John Dehner

 

John Dehner was born on November 23, 1915 and was an American radio, film, and television actor who played countless roles, often as likeable villains. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in more than 260 films and television programs. Before acting, Dehner had worked as an animator for Walt Disney Studios (Burbank) and as a radio disc jockey. He was also a professional pianist. Born in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, Dehner had a long career as a radio actor, playing leading roles or supporting roles in series such as Gunsmoke and Philip Marlowe. He made his debut as Paladin in the radio version of Have Gun – Will Travel, one of the few occasions when a show that began on television was adapted for radio. In 1958, on CBS Radio, he starred in Frontier Gentleman, a Western series that began with a trumpet theme written by Jerry Goldsmith. The show was written and directed by Antony Ellis.

Dehner starred alongside Maudie Prickett in the 1953 episode “Bad Men of Marysville” in the western series The Adventures of Kit Carson, starring Bill Williams. He was a guest star in the 1955-1956 NBC western anthology series Frontier, as well as in the CBS Cold War drama Crusader, starring Brian Keith. He played Sheriff Henry Plummer in an episode of the 1954-1955 series Stories of the Century, with Jim Davis in the role of Matt Clark. In 1966, he played the killer “Iron Man” Torres in the episode “Night of the Steel Assassin” in the series The Wild Wild West, starring Robert Conrad.

Dehner gave two memorable performances in the ABC series Maverick (1957), starring James Garner, in the episodes “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres” and “Greenbacks, Unlimited.” He also played Pat Garrett in Gore Vidal's film adaptation of The Left-Handed Gun, starring Paul Newman as Billy the Kid. Dehner appeared in the film Scaramouche (1952) as Doutreval of Dijon, and played Mr. Bascombe, a non-singing character, in the 1956 film version of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical Carousel.

Dehner played Colonel Tedesco in the drama included in the anthology series Playhouse 90 The Killers of Mussolini, based on a story by A.E. Hotchner. Other TV appearances included three episodes of Hogan's Heroes, and in 1957 he worked on Texas Rangers with Gale Storm.

Dehner appeared in three episodes of The Twilight Zone: as Captain Allenby in “The Lonely” (1959); as an engineer who receives a curse in “The Jungle” (1961); and in a role in “Mr. Garrity and the Graves,” in the show's fifth and final season.

He also guest-starred in the episode “Three” of the crime series The Brothers Brannagan, starring Stephen Dunne and Mark Roberts, and played an old French general in an episode of the series Combat! titled “The General and the Sergeant.” During the same period, he worked on another short-lived series set in World War II, The Gallant Men, in the episode “A Moderately Quiet Sunday,” where he played a German captain.

Dehner appeared in several episodes of the series The Rifleman, playing different characters. He was also a guest star on the NBC show The Wide Country, a drama about rodeo competitors that aired in 1962-63. In an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, he played Colonel Harvey, and the following season he guest-starred in Jack Palance's circus-themed series for ABC, The Greatest Show on Earth, and in the CBS production Glynis, starring Glynis Johns and Keith Andes. Dehner was cast in the first season episode of F Troop “Honest Injun,” playing a crooked medicine man. In 1966, he guest-starred in the episode “Power of Fear” on Barry Sullivan's NBC western series The Road West, and also played the recurring role of Morgan Starr on The Virginian. In 1970, he worked on the film Cheyenne's Social Club, starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda.

Between 1971 and 1973, he played Cy Bennett, Doris Martin's boss on The Doris Day Show. He also appeared in the Columbo episodes “Swan Song” (1974) and “Last Salute to the Commodore” (1978), where he played the title character, the commodore. In 1983, he starred in an NBC television series, Bare Essence, in which he played Hadden Marshall. 

 

Dehner also played various historical figures, including Pat Garrett in the 1957 western film The Left-Handed Gun; Jean Lafitte in the 1964 episode “The Gentleman from New Orleans” in the series Bonanza; Thomas Jefferson in the 1964 episode “Plague” from the anthology series The Great Adventure; Dean Acheson in the 1974 TV movie The Missiles of October; Lafayette C. Baker in the 1977 film The Lincoln Conspiracy; John Muir in the 1979 TV movie Guardian of the Wilderness; Henry Luce in the 1983 film The Right Stuff; and Admiral Ernest King in the 1988 miniseries War and Remembrance. One of his last performances was as a friendly judge in the thriller The Edge of Suspicion.

John Dehner died of emphysema and diabetes in Santa Barbara, California on February 4, 1992. He was 76 years old. He was buried in Carpinteria Cemetery, California

Have Gun – Will Travel

 

Have Gun – Will Travel is was American Western television series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. A radio series starring John Dehner debuted November 23, 1958, more than a year after the premiere of its televised counterpart, making Have Gun – Will Travel one of the few shows in television history to spawn a successful radio version

Cowboys and Western stories did not have the same impact on the Radio as they did in Hollywood Movies. Several factors made Westerns a staple of the Movies, chiefly that they were relatively cheap to make and audiences were sure to enjoy the action-packed stories and beautiful southwestern landscapes. On the Radio, Westerns were largely relegated to Kiddie Programming with shows like The Lone Ranger, Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders, Straight Arrow, Red Ryder, and others.

The first "grown-up Western" on the Radio was CBS's Gunsmoke, a much grittier and realistic telling of the Old West. Arguably one of the greatest programs of the OTR era, at the time the Network was desperate to find material for its growing TV presence. Despite the objections of the show's creators, CBS was sure Gunsmoke would be a hit on the Small Screen. Both sides were correct, and soon CBS was looking for more shows to complement their Western TV hit.

Richard Boone starred in the TV version and was integral to the show's success. However, when CBS Radio floated the idea of bringing Have Gun – Will Travel to the radio, the part of Paladin was given to Radio Western regular, John Dehner. Paladin came from a wealthy family "back East" and had served as an officer in the Union Cavalry. After the Civil War, he made his way West, eventually settling into permanent residence at San Francisco's Carleton Hotel. Compared to other fictional Western Heroes, Paladin was very much a "dude" at home, he wore the finest clothes, supported the arts, spoke several languages, was president of the San Francisco Stock Exchange Club, was an expert chess (and poker) player, and always had an eye out for pretty ladies. When Paladin changed into his work clothes, any impressions of a "dude" fell away immediately.

The costume change was more visually effective in the visual medium of TV, of course. According to network mythology, when Richard Boone did his screen-test for the role, the only costume that fit him was the all-black gunslinger ensemble, which simply worked for the character. Dehner was more of a "dude" on the radio, and even more ruthless in the lawless lands that his job took him.

Like the Knights of old and radio's Hard-boiled detectives, Paladin had a very strict code of personal honor. Presenting himself as a mercenary (his standard fee was $1,000 in 1870s money), he would not hesitate to take a "charity case" if he ran across a just cause. Paladin made it a point to inform his clients that he was not an assassin and preferred to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence (although it rarely went that way). He could more than hold his own in fisticuffs, and was absolutely deadly with the Marlin Rifle tied to his saddle and the Colt .45 Single Action Army revolver strapped to his hip.

The Have Gun – Will Travel radio show broadcast 106 episodes on the CBS Radio Network between November 23, 1958, and November 27, 1960. It was one of the last radio dramas featuring continuing characters and one of only a handful of American radio adaptations of a television series. John Dehner (a regular on the radio series version of Gunsmoke) played Paladin, and Ben Wright usually (but not always) played Hey Boy. Virginia Gregg played Miss Wong, Hey Boy's girlfriend, before the television series featured the character of Hey Girl. Unlike the small-screen version, this medium usually had a tag scene at the Carlton at both the beginning and the end of the episode. Initially, the episodes were adaptations of the television program as broadcast earlier the same week, but eventually, original stories were produced, including a finale ("From Here to Boston", "Inheritance", and "Goodbye, Paladin") in which Paladin leaves San Francisco, perhaps forever, to claim an inheritance back east. The radio version was written by producer/writer Roy Winsor.

The TV program ran from 1957 through 1963 and had 225 episodes. Three novels were based on the television show, all with the title of the show.