|
Bar 27 Corral
(Heck Harper's Bar 27 Corral)
November 9,
1953
-
November 1956
 |
|
|
KPTV's own singing cowboy, Hector
"Heck Harper" Flateau. |
|
This western show, featuring Heck Harper, brought
enjoyable entertainment to kids of all ages. As foreman of the Bar 27 Corral,
Heck sang and told stories of the Old West.
The show would open with Heck
greeting his "Ranch Hands," (children on the show) then telling a
story, which was usually 15 minutes of a full-length cowboy film, run as a
serial over four consecutive days. After the film, Heck would sing a few more
songs and give some personal words to his "Ranch Hands."
One of the most memorable moments of the program
featured Heck singing a song to the children celebrating a birthday that
day. The composition, which was Heck's own, became a favorite among
children and adults alike. Today, more than fifty years after Bar
27 Corral, Heck's "Happy Birthday, Happy" song is still sung by his
loyal and adoring fans.
 |
|
|
Heck plays a tune for a young
guest. |
|
Happy Birthday,
happy.
Happy Birthday this is your day
so have a lot of fun.
Happy Birthday, happy.
Happy Birthday we'll keep rolling
until the day is done.
Blow out the candles on your cake
and make a wish,
and we'll have everybody's favorite dish.
Happy Birthday, happy.
Happy Birthday, happy.
Happy Birthday we'll keep rolling
until the day is done.
--Heck Harper's birthday song
Thanks to Patty Hathaway and
Lee Luther for
their help with the lyrics to Heck's birthday song.
|
 |
 |
|
Heck Harper and his faithful companion "Jodie." |
|
"HECK"
HARPER
...
CHILDREN'S
IDOL
Heck
Harper,
amiable
foreman
of
KPTV's
"Heck
Harper's
Bar
27
Corral",
is
the
idol
of
Portland
children
who
flock
to
his
4:30-5:00
p.m.
show
and
write
in
requests
3
to
4
months
in
advance
of
the
date
in
order
to
appear
with
him.
Harper,
in
his
own
right,
can
well
be
classed
as
one
of
Portland's
first
citizens
for
the
vast
amount
of
benefits
he
plays.
He
gives
freely
and
cheerfully
of
his
time
and
talent
to
any
show
or
appearance
dedicated
to
the
welfare
of
children.
Heck
has
received
numerous
awards
and
honors
for
his
many
appearances
of
this
type.
In
addition
to
his
regular
full
schedule,
he
has
been
known
to
make
as
many
as
four
of
these
gratis
appearances
in
one
day.
Harper,
who
was
born
and
raised
in
the
Mid-West,
claims
he
is
still
just
a
"plain
old
country
boy"
although
he
started
in
radio
at
the
age
of
11
years
and
has
been
in
some
form
of
show
business
ever
since.
Early
in
his
career
he
worked
in
the
Mid-West
in
radio,
theaters
and
at
rodeos
and
fairs.
He
had
moved
up
in
show
business,
having
the
singing
lead
in
the
Gene
Raymond
production
"Gold
Bricks
of
1941"
and
was
ready
to
sign
on
as
a
permanent
performer
on
the
"National
Barn
Dance"
when
World
War
II
came
along
and
he
traded
in
his
spurs
for
a
uniform
and
spent
four-and-a-half
years
with
the
combat
engineers--3
of
which
were
in
the
ETO.
 |
|
|
Heck
played
the
guitar
and
sang
songs
to
his
"ranch
hands"
on
KPTV's
"Bar
27
Corral." |
|
After
his
discharge
in
June
of
1945,
Heck
went
back
to
radio,
TV
and
club
appearances
in
Oregon
and
Hollywood.
He
appeared
for
a
year
as
Western
vocalist
with
Skinny
Ennis'
orchestra,
and
has
worked
with
many
of
the
big
Western
bands
including
Tex
Williams,
Spade
Cooley,
Rex
Allen,
Sons
of
the
Pioneers,
and
Red
Foley.
Before
coming
to
Portland,
Heck
worked
on
KING-TV
in
Seattle.
Besides
his
regular
"Bar
27
Corral"
Show,
Heck
also
has
the
Western
Theater
from
5:00-5:30
p.m.,
Tuesday
through
Friday,
on
KPTV
and
emcees
the
Eddie
Arnold
film
show
on
that
station,
6:30-7:00
p.m.,
Fridays.
In
addition
to
his
television
activities,
he
does
six
radio
shows
a
week
on
KGW
(radio),
5:45-7:00
a.m.
Monday
through
Friday,
and
a
Saturday
night
show
from
6:00-7:30
p.m.
A
handsome
man
astride
his
horse,
Harper
was
the
ideal
choice
for
Grand
Marshall
of
the
Junior
Rose
Parade
in
1954.
(It
wouldn't
be
a
bad
idea
to
have
him
in
that
position
of
honor
every
year--the
small
fry
would
be
pleased.)
Heck's
wife,
Martha,
gives
him
a
hand
in
answering
his
fan
letters,
which
number
over
400
a
week.
The
Harpers
are
parents
of
a
son,
Sam,
who,
unlike
his
father,
doesn't
hanker
to
be
a
cowboy,
but
is
interested
in
becoming
an
electrical
engineer.
Article
in
TV
Radio
Entertainment
Guide,
January
15,
1956 |
In
honor
of
Ramblin'
Rod's
25th
Anniversary,
Heck
made
an
appearance
at
Oak's
Park
in
1989.
| Bar
27 Corral BROADCAST HISTORY |
NOV
1953 - : MON-FRI 5:30PM-6:00PM
JAN
1956 - NOV 1956: MON-FRI 4:30PM-5:00PM |
I
grew
up
in
the
50's
&
60's
in
McMinnville,
OR,
about
36
miles
away
from
Portland.
We
watched
the
Heck
Harper
show
with
complete
attention
every
day. I
liked
Heck
Harper
because
he
did
not
act
goofy
like
the
other
kid
shows.
He
seemed
like
an
actual
nice
cowboy
to
me.
When
my
birthday
came
around
I
was
beyond
happy
that
my
parents
were
taking
us
five
kids
to
the
show.
All
I
could
think
about
was
the
GIANT
sized
Sugar
Daddy
candy
that
was
given
to
birthday
guests.
I
was
salivating
over
that
idea
like
you
would
not
believe.
I
can
still
picture
the
kids
on
the
first
row
in
the
audience
holding
that
bright
yellow
paddle
shaped
wrapper
with
a
stick
handle.
It
looked
bigger
than
the
kids.
My
actual
birthday
was
not
on
the
day
we
attended
the
show,
so
when
the
big
birthday
buildup
came,
they
asked
the
audience
the
specific
question:
"Who
has
a
birthday
TODAY?"....having
been
raised
to
only
tell
the
truth,
and
being
so
young
and
naive,
I
did
not
raise
my
hand,
because
my
birthday
was
a
few
days
previous....and
I
missed
out
on
my
glorious
candy
opportunity!
Oh,
agony.
I
was
so
crushed
when
I
realized
what
had
happened
that
I
don't
think
I
uttered
a
word
about
it
until
today.
A
few
years
later,
I
remember
seeing
Heck
in
person
with
his
beautiful
horse
at
our
local
Yamhill
county
Fair.
Our
TV
time
was
policed
by
our
parents,
and
we
actually
believed
them
when
the
TV
"broke"
at
the
beginning
of
every
summer,
forcing
us
to
play
outside
and
pursue
our
own
creative
activities!
We
also
watched
Ramblin'
Rod,
Rusty
Nails, and
Addie
Bobkin's
shows,
but
my
heart
belonged
to
Heck.
Barbara
San
Francisco,
CA
My family was one of the last in our neighborhood to get a TV.
I always managed to be at a friend's house after school, who had a TV,
when Heck Harper was on.
Walt Larson
Anchorage, AK
|
  
This
page
last
updated
on
March 06, 2006
|
