Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. From 1952 to 1970, it became a syndicated television series, with reruns (updated with new narrations) continuing through August 1, 1975. The radio and television versions combined to make the show "one of the longest-running Western programs in broadcast history.": 43
| Death Valley Days | |
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Early logo of Death Valley Days | |
| Genre | Anthology/Western |
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| Starring | See list |
| Narrated by | Merle Haggard (1975 re-broadcasts) |
| Theme music composer | Herbert Taylor |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 18 |
| No. of episodes | 452 (list of episodes) |
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| Running time | 25 min. |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | March 1, 1952 – April 24, 1970 |
The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, makers of 20 Mule Team Borax and Boraxo, and hosted by Stanley Andrews ("The Old Ranger") (1952–1964), Ronald Reagan (1964–1966), Robert Taylor (1966–1969), and Dale Robertson (1969–1970). Hosting the series was Reagan's final work as an actor; he left the series in 1966 to run for Governor of California.
The television series was conceived by Pacific Coast Borax Company's advertising agency McCann-Erickson through company executive Dorothy McCann and Mitchell J. Hamilburg, who represented Gene Autry's Flying A Productions.