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The Roy Rogers Kid

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BBC Radio Scotland - The Roy Rogers Kid

The modern day fairy tale of Mimi Swift, adopted daughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

Stephen Jardine meets Mimi Swift and her family as she returns to the children's home in Edinburgh that she left 65 years ago, to become the daughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

In this modern day fairy-tale for Christmas, Stephen Jardine meets our Scottish "Annie", who left a children's home in Edinburgh to begin a new life in California as the daughter of two of the biggest stars of their day. After a childhood spent in a series of children’s homes, Marion Fleming was discovered 65 years ago by the legendary Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  The Hollywood stars had come to Edinburgh in the Spring of 1954 on tour with their Wild West Show that included Trigger, "the smartest horse in show business". While they were here, they visited Dunforth, a Church of Scotland children's home in Edinburgh where Marion stepped forward to sing them a song. The famous couple were so charmed that they wanted to take the petite 13 year old home with them! A  few months later Marion found herself boarding a plane bound for  California - not realising that she would never come back to stay. This year, she returned with her own children on a once in a lifetime trip, to reconnect with her Scottish roots and to share this magical chapter in her family's history.

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