LEGENDARY HEROES #53

SPACE PATROL

"Space Patrol" was about the 30th Century adventures of Commander-in-Chief Buzz Corry of the United Planets Space Patrol and his young sidekick Cadet Happy Osborn.  The original concept of the series was "a cop show in outer space" so "Space Patrol" became an intergalactic paramilitary space police force.  Corry and his allies were outfitted with ray guns, miniature "space-o-phones" and atomic lights to face their interplanetary villains.  "Space Patrol" was created by Mike Moser, a WWII vet and Navy flier who came up with the idea while fighting in the Pacific.  He wanted to create a show that kids would enjoy today just like he did years earlier when he read "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon" in his youth.

Moser pitched the idea to KECA-TV (now KABC) and they loved the idea.  The show debuted on March 9, 1950 as a live 15-minute show and was aired Monday through Friday, televised from the same soundstage that was used for Lon Chaney's "Phantom of the Opera", one of the largest stages in Hollywood.  On December 30, 1950 a half-hour Saturday morning show was added and became an overnight sensation.  "Space Patrol" became the first show to be broadcast from the West Coast to East Coast, a difficult task that involved an intricate network of cable, electronic interchanges, and relay stations.  The show featured commercial tie-in merchandise like toys and mail-order premiums through their corporate sponsors Nestles and Ralston Purina's Chex cereal.  A unique feature was that the premium of the month would be worked into the storyline which permitted the youthful audience to feel that they were interacting with the adventures.

The series was targeted at juveniles but a sizable adult audience began to grow, increasing the show's popularity.  The show made television history on April 29, 1953 when they participated in the first experimental 3-D broadcast.  Ziff-Davis publishers produced a comic book in 1952 with covers by famous pulp artist Norman Saunders and interior art by Bernard Krigstein of later EC comics fame.  Though only two issues were printed both are highly sought after by collectors today.  A radio show was launched on October 4, 1952 that starred the same cast as the TV series and ran until March 19, 1955.

Glen Denning was cast as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Space Patrol, Kit Corry, but Denning had difficulties remembering his lines (a major problem for live TV) and he was let go after 25 episodes.  He was replaced by Ed Kemmer, a recent graduate of the Pasadena Playhouse, who took over as Kit's brother Buzz Corry.  Lyn Osborn was cast as Cadet Happy, Virginia Hewitt was Carol Carlisle the daughter of the Secretary General of United Planets, Ken Mayer was Major Robbie Robertson the security officer of Space Patrol, and Nina Bara appeared as Tonga, originally a villain but she was converted from the "dark side" to join the good guys.  When the TV show first began the actors were being paid $8 an episode.  By 1954 the main players were getting $900 a week and the shows' budget had grown to $25,000 a week.

"Space Patrol" became one of the country's first mass media phenomena and aired on TV until February 26, 1955 (the radio show would last for another month).  All total, 129 episodes of the radio show were produced, 210 half-hour Saturday shows, and 900 15-minute weekly broadcasts.