No, Dudley was more likely inspired by Sgt Preston of the RCMP. Which brings back sappy childhood memories of my family sitting in the living room listening to "Challenge Of The Yukon" on Canadian radio before we had a television. (Yes, I'm showing my age here. But we are talking history. Right?)
Just to bring this back to history and spanking... In 326 radio episodes, did the stiff-backed Sgt Preston ever get around to spanking anybody?