The Gray Ghost

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

In my walk the other day I heard a song which reminded me of a TV series I used to watch. I doubt the politically correct media makers of today would herald the exploits of a Confederate Rebel the way it was shown back in 1957.

John Scales, LHS '66, might be my only classmate who remembers this favorite TV series of mine. John has written a book on Nathan Bedford Forrest and his exploits in the Civil War.

The Gray Ghost is an American Civil War television series that debuted in syndication in 1957. The show is based on the true story of Major John Singleton Mosby.

The Gray Ghost stars Tod Andrews as Mosby, Phil Chambers as Lieutenant St. Clair, and Sherwood Price in five episodes as General J.E.B. Stuart, also known for his cavalry skills. Recurring characters on the program were Donald Foster as Braddock, Jean Willes as Ansonia, Ralph Clanton as a general, Dick Jones as Ned Underwood, Otto Aldis as Mueller, and John Banner as Major Heros von Borcke.

The Gray Ghost was canceled after one season of 39 half-hour episodes. High production costs may have made the program too expensive to continue.

I did not remember it, but while researching John Mosby, I was surprised to find that a similar movie was shown in three parts on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. This was back when Disney was developing heroes like Davy Crockett, Zorro, and Texas John Slaughter. Mosby's Marauders is a 1967 American film about the raids by John S. Mosby during the US Civil War. It was originally filmed for US television under the title Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders. It was described as being about a young Confederate scout (Kurt Russell) for Mosby's Rangers who meets a young Yankee and becomes his friend.

The Wayback Machine

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

Video version of The Yellow Rose Of Texas by Mitch Miller.  It went to #1 on September 3, 1955, on the Billboard Top 100 and stayed on top for six weeks.  It sold over one million copies in the United States alone, and reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. 

Initially airing as a one-shot episode of the NBC television show Startime (season 1, episode 32) on May 24, 1960, Sing Along with Mitch went on to become a weekly series in 1961 as a community sing-along program hosted by Mitch Miller and featuring a male chorus. The program, videotaped in New York, was basically an extension of Miller's series of Columbia Sing Along with Mitch record albums. In keeping with the show's title, viewers were presented with lyrics at the bottom of the television screen at the beginning and ending of each episode.

This week brought me to cover multiple topics while keeping with the main theme. The Yellow Rose of Texas was one of the theme songs for The Gray Ghost and Mitch Miller's orchestra and chorus did the song beautifully. Of course, in my house, The Gray Ghost was actually gray, since we only had a black and white television and would not have a color set for a decade after this show aired. In a way, Mitch Miller was a pioneer in Karakoe, along with the "follow the bouncing ball" shorts shown in movie theaters.