Tom Corbett, Space Cadet facts for kids
Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett
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| Author | Carey Rockwell |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap |
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Publication date
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1952 |
Tom Corbett is a main character from the 1950s. He starred in a series of exciting stories called Tom Corbett—Space Cadet. You could find these adventures on television, radio, in books, comic books, comic strips, and more!
The stories follow Tom Corbett and his friends, Astro and Roger Manning (later T.J. Thistle). They are cadets at the Space Academy, training to join the Solar Guard. Their adventures happen in classrooms, bunkrooms, on their training spaceship Polaris, and on amazing alien worlds. These worlds are both in our solar system and around other stars.
Contents
Origin of Tom Corbett
Joseph Greene from Grosset & Dunlap created Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. He was inspired by the 1948 novel Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein. However, Greene had already been working on his own space stories.
In 1946, Greene wrote a radio script called "Tom Ranger and the Space Cadets." This script was never used. Later, he changed his radio script into a daily newspaper adventure strip, but it was also never made.
Tom Corbett on Television
| Tom Corbett, Space Cadet | |
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| Created by | Joseph Greene |
| Starring | Frankie Thomas, Al Markim, Jan Merlin, Edward Bryce |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS (October 2 to December 29, 1950); ABC (January 1, 1951 to September 26, 1952); NBC (July to September 1951, December 1954 to June 25, 1955); DuMont (August 1953 to May 1954) |
| Original release | October 2, 1950 – June 25, 1955 |
Tom Corbett first appeared on television. The early TV stories were very similar to the newspaper comic strip scripts that Joseph Greene wrote in 1949.
Tom Corbett is one of only six TV shows from that time to be shown on all four major networks:
- CBS from October to December 1950.
- ABC from January 1951 to September 1952.
- NBC from July to September 1951.
- DuMont from August 1953 to May 1954.
- NBC again from December 1954 to June 1955, with the last show on June 25, 1955.
Main Characters and Actors
- Tom Corbett – Played by Frankie Thomas Jr..
- Astro – Played by Al Markim. He is a cadet from Venus.
- Roger Manning – Played by Jan Merlin. He was a cadet who thought very highly of himself. Roger sometimes made unfriendly comments about Astro. But over time, he learned to like and respect Astro, even if he still acted a bit distant. (He was in the show from October 1950 to May 1954).
- Captain Steve Strong – Played by Edward Bryce.
- Dr. Joan Dale – Played by Margaret Garland.
- Commander Arkwright – Played by Carter Blake.
- Cadet Alfie Higgins – Played by John Fiedler.
- Cadet Eric Rattison – Played by Frank Sutton.
- Cadet T. J. Thistle – Played by Jack Grimes (He joined the show from December 1954 to June 1955).
Behind the Scenes Crew
- Technical Advisor – Willy Ley helped make sure the science parts were accurate.
- Writers: Many people wrote the stories, including Albert Aley, Stu Byrnes, Frankie Thomas Jr., Ray Morse, Jack Weinstock, Willy Gilbert, and Alfred Bester.
- Space Cadet Hats: Major Sportswear made the special hats with logos.
Tom Corbett in Other Media
Books About Space Cadets
From 1952 to 1956, Grosset & Dunlap published a series of Tom Corbett books. These were written by different authors using the name Carey Rockwell. Willy Ley, the technical advisor for the TV show, also helped with the books.
- Stand By For Mars (1952)
- Danger in Deep Space (1953)
- On the Trail of the Space Pirates (1953)
- The Space Pioneers (1953)
- The Revolt on Venus (1954)
- Treachery in Outer Space (1954)
- Sabotage in Space (1955)
- The Robot Rocket (1956)
In 1953, a shorter children's book called Tom Corbett's Wonder Book of Space (or Tom Corbett: A Trip to the Moon) was written by Marcia Martin.
Comic Strips
The Tom Corbett — Space Cadet comic strip appeared in American newspapers. It was drawn by Ray Bailey and ran daily and on Sundays from September 9, 1951, to September 6, 1953. Paul S. Newman wrote the scripts for most of this time. Some of these old comic strips were later reprinted by Eternity Comics.
Comic Books
The original Tom Corbett comic books were first published by Dell Comics. They started in a series called Four Color, which was used to test new ideas. After three test issues, Tom Corbett got its own comic book series.
- Dell Comics published issues from 1952 to 1954.
- In 1953, Tom Corbett also appeared in a special issue of Boys and Girls March of Comics.
- When the TV show became less popular, Dell stopped making the comic book.
- In 1955, Prize Comics took over and published three more issues.
- Later, some of these comics were reprinted by companies like World Distributors and Bluewater Comics.
- In the 1990s, Eternity Comics released two mini-series of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet in a manga style.
- Bluewater Comics also released two more mini-series in 2009 and 2012–2013.
Radio Show Adventures
The actors from the television series also performed in the Tom Corbett radio show. It aired from January 1 to June 26, 1952. Each story was split into two parts, airing on Tuesday and Thursday. Many of the radio stories were based on the TV episodes. There was also a radio version made in Australia with local actors.
Later, a company called The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air created new audio versions of Tom Corbett Space Cadet in 2012 and 2013.
Music from Tom Corbett
In 1951, a musical recording was released called "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Song and March." Other songs included "Tom Corbett Space Cadet At Space Academy" and "Rescue In Space." These songs were performed by the Space Cadet Marching Band and released on Golden Sound Records.
Toys and Other Fun Items
There were many cool Tom Corbett—Space Cadet toys and tie-in products:
- A View-Master packet with three reels of 3D pictures. These pictures were of sculptures and models, telling a story about finding a pyramid on the moon and fighting space crooks.
- Several coloring books and a punch-out book.
- A costume for children.
- A lunch box and a pocket watch.
- A Space Academy playset with plastic figures.
- Rubber molds for making plaster-of-Paris figures and vehicles, made by Marx toys.
- A Little Golden Book and a Little Golden Record of the Space Academy song.
- Two other records with adventures, starring the original TV/radio cast: "Tom Corbett Space Cadet at Space Academy" and "Rescue in Space: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet."
The back of Kellogg's Pep Cereal boxes had cardboard cutouts of a space cadet cap, gloves, and a ray gun. Kellogg's also made a special cereal called "Kellogg's Pep: The Solar Cereal" and published a "Tom Corbett Space Cadet News" newspaper.
