Sergeant William Preston is a fictional Canadian Mountie

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

 created by Fran Striker

Fran Striker

Fran Striker was an American writer for radio and comics, best known for creating The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, and Sgt...

 and George W. Trendle

George W. Trendle

George Washington Trendle was a Detroit lawyer and businessman, best known as the producer of the Lone Ranger radio and television programs along with The Green Hornet. He is entombed in Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery.-Movie theaters:...

 for the long-running radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 serial

Serial (radio and television)

Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...

 Challenge of the Yukon

Challenge of the Yukon

Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ , and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938...

.

The radio serial began in 1938 and continued through 1947, after which the series obtained a sponsor in "Quaker Oats", which led to its leap to television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

. The television program aired from 1947 through 1949

1949 in television

The year 1949 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1949.-Events:*January 3 – Colgate Theatre premieres on NBC....

 on ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

. The most prominent actors to play the role of Sergeant Preston were Paul Sutton

Paul Sutton

Paul Sutton was an American film actor, appearing mostly in uncredited roles, and most often in low budget B-movies during the 1930s and 1940s. He is perhaps best known as one of the actors who portrayed Sergeant William Preston on the radio serial Challenge of the Yukon...

 and Brace Beemer

Brace Beemer

Brace Beemer was an American radio actor and announcer at radio station WXYZ, Detroit, Michigan.Born in Mount Carmel, Illinois, Beemer was six foot, three inches tall and was an expert horse rider. He served as the deep-voiced announcer for The Lone Ranger soon after its first broadcast in 1933...

. In 1955

1955 in television

The year 1955 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1955.-Events:*March 5 – Elvis Presley appears on television for the first time...

 the spin-off series Sergeant Preston of the Yukon began, starring Richard Simmons

Richard Simmons (actor)

Richard Simmons , also known as Dick Simmons, was an American actor.-Early life and career:Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Simmons started his film acting career in 1937...

. Running for 78 weekly episodes, what was interesting was that the series had only two characters who appeared in all 78 episodes, one of which was a dog, with no other single character appearing in more than a total of 20 episodes, and with most appearing in less than five.

The character

Sergeant William Preston is a heroic police officer, who is tasked with policing the wilds of the Canadian frontier alone, accompanied only by his dog "Yukon King" and his horse, "Rex". Each episode has him battling a new crisis, whether it be tracking down a murderer, a gang of thieves, or claim jumping miners. His dog, "Yukon King", is at times a central character, with several episodes revolving around an event centering on him. During the course of the series, Preston successfully puts down a rebellion, and captures assassins.