Whirlybirds
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Whirlybirds ran from 1957 into the Sixties, it was a syndicated show with a large children's audience. The show centered around Chuck Martin (Kenneth Tobey) and Pete (P.T.) Moore (Craig Hill), owners of 'Whirlybirds, Inc', who flew their helicopter (N975B) between Longwood Field and anywhere where they could be of help to someone in trouble.
Often the boys would be called in to help the police locate an escaped prisoner, or save some stranded fool out in the middle of nowhere. This would inevitably lead to one of the guys dangling at the end of a rope at some point in the episode. When they didn't just jump right out of the helicopter.
This was one of my favorite TV shows back in the day.
Like so many others here, this was my favorite t.v. show when I was a kid! Often wondered if it would ever be replayed on t.v. like Mr Ed and so many others of its time, but it has never turned up. Thanks for the memories!
I had totally forgot about this TV series. What a blast form the past. I remember watching.
6P.M. every Sunday night,then Daniel Boone,right into the Wonderful World of Disney...sitting around a 13 inch Admiral TV with a bowl of ice cream and the family.I got the snapshot right here in my head.
Thanks for this; some wonderful old character actors in the episode, including a couple I recognise from "The Untouchables".
we were so easily satisfied back then dont think to days youngsters would go a bundle on it ah well
One of my favourite shows as a Kid. Thanks for post
My god - I remember watching this on a screen about the same size as the youtube theatre mode!
Great stuff from Desilu - classic Bell helicopter, and the wonderful trooper Kenneth Tobey who was one of Holywood's most recognisable faces.
Thrilled to find this clip. I remember watching this show when I was very little.
Great series...always plenty of action.
holy smoke ,every saturday morning this show was on i loved it, a true blast from the past , i love utube
Great show! I joined the Air Force because of this show - then found out the Army flies the helicopters!
Chuck and P.T. ruined my whole life:
I am a helicopter pilot because of them
I met Toby (Chuck) in real life years ago and told him to his face. He admitted to have never lifted his chopper from the ground, he has no clue of what does what in a helicopter, "he was my hero", I even bought a Bell 47 so in love I was with this show.
PT and Chuck! My favourite show as a kid!
I watched this show on weekday afternoons when I was in third grade or so. It apparently went to reruns just after its cancellation. I came here looking for Christmas episodes of old shows. I remember a Whirlybirds episode called Christmas in June, when a little girl named Barbara wanted the guys to take her to the North Pole to ask Santa to bring home her father, unknown to her just out of prison. Last time I saw Ken Tobey was playing a judge on an LA Law episode in the 1980s.
Ditto Planca3430! Never missed an episode and never fell out of love with the 47!
This show is why I went into Marine aviation.
Yes. I was part of a helicopter squadron... Hueys.
when i was a kid this show is how i fell in love with the bell 47 helicopter
Tobey, R.I.P. very underrated actor.
"Longwood Field" was located in Verdemont, CA., north of San Bernadino. "N975B" was the fictitious registration number issued to Desilu Productions for the helicopter. These same numbers can be seen in the famous "I Love Lucy" episode where she missed the cruise ship to Europe and was lowered onto the deck of the ship from a Bell 'copter. The mock-up was the same that was used in the Whirlybirds series. Ken Tobey was a great character actor who made a lot of movies. I remember him in "Airplane."
What I would have given then and now to fly one of those!
I remember an episode in which they were giving a guy a lift who complained about the noise the helicopter was making. So the pilot just flicked a switch and suddenly the aircraft went much quieter. Even as an 8-year-old, I recall thinking "Why don't they have that switch flicked ALL the time?..."
Kenneth Tobey's film credits included major role in "The Thing" and small part as the gate guard in "Twelve O'clock High".
Tobey was fabulous in "The Thing" .
According to a letter I received from the late Kenneth Tobey, the first season episodes were filmed at Santa Susanna Airport in Simi Valley, CA. The second and thirs season episodes were filmed at San Fernando Airport. Both airports are long gone. There is a web site related to defunct airports in the U.S. that have photos of Whirlybirds being filmed at both airports.
So Just where was Verdemont? I flew regularly around the LA Basin and don't recall any airports named Verdemont?
Was it later renamed to Rialto?
"A blast from the past,'"indeed - from a time when we were establishing 'The American Century' and were the 'can-do' nation. It would be truly wonderful were a cable station established that specialized in vintage series such as this one - and others too numerous to list ( "Science Fiction Theatre," "The Defenders" and "The Troubleshooters," to name but three). [Trivia: Kenneth Tobey may be best remembered as Capt. Patrick Hendry in Howard Hawks' 1951 classic, "The Thing (From Another World)."]
most of the success of this show came from its rousing "to the rescue" theme song and the fact that helicopters were not that common a sight in the era of production.
craig hill went on to make many spaghetti westerns and many films in europe.
The predicessor to Airwolf.
Trivia Q: FAA registration number for the Bell Ranger in this series?
N975B as I recall.
No, the Ranger was N2838b. The 47G was N975B.
I used to always watch this show back in the late 1950's. We never thought The GW Bush
Coup would over throw our US Constitutional Gov & our elections, after that, would be like exciting Radio Ball Games, with no one even playing. They cost more & depend on a believable Fall Guy, like Gore & Romney. I am glad, after all, that Gore got his $100 million from selling his Internet TV Station to Al Jazeera♠🎱
this one of those had one wanting to be a pilot back then. Have r/c choper.
Wait a second - at the beginning, is that panel installed correctly? Because it sure doesn't look like it's been put on right.
craig hill is still around made some spaghetti westerns married to teresa gimpera but i hear he's not in good health at the moment bless him.
@MaryF57 Yes he was, he made the movie.
I earned my commercial pilot certificate in a Bell 47. I have to laugh at these old episodes because they aren't wearing headsets or any ear protection. It's almost impossible to talk to the guy next to you in one of these things without an intercom. That VO435 screaming away two feet in back of you is LOUD.
@pygusso My all time favorite show when I was a kid. I always wanted to be a helicopter pilot. I've looked into it recently, but it's so god awful expensive I'll have to stay on terra firma.
Used to watch it on Saturday mornings in the UK about 1970/71. I'm on the lookout for the series on DVD. I think it's available somewhere on recorded DVD. Any clues?
Timeless MEDIA Group has released several DESILU series including The Texan, so maybe with enough feedback we can get them to put out The Whirybirds as well.
They flipped the image...nice..
@ccaammiiittoo1 He lives in Spain and became a TV producer
Their Whirly Birds Dad
use Urban dictionary to look up whirlybird and I bet you still love whirlybirds at least 99.8% of you guys
The pilot is on the wrong side