television productions – Texas History Notebook

Tales of the Texas Rangers

“Tales of the Texas Rangers” refers to two programs which aired in media during the 1950s. The first was a radio program and the second was a television series.

The radio program: It was conceived as a weekly half-hour program to broadcast fictionalized stories pertaining to the former law enforcement agency. It was set in the 1880s and used scripts in a style that might be reminiscent of shows like “Dragnet.” Stacy Keach, father of actor Stacy Keach, Jr., was producer and director. Joel Murcott was the head writer of the series.

“Dallas” – The Television Series

“Dallas” was a prime time CBS television series in the U. S. which ran for 14 seasons. It first aired in 1978 and ran its final episode in 1991. Internet Movie Database numbers the total episodes at 356. It was created by David Jacobs (1939 – 2023). The clipping below aired in various newspapers on or about April 2, 1978, timed to coordinate with the series premier, now called “Digger’s Daughter.”

Ricky Nelson

Eric Hillard “Ricky” Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 in Teaneck, New Jersey to Oswald George “Ozzie” Nelson and Peggy Louise “Harriet” Snyder Nelson. Ricky was their youngest child, about four years younger than his brother David Oswald Nelson. Ricky and six other individuals died in an aircraft accident near DeKalb, Texas on December 31, 1985. The aircraft was on its way to Dallas for a performance which had been scheduled for that evening.

Ann Sheridan, Actress

Clara Lou “Ann” Sheridan was born in Dallas County, Texas on February 21, 1915 to George Washington Sheridan and Lula Stewart Warren Sheridan. A biography says that her family moved to Denton when she was 3 years old. Her father’s profession was listed as a machinist in a garage in the 1920 federal census and the family consisted of George W., Lula, their five children and George’s parents. George is said to have been a grand nephew of Union General Philip Henry Sheridan. Such a connection is not easy to verify using online genealogy records, although they may indeed be related in this way. Clara Lou was the youngest of the couple’s five children who lived to be adults.

Gale Storm

The actress known as Gale Storm was born Josephine Owaissa Cottle in Bloomington, Texas on April 5, 1922. Her middle name was not an ancestral name. The family legend is that it was an Indian word suggested by an older sister and that it meant “blue bird.” Her parents were Walter William Cottle (1886 – 1923) and Minnie Lee Greenhaw Cottle (1887 – 1978).