Gloria Winters played Sky King's niece Penny King for the entire run of the TV show. In it, she is portrayed as a pilot, although she was inexperienced and looked to her uncle for guidance. Later, Penny became an accomplished air racer, rated as a multiengine pilot, whom Sky trusted to fly the Songbird. Be Blessed and Relish Life!
Clipper was Sky King's nephew and was played by Ron Hagerthy. He only appeared in 19 episodes before being drafted into the Army, however, the show's writer's had him joining the Air Force. When his tour of duty was over he showed no interest in returning to the series and the character was never revived. Be Blessed and Relish Life! Ed
The lead character - from whom the series derives its name - is Schuyler "Sky" King (as played by Kirby Grant on the TV series), a modern (1950's) day cowboy and pilot who owns the fictitious Flying Crown Ranch in the equally fictitious town of Grover, Arizona. With help from his family he aids the local sheriff in tracking down bad guys or rescuing lost hikers, or any number of drama laden scenarios utilizing his Cessna airplane (more on that in a later post).
The figures were probably sculpted by the Ferriot Brothers, who were known for their fine playset sculpts sold by Marx. All the pieces in the NABISCO range were made in a translucent soft vinyl plastic in multiple colors and while these colors make for some beautiful cereal premiums, they have been a bear to photograph. Details in the face and clothes show up 'flat' and blend into the overall figure and no manner of adjustments on the computer seem to bring out the features satisfactorily. Using my one and only fill light just causes the colors to wash out. I really need to crack the code on this problem as there are more figures out in The Cave that I know will give me grief - for example, all white figures are also real tough to photograph (for me that is). If anyone has any suggestions let me know please. Be Blessed and Relish Life! Ed
Per Wikipedia:
"Sky King was
an American radio and television series.
Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler
"Sky" King.
The series had strong Western elements.[1] King usually captured criminals and spies and found
lost hikers, though he did so with the use of his airplane, the Songbird.
Two twin-engine Cessna airplanes were used by King during the course of the TV
series. The first was a Cessna T-50 and in later episodes a Cessna 310B was used till the series's end.[2] The 310's make and model type number was
prominently displayed during the closing titles.[3]
King and his niece Penny lived on the Flying Crown Ranch,
near the fictitious town of Grover, Arizona. Penny's brother Clipper also
appeared during the first season. Penny and Clipper were also pilots, although
they were inexperienced and looked to their uncle for guidance. Penny was an
accomplished air racer, rated as a multiengine pilot, whom Sky trusted to fly
the Songbird."
Sky King started as a radio program in 1946, then ran on television from 1951-62. The major characters offered by NABISCO were:
·
Kirby Grant as Schuyler "Sky" King
·
Gloria Winters as Penny King
·
Ewing Mitchell as Sheriff Mitch Hargrove
· Ron Hagerthy as Clipper King
NABISCO also offered Fury (the horse) and Sky King's famous airplane, Songbird, and all the toys were produced in an array of bright, translucent soft plastic.
Sky King was one of my favorite Western's growing up as a kid in the '50s and '60s, as was The Roy Rogers Show, which was also set in the modern world with Old West plot lines. I vaguely recall having at least one of the figures that NABISCO offered, but as anyone will tell you, trying to track down and acquire a complete set of any cereal premium was a real bear back in the day. One would have to buy many boxes of cereal, bought from multiple stores, over the course of many weeks in the hopes of acquiring any given set of figures.
This photo credited to Gregory Urbach (Meta)
In these photos (culled from fleaBay) one can see that NABISCO also offered some other fun tie-ins on their packaging.:
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