''The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin'' is an American

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

in the

Western genre The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

that aired from October 1954 to May 1959 on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television network. In all, 164 episodes aired. The show starred

Lee Aaker Lee William Aaker (September 25, 1943 – April 1, 2021)Goldrup, Tom & Goldrup, Jim (2002) Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television', McFarland & Co Inc, , pp. 5–12 was an American child actor ...

as Rusty, a boy orphaned in an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

raid, who was being raised by the soldiers at a

US Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one r ...

post known as Fort Apache. Rusty and his

German shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

dog, Rin Tin Tin, help the soldiers to establish order in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. James E. Brown appeared as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters. Co-stars included

Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers, August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. Early life Sawyer was born August 29, 1 ...

as Sergeant Biff O'Hara and

Rand Brooks Arlington Rand Brooks Jr. (September 21, 1918 – September 1, 2003) was an American film and television actor. Early life Brooks was born in Wright City, Missouri. He was the son of Arlington Rand Brooks, a farmer. His mother and he moved ...

as Corporal Randy Boone. The character of Rin Tin Tin was named after

Rin Tin Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, L ...

, a legendary screen dog of the 1920s and 30s. The character was ostensibly played by Rin Tin Tin IV, who was either a descendant or related to the original dog. However, due to Rin Tin Tin IV's poor screen performance, the character was mostly performed by an unrelated dog, Flame Jr.

Production

The episodes were filmed on a low budget, limiting the film stock to

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. Outdoor action was shot largely at

Corriganville Movie Ranch __NOTOC__ Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothills ...

northwest of Los Angeles in

Simi Valley Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The ...

, where the production made ample use of the facility's Fort Apache. Additional action sequences were shot on the

Iverson Movie Ranch Iverson may refer to: Computing * Iverson Award, an ACM honour for APL contributions * Iverson bracket, a mathematical notation * Iverson Notation, the syntactic basis of APL (programming language) Other uses * Iverson Movie Ranch, Chatsworth, Ca ...

in Chatsworth, known for its huge sandstone boulders and widely recognized as the most heavily filmed outdoor shooting location in the history of Hollywood. The show's troupe of 12 character actors was often required to play multiple parts in the same episode, sometimes to the point of one actor fighting himself, wearing a cavalry uniform in one shot and an Apache outfit in another. The eponymous dog, Rin Tin Tin IV, lived about away at Duncan's ranch in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, receiving visitors who were eager to see the famous dog.

Cast

- Corporal Rusty "B-Company" *

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

- Lt. Ripley 'Rip' Masters *Rin Tin Tin IV/Flame Jr. -

- Sgt. Biff O'Hara *

- Corporal Randy Boone * William Forrest - Major Swanson *

Hal Hopper Harold Stevens Hopper (November 11, 1912 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – November 2, 1970 in Sylmar, California) was an American singer/songwriter, film score composer and screenwriter. Life Hopper was a member of The Pied Pipers singing grou ...

- Cpl. Clark *

John Hoyt John Hoyt (born John McArthur Hoysradt; October 5, 1905 – September 15, 1991) was an American actor. He began his acting career on Broadway, later appearing in numerous films and television series. He is perhaps best known for his film and TV ...

- Colonel Barker *

Harry Strang Harry Strang (December 13, 1892 – April 10, 1972) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 500 films and television shows between 1929 and 1965. On Broadway, Strang appeared in ''The Girl in the Train'' (1910). Primarily a characte ...

- Sheriff *

Dean Fredericks Frederick Joseph Foote (January 21, 1924 – June 30, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the title role in the television series ''Steve Canyon''. Born in Los Angeles, California. Fredericks se ...

- Komawi *

Mildred von Hollen Mildred may refer to: People * Mildred (name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Saint Mildrith, 8th-century Abbess of Minster-in-Thanet * Milred (died 774), Anglo-Saxon prelate, Bishop of Worcester * Henry M ...

- Mrs. Barrington *

George Keymas George Keymas (November 18, 1925 – January 17, 2008) was an American film actor, film and television actor.Martin p.68 Keymas graduated from Springfield (Ohio) High School. Keymas began his Hollywood career in 1950, mainly in Westerns. His f ...

- Black Billy *

Ralph Moody Ralph Moody (September 10, 1917 – June 9, 2004) was an American stock car racer. He eventually became a team co-owner of Holman Moody. Background He built his first Model T Ford race car in 1935, and ran it on nights and weekends. He served ...

- Silas Gunn * Tom McKee - Capt. Davis *

William Fawcett William or Bill Fawcett or ''variation'', may refer to: People * William Fawcett (actor) (1894–1974), American actor who was awarded the ''Légion d'honneur'' * William Fawcett (author) (1902–1941), English journalist and writer on horses, hun ...

- Captain Longey/Marshal George Higgins *

Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville, Illinois, Danville in Vermilion County, Illinois, Vermilion County in eastern ...

- Chief Red Eagle *

Lane Bradford Lane Bradford (born John Myrtland Le Varre, Jr., August 29, 1922 – June 6, 1973) was an American actor, who appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predomin ...

- Barrows * Ernest Sarracino - Hamid Bey * Jack Littlefield - Karl *

Dehl Berti Dehl Berti (January 17, 1921 – November 26, 1991) was a Chiricahua ApacheSandy Greer. 1990. "Native Americans Still Battling Stereotyping". Broadcast Weekly. April 21, 1990. accessed a/ref> actor who often appeared in Westerns. One of his mor ...

- Katawa *

Bill Hale Bill Hale (1915-2007) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. Hale was a big front row forward who played at St. George with his younger brother Jim Hale. His career was interrupted when he was moved arou ...

- Cole Hogarth *

Steven Ritch Steven Ritch (26 December 1921 – 20 July 1995) was an American actor, perhaps best known for his lead role in the 1956 film '' The Werewolf''. Early life Steven Ritch was born on December 26, 1921, in Providence, Rhode Island. Career Ritch's c ...

- Lone Hawk *

Lee Roberts Lee Roberts (June 17, 1913 – April 24, 1989) was a film actor during the Hollywood Golden Age. Sometimes he is credited as Robert Allen or Lee J. Roberts. Career Little is known about this man who appeared in over 100 films between 1943 a ...

- Aaron Depew * Larry Chance - Apache Jack * Charles Stevens - Geronimo * Gordon Richards - Hubert Twombly * Pierre Watkin - The Vet *

Tommy Farrell Tommy Farrell (born Thomas Farrell Richards; October 7, 1921 – May 9, 2004) was an American actor and comedian who appeared in over 100 films and TV series between 1944 and 1983. He was best known for his sidekick roles in the Hollywood Gold ...

- Carpenter *

Harry Hickox Harry Hickox (October 22, 1910 – June 3, 1994) was an American character actor. Career Hickox began his career as a musician, playing guitar with jazz bands, including that of Jack Teagarden. One of his early theatrical ventures was acting i ...

- John Carter * Andy Clyde - Homer Tubbs * Ed Hinton - Seth Ramsey * Patrick Whyte - McKenzie *

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...

- Ed Whitmore *

Abel Fernandez Abel Gonzalez Fernandez (July 14, 1930 – May 3, 2016) was an American actor who played in movies from 1953 to 2002. He was best known for his role as Federal Agent William "Bill" Youngfellow on the 1959–1963 ABC Television series ''The Unto ...

- O-ye-tza * Louis Lettieri - Chief Pokiwah * Jan Arvan - Chief Running Horse * William Henry - Bill Anderson

Guest stars

''Rin Tin Tin'' guest stars included veteran Western actors

Roscoe Ates Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character S ...

and

(later Steve Canyon) in six episodes. Others were

Ron Hagerthy Ronald F. Hagerthy (born March 9, 1932) is an American actor on television and in films. Early years Hagerthy was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, but moved to Glendale, California, before he started school. He attended Glendale City College and ...

and

Ewing Mitchell Ewing Young Mitchell (December 29, 1910 – September 3, 1988) was an American character actor of film and television best known for his role as Sheriff Mitch Hargrove in 26 episodes between 1956 and 1959 of the aviation adventure series wit ...

, both later semiregulars on the ''

Sky King ''Sky King'' was an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. King usually captured criminals and spies and found lost hikers, ...

'' series, and Ed Hinton. John M. Pickard, star of the series '' Boots and Saddles'' ( syndicated, 1957–1958), appeared three times on ''Rin Tin Tin''.

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, parti ...

and

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroe ...

were other guest stars. Robert Fuller, prior to '' Laramie'', appeared as Stan in the 1958 episode "The Epidemic".

Harry Cheshire Harry V. Cheshire (August 16, 1891 – June 16, 1968), originally from Emporia, Kansas, was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, mostly playing small roles. He was also a stage actor and performed on a St. Louis radio ...

, formerly Judge Ben Wiley on '' Buffalo Bill, Jr.'', appeared as Silas Mason in "The Misfit Marshal" (1959). Brad Johnson (1924–1981), known as deputy Lofty Craig on the syndicated Western series ''

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...

'', appeared once on ''Rin Tin Tin'' in the role of John Quinn in the episode "The Iron Horse" (1955). Robert Knapp was cast in the role of Allen in the 1955 episode "The Guilty One".

played an elderly marshal in four episodes, including the 1955 episode, "Higgins Rides Again". Rico Alaniz appeared twice, as Big Elk in "Rin Tin Tin Meets O'Hara's Mother" and as Don Valdez in "The Invaders" (both 1956)

Broadcast

The show ran for five seasons on ABC on Friday evenings from October 1954 to May 1959. ABC reran the series on late afternoons from September 1959 to September 1961. During its first season (1954-1955), ''The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin'' finished at number 23 in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

, making it the second-highest rated series on ABC at the time behind ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

'', which placed number six.

Reruns A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...

ran on Saturdays on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from September 1962 until September 1964. A new package of reruns was shown in 1976, and continued into the mid-1980s. The original black-and-white prints were tinted light brown with new opening and closing segments filmed in color in Utah.Terrace, Vincent (2009). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2007'' (Volume 1). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. . The show currently airs in syndication on

Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Antenna TV's programming and advertising operati ...

, with remastered episodes produced by Cerulean Digital Color and Animation, with lines redubbed for some scenes using actors other than those from the original series cast, with a different generic theme song.

Episodes

Season 1 (1954-55)

Season 2 (1955–56)

Season 3 (1956-57)

Season 4 (1957-58)

Season 5 (1958-59)

References

External links

*
Iverson Movie Ranch: History, vintage photos.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures Of Rin Tin Tin, The 1954 American television series debuts 1959 American television series endings 1950s Western (genre) television series American children's adventure television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows about dogs Television series by Screen Gems Rin Tin Tin Orphans in fiction Television series about the United States Army Television shows filmed in California