Death Valley Days
Season 1
18 listed hours · 1952–1970 · Syndication
From the desk
How this season is filed
Death Valley Days is the longest-running western anthology, Borax-sponsored Americana hosted by old pros and at least one future president. True-ish frontier tales as a brand. A 2026 viewer watches it for the host-as-pitchman ritual and the trivia that Ronald Reagan once sold 20 Mule Team from the same desk.
TV Flash files Season 1 of Death Valley Days (1952–1970) on Syndication as the first listed season of 18 — 18 listed hours, 1952-10-01–1953-05-26 from “How Death Valley Got Its Name” (S01E01) to “Land of the Free” (S01E18). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Desk essentials in this season
- S01E01 How Death Valley Got Its Name
How Death Valley Got Its Name: origin-myth hour as Borax Americana, host-as-pitchman ritual already the anthology's real continuity.
- S01E01 How Death Valley Got Its Name
- S01E02 She Burns Green
- S01E03 The Death Valley Kid
- S01E04 The Lost Pegleg Mine
- S01E05 The Little Bullfrog Nugget
- S01E06 Self-Made Man
- S01E07 The Chivaree
- S01E08 The Little Dressmaker of Bodie
- S01E09 Cynthy's Dream Dress
- S01E10 The Rival Hash Houses
- S01E11 The Lady with the Blue Silk Umbrella
- S01E12 Swamper Ike
- S01E13 The Bell of San Gabriel
- S01E14 Claim Jumpin' Jennie
- S01E15 The Bandits of Panamint
- S01E16 Sego Lilies
- S01E17 Little Oscar's Millions
- S01E18 Land of the Free
More from the 1950s.