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Friday, May 8, 2015

Whitman Authorized TV Editions



 
I can honestly report that without the genius of the Whitman Publishing Company's authorized editions, and specifically the TV tie-ins, there wouldn't be a Jo Harper series of stories.

As I wrote here and here, many of the Jo's adventures find their origins in the life of my grandpa's Aunt Rose, and my own great-grandma. But those stories wouldn't be in the short, fast-paced adventure format they are without the Whitman influence.

For the folks in Racine, it started in the '40s when the authorized editions broke new ground in presenting stories to young people. As harbingers for the media savvy publishers today, Whitman realized they could cash in on the popularity of radio and movie stars by leasing the rights to them and assigning new, original stories to experienced authors. Second, they were one of the first publishers to recognize the market potentialof properties aimed at a young female audience.

Both trends continued and by the 1960s, a new line of nearly 100 titles based on TV shows was underway. Stories from The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, and The Mod Squad were available next to Annie Oakley, Gunsmoke, and Have Gun Will Travel.

The first western book I ever read was Annie Oakley in the Ghost Town Secret.  Originally belonging to my aunt, I remember it being on the shelf at my grandma's house for several years before I pulled it down and read it in an afternoon. 

I've collected quite a few of the westerns and read them as an adult. I'm happy to report that the books stand up well. In no small part, this is due to Racine's wisdom in signing top notch writers to the tie-in books. 

Many of the westerns were penned by proven scribes in the field: 

Cheyenne and the Lost Gold of Lion Park and Bonanza: Killer Lion, both by Steve Frazee.

Bonanza: Treachery Trail by Harry Whittington.

The Rebel by H.A. DeRosso


Roy Rogers and the Brasada Bandits by Cole Fanin. 

And many more.

These square bound hardbacks were ubiquitous and lmost any antique store in America will have a few copies available for reasonable prices. Along with those shows mentioned above, The Rifleman, Maverick, Rin-Tin-Tin, Tales of the Wells Fargo and Wagon Train also have fine entires.

For a fascinating look at the golden era of western television, licensing, and just plain good reads, give 'em a try! 

Meanwhile, I'll be giving away a copy of the latest Jo Harper adventure, Redbuds and Bullets to a commenter. Just leave a comment for me here or at Facebook (and please message me your email address).

After growing up on a Nebraska farm, Richard Prosch worked as a professional writer, artist, and teacher in Wyoming, South Carolina, and Missouri. His western crime fiction captures the fleeting history and lonely frontier stories of his youth where characters aren’t always what they seem, and the windburned landscapes are filled with swift, deadly danger. Read more at www.RichardProsch.com


14 comments:

  1. Oh my the memories. I remember reading Have Gun Will Travel back in the day. Loved those books!
    I also adore that you've based the character on your family. What a great way to keep the energy of those folks alive. Best on this next installment.

    Doris McCraw/Angela Raines

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    1. Thanks, Doris! I am lucky to be an only child and receive all the photos and scrapbooks from my family. I can imagine lots of adventures just looking at the old photos!

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  2. An interesting post! I had no idea about these tie-ins. I wasn't the reader back then that I am now, but connecting old TV programs/westerns with books is logical. I'll have to get thyself to an antique bookstore and search for one of these square-bound hardbacks. Thanks for sharing this! (alicetrego@me.com)

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    1. Thank you, Alice! The books I find the most from the series are Lassie and Rin Tin Tin --probably because there were several editions of each. Certain Roy Rogers editions seem hard to find. I need to haunt eBay for them.

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  3. Rich, this is fascinating stuff! I had forgotten about those books. My dad bought quite a few of the western tie-in books when I was young. He'd give them (and comic books) to us kids to keep us quiet on long trips in the car. For some odd reason, he always bought ones he wanted to read... ;-)

    Thanks for bringing back some fond memories. :-)

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    1. You're welcome, Kathleen! I only started collecting them again during the past few years. Trying to limit myself to the westerns for now, but it's tough!

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  4. I didn't even know about those books back in the day. I would've read them for sure! Looking forward to reading your series, Richard!

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    1. Thanks Jacquie! I wouldn't have known about them either without the Annie Oakley. They weren't in our school or public library. Slowly, after finding a few more, it dawned on me that there must be an entire catalog of these. But it took me a long time in those pre-Internet days to realize it.

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  5. I didn't know about those books either. But I sure did enjoy the tv shows you mentioned as a young gal. I grew up watching them and hence, the reason I enjoy writing historical westerns now.

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    1. Thank you, Cheri! Yes! I know what you mean! I used to watch The Rifleman after school every day, and it plays a big part in my writing today. Who wouldn't want a dad (or even a friend) like Lucas McCain?

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  6. I've had to write my comment 3 times now. grrrr! Since I wasn't raised in the west and my dad wouldn't let us have a TV growing up, I never had the chance to see these wonderful books or TV shows. Bummer.
    I wish you all the best, Richard. I enjoyed reading your post.

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    1. Thank you, Sarah! So many things we missed as kids with the limited media of the time. For all of my grade-school life we only got three channels in black and white. And my parents were already into limiting the amount of TV at any one time (though I suspect my mom of cheating with her afternoon "stories.") LOL!

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  7. Winner of Jo Harper's REDBUDS AND BULLETS adventure is Alice Trego! Congrats, Alice! Hope you enjoy the story.

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    1. Thank you, Richard! This will surely be a great read!

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