Space Patrol is an American science fiction adventure series set in the 30th century that was originally aimed at juvenile audiences via television, radio, and comic books. It was broadcast on ABC from March 1950 to February 1955. It soon developed a sizable adult audience, and by 1954 the program consistently ranked in the top 10 shows broadcast on a Saturday.
Premise The stories followed the 30th-century adventures of Commander-in-Chief Buzz Corry (Ed Kemmer) of the United Planets Space Patrol and his young sidekick Cadet Happy (Lyn Osborn), as they faced interplanetary villains with diabolical schemes. The show was targeted to children, but attracted a sizable adult audience. Many episodes featured commercial tie-in merchandise, like toys and mail-order premiums, that were advertised during commercial breaks. Many of the ads for corporate sponsor Ralston Purina's Chex cereals used the show's space opera motif in their pitches. A unique feature of the TV and radio adventures was that the premium of the month was often worked into the story action. This permitted young viewers to feel that they were participating in the radio or televised adventures. Space Patrol's best known premium was a "Name the Planet" contest wherein the winner was awarded the program's Terra IV spaceship. The prize was a giant trailer in the shape of the series' space craft. One of the many "Name the Planet" commercials may be viewed online. The program sponsored a Space Patrol club, which viewers could join. Continuing merchandise tie-ins perpetuated the connection, producing such a sizable following that many of the nation's magazines chronicled the phenomenon. Many, but not all, of the 30-minute TV episodes are still currently available in various video/ DVD formats.
Radio series The radio version ran from 4 October 1952 to 19 March 1955, for 129 episodes. The same cast performed on both shows. The writers, scripts, and directors were reused between the radio and TV incarnations, but the radio broadcasts were not limited by studio sets and became more expansive in scope than the television programs. Although there was seldom any deliberate crossing-over of storylines, some of the television villains regularly appeared on the radio (notably Prince Bacarratti), and during the "Planet X" story, both the TV and radio versions explored the rogue planet's invasion of the Space Patrol universe. While the radio series lacked the sophistication of sci-fi shows like the later X Minus One, it was enjoyed as a throwback to the Golden Age of space opera popularized in the 1930s by pioneering magazine editor Hugo Gernsback. Only 117 of the original broadcasts survive. 97 are on the Old Time Radio website and a few others on torrent sites.
Cast
Main Ed Kemmer as Commander-in-Chief Edward "Buzz" Corry – Corry is the senior officer of the Space Patrol whose assigned task including clearing the space lanes and maintaining peace in the galaxy. As the series continued, his mission expanded to exploring the outer regions of intergalactic space and time. Lyn Osborn as Cadet Happy Osborn – Osborn is a graduate of the Space Patrol's Space Academy who is given an initial training assignment as cadet and aide to Commander Corry. Virginia Hewitt as Carol Carlisle – Carlisle is the daughter of the Secretary General of the United Planets who works in both an administrative and scientific capacity at the United Planets' Headquarters. Ken Mayer as Maj. Robbie Robertson – Robertson is the Security Chief of the Space Patrol and friend and fellow adventurer with Commander Corry.
Nina Bara as Tonga – Tonga had been a villain in earlier episodes known as The Lady of Diamonds. She is converted from the "dark side" and became the Chief Assistant to Major Robertson and a valuable ally of the Space Patrol. Bela Kovacs as Prince Baccarratti, and other villains and characters appearing in the series – However, it is his portrayal as Bacarratti or the "black falcon" for which he is probably best remembered. He is also Associate Producer for 16 episodes. Norman Jolley as Agent X – Agent X is one of the original recurring arch villains in the series. Jolley is also the "chief writer" for the show and served double duty. Marvin Miller as Mr. Proteus – Mr. Proteus was a popular recurring villain who could assume many disguises making him extremely difficult to capture. Paul Cavanagh as The Secretary General of the United Planets – He is the chief executive for the government of the United Planets. Commander Corry reported directly to him. Glen Denning as Commander Kit Corry – the original star, Denning was replaced by Ed Kemmer very early in the series (after about 25 episodes). Kit Corry is Buzz's older brother and original "Commander-in-Chief" of the Space Patrol.
Recurring Space Patrol hired many actors who later became well known in their own right. The episodes included such personalities as Ray Bolger, Gene Barry, Bill Baldwin, Lee Van Cleef, I. Stanford Jolley, Robert Shayne, William Schallert, Richard Devon, Carleton Young and Ed Nelson. The following cast members are some of those actors who appeared in multiple episodes:
Production
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