CASEY JONES (1957-1958) – Alan Hale, in his pre-Gilligan’s Island years, starred as the legendary train engineer John Luther “Casey” Jones in this series that’s not only appropriate for Frontierado season but makes for a nice watch with the whole family all year ’round. (It never depicted the incident in which the real Casey Jones died.)
The show lasted 32 half-hour episodes and was set in Tennessee as Casey worked his steam engine the Cannonball Express (just Cannonball in real life) westward and back during the 1890s. Child actor Bobby Clark played our hero’s son Casey, Jr. while Mary Lawrence was Casey’s wife Alice. Eddy Waller portrayed Conductor “Red Rock” Smith.
Dub Taylor played Engine Fireman Wallie Sims, a composite character based on two of Casey Jones’ fellow employees, both of them African Americans – Fireman Sim Webb and Wallie Saunders, who wrote the words to the first version of The Ballad of Casey Jones. Continue reading
Balladeer's Blog 