This CBS Western Series Scared Sponsors With Its Controversial Themes

Not every television Western, or Western-adjacent series, thrived during the Golden Age of Television in the 1950s and ’60s. Though shows like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Rawhide, and Have Gun – Will Travel were all popular during this time, plenty of television sagas slipped through the cracks. One such project was the short-lived syndicated series The Gray Ghost, which was cancelled after only 39 half-hour episodes. But what was The Gray Ghost about, and why was it so controversial? Well on top of the subject being centered around a Confederate soldier, the timing for the show just wasn’t right.

‘The Gray Ghost’ Aired During the Civil Rights Movement

Based on the book Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders by Virgil Carrington Jones (who himself served as a historical and story advisor on the show), The Gray Ghost — which is not a reference to either House of the Dragon or Batman: The Animated Series — first aired in October 1957 after a long battle to get the show on air in the first place. According to Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh in their book, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, though the series was originally developed as a CBS series meant to air nationally, the network grew nervous about the show’s Confederate-based premise due to the prominence of the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, as the show was preparing to air in October, September saw the Little Rock Nine in Arkansas fighting bravely to de-segregate local public schools in a part of the deep south where federal troops were eventually forced to step in and help the process along.

Because of all the racial tension and the Confederacy’s obvious deep ties to the American slave trade, potential sponsors continued to pull out of The Gray Ghost. In fact, this happened on three separate occasions. Variety noted that “because of the integration issue and the concomitant rise in sectional feelings, CBS Film Sales took over this Civil War action skein for syndication rather than network airing.” According to the outlet, national sponsors ran frightened at the prospect of attaching their brands to The Gray Ghost, and it’s hard to blame them. Ironically, however, the series ended up thriving in syndication. Sold to only local stations, The Gray Ghost pulled in audiences from all over the country — and wasn’t nearly as controversial as the network feared. As Brooks and Marsh put it, “to everyone’s surprise, it failed to stir up regional animosities and was a big hit in all parts of the country, especially with younger viewers.”

The Series Chronicled the Life of Confederate Major John Singleton Mosby

But what was The Gray Ghost (sometimes called Mosby’s Rangers) really about? Well, it was essentially an adventure series set during the American Civil War. Described by Variety as a “romantic horse opera in a Civil War setting,” the show dealt more with exciting action escapades than any intense political fervor. Tod Andrews played the titular “Gray Ghost,” Major John Singleton Mosby, a real-life historical figure. Mosby had originally been a lawyer in the North with Union sympathies but joined the Confederates in the South after the secession. According to the National Park Service, Mosby’s Rangers were well-known for their “daring and ability to evade pursuers by blending into the surrounding civilian population, then reforming once the danger had passed.” Hence, his “Gray Ghost” nickname.

As for the show itself, The Gray Ghost spent most of its time telling the usual sorts of Western stories. The basic episodic plots followed the same formula as many familiar horse operas, with Mosby’s Rangers confounding the operations of the Union cavalry. While not the only Civil War story to feel like a Western, The Gray Ghost felt like an interesting mixture of both. For 39 episodes, this adventure continued, and Mosby’s Rangers found favor with Americans nationwide. As noted in Everett Akers‘ Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters, when Andrews found himself touring the South, he was welcomed as a hero due to his portrayal of Mosby (perhaps unsurprising to some considering his character), who wasn’t his first or his last historical figure. Considering the initial hesitation behind the program, it was shocking how well-received it had become.

Due to the show’s popularity, many episodes were adapted into comic books as well. But despite this, The Gray Ghost didn’t last. It may have been the show’s exceptional production value that did it in or the lack of national sponsors, but the series only ran a single season. Still, it survived in syndication for years afterward, living out the rest of its days in a ghostly existence that far surpassed the predictions of many. But even now, The Gray Ghost has vanished yet again. The series cannot be found in any official capacity anywhere online, and even obtaining bootleg copies of the program is nearly impossible.