Opened on July 16, 1955; Closed on October 12, 1986

The First Show Overview:

Before the show begins, comedian/ singer, Jack Watson comes out and warms up the audience with jokes and old songs from the 1860's. A variety of slide show type advertisements shown on the backdrop as well as the lyrics to the songs. As the lights are dimmed, the orchestra begins playing the overture before the performers come out. Next comes the opening number which features the Golden Horseshoe Saloon Can-Can dancers saloon owner, Slue Foot Sue [originally played by Judy Marsh and later, Betty Taylor] and her four dance hall girls singing a welcome song entitled “Hello Everybody"  [written by Charles LeVere]. This song helped introduce Slue Foot Sue to the audience as she next sings a song where she ventures out into the audience to flirt with the male guests and sings a song like, “A Lady Has to Mind Her P’s and Q’s” [also written by Charles LeVere]. Slue Foot Sue would next sing "Bill Bailey" [one of Walt's favorite songs]. 

Next, Sue introduces the MC of the show,  an Irish tenor [originally played by Don Novis, then Fulton Burley and Jay Meyer.] At the finish of his song, he is joined by the lovely Golden Horseshoe dancers for the number, "Beautiful Dreamer."

At the finish of his song, they are joined by the show's comedian [originally played by Wally Boag and later, by Dick Hardwick and a score of talented subs], who enters from the backstage. [Later shows have him entering through the back doors] in his Traveling Salesman outfit complete with carpet bag full of gags and sight 
jokes. 

As he makes his way to the stage through the audience, he tells jokes and sings “What Have We Here”. He is encouraged to the stage by the MC, where he begins his comedy routine. In the case of Wally Boag, it was balloon animals, bagpipes and crazy dances. [The Pecos Bill act would be added to the show in the future including firing off six shooters or squirt guns at the audience.] The finale always included the famous Can-Can dancers in a 5 minute Can-Can dance done to Offenbach music.

After a rousing version of the song, “Pecos Bill” sang by Sue, the tenor and Pecos himself, and lots of horseplay, they are joined by the dancing girls who perform a rousing can-can number. After the dance, the entire cast assembles for a final brief song and bow.

In later shows, the Traveling Salesman would leave the stage at this point and Sue and the emcee would sing a song together. Suddenly Pecos Bill [a.k.a. the Traveling Salesman] enters the stage with his guns a-blazing and starts a dialogue that leads to the singing of his signature song, "Pecos Bill". [This song was made famous by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers]. It is during this song that the famous 'teeth spitting routine takes place. This would be followed by the Golden Horseshoe Can-can girls. Over the years other songs were added in place of others songs to keep the show fresh. These songs included "Danny Boy", The Girl on the Cover of the Police Gazette" and "Leprechaun Lullaby".

The Golden Horseshoe Revue ran from July 17, 1965 until October 12, 1986. Co-written by Wally Boag and Don Novis; music and songs by Charles LeVere and lyrics by Tom Adair and later arrangements by Buddy Baker, Walt's dream of a show that represented the Old West saloons and dance halls of the past came true.

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Picture #1 ~ PECOS  BILL was a character first mentioned by Edward S. O'Reilly in 1917 in his stories of the Wild West for The Century Magazine. These stories were collected and reprinted in a Book in 1923 called The Saga of Pecos Bill. Originally told as true stories of the West, they were later exposed as fiction and soon became "folklore". The original stories of Pecos Bill tell of a young babe who while traveling by covered wagon with his family near the Pecos River, fell out of the wagon and was raised by coyotes. As he grew up, he had a snake named Shake as a whip and a horse called Widow-maker. He love interest was Slue-foot Sue, who rode across the Texas dessert on the back of a giant catfish. Walt Disney decided to make Pecos Bill and Slue-foot Sue a part of the final sequence his cartoon, Melody Time in 1948. The part of Pecos Bill was sung by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneer with Bob Nolan as the narrator.

Picture # 2 ~ WALLY BOAG was a successful performer, comedian, dancer and radio personality who was signed to MGM for a while and performed all over the world including a royal performance for the Queen of England. Wally was personally chosen by Walt Disney in 1955 to write and star in a Golden Horseshoe Revue Show using the character of Pecos Bill as part of the show. This idea came from the name that Walt had chosen for his new restaurant and show... Slue-foot Sue's Golden Horseshoe Saloon and Revue. Wally performed this part for over 27 years and was an inspiration to hundreds, if not thousands of young performers who visited Disneyland.

This is a link to an interview with Wally Boag about his work at the Golden Horseshoe, courtesy of our friends at Mouse Clubhouse.
http://www.mouseclubhouse.com/ghs/wally-boag/wally-fulton.htm

Picture # 3 ~ "JIMMY" ADAMS first went to Disneyland from his hometown of Tucson, Arizona in 1955 and decided that he wanted to be Wally Boag after seeing the show.  Jim began working at Disneyland in 1969 in the Character Dept as King Louie. He began subbing for Wally Boag in 1970. He started out as a pre-show warm-up to the Revue with a puppet called Claude Dog and the Mountain Man. 
Jim left Disney in 1982 to work with Don Payne and Wally Boag at another company. Today Jim works as a Christian speaker and the owner of Jim Adams Entertainment.

This is a link to an interview with Don Payne and Jim Adams about their years at the Golden Horseshoe, courtesy of our friends at Mouse Clubhouse. http://www.mouseclubhouse.com/Interviews/jim-adams&don-payne/jim-adams&don-payne.htm

Picture # 4 ~ DICK HARDWICK started at Disneyland on June 17, 1978 in a Golden Horseshoe night-time show called Class of '27 with Sonny Helmer on trombone, Harry Holton on banjo and sax, Westy Westenhoffer on tuba and John Reynolds on guitar. When the show closed, Dick began playing in a bluegrass band called Hand Picked during the day and doing the Yahoo Revue in the Golden Horseshoe at night from 1979 to 1981. He also played in the Thunder Mountain Breakdown Boys and the Main Street Maniacs. He first performed the Pecos Bill role in Florida at Walt Disney World temporarily for Bert Henry, who had suffered a heart attack. He took over as the official Pecos Bill role in Anaheim when Wally Boag retired and played that part from 1982 until the show's closing in 1986. He did the final show on October 12, 1986.

Here is a youtube video courtesy of Doug Mattocks featuring Dick Hardwick playing with the Main Street Maniacs around 1978.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAIWQq04es0

Picture # 5 ~ DANA DANIELS started in the character Dept. and continually auditioned every year waiting for his chance to be a sub for Wally's part. He was hired as a juggler in Fantasyland as the Royal Jesters thus earning his American Guild of Variety Artists contract making him eligible to work in the Golden Horseshoe. He was hired as a sub for Dick Harwick, who replaced Wally when he retired in 1982. Dana claims that " ...the hardest part of the job was holding all those beans in my mouth and talking and singing at the same time.” During this time, Kodak was the corporate sponsor of The Golden Horseshoe Revue Show. Dana subbed for that show until 1986 and later, starred in his own show, The Golden Horseshoe Variety Show doing a magic act with his parrot, Luigi that ran for eight years from June 13, 1995 to October 8, 2003.

This is a link to an interview with Dana Daniels about his years with the Golden Horseshoe Revue, courtesy of our friends at Mouse Clubhouse. http://www.mouseclubhouse.com/ghs/dana-daniels/dana-daniels.htm
To see more pictures of Dana from The Golden Horseshoe Revue days, go to his official web site atwww.danadaniels.com . 

Picture # 6 ~  KIRK WALL began performing in high school. The son of a two music teachers, music had an important place in Kirk's life. He learned to play the violin early and studied opera at Eastern New Mexico University. He was signed to play Jesus in the Rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar. Moving to California, he did the play, Grease and several small roles on TV including General Hospital. His first Disney role was subbing for Dick Hardwick in 1983 until 1986 when his friend, Mike Norris left to do another show. Kirk has also starred in the Blast to the Past Parade in 1989, State Fair and the Pigmania Show in 1988 [with Dick Hardwick] as one of the Barley Brothers and as the lead in the Billy Hill and the Hillbillies Show that played from 1992 to 2012 at the Golden Horseshoe and Big Thunder Jamboree 5 days a week.

This is an interview with Kirk Wall about his career as an entertainer, courtesy of our friends at Mouse Clubhouse. 
http://www.mouseclubhouse.com/Interviews/kirk-wall/kirk-wall.htm
All About Kirk ~ courtesy of Ape Pen Publishing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCdMKqKP3Po
Kirk Wall on the TV show, The Fall Guy ~ courtesy of Grace Wall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYOyXxJmiVY

Picture # 7 ~ DON PAYNE was raised in Kern, Los Angeles and Orange Counties. He started working at Disneyland in 1966 with the Fantasy on Parade during the Christmas season. He worked as a pageant helper and did several promotional tours nationally to announce Disney's latest film releases. During that time, he worked with several of the stars of the Golden Horseshoe Revue and later began subbing for Jim Adams, who was subbing for Wally Boag in the part. In 1982, he left Disney for another job opportunity and returned in 1985. He was later hired to sub as Sam the Bartender in the Golden Horseshoe Jamboree Show that replaced the Revue show in 1986 and ran until December 18, 1994.

Picture # 8 ~ RON SCHNEIDER was raised in Southern California with all things Disney having a heavy influence on his early life. He briefly attended Cal Arts in 1970-71. He developed the character of Henry VIII for the 1520 AD Medievil Restaurants. From 1973 to 1977, he worked at Universal Studios Tours.  He had worked at Six Flags Magic Mountain developing the character of the medicine show traveling salesman in Spillikin Corners and in the Africa USA area. As a child, he dreamed of playing Wally Boag's part in the Golden Horseshoe Revue and in December of 1979, he auditioned, but did not win the part. In April, 1980, he was called back by Disney and hired for the comedian role. He worked in the Golden Horseshoe Revue Show part time while also working at the C.L. Womphopper's Themed Western Restaurant at Universal Studios. (a character and show he developed). In 1981, Bev Bergeron called from Florida looking for actors to help with the Diamond Horseshoe Revue. Unfortunately, at the same time, Wally Boag retired from the Golden Horseshoe, along with his sub, Jim Adams and Jim's sub, Don Payne. In 1982, Ron decided to go to Florida at the same time that Imagineer, Tony Baxter was creating the Journey in Imagination attraction along with its stars, Dreamfinder and Figment. Ron auditioned and won the role of the face character, Dreamfinder which he performed until 1987. Ron currently lives in Florida after working many years at Universal Florida in the Character Dept.