Facts > Films > Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955) Facts
| Director(s) | Norman Foster |
| Producer(s) | Walt Disney, Bill Walsh |
| Featured Cast | Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, Basil Ruysdael, Hans Conried, William Bakewell |
| Total Facts | 6 |
Buddy Ebsen was going to play Davy Crockett until Walt Disney saw Fess Parker in Them!. When he saw Parker, he said, "That's my Davy Crockett!"
Walt Disney said that if he had known the success that Davy Crockett was going to have he wouldn't have killed him off in the third TV episode.
The film was a bit short for three separate segments, so the iconic song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" was written with music by George Bruns and lyrics by Thomas W. Blackburn becoming a hit in the 1950's.
The most successful early example of merchandise licensing the sale of various types of Crockett paraphernalia, including coonskin caps and bubble gum cards.
This film made $1 million despite the fact that over 50% of the U.S. had already seen it on TV.
This originally premiered in three parts, broadcast over several weeks, on Disney's television program "Disneyland". The three segments were each given different titles: "Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter", "Davy Crockett Goes To Congress", and "Davy Crockett at the Alamo".