Bar 27 Corral (Heck Harper)

Bar 27 Corral (Heck Harper's Bar 27 Corral)
November 9, 1953 - November 2, 1956


KPTV's own singing cowboy, Hector "Heck Harper" Flateau.

This western show, featuring Heck Harper, brought enjoyable entertainment to kids of all ages. As foreman of the Bar 27 Corral, Heck sang and told stories of the Old West.

The show would open with Heck greeting his "Ranch Hands," (children on the show) then telling a story, which was usually 15 minutes of a full-length cowboy film, run as a serial over four consecutive days. After the film, Heck would sing a few more songs and give some personal words to his "Ranch Hands."

One of the most memorable moments of the program featured Heck singing a song to the children celebrating a birthday that day. The composition, which was Heck's own, became a favorite among children and adults alike. Today, more than fifty years after Bar 27 Corral, Heck's "Happy Birthday, Happy" song is still sung by his loyal and adoring fans.


Heck plays a tune for a young guest.

Happy Birthday, happy.
Happy Birthday this is your day
so have a lot of fun.
Happy Birthday, happy.
Happy Birthday we'll keep rolling
until the day is done.
Blow out the candles on your cake
and make a wish,
and we'll have everybody's favorite dish.
Happy Birthday, happy.
Happy Birthday, happy.
Happy Birthday we'll keep rolling
until the day is done.

--Heck Harper's birthday song

Thanks to Patty Hathaway and Lee Luther for their help with the lyrics to Heck's birthday song.


Heck Harper and his faithful companion "Jodie."

"HECK" HARPER ... CHILDREN'S IDOL

Heck Harper, amiable foreman of KPTV's "Heck Harper's Bar 27 Corral", is the idol of Portland children who flock to his 4:30-5:00 p.m. show and write in requests 3 to 4 months in advance of the date in order to appear with him.

Harper, in his own right, can well be classed as one of Portland's first citizens for the vast amount of benefits he plays. He gives freely and cheerfully of his time and talent to any show or appearance dedicated to the welfare of children. Heck has received numerous awards and honors for his many appearances of this type. In addition to his regular full schedule, he has been known to make as many as four of these gratis appearances in one day.

Harper, who was born and raised in the Mid-West, claims he is still just a "plain old country boy" although he started in radio at the age of 11 years and has been in some form of show business ever since. Early in his career he worked in the Mid-West in radio, theaters and at rodeos and fairs. He had moved up in show business, having the singing lead in the Gene Raymond production "Gold Bricks of 1941" and was ready to sign on as a permanent performer on the "National Barn Dance" when World War II came along and he traded in his spurs for a uniform and spent four-and-a-half years with the combat engineers--3 of which were in the ETO.


Heck played the guitar and sang songs to his "ranch hands" on KPTV's "Bar 27 Corral."

After his discharge in June of 1945, Heck went back to radio, TV and club appearances in Oregon and Hollywood. He appeared for a year as Western vocalist with Skinny Ennis' orchestra, and has worked with many of the big Western bands including Tex Williams, Spade Cooley, Rex Allen, Sons of the Pioneers, and Red Foley.

Before coming to Portland, Heck worked on KING-TV in Seattle. Besides his regular "Bar 27 Corral" Show, Heck also has the Western Theater from 5:00-5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, on KPTV and emcees the Eddie Arnold film show on that station, 6:30-7:00 p.m., Fridays. In addition to his television activities, he does six radio shows a week on KGW (radio), 5:45-7:00 a.m. Monday through Friday, and a Saturday night show from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

A handsome man astride his horse, Harper was the ideal choice for Grand Marshall of the Junior Rose Parade in 1954. (It wouldn't be a bad idea to have him in that position of honor every year--the small fry would be pleased.)

Heck's wife, Martha, gives him a hand in answering his fan letters, which number over 400 a week. The Harpers are parents of a son, Sam, who, unlike his father, doesn't hanker to be a cowboy, but is interested in becoming an electrical engineer.

Article in TV Radio Entertainment Guide, January 15, 1956

In honor of Ramblin' Rod's 25th Anniversary, Heck made an
appearance at Oak's Park in 1989.

Bar 27 Corral BROADCAST HISTORY

NOV 1953 - : MON-FRI 5:30PM-6:00PM
JAN 1956 - NOV 1956: MON-FRI 4:30PM-5:00PM

I grew up in the 50's & 60's in McMinnville, OR, about 36 miles away from Portland. We watched the Heck Harper show with complete attention every day. I liked Heck Harper because he did not act goofy like the other kid shows. He seemed like an actual nice cowboy to me.

When my birthday came around I was beyond happy that my parents were taking us five kids to the show. All I could think about was the GIANT sized Sugar Daddy candy that was given to birthday guests. I was salivating over that idea like you would not believe. I can still picture the kids on the first row in the audience holding that bright yellow paddle shaped wrapper with a stick handle. It looked bigger than the kids. My actual birthday was not on the day we attended the show, so when the big birthday buildup came, they asked the audience the specific question: "Who has a birthday TODAY?"....having been raised to only tell the truth, and being so young and naive, I did not raise my hand, because my birthday was a few days previous....and I missed out on my glorious candy opportunity! Oh, agony. I was so crushed when I realized what had happened that I don't think I uttered a word about it until today.

A few years later, I remember seeing Heck in person with his beautiful horse at our local Yamhill county Fair.

Our TV time was policed by our parents, and we actually believed them when the TV "broke" at the beginning of every summer, forcing us to play outside and pursue our own creative activities!

We also watched Ramblin' Rod, Rusty Nails, and Addie Bobkin's shows, but my heart belonged to Heck.

Barbara

San Francisco, CA

My family was one of the last in our neighborhood to get a TV. I always managed to be at a friend's house after school, who had a TV, when Heck Harper was on.

Walt Larson
Anchorage, AK

I remember way back when, (must have been around 1962), I had gone over to my best friend's house to watch Heck Harper. Her name was Becky Flateau, which happened to be Heck Harper's niece. As we were watching the show, we decided we wanted to be on it. We figured that if we got a screw driver, we could unscrew the screen of the TV and climb right into the show! We thought it to be a great plan, until her mom, Mary, came in and stopped us. I never did make it on his show, but my older sister did. I'll never forget the picture she got of Heck Harper and Jodie. I was always jealous!

Kassie Koch

Portland, Oregon

This page last updated on September 07, 2025