George ‘Gabby’ Hayes had been the whiskery, long-haired veteran sidekick in 174 Western movies – where he had appeared alongside everyone from John Wayne to Randolph Scott and Roy Rogers – before he was given the opportunity to star in his own TV series.
Hayes, who was born in upstate New York, appeared as the foreman of the Double Bar M Ranch and told tall tales of the Old West, illustrating his dissertations with film clips from various cowboy movies.
Regular guests included Clifford Sales, Lee Graham, Robert F. Simon, Michael Strong, Irving Winter and Malcolm Keer.
Later the show was officially titled The Quaker Oats Show Starring Gabby Hayes, and viewers could see Aunt Jemima products in the background of a Western town where Gabby talked to two children about the day’s filmed story (these introductions were filmed too). Gabby also did the commercials.
The series ran on NBC from 11 December 1950 to 1 January 1954 and on ABC from 12 May 1956 to 14 July 1956.
After that, his TV appearances were relatively few until his death in 1969.
Hayes, who was born in upstate New York, appeared as the foreman of the Double Bar M Ranch and told tall tales of the Old West, illustrating his dissertations with film clips from various cowboy movies.
