Rex Trailer - Television Pioneer

Television Pioneer

Around 1947 Trailer, not yet out of his teens, had gone to work for the DuMont Television Network in New York City. He started out as a scenery painter, but quickly rose to the position of production coordinator, and soon after to assistant director. Then in 1949, acting on Hayes' advice to seek on-air work, he responded to a casting call for a cowboy who could do stunts; Trailer overwhelmed the competition and became the host of the network's Oky Doky Ranch (formerly The Adventures of Oky Doky). The show featured Rex Trailer as a cowboy and Oky Doky, a cowboy puppet, operated by Dayton Allen.

The Oky Doky series was successful, but it ended when its production company went bankrupt. Dayton Allen went to NBC and soon joined the cast of the nascent Howdy Doody show. Meanwhile, Trailer heard that the Westinghouse TV station in Philadelphia (WPTZ) needed a host for a Western-style children's show. Rex Trailer and his horse "Gold Rush" moved to Philadelphia and hosted a number of television shows from 1950 until 1956. "Ridin’ the Trail with Rex Trailer" featured him as the host for movie Westerns on Saturday mornings, with some live action segments featuring Rex spliced in. "They sort of built me into the movie," Trailer explained. "The kids loved it because they never knew where or when I was going to show up in the action." He also had a daily 15-minute program featuring songs, games, dances, lore and lessons. This was the only one of the shows that was just Rex Trailer and the kids; called "Hi-Noon with Rex Trailer," it ran from 1950-55, achieving high ratings as it entertained the kids who came home from school for lunch. "Rex Trailer's Ranch House" was a half-hour variety show on Saturday nights. With its self-explanatory title, "Saddlebag O' Songs" was yet another show he hosted in that era.