The Golden Horseshoe - show notes for episode 107
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 8:29AM On episode 107 we go back to Disneyland to look at an all time favorite attraction, The Golden Horseshoe. Wait, is that the name of the building or the show? Who knows. One thing we do know is that IT is a beloved attraction that actually predates opening day.
The Golden Horseshoe
When Disneyland opened, about a third of the land “on stage” was in Frontierland. As Sam Gennawey noted on episode 104 of WEDWay Radio, the lands reflected popular society of the 1950’s. Science Fiction was popular and Tomorrowland reflected a practical look at the possibilities. Different areas of the world were being filmed and televised (some through Disney’s True Life Adventures) and Adventureland reflected our curiosity. One area that was paid particular attention to in its design was Frontierland. Walt wanted a Frontierland to celebrate the Western Frontier of America of the 19th century. And, as such Frontierland is made up of elements from American folklore: Davy Crockett, Tom Sawyer and Pecos Bill
A number of iconic elements were also required to give Frontierland an authentic feel: a steam ship, a railroad, a stage coach, a western fort, a trading post, and a Wild West Saloon with a saloon show. This episode of WEDWay Radio is about Disney’s Wild West Saloon.
Origins of the Wild West Saloon
Other Wild West shows became that popular in the 19th century, such as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show or The Congress of Rough Riders of the World, used real cowboys and animals to put on a show of what the west was supposed to be like. This was not the case with the Disneyland Wild West Saloon. The Wild West Saloon was really a stage show with actors, but different from what you might find in a playhouse today
This type of entertainment really evolved over the 19th century because as America expanded into the West the population got thinner and thinner, and civilization became further and further apart.
Minstrel shows began to spring up, but faded in the 1860’s. This type of entertainment evolved into Vaudeville: a show with a series of unrelated acts including musicians, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, acrobats, jugglers or lecturing celebrities. If you take these types of elements and copy the English Music Hall setting you get the Concert Saloon.
Disneylands Concert Saloon
If you think about it, you have the Opera House on Main Street and that’s where traveling performers would perform in a small town. But they really recreated a more Western version in Frontierland - set around 1870 instead of Main Streets 1900. Also Fronteirland’s Concert Saloon is set in a more remote area of the US.
The Building is really a copy of the Western Saloon Hall in the film Calamity Jane from 1953 starring Doris Day and Howard Keel.
The story of how this came about surrounds Walt and Harper Goff, and if you remember from episode 104 when we had Sam Gennawey on the show he talked about Walt meeting Harper Goff, who was a set designer for Warner Bros. He would later probably be best known by Disney fans as the set designer for 20000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Walt came to him and asked if he thought he could recreate the set of the Western Concert Saloon from Calamity Jane. Unbeknownst to Walt, Goff had actually designed the set for Calamity Jane as well, and so he used the original blueprints of the set from the film.
The Golden Horseshoe Building
The Golden Horseshoe is in an interesting location really. It is obscured from the Frontierland entrance from the hub so it isn’t really an icon. Instead, it sits at the corner of Frontierland and the Rivers of America, kind of echoing its place in American history.
The outside of the building is pretty unremarkable. It fits in with the other buildings on the south side of the main Frontierland entrance. One authentic aspect to the Golden Horseshoe is it, like its neighbors has a planked walkway. This is actually pretty historically accurate because in the West planked walkways were needed to keep the dust off of the clothes of theater patrons.
Originally, the venue was to be called Pecos Bills Golden Horseshoe. Instead it opened as the Golden Horseshoe Saloon.
Walt’s Party:
On July 13th, 1955 Walt and Lillian celebrated their 30th anniversary with a party at Disneyland. The date here is interesting because Disneyland didnt officially open until July 17, 1955, and not to the public until the following day. This was a Hollywood event with invited guests like Spencer Tracey, Cary Grant and Gary Cooper. Some of the luckier guests were surreyed down the Main Street on horse drawn carriages into Frontierland.
Once in Frontierland, they boarded the Mark Twain and then took a trip around the Rivers of America, and sipped mint juleps. After the cruise, they headed over to the Golden Horseshoe where the party went on and everyone was treated to the first unofficial showing of the Golden Horseshoe Revue.
The Show Itself
You show elements before the show even started. Advertisements appeared on the backdrop.
The orchestra began the show and Slue Foot Sue, played by Betty Taylor for most of the duration of the shows run, and four dancing girls meandered through the crowd singing ‘Hello Everybody.’ She then stayed in the audience to flirt with some of the male guests singing ‘A lady has to mind her P’s & Q’s’ and on some days would replace it with ‘Riverboat Blues’ or even ‘The Girl on the Cover of the Police Gazette.’
Sue then introduced the shows’ master of ceremonies, the Irish tenor. The golden toned singer was played by Don Novis, then Fulton Burley after Novis’ health declined in the 1960’s.
Following a couple of numbers by the Irish tenor, the Traveling Salesman, played by the Wally Boag, enters through the back of the theater. He tells while making his way through the crowd and sings ‘What Have We Here.’ Boag continued the routine on stage.
After Boag’s introduction as the Traveling Salesman, Slue Foot Sue return with the Irish tenor to sing a song together, and then came the introduction of Boag as Pecos Bill with rousing teeth splitting entertainment. Dancing girls joined the three onstage to end the show.
The 10,000th Show
In 1962 the Wonderful World of Color featured the 10,000th performance of the show. It was televised to a national audience, and they added some extras to the performance as well. Annette Funicello was added to the Dancing Girls with a solo performance of “Mr. Piano Man.” Ed Wynn played a scene with Betty Taylor singing “Tea for Two.” The show ended with an enormous bar room brawl that never would have fit on the stage, but through the magic of television took place within the Golden Horseshoe itself.
Different Incarnations of the Attraction
July 17, 1955 - October 12, 1986 - The Golden Horseshoe Revue
November 1, 1986 - December 18, 1994 - Golden Horseshoe Jamboree Show
December 22, 1994 - Present - Billy Hill and the Hillbillies
Enjoy this episode as it was fun to research. Thanks to Daveland for the use of the best Boag - Taylor picture I could find.
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Reader Comments (3)
Really liked this show, mostly because of the Silver Dollar City connection. Honestly due to rising costs of admission and travel, SDC has become our new Disney. I like their saloon show better too! Would love to hear another show where you talk a little more about SDC. I had no idea that Walt visited there, but when? SDC started in 1962, right? That leaves 4 years for Walt to visit and I don't know how developed SDC was at that time. I'd love to hear more about this.
I think when Matt said Disney, he meant the company, not the man. Sorry for the confusion. - Nate
Hey Matt & Nate,
I grew up in Garden Grove in the 50s - 70s and used to go to Disneyland several times weekly in the summers.
The Golden Horseshoe was my Friday night and Saturday afternoon & night favorite. (remember, general admission tickets were still about $1.50 - $2.00)
Besides the amazing performances of Betty Taylor, Wally Boag, Donald Novis and Fulton Burleye , what also drew me to GH was the Clara Ward Gospel Singers. They would do two or three performances per evening.
My father was a Baptist pastor of a small church in very nearly lily white Orange County. We had a decent music program at church, but the driving, alive sounds of CWGS easily eclipsed my normal Sunday service diet.
The sad part to me is that there is very little mention of CWGS and I've never heard if any video exists from their days at The Golden Horseshoe.
Future Wedway snippit, maybe?
J R
BTW - really enjoy the shows.