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Classic overview

Boomtown was a weekend children's show on WBZ-TV in Boston, Massachusetts that ran from 1956 through 1974. The show was a live, three-hour broadcast hosted by Rex Trailer, a singing cowboy. The first part of the show always took place in the bunkhouse. Trailer would then mount his horse, Goldrush, and ride across a "prairie wide" onto the western-themed Boomtown studio set for several hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Somehow, he and his crew were able to convincingly re-create the Old West on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton for generations of viewers. With a natural ease and charisma, Trailer led his young studio audience in contests of skill and singalongs. Trailer also regularly demonstrated his considerable cowboy skills, which he picked up while spending his childhood summers on his grandfather's ranch in Texas. In addition, Rex worked with guests who made educational presentations, took part in skits, and he introduced the cartoons that rounded out the program, including Popeye, Davey and Goliath, The Mighty Hercules among others. He was aided on the show by a succession of sidekicks over the years, including Pablo, Cactus Pete, and Sgt. Billy.