CIRCUS BOY, starring future "Monkees" drummer/singer Mickey Dolenz (then as billed as Mickey Braddock)in the title role, spent the 1956-57 Prime Time TV Season on NBC and the next on ABC. I enjoyed it when it re-ran on Saturday mornings thru 1960. There could be 70+ episodes of CIRCUS BOY as back in those days they produced as many as 39 new episodes a season. Nowadays, costs being what they are, you're fortunate to get 20-24. The Circus Boy was Corky, an orphan taken in by Big Tim Champion's turn of the 19th century Circus. He was water boy for Bimbo, a baby Elephant. As a 7 or 8 year old at the time, I found the show quite fascinating and, of course, envied Corky to no end. I mean, who wouldn't want a pet elephant? Coincidently (?) Disney released the popular, similarly-themed TOBY TYLER in 1960. Source Material: THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY TO PRIME TIME NETWORK & CABLE SHOWS.
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amazeika25 April 2005
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linda-6415 February 2009Circus Boy was a typical example of a 50s show that was perfect for us at that time, but would be unlikely today. As such, it's wonderfully nostalgic for those of us who were kids then.
In the 50s we saw a rash of shows with the same basic theme--a boy loses his parents and is adopted by someone who is kind and also cool and the kid gets to live with men and have all kinds of adventures.
We had Fury (a boy on a ranch), Circus Boy, Rin Tin Tin (a boy wit the cavalry), and Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (though in this case the boy's father is present, but not his mother. I include it because the kid gets to live with the men and have the adventures, so it had a similar feel.) They all seem to be inspired by the movie Captains Courageous, even though they were on TV 20 years later. Back in the 50s, kids couldn't wait to be grownups and this kind of show fed their fantasies. Parents liked the shows because they encouraged kids to grow up to be responsible adults.
Note that we never had any shows where an orphan gets adopted by a bunch of women and gets to hang out baking pies and cleaning carpets. That wouldn't be much of a fantasy. Mothers were normally home all day, while fathers were gone to a mysterious job all day. So men had a cachet that housewives didn't have. (Things are different now.)
As a girl, I ate up all these shows and daydreamed of being in the same situation (I was usually adopted by firemen and I lived at the firehouse). -
Henchman_Number14 March 2017Circus Boy is based on the adventures of young orphan Corky (Micky Dolenz nee Braddock) who along with his Uncle, Joey the Clown (Noah Beery Jr.) work for the Burke and Walsh Circus owned by 'Big' Tim Champion (Robert Lowery). Other regulars are Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as the cantankerous general handyman Pete and as himself Bimbo the Elephant, who actually gets top billing over Williams. There are also a few recurring characters that generally bring mayhem with each appearance. Set in the Pre-Automobile Age, the circus travels from town to town along the dusty roads of the West setting the stage for a new drama each week. Episodes are a blend of action, humor and family conflict.
After watching Circus Boy again after these many years, there are several takeaways to be had.
(1) Burke and Walsh should invest in fireproof tents.
(2) If you are a Circus Act looking for long term employment Burke and Walsh is probably not for you. A large number of episodes have Big Tim Champion, always pleased to pick up performers for a discount, hiring a new act (often with personal problems) to replace a previous act. Big Tim goes through high wire performers like a pair of cheap socks.
(3) If the Burke and Walsh circus comes to your town turn and run the other way. Townspeople looking for entertainment are instead usually treated to a large dose of pandemonium. Incidents such as forest fires, stampedes and water reservoir poisoning are not uncommon. The circus is also somewhat lax in keeping the wild animals secured.
But things typically turn out pretty well and in the end the victims usually have a good laugh at the misadventures. Running for two seasons then released into syndication, Circus Boy was one of the iconic Saturday Morning Fare of the 1950's. Any resemblance to programming peers Rin-Tin-Tin and Fury was purely intentional, but all managed to capture a sense of adventure for kids of that era. -
bkoganbing18 August 2008The Circus Boy series bore no small resemblance to Rin Tin Tin and that's not surprising since they both came from Columbia Studio's television unit. In Rin Tin Tin small boy Rusty and a German Shepherd puppy who grew up to be Rinty was found after a wagon train massacre and the soldiers at Fort Apache made him an official mascot.
And that's what happened with Mickey Dolenz here who was then known as Mickey Braddock. He was an orphan who lived and traveled with the circus owned by Big Tim Champion as played by Robert Lowery during the gaslight era. They did the western circuit so a lot of western type plot situations could be used.
It was not a bad series and what a life for Mickey. He lived with Noah Beery, Jr. who was a clown. His other good friend and fourth and last series regular was Guinn Williams who was the head roustabout for the show.
It wasn't a Barnum&Bailey type show, but it was a small circus and life really seemed good. And unlike Rin Tin Tin you didn't have the Indians to contend with.
Too bad it only lasted two seasons, but it was only when The Monkees debuted in the Middle Sixties that I learned that our Circus Boy was not a real blond.
It must have been just as devastating for nineties fans to learn that Mark-Paul Gosselaar was not a California blond either. -
lonwall13 January 2014Yeah, I had never heard of this one either until it showed up on Me TV (or one of those). And I'm an old TV show fanatic.
To take issue with another poster - Yeah it's corny, broadly written etc etc. BUT IT'S A KIDS SHOW FROM THE 1950'S - What did you expect it to be? They're also showing Rin Tin (can) Tin and it's just as weak but is a famous show. Ever watch Howdy Doody or the Lone Ranger?
"They should up their game"? No they shouldn't. I watch these shows because of nostalgia and they are meant to be exactly what they are - nothing more nothing less.
If I want to watch s different kind of western I'll watch my boxed set of Deadwood. But trashing Circus Boy is to deny a different time.
Lon -
I watched this when I was 16 years old never knowing this little boy would grow up to be later on the monkeys a musical program.I also remember Noah Berry Jr. in this show who later would be James Garners father in Rockford files.I learned to know him on this show and saw him a lot more shows in years to come to always enjoy his acting. I remember this show Circus Boy and wondered who this little boy was. If I remember correctly this was on Saturday morning I'm not sure tho.It was a good show as I remember I always enjoyed it I watched it every week faithfully.It is good to have these websites to enjoy these old shows over again and to find out thing about them. Thanks a lot for the info.
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palther8 January 2006Loved this program as a youngster. Once had a book based on it too. Had not realized "Corky" went on to star with the Monkees(a vastly underrated group IMO). Good, wholesome entertainment from the "Leave it to Beaver" era. Would love to see it come out on DVD. It was never dull-there were often tense moments. It was drama , not comedy.
"Big Tim" was the most memorable of the other characters. And then there was a lady who played Corky's real mother, and wanted him to leave the circus in some episodes. And of course there was the circus animals.
Are there other "Circus Boy" fans out there? Maybe we can get something going on the Message Board. -
wag-877-42004311 February 2015I watched one of these out of curiosity and thought it was the worst thing I had ever seen, but it must have been the pilot or something, because the other episodes were all much, much better. Glad I gave it a 2nd chance because it became a source of fun, something to watch while eating my grapefruit on Sat. mornings. Especially nice to see Noah Beery, who played "Rocky," Jim Rockford's dad, on "Rockford Files." He made a superb clown and key character in "Circus Boy." It took me a few weeks to recognize the main character as Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees. He was billed with a different name in the credits. I kept thinking he was familiar and one day "got" who he was and went and looked up the show online and sure enough, I was right. Most of these, of course, are a trip through time but they also have some interesting stories, not badly produced. I give it a high rating overall. The only negative was in the first few episodes where they obviously were painting freckles on young Mickey's face to make him look more "gawsh, golly gee" boyish. He looked ridiculous, like Howdy Doody.
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classicsoncall18 January 2018The first time I ever saw a photo of the Sixties pop band The Monkees, I just knew that Micky Dolenz had to be that kid Corky from "Circus Boy". Dolenz has the kind of face that didn't change appearance drastically as he aged, and even today at the age of seventy two (as I write this), it's easy to see the resemblance between present day Dolenz and his early TV character. The main difference is the blond hair as a kid, and of course, the use of the stage name Micky Braddock when he appeared in the series.
"Circus Boy" had an interesting broadcast history. It aired on the NBC television network from September, 1956 to September 1957 with a full run of thirty six episodes, and then the series closed out with thirteen more programs on ABC the following season through September, 1958. As a kid, I caught these shows on a Saturday morning lineup that included a whole host of kid shows and TV Westerns. This one had all the ingredients I would have looked for in a program, wild animals to be sure, and a principal character who would have been close to my own age. That's why I always tuned in for stuff like 'Lassie, 'Rin Tin Tin', 'My Friend Flicka', 'Fury', and of course, 'Circus Boy'.
The young boy Corky was introduced in the series as the adopted son of the Burke and Walsh traveling circus owned by Big Tim Champion (Robert Lowery). His job with the circus was a water boy for Bimbo the Elephant who he rode into town in the show's opening sequence, along with Noah Beery Jr.'s Joey the Clown. All three appeared in every episode of the show, while another regular, Big Boy Guinn Williams, appeared in thirty five stories as the principal circus roustabout and jack-of-all trades. The show took place around an undefined turn of the century, and even though you might not consider the show a Western, it does merit inclusion in the 'Television Westerns Episode Guide, 1949 - 1996' by Harris Lentz III. In fact, virtually all the guest stars that showed up were B Western regulars like Andy Clyde (3x's), Ray Hatton, Kenne Duncan, Stanley Andrews, Slim Pickens, Ray Teal and Leo Gordon. A notable exception would have been Russell Johnson, the future Professor on 'Gilligan's Island', who appeared in the story 'Corky and The Circus Doctor' as a veterinarian hired to replace the regular vet (Stanley Andrews), but that didn't work out as the story proceeded.
With an admission price to the circus of twenty five cents for adults and one thin dime for kids, it's hard to imagine today how the traveling circus could ever have stayed in business. The late 1890's was a simpler time of course and money went a whole lot further back then. Heck, even in the Fifties you could get into a circus for less than a buck, which goes to show you how long this reviewer has been around. I like to take in these kinds of shows every now and then as a memory of a less hectic time and a return to old fashioned values that don't ever really go out of style. It's just that in the modern era, you have to look a lot farther for them. -
turtle135911 December 2011Circus Boy was a really great show. All shows done back then were. How they were made and how technology has improved doesn't matter. The show like others made in the 50's, 60's & 70's were great FAMILY programming. They taught lessons/morals that are very much needed in this time & age. The shows were also just plain good. That can't be said of most shows (& cartoon shows) done mainly in the last 20 years (but really since about 1980). T.V. Shows these days have too much sex and violence; Immorally corrupt. Early example: Roseanne. People should be ashamed of the work they do in the entertainment industry. They should bring more shows back instead of making new shows or remakes of the originals. (Remakes are NEVER as good as the originals.) So keep bringing back the good shows.
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pensman7 January 2017Growing up in the 50's meant kids' TV was filled with scripted show like Circus Boy, Rin Tin Tin, Cisco Kid, and more. It was expected we could pay attention and follow a plot and learn a lesson. In Circus Boy it was Noah Beery, Jr (Joey the Clown) or Robert Lowery (Big Tim Champion) who helped Micky Dolenz (Corky) see the bigger picture: how to get along with people, show kindness, compassion, and understanding. There are times I shake my head at my generation and wonder what happened. We grew up with TV writers and actors trying to show us how to be good people, then we became flower children, but one of the best educated generations ever. And now we are either elites to be despised for working hard to achieve success or frightened selfish strangers who fear the future and expect a wall to be built to save us. What happened? Corky and the circus faced hatred, fear, bankruptcy, but learned to pull together and go on.
The show also featured actors on the way up and who Hollywood considered used up. Some were Lee Van Cleef. Tim Considine, Robert Burton, Dean Fredericks, Sheb Wooley, Lyle Talbot, Burt Mustin, Harry Strang, John Hart, Francis McDonald, and Jack Elam.
The Hortense the Hippo episode is like a who's who with Harold Peary (The Great Gildersleeve himself) as Al Garson, Frank Jenks (Great character actor in 40's and 50's films) as Flash, William "Billy" Benedict (East Side Kids/Bowery Boys) as Punk, and Rusty Wescoatt (appeared in episodes of almost every kid's TV show from 50's from Captain Video to The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin) as the deputy. -
denisefontenot12 April 2013Maybe now Circus Boy is not viewed as a good show, but I love it just the way it is. You cannot get programming like this anymore. Where the people on the series were nice and pleasant to each other. They even pray on the old shows. Something we don't do much of now days. I think there should be more up lifting shows on TV like Circus Boy, Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, etc. They are great. Keep it up Antenna TV. You got my vote. I wish they'd get all the reruns they could and run them at Antenna TV. That is pretty much all I watch now. To many nut jobs on TV now. Cable is way too expensive!!! I buy DVD's with old programs on them and I watch all these great shows. There was a time when actors really acted and were talented. Now days someone is an actor because they made a sex tape.
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johnniedoo10 January 2015I watch certain OTA and others that cable picks up for one reason: to be able to re watch old television shows-in this case Kid's TV I grew up in the late 40s and 50s with this stuff and it provides a nostalgic hour or 2 whether it is COZI, ANT, METV or which ever one is available. Must be quite popular since I have watched the field grow over the last 4 or more years and am grateful for it. I prefer the stations which limit their format to 50s-60s and early 70s shows and forget about after 1980 as they are covered elsewhere . There is room and market for each target segment,looks like. But that is me. By 1970 i was way past kid show interest. But there were some adult shows with a 70-76start which i associate with 'youth' . Howdy Doody was a real kid favorite in 1952 as i recall. Capt Video or other shows with cardboard sets that shook and toppled sometimes. But, so did late night(prime time) detective shows from 1950-53. top ..that is what early , live mostly, TV was all about. Certainly not up to CSI: any city for special effects graphics and audio. a different entity entirely. But just having a television in the neighborhood or local grill was a big deal. Circus Boy is a refined ,well honed kid's show by early TV standards.