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The Boomtown Show
The Boomtown Show was shot at the studios of WBZ TV in Boston. The Station was
owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The move to offer Rex Trailer a show in Boston
turned out to be quite a success. I mean, imagine, a children's television program coming
to Boston???! Could this actually work? Well, with Rex as the big star and a great
supporting cast of people all around him it became the biggest kids show in Boston and
a sixteen week contract for Rex turned into a 20 year career!
Some of the Boomtown shows were shot right across the street from the studio on the
banks of the Charles River. They were the summer programs of the earlier years. The studio
had to move all the equipment outside. There were cable wires strung over Soldiers Field
Road, cameras,sound equipment, just EVERYTHING,-and it was a major production in
itself to air the broadcast. No satellite trucks back then! They also filmed in the outside back
lot of the station where a whole western Main ST was built.
Each week, one hundred kids or more crammed into the broadcast studio every Saturday
and Sunday morning. Over the years, the final total was over 200,000 kids! The television
total was over 4 million viewers!
The inside studio set was made up of western building fronts painted on canvas hanging
from the ceiling. The studio was cramped. Taking care of all these young cowboys and
cowgirls, getting them all lined up and ready, fell on the shoulders of Donna DePrisco. What
a responsibility! She handled it because to work with Rex Trailer was just too exciting!
Boomtown followed a lead-in program that was the 'Bunkhouse' Show. That lead-in show
had a storyline that would be picked-up later in the Boomtown show. The Bunkhouse skit
was filmed on Fridays. At the conclusion of each show, a short clip of Rex and 'Pablo' leaving
the cabin on horse and donkey ran for about a minute as Rex's hit song 'Hoofbeats' played.
Rex would enter the Boomtown set and the live broadcast was now underway. He rode his
horse, Goldrush a total distance of about 20 feet, calling out to the children "Howdy kids!"
They all screamed back "Howdy Rex!" He then dismounted, strapped on his "git-fiddle",
(guitar), and lead everyone in the studio and at home in singing the Boomtown Theme Song.
The show was now off and running!
You may not know
this, but Rex Trailer's
cowboy outfit, his shirt
&pants, were tailored
together so that after
doing tricks, he would
never havta tuck in his
shirt! - Pretty cleva!
this, but Rex Trailer's
cowboy outfit, his shirt
&pants, were tailored
together so that after
doing tricks, he would
never havta tuck in his
shirt! - Pretty cleva!
the boomtown show |
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