The Adventures of the O.B. Ranger

The O.B. Ranger Rides Again!
Gary Allyn et. al. / Audio CD (c. 1970, Officially published 1999)

To Buy His CDs...

Neil Ross' is a partner of Gary Allyn and an integral part of the success of the O.B. Ranger series. All three CDs of the OB Ranger cover some 54 episodes.

Background

"From out of the cave at the foot of Sunset Cliffs, the thundering hoofbeats pound with a hearty Hi Ho Sylvia Away! The O.B. Ranger rides again! The O.B. Ranger and his trusty sidekick, Indian, riding his swift pinto named Ford, embark on another moonlight mission, raiding the dwellings of Ocean Beach, in search of...illegal and mytherious goings-on!"

Far Out! Groovy! and Outasite! Why didn't he mention Right On?

I have been meaning to report this story for a while, but other matters have tied me up. I have just received the first chapter of the CD being offered to fans of the nearly 30-year-old former morning show staple coming from the ancient days of Tijuana's 90.3

The Comedic Crimefighter CD came in within a week and the first few episodes I listened to, I was literally laughing like crazy.

The re-mixed and re-packaged original "Adventures of the O.B. Ranger, Volume 1" as heard in the early 1970's on XHIS (now XHITZ 90.3 FM) is now available on CD. Gary Allyn is offering these at the Official O.B. Ranger Web site. http://www.garyallyn.com/The_O.B.html

John Fox, correspondent for Radio Digest http://www . radiodigest . com (website dead) has these liner notes:

"In the early 1970's, San Diego's Sunset Cliffs became the birthing place of the city's most unexpectedly successful crime fighter and mythical master of malaprop, The O.B. Ranger.

"Some day, this hollowed ground will take its rightful place in history....to be bulldozed for condos. Just the kind of illegan and nefarious goings-on that get the Ranger hot under his paisley mask.

"As a longtime fan of Gary, Neil, Lee, and everyone involved with the O.B. Ranger series on XHIS-FM 90 (now Jammin' Z-90.3), I hope you're just as excited as I am about reliving those thrilling days of yesteryear as...The O.B. Ranger Rides Again!"

Tab Lloyd, Editor of the Ocean Beach Daily Flash states "...the 1940's gave us The Lone Ranger, the 50's had Inspector Clouseau, the 60's had Batman...why the 1970's sent us this Doofus-O.B. Ranger, I'll never know...I mean Duh!...Ocean Beach has never been the same since he got here..."

As a teenager, I wasn't fortunate enough to discover it and I had no idea that this is one of the biggest features in the history of San Diego radio. When it was airing on radio, I was watching old reruns of Yogi Bear on channel 11, figuring that would make me smarter than the average high school student!

In the early 1970's, XHIS Stereo 90, a station playing music for HIM (there also was a XHERS for HER at the time, which is now Radio Latina 104.5) was playing songs by Cream, Creedence, Stones, and Hendrix. In the mornings, there was also a somewhat mysterious and not always smoothly presented visitor from south of the border. There really was, and is, something exotic in Spanish call letters: "Equis Hache Ee Esse, Tijuana, Baja California, May-hee-co." as John Fox says.

Fox also reported on mornings at 90.3, there were bits in the form of parody commercials as well as the strangely compelling serial called "The O.B. Ranger."

Gary Allyn with a supporting cast of talents like Lee Mirabal and Neilson "Neil" Ross have created a homebrewed comedy radio theater serial for the commuting minds of San Diegans to enjoy. It had a punny announcer much like Rocky and Bullwinkle and was, of course, steeped in the drug culture of San Diego's own Hippie Hangout, Ocean Beach.

Remember, this took place in the days when the better-known Cheech and Chong were making the drug reference rounds on FM rock radio.

This past November saw the release of three volumes of the original O.B. Ranger series all on CDs. There are fifty-five episodes out of the original 98, which is a total of about three-and-a-half hours beginning with "O.B. Ranger Meets His Arch Enemy - Panama Red" and concluding with "A Christmas Special Featuring the Entire Cast."

Other memorable characters present and accounted for include: gunfighter Lave Sus Manos, British secret agent Series E Bond, bad guys Emil Nitrate, Kilo Kane, Count Downer, Madame Sativa, the aforementioned Panama Red and assorted others including Grassie the dog, Miss Melons and Swami Rama Lama Ding Dong.

Volume 1's highlights include the O.B. Ranger meets his arch enemy--Panama Red, William Weed invites O.B. Ranger to a party, encounter Lave sus Manos, This is Your Strife, meets Series E. Bond, Sylvia is Horse-Knapped, looking for the Easter Bunny, and more.

Volume 2, coming soon, has the O.B. Ranger and Indian at a rock concert, O.B. is fired, son of O.B.?, Ranger gets a recording contract, and more.

Volume 3, coming soon, has them meeting the Creepy Little Guy, going to Rock La Lame's Health Spa, encountering Emile Nitrate, Grassie the Narc Dog, the Oddfather, Dr. Mal Practice, twin brother O.D., and A Christmas Special featuring the Entire Cast!

To order your authentic O.B. Ranger C.D. (Vol 1), Send $16.95 to, Gary Allyn S.F., P.O. Box 755, Escondido, Calif 92033, or visit his website http://www.garyallyn.com/The_O.B.html and read more about Gary and his O.B. Ranger.

Ocean Beach's comedic crimefighter returns with his faithful sidekick-INDIAN. Great Retro-Laffs as O.B. & INDIAN pursue their arch-enemy-PANAMA RED, and many other villains! Don't miss out on: The Adventures Of The O.B. Ranger digitized in STEREO, just for the fun of it!

Gary Allyn worked at dozens of radio stations all over America including KCBQ, KDEO, XTRA, XHIS & XHERS, KSEA, & KEZL (KSDO-FM) in San Diego and KWIZ & KIQQ in the Los Angeles Metro area.

Gary Allyn has been an on-air talent of some note, a production director, music director, program director, operations manager & National P.D. for several radio companies over the decades.

Additionally, Gary owned an operated "Top Spots" recording studio; writing voicing and producing 1000's of commercials and voice overs. Gary also co-owned an advertising agency, worked as a booking agent for acts, and owned a record company & label: "LYN" records. He was on the second all-album station in America that broadcast in multi-plex stereo, -the license was #2!

Known for his dry wit, topical humor, and a "punster" of long standing, Gary also was a comedy writer for comedians Woody Woodbury, "Herky" Stiles, and Lenny Bruce, plus, he has written many album liner notes.

Gary is credited with being among the very first to air the "Cash Call" Contest, The "Millionaire" contest, "Winnit Weekends". Along with Neil Ross, Gary wrote, voiced and produced the first 3-hour Beatles documentary "The Long and Winding Road". He programmed what was to be the fore-runner to "Classic Rock" or all AOR album stations.

Check out http://www.garyallyn.com/The_O.B.html for more information.

WARNING! The Surgeon Colonel (The General refused our offer) has determined that listening to this material could be harmful to your Funny Bone, with possible side effects such as uncontrollable laughter and a serious desire to eat "munchies."