Friday, February 20, 2015

Rex Trailer's Boomtown

Since the beginning of time humanity has risen from thousands to billions of people scattered across the globe. My memory of names and faces runs back into the 1950s. I never knew most of them, but as a youngest in Boston my Saturday mornings were enlivened by Bugs Bunny, the Young Rascals, the Bowery Boys the Three Stooges, and Rex Trailer's BOOMTOWN. The cowboy star from Texas was exotic to New Englanders and his western show ran for three-hours live on the weekend with his Sgt. Billy and Mexican partner Pablo.

According to Wikipedia Rex Trailer said about BOOMTOWN, ""We just did it. It was a blast. We were doing educational TV before there was educational TV. Children need role models. I wanted them to understand their obligation to take care of each other."

Rex was no Stooge, but his show was cancelled by WBZ-TV in 1974.

The TV pioneer remained busy with a teaching gig at Emerson College as well as various TV and movie appearances, most notedly as a doctor in MERMAIDS in which he asked the diminutive Winona Ryder, "Why did you think you were pregnant? You're still a virgin!"

Why indeed Winona?

Back in 1988 I looked down at this attractive girl in Times Square.

I thought to myself that she was a midget that looked like Winona Ryder.

I figured her height for 4-10.

Her smile confirmed that she was Winona and that Winona Ryder was very small.

Rex Trailer must have thought the same in that scene in MERMAIDS.

Cowboys know their shit.

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