COMMENTS |
SKY KING
My heroes have always been cowboys and they all carried guns- and they all rode horses-that is all but one.
When he went to the rescue he flew a Cessna plane.
Like all cowboys of his time he always fought for right,
Every Saturday morning our hero would arrive with a pair of roaring engines
We need a hero like him more now than we did then, |
| As a kid, I was glued to the TV when Sky King came on...this guy really flew an airplane!!! This is the reason I was so sure I was going to fly. If Penny and Skyler(?) could do it...so could I. All that did was to reinforce my desire to fly. Little did I know, many years later, I would be flying an L-1011 all over the world....Not bad for a TV show. ES |
| Oh my goodness! Ever since my husband and I were dating I've told him about Sky King. He had never heard of the show and teased me that I was making it all up. I phoned him this morning after stumbling across your GREAT site and now he knows I didn't make up Penny and Sky. (How could I make up those great episodes?!) Thanks for a wonderful blast from my past! TT |
| Thanks for reminding me of my youthful Saturday's. I bet there are a number of us 'old guys' who had a crush on Penny. HP |
| What a dream job Sky King had!! Didn't everyone's father have a twin cessna that they parked by the front door?? Never had to work, just chased bad guys, and bailed out "Mitch" all the time. Heavy duty radios in the den.... every hook in the book to entrance an eight year old boy!!! Kinda makes me want to eat a couple of lorna doones!!!!! BM |
| Thank you for the "Sky King" page on the net, to say the least it is my favorite bookmark! I think maybe Sky planted the seed in my head to become interested in aviation, because today I'm a corporate pilot. WG |
| A friend of mine at work and I were talking about the old Saturday morning TV shows just last week. I was pleasantly surprised to discover he too remembered the Sky King TV series. I was surprised to find that I was the only one on the job who knew even the name of Sky King's plane. This show was always the last to air on Saturday morning, and the one I looked forward to the most. To this day I fantasize about flying my own "Songbird" all over the world. Thanks for the fantastic web page. You can be sure I'll be back to visit often. CM |
| What a great site and a fitting tribute to Kirby Grant. I watched The show EVERY Saturday Morning. My Sky King story follows: Sometime in the mid-1970's I attended the Dayton Air Show with some friends. I remember the day. It was sunny and must have been 95 degrees in the shade. In the distance, I noticed a car parked out in the middle of a field of dried grass. I noticed something written on the side of the car. As I approached, low and behold, it said "Flying Crown Ranch." It was just sitting there in the field and the motor was running and the windows were up. I noticed people inside. I could not pass the opportunity. Even though I was relatively shy at the time, I walked up and tapped the passenger side window. It came down. There he was. All I could say was, "Are you Kirby Grant?" The reply was, "Well yes I am." I told him how he was the reason I became a pilot and how I had watched his show every Saturday when I was a kid. THEN he said, "Would you like to see the Song Bird?" I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I don't recall how we ended up at the hanger, but there it was, and we got the full tour. I finally got enough courage to ask for an autograph (For Gary, Sky King), which to this day I still have under the glass of my dresser. GG |
| Wow! I never thought I'd see anything like this. I used to live for saturday morning, to see Sky King on T.V. He and Penny (I had a crush on her) would take me on all kinds of adventure. AH |
| Been on the web for years and from time to time I would look for something on Sky King. Finally I found your site. Great, great job. Boy does that bring back memories! Saturday morning tv wouldn't have been worth watching without Sky and Penny. Holy cow I can't believe I found it! The web truly is great. Thanks LG |
| Thanks for building this web site. Sky King has actually been credited with getting more people of the baby boom generation interested in aviation. I would wake up every Saterday to watch him and another show called Whirlybirds, starring Kenneth Toby. As for, me after college I flew F-14 Tomcats and A-4 Skyhawks in the Navy. Went to TOPGUN, was an instructor and now am a Capt on the A-300 For FEDEX. I own my own single engine plane and plan on upgrading to a 68 -74 310 as soon as my son finishes college. Thanks again. AC |
| There were three shows I simply never missed as a young boy - Roy Rogers, Fury and Sky King. The show sparked my interest in aviation to the extent that I became a pilot myself. MP |
| I was amazed and delighted to see your web page - we watched "Sky King" every Saturday in Toronto through a Buffalo, N.Y. tv station and I don't know how many trivia contests I've won because I knew the name of Uncle Sky's plane. Everyone thinks it's "Blue Bird" but us fans know better ! Thanks for the memories. GJ |
| I grew up watching Sky King every Saturday morning. I promised myself that someday I would be flying around the country in my own Song Bird. Well , I didn't get to own a plane like Sky King, although my dad owned a Bamboo Bomber that he used to fly charter in about the same time the television show was airing. I also became a pilot as did my wife and got my multi engine rating in a Cessna 310 like Sky King. I also own an airport call the Flying-A-Ranch. Yes, you could say that Sky King affected my life in a positive way. I was heart broken when I heard about his death; I felt like a part of me had died with him. I would like to thank you for your Web Site and the opportunity to share my thoughts. MA |
| Thanks so much for putting the Sky King stuff together... Really do appreciate all of the pics, and the ability to have another look at the man and tv show that probably inspired me to fly. I first started taking lessons in the late seventies. I am now 43 yrs old and finally got my multi-engine and commercial pilots license. Never forgot the tv show and that opening clip. Thanks again. TK |
| Hello! What fun it was to find this site and look around. What memories it brought back to me. I will be 50 this summer and I remember always watching Sky King when I was a little girl. It was one of my favorite shows. I always pretended I was Penny and would sit in the porch swing playing like it was the airplane. My husband was a fan too and we just recently were talking and remembering how much we enjoyed this show. Thank you for bringing those memories back to life for us once again. As far as I'm concerned....the oldies are still the best. DL |
| Mike Radford-Branson,MO Entertainer..I refer to SKY KING who influenced me a great deal as I played in my cardboard box and pretended to BE Sky... LOVED Sky and Penny and the 310 Cessna... OH, by the way I went on to earn every rating up to ATP... MR |
| wow...a Sky King site!!! I can still remember every saturday morning...watching Sky and Penny...brought to you by nabisco!! last saw sky in person at what I remember to be the "Great American Air Show" in Tucson at the Pima county fairgrounds...later my friend and I had gone to a mexican restaurant and lo and behold my childhood hero was also having dinner there...as we left, and were about to pay the bill...the hostess said it had already been taken care of...by...you guessed it...Sky King! M |
| What a pleasant surprise to find your website. Years ago I was glued to the TV every Saturday morning to watch Sky King. To keep me in line as a youngster my mother would cut off Sky King if I got out of line. talk about motivation to be good it worked so well that she told my schoolteacher and if I started acting up in class she would just mention Sky King and I would become a very well behaved youngster K |
| Thanks for the excellent page on Sky King! I, like many others, sat glued to the TV set on Saturday mornings as a child,..anxiously awaiting the next installment of Sky King!...Many a Saturday afternoon found me playing "airplane" in an old refrigerator box after an exciting episode !.... MB |
| I met Gloria Winters last night! Knowing that she attends a ceremony in Los Angeles called "The Golden Boot Awards," I managed to trade my skills as a video tape editor for two tickets at Gloria's table...Gloria was just as sweet and cute as she was 40 years ago, and we had a marvelous time. After I'd spent about ten minutes telling her how great she was and how I wished she had done more series after Sky King, she told me a few tales...I gave Gloria a print out of your web site, and she was very pleased... MEC |
| I ..faithfully watched Sky King on Saturday mornings. I must thank www.fiftiesweb.com for finding your great website. I especially enjoyed reading comments of so many other people who shared my enjoyment of watching Sky King. JS |
| I remember thinking about those Saturday morning shows of the 50s while I was up to my neck in mud and blood in South Vietnam. I recall thinking what a few years' difference could make. From relaxing in front of my television without a care in the world as Sky King swooped down out of the clouds, to fighting to stay alive for another day. I couldn't help wondering how it all happened--and so fast. There was something endearing about Sky King. Maybe he wasn't the greatest actor that ever came down the pike; and maybe the realism left something to be desired. Perhaps that's part of the fascination. But almost 50 years later, the show still has a hold on a significant percentage of a generation of viewers who grew up watching it. MC |
| How was I affected by it? Well, let me tell you. I used to get up every Saturday morning just to watch Superman, Mighty Mouse, Tarzan, Ramar of the Jungle, Astro Boy, and Sky King. It impacted my life to the point that I enlisted in the army to fly in 1969. After that I crewed on C-130's with the Air Guard. Today I'm a pilot with a metropolitan police helicopter unit. I would say that Sky King, Penny, and the Songbird had a very formative effect on my life's work |
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What a find! |
| Thanks for all the great memories! I still remember sitting in front of that old black and white television on Saturdays and wishing I could fly just like "Sky"! SS |
| Thank you so much for your site on Sky King. I have always remembered watching a show called "Sky King" and knew it was the inspiration for me wanting to live out west (I was born and raised in Ohio). For the life of me though I could not recall any details of the show until I found your site, I know the guys were all crazy about Penny but as a gal I think my first love was Schuyler King. C |
| I'm 52 years "young" now and still have the authographed photo I got at a local amusement park -- back in the 50s -- when Sky and Penny were here to do a "show" for the kids. It was just a "stand-up" talking thing that he did. I don't know how old I was, maybe 8 or 9. I was so shy when Sky walked up to me that I couldn't talk. My mom had to take over. Then Penny came over and put her arm around me and soothed me with her gentle voice and kind words about how it was O.K. to be a little nervous. I remember the weather was hot and Sky was sweating. He was trying to get to a cooler pavillion (at the park) where he was going to do an autograph session. Mom said we weren't going to stand in line for hours to get one and I just HAD to have one, so mom had made me walk up to him (as he was close by at that moment). He was kind enough to stop and sign his "Sky King" signature on a picture that I had of him. It's still at my home, in a plastic bag. I was a big fan. DF |
| Thank you for bringing back a lot of memories, you have a great web site. I am 53 years old and I lived for Saturday mornings to watch Sky King. I never learned how to fly but the radio station at the "Flying Crown Ranch" inspired me to get my Amateur Radio License. ARS WB2GUN (Extra Class). I really feel sorry for todays kids, not to have role models like Sky King, Roy Rogers etc. Thanks again. JM |
| I was the second Sky King on the radio. There were four total. I was Sky for two years from 1948 to 1950. A humorous incident happened at the end of one of the episodes when Cliff Subear, the sheriff, said, "Sky, tell us about the guys who crapped up on Devil's Mesa." This, of course, was live, and I had to keep a straight face while Mike Wallace was gooseing me, laughing, while feeding 300 some odd stations. The correct word was "camped". A lot of times, the sheriff was so old, he would fall asleep during the live show and we would have to wake him up. There were so many Sky's in the radio days because they didn't pay very well. I also worked in many other radio shows in Chicago from '41 to '57. Jack Lester |
| I've visited your site some time ago and have finally gotten around to returning to send you a note of appreciation. What a neat site you have. The info, pix and trivia you've assembled represent, I'm sure, an immense amount of time, dedication and money invested by you for others to enjoy. Thank you so much for the visit. Sky King was my boyhood hero, as he was to many a lad growing up in the 50's and fantasizing about flight. I was a little young then to appreciate Penny, but I sure did love those airplane scenes. In fact, it was the t.v. program that instilled a passion within me for flight...a yearning I carried with me until 2 years ago when at age 52, I started taking flying lessons, passed my PTS less than one year later and have now successfully checked out in 2 aircraft and logged in excess of 155 hours. All due to a childhood dream (and a very understanding wife). The Cessna 310 remains my favorite twin engine airplane, despite it's flaws, and I hope one day to be able to check out in one. Two years ago, I asked my wife for and received the entire 16 volume set of the Sky King videos from EAA as a Christmas gift. I enjoy them late in the evening when it's cold outside along with the fire roaring in the fireplace. Even though I see the episodes differently now as compared to the interpretations of a little boy, I enjoy them nonetheless. Are there any other Sky King collectables available. My wife thought she had located a lunch box here in Baltimore, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Again, thank you for an awesome site dedicated to an aviation icon. Sky King may be gone, but he still lives in the memory of every middle-aged little boy who ever dreamed of flying without knowing if that dream would ever be realized. Thanks for helping to keep the dream alive. If only kids had heroes like this today. DF |
| Great site!!! loved it !! brought back memories of sitting on the floor Saturday mornings, eating cherrios, and spilling milk on my PJ's. RS |
...thanks for the comments....KV
