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.