Boomer TV Trivia: The Adventures of the Black Stallion
Q1. What other films were based on The Black Stallion children’s books by author Walter Farley?
Q2. Who was the actor that starred as trainer Henry Daily in The Adventures of the Black Stallion?
The Adventures of the Black Stallion TV series was a joint television production between Canada, France, and New Zealand from 1990-1993, enjoyed by horse lovers of all ages including baby boomers, their parents (now seniors) and children. Although most of the episodes were filmed in British Columbia, episodes were also filmed in New Zealand, Paris, and the United States. The show’s re-runs have enjoyed world-wide distribution.
Welsh-Canadian actor Richard Ian Cox played Alec Ramsay, The Black’s owner and rider; he was 16 when filming began on The Adventures of the Black Stallion. He is still an actor today and lives in British Columbia (Vancouver). Both the series and Richard Ian Cox were nominated for Young Artist Awards in 1991; Cox with the ward for Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Prime Time or Cable Family Series, and was nominated again in 1992.
The real star of the show? Docs Keepin Time, a black quarter horse, played The Black in The Adventures of the Black Stallion television series; he also played Black Beauty in the 1994 movie of the same name. Docs Keepin Time was a descendant of War Admiral and War Admiral’s sire, Man O’ War – both legendary American thoroughbred racehorses. Coincidentally, The Black Stallion author Walter Farley also wrote Man O’ War (1962) a slightly fictionalized biography of the horse and his caretaker.
A1. In addition to this television series, Walter Farley’s 1941 The Black Stallion children’s novel and book series was the basis for The Black Stallion (1979) movie, its 1983 sequel The Black Stallion Returns, and The Young Black Stallion (2003) an IMAX Disney movie. Many baby boomers grew up reading Farley’s horse and dog books. Farley was a septuagenarian senior citizen when he died in 1989 at age 74, soon after production began on the TV show.
A2. The Adventures of the Black Stallion TV show starred veteran film, stage and television actor Mickey Rooney as horse trainer Henry Daily. Rooney also starred in the first The Black Stallion movie in 1979 (for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role) when he was 59, playing the character of Henry Daily, a retired jockey turner horse trainer for The Black.
By the time he was cast as Henry Daily again for The Adventures of the Black Stallion television series, Mickey Rooney was a septuagenarian senior citizen. Rooney was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role in 1992 for his work portraying Henry in the television series. He formed a friendship with co-star Richard Ian Cox during the filming of the series and they remained friends until Rooney’s death in 2014 at age 93.
