Davy Crockett (miniseries)

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Davy Crockett (miniseries)

Davy Crockett is a five-part American TV miniseries that aired on ABC from December 1954 to December 1955 as part of the Disneyland program. It stars Fess Parker as the frontier legend Davy Crockett and Buddy Ebsen as his friend George Russell. The theme song, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” became a nationwide hit.

The first three episodes tell Crockett’s rise: Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter; Davy Crockett Goes to Congress; and Davy Crockett at the Alamo. The last two episodes follow Crockett on river adventures: Davy Crockett’s Keelboat Race and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. The first three episodes were later edited into the theatrical film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955), while the River Pirates episodes became Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (1956).

Although Crockett dies at the Alamo in legend, the series ends with him on a parapet as the Texas flag waves and the ballad finishes, without showing his death. The River Pirates installment features Crockett and his friend battling river thieves and confronting impostors who pretend to be Indians.

The five episodes were filmed in color, at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and at Janss Conejo Ranch in California. The cast also included Kenneth Tobey as Jim Bowie and Don Megowan as William Travis, with other supporting roles.

The show helped make Fess Parker famous and sparked a nationwide craze for Davy Crockett merchandise, from coonskin caps to trading cards. It won an Emmy in 1956 for Best Action or Adventure Series. The episodes were rereleased on NBC in color during the 1960s, and Disney later packaged the series for home video. The Davy Crockett story continued to influence later projects, including a 1980s revival and films about the Alamo.