Boone and Crockett

The lives of Boone and Crockett have been mixed together by many who grew up watching Disney's production of Davy Crockett and the later television series of Daniel Boone. Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone were both played by Fess Parker. Both television shows had Fess Parker fighting Indians and running through the woods with a coonskin cap.

Disney is currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of Davy Crockett. Their 50th anniversary video is available for purchase.

Davy Crockett was only five feature Frontierland adventures which aired as part of Disneyland and was never a series.

The first three episodes were:
"Davy Crockett Indian Fighter" 12/15/54
"Davy Crockett Goes to Congress" 1/26/55
"Davy Crockett At the Alamo" 2/23/55

The shows were a huge success and Davy Crockett's death at the Alamo didn't stop production. Disney continued with some of Crockett's early adventures. Millions of coonskin caps were sold.

"Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race" 11/16/55
"Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" 12/14/55

Produced as part of Walt Disney Studios under the Disneyland banner
Davy Crockett Cast

Fess Parker as Davy Crockett
Buddy Ebsen as George Russel

"Ballad of Davy Crockett"
Words by George Bruns and Lyrics by Tom Blackburn
Performed by Bill Hayes

After the success of Davy Crockett, Parker had a tough time getting work again and came up with the idea of playing the real-life Daniel Boone.

Daniel Boone was a popular television series broadcast from September 24, 1964, to May 7, 1970 with 165 one hour episodes and featured the adventures of the Kentucky frontiersman. The series starred Fess Parker as Daniel and Ed Ames as his Native American sidekick Mingo (for all but the last two years of the show's run).

Trying to repeat the success of the Davy Crockett productions, the Daniel Boone series was more of a reincarnation of Davy Crockett rather then an historical portrayal of Daniel Boone. The real Daniel Boone wore a black felt hat and was born 50 years before Crockett. Parker was 6' 5" and had dark hair while Boone was 5' 10" and was a carrot top. The real Boone never encountered Inca Indians, as his TV counterpart did. He was never introduced as Mr. Boone from Boonesboro, Owsley County, as he was in the show. Boonesboro is in Madison County and Owsley didn't even exist while he was alive.

The lack of authenticity resulted in the Kentucky legislature passing a resolution condemning the show's inaccuracies and a coalition of Indian activist groups convincing their area affiliate not to rerun 37 episodes they deemed particularly offensive to their people.

Despite the shows lack of authenticity, it was still a huge success.

The television productions of Boone and Crockett has forever mixed together the lives of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett.