From the mid 1950s to the early 1960s the TV Western was King. At the genre�s peak the three networks aired more than thirty prime time horse operas every week. While Dad may have enjoyed Marshall Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke or Bat Masterson, Detroit�s little buckaroos had at least three local cowboy heroes to look up to; Sagebrush Shorty, Justice Colt and Cactus Dan.

The Cactus Dan Show, with Dan Edwards, aired on WWJ-TV in the mid 1950s. Dressed in the appropriate Stetson hat, vest and cowboy boots, Cactus Dan hosted half-hour episodes of The Adventures of Kit Carson and Steve Donovan, Western Marshall in an Old West setting. Necco Skybar, a weird chocolate candy concoction with four different flavored centers, sponsored the show.

 Though he appeared on Detroit television for about five years, not much is known about Dan Edwards. WWJ-TV alumnus Sonny Eliot, who has an unfailing memory regarding the halcyon days of Detroit TV, doesn�t recall Edwards working at the station. A check of vintage 1950s AFTRA Detroit Talent Directories, the Who�s Who of Detroit TV talent, fail to list his name. A WWJ inter-office memo from 1955 does survive, thanking Edwards for his appearance on Ardis Kenealy�s Romper Room.

 In 1958 Cactus Dan slowly disappeared into the sunset, just a flickering, faded memory for those little Detroit buckaroos who are now in their mid 50s