Ah, sweet Memory Lane!
I'd actually forgotten this about one of my favorite childhood shows--I'm teased in real life for saying, "Whoa, Nelly," but had no idea where I got it from. It was from Roy Rogers!
Nellybelle the Jeep
Nellybelle the Jeep - Old WWII CJ-2A Jeep that was constantly conking out on Pat Brady, the bumbling cook and sidekick of Roy Rogers "King of the Cowboys" and Dale Evans "Queen of the West (& Cowgirls)" on the western adventure THE ROY ROGERS SHOW/NBC/1951-57. As Pat Brady drove around Mineral City, the setting of the series, he had the odd habit of talking sweetly to his Jeep as if his verbal compliments could convince Nellybelle to get up and go. Roy Rogers chose to include a Jeep into the program because he noticed that after WWII, the Jeeps were real popular, especially with children. Rogers himself owned a Jeep which he used for hunting, off road cruising and travel to and from his studio. Nellybelle's license number was 3P5-388.
Nelly belle was a 1946 Willys CJ-2A Jeep, which had some unusual bodywork. It was in fact owned by Roy, but was driven in the show by his comic sidekick, Pat Brady. The name apparently developed out of Pat riding an ornery mule in the earlier movies, and addressing it with phrases like "Whoa, Nelly!" In most episodes of the show, Nellybelle's name is painted on her doors. You can see Nellybelle II and many wonderful memories of Roy and Dale's life, at their museum in Branson, MO.
http://www.offroaders.com/tech/jeep/Jeep.htm
But this isn't Roy Rogers:
On 1/2/09 at 10:24 AM, OldBangor wrote in The Bangor Daily News:
Fausto:
"Whoa, Nellie, not so fast." (?)
My Grandfather used to say:
"Hold 'er, Newt, she's headed 'fer the rhubarb!"
OldBangor
