Blast from the Past: Frontier Circus, Classic TV

Frontier Circus was a short-lived Western television series about a traveling circus roaming the American West in the 1880s. The show aired on the CBS television network from October 5, 1961, until September 6, 1962, and was filmed by Revue Productions.

The show featured veteran Western television and movie performers including: Chill Wills as “Colonel Kasey Thompson,” John Derek as “Ben Travis,” Richard Jaeckel as “Scout Tony Gentry,” and J. Pat O’Malley as “Duffy.” Thompson and Travis were the owners of the T & T Circus. The circus ran into lots of difficulties and troubled characters during its short run.

The difference between its plot and the plot of most standard Westerns may have led to its short run. Frontier Circus is a true rarity, as it has not been syndicated in the U.S. since its cancellation.

Frontier Circus ran opposite two very popular ABC sitcoms, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” and “The Donna Reed Show,” and another western series, “The Outlaws” on NBC.

This is a very enjoyable show from those good ole days gone by. If you like "Rawhide," "Wagon Train," or "The Rifleman," then you are bound to like "Frontier Circus."

Buy Frontier Circus on Amazon.com

For more of the Wild West, visit Taos Unlimited’s Western Funhouse

Vintage Western Plastic Toys: Part 3 in a Series

The Vintage Western toys featured in our Western Funhouse photo albums are from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and (in some cases) beyond. During the early- to mid-20th century, several generations of America kids loved playing with these amazing creations. We’ve corralled some fine examples of these toys from days gone by for your viewing pleasure. Perhaps they will bring back some fond memories or simply entertain you with their good old-fashioned style.

So have some fun looking through our collection of Vintage Western Toys in the Western Funhouse section of the Taos Unlimited website. We’ll continue now with the plastic toys.

Taos Unlimited’s Vintage Western Plastic Toys Photo Album

Visit the Taos Unlimited Western Funhouse

Blast from the Past: TV Western Star, Paul Brinegar

I just finished watching the last episode of the third season of the classic Western, Rawhide. I have spent the last few months watching the first four seasons of the this show while having my daily lunch break, and by gosh, what a great series it was!

Following the Sedalia Trail, Gil Favor (Eric Fleming) leads a band of cowpokes driving their herd to market. The outfit crosses paths with good guys and bad guys along the way in this 1950s Western series that features a memorable theme sung by Frankie Laine. The supporting cast includes a young Clint Eastwood (who gained fame for his portrayal of ramrod, Rowdy Yates), Sheb Wooley (as trail scout, Pete Nolan), and Paul Brinegar (as the grizzled Mountain-Man-turned-drive-cook, Wishbone).

Although he was portraying a 65-year-old man in the series, Brinegar was only 41 at the time the show was first filmed. When his hair started turning gray at the age of 32, he began to appreciate his receding hairline and craggy, lined face as profitable attributes in the acting business. The popular role of Wishbone (from Rawhide) followed Brinegar during his career, and was loosely carried over into the 1968-1970 CBS Western series, Lancer, in which he played the character of ranch handyman, Jelly Hoskins.

With acting credits far too numerous to list here, among them he appeared in 226 episodes of Rawhide, 51 episodes of Lancer, 38 episodes of Wyatt Earp, and 13 episodes of Matt Houston. More... ~Jean

Read the entire feature on Paul Brinegar at Taos Unlimited in our newest entertainment section, My Baby Loves the Western Movies

Vintage Western Cast Iron Toys: Part 2 in a Series

The Vintage Western toys featured in our Western Funhouse photo albums are from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and (in some cases) beyond. During the early- to mid-20th century, several generations of America kids loved playing with these amazing creations. We've corralled some fine examples of these toys from days gone by for your viewing pleasure. Perhaps they will bring back some fond memories or simply entertain you with their good old-fashioned style.

So have some fun looking through our collection of Vintage Western Toys in the Western Funhouse section of the Taos Unlimited website. We’ll continue now with the cast iron toys.

Taos Unlimited's Vintage Western Cast Iron Toys Photo Album

Vintage Western Tin Litho Toys: Part 1 in a Series

The Vintage Western toys featured in our Western Funhouse photo albums are from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and (in some cases) beyond. During the early- to mid-20th century, several generations of American kids loved playing with these amazing creations. We've corralled some fine examples of these toys from days gone by for your viewing pleasure. Perhaps they will bring back some fond memories or simply entertain you with their good old-fashioned style.

So have some fun looking through our collection of Vintage Western Toys in the Western Funhouse section of the Taos Unlimited website. We'll start with the tin litho toys.

Taos Unlimited's Vintage Western Tin Litho Toys Photo Album