Circus Boy


Circus Boy is an American adventure family western that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1958. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960.

Summary

Set in the late 1890s, the title of the series refers to a boy named Corky. After his parents, "The Flying Falcons," were killed in a trapeze accident, young Corky was adopted by Joey the Clown, and the whole Burke and Walsh Circus family.
The young boy quickly found a role with the circus as water boy to Bimbo, a baby elephant whom Corky would come to consider his pet. Riding Bimbo's back, Corky dealt with adolescent problems, and helped the show's adults including Joey, owner/promoter Big Tim Champion. and head canvasman Pete, keep the circus successful as the traveling show moved from town to town each week.
Outside of an elephant being the animal companion, the series was similar to popular "boy and his dog" shows of the time, such as Lassie/Jeff's Collie, and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin.
Unusually, the opening credits billed the regular actors by their character names, rather than their own names.

Cast

Series regulars

Recurring roles and notable guest stars

First episode guest stars

The following cast appeared in the debut episode only. Several sources erroneously list these three, as well as Billy Barty from Episodes 1 and 2, as series regulars.
ActorRole
Leo GordonHank Miller
Eddie MarrBarker
Olin HowlinSwifty

Series overview

Episode list

Season 1 (1956–1957)

No. in
series		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal US air date

Season 2 (1957–1958)