDonald), who was always conveniently out of town when trouble came. Convinced he had a great concept, Gene Autry order a second pilot, Annie Gets Her Man, to be shot. This time the episode had more action oriented and less saccharine. This time the show sold and the series went on to huge popularity. Annie Oakley was a show like The Lone Ranger, which the whole family could enjoy. A girl who could out shoot and out ride any male, however, gave a whole generation of girls their first taste of female empowerment.