Remembering Gadabout Gaddis – The Flying Fishermen
By
Bob Salerno
Scan a TV program guide anywhere in the country and you’re sure to find a variety of fishing shows. Whether it’s big game fishing in the Indian Ocean, trout fishing in New Zealand or bass tournaments in Florida, anglers are sure to find something of interest. Hosted by fishing experts, fishing expert wannabes, sports and Hollywood personalities, (politicians have yet to try this venue) satellite and cable networks air these “cast and catch” half-hours throughout the year. Although some of the shows offer tips and technical advice, most are filmed through rose colored lens in far away exotic locations that few blue-collar anglers can afford to visit.
Back in the sixties one particular man inspired anglers young and old in a simple believable manner. Know by the moniker “The Flying Fishermen”, Gadabout Roscoe Vernon Gaddis was a hero - not a Hollywood action hero that single-handedly obliterated evil or a sports icon that hawked everything from shaving cream to rental cars. Gaddabout represented a different kind of hero; he fueled imagination and ignited a spirit of adventure in everyone that watched his shows.
Gadabout Gaddis considered himself to be the luckiest man alive. From childhood all he ever wanted to do was fish and roam. As he traveled and fished throughout North America Gadabout filmed many of his adventures. The handle Gadabout stuck when a sales manager at the Shakespeare Tackle Company casually used the name in reference to his constant “gaddin about” the country somewhere. He enjoyed sharing his experiences with fellow anglers at outdoor shows and sportsman’s clubs where his narrations were akin to sitting around a pot bellied stove and telling tall tales. During World War II Gaddis set up a program with Special Services touring bases and hospitals where he would put on a two-hour show and tell presentation. On weekends he made arrangements to take out fishing parties of enlisted men and officers. In 1952 he purchased a red and white Piper Cherokee satisfying a lifetime dream. “The Flying Fishermen” was now able to explore never-fished wilderness waters of North America. The plane also provided Gadabout a means to pursue his ambition to fish in all of the 48 contiguous states. By his death in 1986, Gaddabout Gaddis is said to have fished in every state including Alaska and Hawaii.
Prior to the 1960’s, Gadabout’s fishing enthusiasm was spread through radio in Schenectady New York and some of his films were shown on experimental television to audiences in the Philadelphia area. In 1963 Winston Mergott, an avid fishermen and general manager of Liberty Mutual Insurance approached Gaddis with the idea a national television show. Mergott’s research that there were some sixty million fishing addicts in the country who were ripe for Gaddis’s unique story telling and travel experiences. Despite stiff opposition from the advertising division, Mergott and Gaddis were given a test run of 13 weeks in the fall of 1963 on New York City’s WOR-TV. Although the New York and New Jersey market was not a hotbed of angling excitement, it was the world leader for insurance and television. The show passed the acid test and Liberty Mutual Insurance signed a seven-year deal that loaded the show into fifty markets nation wide.
The Flying Fisherman never professed to be an expert. He considered himself an average fisherman that takes pictures for average fishermen. He steered clear of expensive resorts while filming, instead going where the average Joe could afford to go. He used tackle that could be purchased for less than fifty dollars, never showing off with an advantage that the average angler didn’t have.
He always instilled a high degree of believability in his shows. He filmed what happened. If he failed to catch anything that was what was showed, or if he got hung up in a tree or slipped on a rock his viewers saw that too.
Gadabout Gaddis was a true outdoorsman in every sense of the word. He represented everyone’s dream to be free to fish and explore new waters. Some thirty-plus years later this man’s spirit still effects me. I can still picture the clouds parting for Gadabout with his white brimmed hat and plaid shirt as he piloted his single engine plane to another fishing adventure.
By
Bob Salerno
Scan a TV program guide anywhere in the country and you’re sure to find a variety of fishing shows. Whether it’s big game fishing in the Indian Ocean, trout fishing in New Zealand or bass tournaments in Florida, anglers are sure to find something of interest. Hosted by fishing experts, fishing expert wannabes, sports and Hollywood personalities, (politicians have yet to try this venue) satellite and cable networks air these “cast and catch” half-hours throughout the year. Although some of the shows offer tips and technical advice, most are filmed through rose colored lens in far away exotic locations that few blue-collar anglers can afford to visit.
Back in the sixties one particular man inspired anglers young and old in a simple believable manner. Know by the moniker “The Flying Fishermen”, Gadabout Roscoe Vernon Gaddis was a hero - not a Hollywood action hero that single-handedly obliterated evil or a sports icon that hawked everything from shaving cream to rental cars. Gaddabout represented a different kind of hero; he fueled imagination and ignited a spirit of adventure in everyone that watched his shows.
Gadabout Gaddis considered himself to be the luckiest man alive. From childhood all he ever wanted to do was fish and roam. As he traveled and fished throughout North America Gadabout filmed many of his adventures. The handle Gadabout stuck when a sales manager at the Shakespeare Tackle Company casually used the name in reference to his constant “gaddin about” the country somewhere. He enjoyed sharing his experiences with fellow anglers at outdoor shows and sportsman’s clubs where his narrations were akin to sitting around a pot bellied stove and telling tall tales. During World War II Gaddis set up a program with Special Services touring bases and hospitals where he would put on a two-hour show and tell presentation. On weekends he made arrangements to take out fishing parties of enlisted men and officers. In 1952 he purchased a red and white Piper Cherokee satisfying a lifetime dream. “The Flying Fishermen” was now able to explore never-fished wilderness waters of North America. The plane also provided Gadabout a means to pursue his ambition to fish in all of the 48 contiguous states. By his death in 1986, Gaddabout Gaddis is said to have fished in every state including Alaska and Hawaii.
Prior to the 1960’s, Gadabout’s fishing enthusiasm was spread through radio in Schenectady New York and some of his films were shown on experimental television to audiences in the Philadelphia area. In 1963 Winston Mergott, an avid fishermen and general manager of Liberty Mutual Insurance approached Gaddis with the idea a national television show. Mergott’s research that there were some sixty million fishing addicts in the country who were ripe for Gaddis’s unique story telling and travel experiences. Despite stiff opposition from the advertising division, Mergott and Gaddis were given a test run of 13 weeks in the fall of 1963 on New York City’s WOR-TV. Although the New York and New Jersey market was not a hotbed of angling excitement, it was the world leader for insurance and television. The show passed the acid test and Liberty Mutual Insurance signed a seven-year deal that loaded the show into fifty markets nation wide.
The Flying Fisherman never professed to be an expert. He considered himself an average fisherman that takes pictures for average fishermen. He steered clear of expensive resorts while filming, instead going where the average Joe could afford to go. He used tackle that could be purchased for less than fifty dollars, never showing off with an advantage that the average angler didn’t have.
He always instilled a high degree of believability in his shows. He filmed what happened. If he failed to catch anything that was what was showed, or if he got hung up in a tree or slipped on a rock his viewers saw that too.
Gadabout Gaddis was a true outdoorsman in every sense of the word. He represented everyone’s dream to be free to fish and explore new waters. Some thirty-plus years later this man’s spirit still effects me. I can still picture the clouds parting for Gadabout with his white brimmed hat and plaid shirt as he piloted his single engine plane to another fishing adventure.
I watched his shows faithfully as a kid, I remember it was a extra special if Gadabout Gaddis was on the tv.
I meant to respond to this earlier, Jeepin brought it back to my attention. Oh and welcome back jeepin, sites been fairly quiet while you were gone.
Last edited by aqualung on Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:22 am; edited 1 time in total
I meant to respond to this earlier, Jeepin brought it back to my attention. Oh and welcome back jeepin, sites been fairly quiet while you were gone.
Last edited by aqualung on Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:22 am; edited 1 time in total
