Not allWesternsare created equal, and in the case ofDeath Valley Days, that’s most certainly true. The first true Western anthology series,Death Valley Days(not to be confused with theAmerican Horror Storyseason) continued to celebrate Old West ideals and tradition throughout its impressive 18 seasons in syndication, and it never gave up the fight. Many credit this anthology series with launching the genre into television in the first place, and while there were certainly other Western TV shows before 1952 (such asHopalong Cassidy), there weren’t many — and there certainly weren’t any other Western anthologies out there. This program was revolutionary in more ways than one, and after nearly 50 years off the air, it’s time someone finally stands up and celebrates this anthology series. Here’s to you,Death Valley Days!
‘Death Valley Days’ Began on Radio Before Jumping to Television
In total,the radio programran on all three big radio networks (ABC, NBC, CBS)at one point or another under theDeath Valley Daysmoniker from 1930 until 1945. After that,it became known asDeath Valley Sherifffor several years until it was simply re-titled,The Sheriff. The radio anthology ended officially in 1951, but by then the folks over at the Pacific Coast Borax Co. had a different target medium in mind: television. In 1952, Woodman launchedDeath Valley Days,the television anthology, which initially boastedStanley Andrewsas the show’s trademark “Old Ranger.” Down the line, everyone from pre-Governor of California/U.S. PresidentRonald ReaganandRobert Taylor(not to be confused with the star ofLongmire) toDale Robertsonand evenMerle Haggardhosted the program. Woodman stayed on for the first five years, writing each episode herself before other writers were brought in to lighten the load in the sixth season. Likewise,Stuart E. McGowandirected every episode of the first seven seasons before other directors were brought in to help.
After over a thousand episodes ofDeath Valley Days, between radio and television, Woodman took a step back and served the program only as the show’s story editor. Eventually, she retired from that altogether, and died in April 1970, right around the time the final episodes ofDeath Valley Daysaired.The program would continue to be syndicated until 1975, often via reruns under different titles (and with new hosts), such asCall of the West,Frontier Adventure,The Pioneers, andWestern Star Theater. These reruns were often re-edited from their original versions, oftentimes to remove direct connections to the Pacific Coast Borax Co. Though most sources, such as IMDb, state there are only 452 episodes of the program, it’s worth noting thatThe Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-PresentbyTim BrooksandEarle F. Marshclaims that there are 558 produced episodes, though that’s likely due to the program’s extended reach via syndication/re-branding.
This Western Series Paved the Way for Modern Anthologies
As far as the way the show was structured, well,Death Valley Dayswas often very focused on the story. Given its status as an anthology, each episode followed a new cast of characters on a new set of adventures. This meant that we could be following a Union lieutenant in one episode and a group of homesteaders in the next. Ruth Cornwall Woodman placed her emphasis on historical accuracy when it came to both the radio and television productions, and that often meant that the story was above all else. While some famous Hollywood stars appeared inDeath Valley Days(though oftentimes the hosts were more notable), it was the show’s historical accuracy that made it special. According to Brooks and Marsh, when Woodman — who claimed every episode wasbased in clear, Western fact— was asked her thoughts about the program’s staying power, she noted that “Sometimes, it seems it will go on forever.”
ThoughDeath Valley Daysdidn’t live forever, the show was on the forefront of the television anthology genre. Despite the name, after quite a few years of telling stories set only within the Death Valley region of the southwest (and usually only in the late 1800s),Death Valley Daysopened the door toWestern tales outside the titular region. Sometimes, these new stories even dovetailed into the 21st century. It’s worth noting too thatthe show was willing to change with the times. WhileDeath Valley Daysstarted on the radio, it eventually transitioned to television. Likewise, while the show first began airing in black-and-white, by the 13th season (which began in 1964), the entirety of the series was filmed in beautiful color.
Death Valley Dayswas so successful that there’s no doubt its popularity helped inspire other Western television programs. Not long afterDeath Valley Daystook flight, shows likeGunsmoke,Bonanza,The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, andHave Gun-Will Travelbegan appearing, and soon the golden age of Western television was born. This isn’t to say thatDeath Valley Daysis directly responsible, but it’s worth noting that this long-running anthology series (which first found an audience on radio) predated the massive wave of Western content that began appearing throughout television. Unlike most of these shows,Death Valley Dayswas strictly a syndicated seriesand remained so throughout its entire 18-year run on television.
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‘Death Valley Days’ Was One of the Last Classic Western TV Shows on Air
By the time new episodes ofDeath Valley Daysstopped being produced in the early 1970s, it became clear thatthe wave of Westerns that populated television from the mid-1950s through the 1960s was about to be over.The rural purge had already taken outmany of the remaining “Middle America”-centric shows that ran seamlessly on network television, and, aside from reruns under different names,Death Valley Dayswas next on the chopping block. Ruth Cornwall Woodman died in April 1970, and her most notable work followed her. Again, the series continued under titles such asFrontier AdventureorThe Pioneers, but the last recorded broadcast ofDeath Valley Dayswas on August 17, 2025. Few television Westerns would live into the ’70s, withBonanzaending in 1973,followed byGunsmokein 1975.
For a cumulative 40 years, Ruth Cornwall Woodman delighted with Old West tales of love, laughter, survival, and hardship that made the late 1800s feel more real to audiences than the world they lived in themselves.ThoughDeath Valley Dayswas not the most famous of all Western productions,through all of its iterations it was certainly the longest-running, and garnered an impressive following that made the program last much longer than likely anticipated. No doubt, the folks at Borax, Inc. were happy with the results, and many today have turned back the clocks to revisit this series for themselves. You never knew quite what you were going to get with an episode ofDeath Valley Days, but one thing we always did know was that it would be a Western.
Death ValleyDaysis available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.
