January 2005                                                The Megaphone                                                        Page 8

The First Buzz

A Reminiscence by Marvin Crim

   Long before Star Trek, there was Space Patrol. Long before the Enterprise, there was the Terra V. And long before Capt. James T. Kirk, there was Buzz Cory, Commander-in-Chief of the Space Patrol. Space Patrol, with a surprisingly similar concept as Star Trek, was all the rage from 1950 to 1955. It would take well over a decade before Star Trek caught up.

   "SPAAAAAAAACE PATROOOOOOOLLLL! High adventure in the wild, vast reaches of space! Missions of daring in the name of Interplanetary Justice! Travel into the future with Buzz Corry, Commander-in-Chief of the . . . SPAAAAAAAAACE PATROOOOOOOLL!" 

   All of the memories came rushing back a few days ago. The Captain Kirk of his day, Commander Buzz Corry was played by Ed Kemmer. Ed passed away in November 2004 from a stroke. Many notices of his death didn't appear until late in December.

Ed Kemmer

   SPACE PATROL premiered in 1950 as a daily 15-minute live TV show aimed at children. Even after SPACE PATROL became a live weekly half hour series airing on Saturdays, it still continued as a live local 15 minute series. The same cast also appeared in a twice weekly radio show.

   Two hundred ten half hour episodes were made. These ran consecutively, with no break for summer reruns, up through July 2, 1954, with the various regulars occasionally written out so they could take vacations. The series ended March 7, 1955, when the network was unable to gain part ownership.

   Set in the 30th century, SPACE PATROL is mainly about a small group of members of the space-going forces of the United Planets, whose headquarters was the man-made planet, Terra, orbiting between Earth and Mars. The show proved to be equally popular with adults (if only for its campiness). Kemmer and his sidekick Cadet Happy, played by Lyn Osburn, were making a mere $8 a show, but by 1954, this figure had shot up to $54,000 annually.

   Guest stars for the show included Lee Van Cleef and Gene Barry, both en route to greater stardom. One time TV quiz show host Jack Narz split his time between playing another Cadet and doing the commercials.

   The commercials were also done live and also by the cast, who often had to dash from some tense, cliffhanging moment, to talk casually about Nestle's Ever Ready Instant cocoa or chocolate bars (enormous compared to today's stingy sizes and only 10 cents!) or enthusiastically eat Ralston Purina Wheat Chex or Rice Chex cereal.

   And what a 30th century state of the art ship the good old Terra V was, having only 2 seats, so that half the cast had to stand, even during trips through hyperspace in which everyone regularly blacked out! And no seat belts, of course, just like there's none on the Enterprise. And that war surplus periscope would not have looked out of place on an old submarine.

   One of the best promotions was the NAME THE PLANET contest. The first prize was a 35-foot truck-mounted replica of the Terra V, with sleeping accommodations for 6. In addition to the premiums you could send for, SPACE PATROL jumped on an early merchandising bandwagon. That same 1952 LIFE article estimated sales of $40 million on 80 items, ranging from space helmets to ray guns, viewscopes, spacephones, puzzles and clothes.

   Even more amusing is the corny slang the actors had to mouth, particularly the always game Cadet Happy. "Smoking rockets!" was the 30th century equivalent of "Holy cow!" and "Blast off" was the euphemism for "Scram."

   After the show ended, Ed Kemmer appeared in such genre films as THE GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN (1958) and THE SPIDER (1958). He also played villains in episodes of "Perry Mason," "Gunsmoke" and "Maverick." He moved to New York in 1964 and spent the next 19 years as a regular on "The Edge of Night," "As the World Turns," "All My Children," "Guiding Light" and other soaps.

   Lyn Osborn appeared in INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN (1957), THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN (1957) and THE COSMIC MAN (released in 1959) before his untimely death at age 32 of a brain tumor on August 31, 1958. 

   Although set in the future, SPACE PATROL is reflective of more innocent times, when all you needed to do to explain time travel was to equip your spaceship with "Magnetic Time Drive." It was a time when criminals could be reformed by science. It's probably not everybody's cup of tea, but I'm a kid again when I think of that stirring opening: "SPAAAAAAAACE PATROOOOOOOLLLL! High adventure in the wild, vast reaches of space! Missions of daring in the name of Interplanetary Justice! Travel into the future with Buzz Corry, Commander-in-Chief of the . . . SPAAAAAAAAACE PATROOOOOOOLL!" 

   Cast members included:

Ed Kemmer (on the right) with a fan in 1999

   As a passing note, a 1951 Space Patrol Ray-O-Vac Rocket Lite that sold for $2.98 when it was introduced, sold for $600 on eBay a couple of days ago.                   

   Maybe someone will reminisce about Flash Gordon from years earlier. Hmm, Buzz Lightyear? I wonder if it's a coincidence?

Marvin Crim '57

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