Have Gun — Will Travel
Encyclopedia
Have Gun — Will Travel is an American Western
television series that aired on CBS
from 1957 through 1963. It was rated either number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings during each year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958.
Have Gun — Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe
and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series (several were written by Gene Roddenberry
), of which 101 were directed by Andrew McLaglen
and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone
.
s in newspapers like The Times
, indicating that the advertiser was ready for anything. It was used in this way from the early 1900s. A form common in theatrical advertising was "Have tux, will travel," and this was the inspiration for the writer Herb Meadow. The TV show popularized the phrase in the 1960s
, and many variations of it were used as titles for other works such as Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert Heinlein.
emblem centered in a black background is shown. The view widens to show that the knight is actually an emblem affixed onto the black pistol holster of a gunman, clad entirely in black, who is standing with right side to the camera, and his left hand in the pistol belt. Only his midsection, showing the full gun holster, is seen. Paladin's right hand then slowly draws the weapon, a long-barreled revolver, from the holster, leisurely cocks it, and then rotates it to point the barrel exactly at the viewer, for 10 seconds. During this time, Paladin delivers a pointed line of dialogue from the coming episode (since the speaker's face is never seen, this is possible to do with the same visual, in each episode). Then the pistol is again leisurely decocked, and reholstered with an angry brusqueness, which also serves as emphasis for the previous short speech. As soon as the weapon is reholstered, the view again tightens to show only the chess knight, and "RICHARD BOONE in HAVE GUN—WILL TRAVEL" appears. This leads into the show's theme music. In the actual episode that followed, the line delivered at gunpoint in the opening sequence is usually not delivered in this way. In Season 1's "No Visitors," the line does not occur in the story at all.
The first season's Christmas episode, "The Hanging Cross," is unique. Instead of drawing the revolver, Paladin unbuckles the belt and removes the entire rig, holding it out to the camera as he talks. The camera then tilts upward, revealing Richard Boone himself speaking to camera, then hanging the belt, holster, and gun on a wall peg and walking away as the theme picks up and the title graphics appear.
In a later version of the opening sequence, there is a longer range shot, with Paladin in a full-body profile silhouette, and he fast-draws the revolver, dropping into a slight crouch as he turns and points it directly at the camera. After the dubbed-over line, he straightens back up as he shoves the firearm back into his holster. This silhouette visual remained for the rest of the run of the series, but in later episodes, the spoken line would be dropped.
Beginning in season four, filming locations were often given in the closing credits.
Locations included Bishop and Lone Pine, California, Bend, Oregon and the Abbott Ranch near Prineville, Oregon.
on television, and by John Dehner
on radio), who preferred to settle problems without violence; yet, when forced to fight, excelled. Paladin lived in the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco, where he dressed in formal attire, ate gourmet food, and attended the opera. In fact, many who met him initially mistook him for a dandy from the East. But when working, he dressed in black, carried a derringer under his belt, used calling cards with a chess
knight
emblem, and wore a stereotypical western-style black gunbelt with the same chess knight symbol attached to the holster.
The knight symbol refers to his name — a nickname or working name — and his occupation as a champion-for-hire (see Paladin
). The theme song of the series refers to him as "a knight without armor." In "The Road to Wickenburg," Paladin draws a parallel between his methods and the chess piece's movement: "It's an attack piece, the most versatile on the board. It can move eight different ways, over barriers, and [is] always unexpected." Paladin's routine switch from the expensive light-colored suit of his genteel urbane persona in San Francisco to his alter ego who wears all-black attire for quests into the lawless and barren Western frontier is also a chess reference.
Paladin was a former Army officer and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point
. He was a polyglot
, capable of speaking any foreign tongue required by the plot. He also had a thorough knowledge of ancient history and classical literature, and he exhibited a strong passion for legal principles and the rule of law. Paladin was also a world traveler. His exploits had included an 1857 visit to India, where he had won the respect of the natives as a hunter of man-eating tigers.
Paladin took on his role by happenstance, as revealed in a flashback during the first episode of the final season ("Genesis" episode 193). To pay off a gambling IOU, he had been forced (by his creditor who obliquely referred to his "distinguished family name") to hunt down and kill a mysterious gunman called Smoke (played by Boone without his moustache and with grey-white hair). When they meet Smoke gives the Paladin character his nickname, facetiously calling him "a noble paladin" after a well-meaning, but mercenary, medieval knight. The turns out to be doubly ironic, as Smoke had revealed in his death scene that he had not been a criminal gunfighter, but instead had protected the nearby town from the man who had sent Paladin. During a funeral service in the town, it becomes clear that Smoke was indeed the protector of the townspeople. At the end of the episode, Paladin adopts Smoke's black outfit and confronts the other man (portrayed by William Conrad
, who also directed the installment). It is implied that Paladin kills him, thus protecting the town. The episode was unusually allegorical and mythical for a popular Western in 1962.
Paladin charged steep fees for his services — typically a thousand dollars a job. His primary weapon was a custom-made .45 caliber Colt Single Action Army
revolver that was perfectly balanced and of excellent craftsmanship. It had a one-ounce trigger pull and a rifled barrel
. The accuracy was given as "one inch to the right at fifty feet."
The lever-action Marlin rifle strapped to his horse's saddle was rarely used, but the horsehead insignia embossed on the rifle's stock suggests that this weapon was as meticulously crafted as the six-shooter. The derringer
(a double-barrel Remington in most episodes, a single-barrel Colt in some) that Paladin hid under his belt had saved his life numerous times. Paladin's intuitive sense of chesslike strategy—often anticipating moves ahead of his adversary, and backing it up with formidable skills in all areas of personal combat—plus his epicurean tastes and implied lust for women (when relaxing in San Francisco) made him very much a "James Bond" of the old West. Ever a man of refinement, Paladin even carried a few expensive cigars in his boot when out on adventure.
Paladin's great advantage over adversaries was not his impressive equipment, or his ability as a marksman, superior as this was; Paladin's edge was his rich education. He had an infallible ability to relate ancient antecedents to his current situations. When the enemy was surrounding him, Paladin could usually make some insightful quip about General Marcellus
and the siege of Syracuse
or something similar, and then use this insight to his advantage. Burying a rancher killed by Indians, he recited John Donne
's "Death Be Not Proud
" above the grave. In other episodes he quoted lengthy Shakespearean passages from memory. A male role model who memorized poetry was unique in a 1950s television series. Like a chess master
, he sought control of the board through superior position, and usually killed only as a last resort.
In the final episode of the radio show, Paladin returns to the East to claim a family inheritance. In the 1972–74 series Hec Ramsey
, set at the end of the 19th century, Boone stars as an older former gunfighter turned early forensic criminologist. But it is not true that Ramsey says, at one point, that in his younger days as a gunfighter, he had worked under the name Paladin. The origin of this myth is that Boone stated in an interview that "Hec Ramsey is Paladin — only fatter." Naturally, he merely meant that the characters had certain similarities: Ramsey, for his part, was practically buffoonish, imparting a measure of humor to Hec Ramsey that had been missing from Have Gun — Will Travel, compared to the erudite Paladin.
In the 2-part 1991 TV mini-series, "The Gambler - The Luck Of The Draw", a poker game is played by the rules of "the late Mr. Paladin" in the hotel Paladin stayed at. Paladin had died.
bellhop
at the Carlton Hotel, known as Hey Boy
, played by Kam Tong
. According to author
and historian
Martin Grams, Jr.
, the character of Hey Boy was featured in all but the fourth of the show's six seasons, with the character of Hey Girl, played by Lisa Lu
, replacing Hey Boy for season four while Kam Tong pursued a career with another television series.
In the 1957 episode "Hey Boy's Revenge," Lu appears playing Hey Boy's sister, Kim Li. In that episode, the audience also learns that Hey Boy's name is Kim Chan. (We also learn that Paladin can read Chinese in at least a rudimentary way.) In another episode from the first season, "The Singer," Hey Boy responds to a stranger who addresses him with "Hey you!" by annoyedly responding that it is "Hey Boy," and not "Hey you."
In the season/episode sequencing used by Netflix, Kam Tong (Hey Boy) did actually appear in three episodes of Season 4. Episode 1 (The Fatalist), Episode 2 (Love's Young Dream) and Episode 9 (The Marshal's Boy).
. Its closing theme song, "Ballad of Paladin," was written by Johnny Western
, Richard Boone, and Sam Rolfe, and was performed by Western.
. The episode of December 6, 1958 ("The Ballad of Oscar Wilde") takes place during Oscar Wilde
's tour of America in 1882.
On the other hand, in "Cage at McNaab", which was episode 23 of the sixth season (which originally aired 16 February 1963), Paladin is asked by the wife of a man who is condemned to die to visit him in prison and see if new evidence can be found to clear her husband. Not sure if he wants the job, Paladin agrees to the visit and it leads to quite an unexpected result. Paladin literally finds he now walks in another man's footsteps. While imprisoned, to prove he could not have spent the last year in solitary confinement, Paladin specifically states that, "Last week the liberal Republicans nominated Greely for President and Brown for Vice President." This was the 1872 election, indicating this occurred prior to November 1872, probably the summer of 1872. He also says, "Last May 22, the Amnesty Act for Confederate soldiers was signed." The Amnesty Act occurred in 1872 also. See: Ulysses S. Grant#Reconstruction 2" and United States presidential election, 1872
.
In the third season episode, "Pancho", Paladin tangles with a teenager named Doroteo Arango, a man who would later be better known as Pancho Villa
. The real Pancho Villa was not born until 1878.
s. These were for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series, for Richard Boone (1959); Best Western Series (1959); and Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series (Lead or Support), for Richard Boone (1960).
created Star Trek
, Bruce Geller
created Mission: Impossible
, and Harry Julian Fink
is one of the writers who created Dirty Harry
(the opening title and theme scene of the Dirty Harry sequel Magnum Force
would feature the same Paladin-like sequence of a handgun slowly cocked, and then finally pointed toward the camera, with a line of dialogue). Sam Peckinpah
wrote one episode, which aired in 1958. Both Star Trek and Mission: Impossible were produced by Desilu Productions
and later, Paramount Television
, which also now owns the rights to Have Gun — Will Travel through its successor company, CBS Television Distribution
.
(a regular on the radio series version of Gunsmoke
) played Paladin, and Ben Wright
usually (but not always) played Hey Boy. Virginia Gregg
played the role of Miss Wong, Hey Boy's girlfriend, before the television series began featuring the character of Hey Girl. Unlike the small-screen version, in this medium, there was usually a tag scene back 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 ("Goodbye, Paladin") in which Paladin left San Francisco, apparently forever, to claim an inheritance back East. The radio version of the show was written by producer/writer Roy Winsor
.
in 1959 as part of a series of novelizations of television shows. It was written by Barlow Meyers and illustrated by Nichols S. Firfires. The second was a 1960 paperback original, written for adults by Noel Lomis. The last book, called A Man Called Paladin, written by Frank C. Robertson
and published in 1963 by Collier-Macmillan in both hardback and paperback, is based on the television original episode, "Genesis," by Frank Rolfe. This novel is the only source where a name is given to the Paladin character, Clay Alexander, but fans of the series do not consider this name canonical. Dell Comics
published a number of comic books with original stories based on the television series.
In 2001, a trade paperback book titled The Have Gun — Will Travel Companion was published, documenting the history of the radio and television series. The 500-page book was authored by Martin Grams, Jr.
and Les Rayburn.
was named as a possible star in the Warner Bros.
production scripted by Larry Ferguson
and to be directed by The Fugitive
director Andrew Davis
. However, the film was not made.
In 2006, it was confirmed that the reports of a possible Have Gun — Will Travel movie starring Eminem
with a possible release date of 2008 was being made, although that was later changed to 2010, but now set for a 2013 release. Paramount Pictures
extended an 18-month option on the television series, and planned to transform the character of Paladin into a modern-day bounty hunter. Eminem was also expected to work on the soundtrack.
.
CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount
) has released the first five seasons of Have Gun — Will Travel on DVD in Region 1.
Note: In the second-season DVD, two of the episodes are mislabeled. On disk three, the episode titled "Treasure Trail" is actually "Hunt the Man Down," and on disk four, "Hunt the Man Down" is "Treasure Trail"; the "Wire Paladin" in each case refers to the other episode.
named Victor DeCosta won a federal court judgment in his second suit against CBS for trademark infringement, a decision supporting his claim that he had created both the Paladin character and some concepts seen in the series.
Historically, the real Paladin was a king of Babylonia called "Nabu-Apla-Iddina", complete with Paladin's "Chess Knight" (actually an astrological sign) above his head on this 875-850 B.C. tablet: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/File:Nabu-apla-iddina_confirming_a_grant_of_land.jpg
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television series that aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1957 through 1963. It was rated either number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings during each year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958.
Have Gun — Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe
Sam Rolfe
Samuel Harris Rolfe was an American screenwriter best known for his work on 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Eleventh Hour, both on NBC.-Background:Rolfe was born in New York...
and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series (several were written by Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
), of which 101 were directed by Andrew McLaglen
Andrew McLaglen
Andrew Victor McLaglen is a British-American film and television director and former actor.Andrew McLaglen was born in London, the son of British actor Victor McLaglen and Enid Lamont. He was from a film family that included eight uncles and an aunt, and he grew up on movie sets with his parents...
and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone
Richard Boone
Richard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
.
Title
The title was a catchphrase used in personal advertisementPersonal advertisement
A personal or personal ad is an item or notice traditionally in the newspaper, similar to a classified ad but in nature. In British English it is also commonly known as an advert in a lonely hearts column. With its rise in popularity, the World Wide Web has also become a common medium for...
s in newspapers like The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, indicating that the advertiser was ready for anything. It was used in this way from the early 1900s. A form common in theatrical advertising was "Have tux, will travel," and this was the inspiration for the writer Herb Meadow. The TV show popularized the phrase in the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, and many variations of it were used as titles for other works such as Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert Heinlein.
Opening sequence
Originally, each show opened with exactly the same 45-second visual. Over a slow four-note-repeat backbeat score, a tight shot of a white chess knightKnight (chess)
The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
emblem centered in a black background is shown. The view widens to show that the knight is actually an emblem affixed onto the black pistol holster of a gunman, clad entirely in black, who is standing with right side to the camera, and his left hand in the pistol belt. Only his midsection, showing the full gun holster, is seen. Paladin's right hand then slowly draws the weapon, a long-barreled revolver, from the holster, leisurely cocks it, and then rotates it to point the barrel exactly at the viewer, for 10 seconds. During this time, Paladin delivers a pointed line of dialogue from the coming episode (since the speaker's face is never seen, this is possible to do with the same visual, in each episode). Then the pistol is again leisurely decocked, and reholstered with an angry brusqueness, which also serves as emphasis for the previous short speech. As soon as the weapon is reholstered, the view again tightens to show only the chess knight, and "RICHARD BOONE in HAVE GUN—WILL TRAVEL" appears. This leads into the show's theme music. In the actual episode that followed, the line delivered at gunpoint in the opening sequence is usually not delivered in this way. In Season 1's "No Visitors," the line does not occur in the story at all.
The first season's Christmas episode, "The Hanging Cross," is unique. Instead of drawing the revolver, Paladin unbuckles the belt and removes the entire rig, holding it out to the camera as he talks. The camera then tilts upward, revealing Richard Boone himself speaking to camera, then hanging the belt, holster, and gun on a wall peg and walking away as the theme picks up and the title graphics appear.
In a later version of the opening sequence, there is a longer range shot, with Paladin in a full-body profile silhouette, and he fast-draws the revolver, dropping into a slight crouch as he turns and points it directly at the camera. After the dubbed-over line, he straightens back up as he shoves the firearm back into his holster. This silhouette visual remained for the rest of the run of the series, but in later episodes, the spoken line would be dropped.
Filming locations
Unlike many other westerns, entire episodes were filmed outdoors and away from the Paramount Studios backlot.Beginning in season four, filming locations were often given in the closing credits.
Locations included Bishop and Lone Pine, California, Bend, Oregon and the Abbott Ranch near Prineville, Oregon.
Paladin
The show followed the adventures of "Paladin", a gentleman gunfighter (played by Richard BooneRichard Boone
Richard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
on television, and by John Dehner
John Dehner
John Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
on radio), who preferred to settle problems without violence; yet, when forced to fight, excelled. Paladin lived in the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco, where he dressed in formal attire, ate gourmet food, and attended the opera. In fact, many who met him initially mistook him for a dandy from the East. But when working, he dressed in black, carried a derringer under his belt, used calling cards with a chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
knight
Knight (chess)
The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
emblem, and wore a stereotypical western-style black gunbelt with the same chess knight symbol attached to the holster.
The knight symbol refers to his name — a nickname or working name — and his occupation as a champion-for-hire (see Paladin
Paladin
The paladins, sometimes known as the Twelve Peers, were the foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court, according to the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. They first appear in the early chansons de geste such as The Song of Roland, where they represent Christian martial valor against the...
). The theme song of the series refers to him as "a knight without armor." In "The Road to Wickenburg," Paladin draws a parallel between his methods and the chess piece's movement: "It's an attack piece, the most versatile on the board. It can move eight different ways, over barriers, and [is] always unexpected." Paladin's routine switch from the expensive light-colored suit of his genteel urbane persona in San Francisco to his alter ego who wears all-black attire for quests into the lawless and barren Western frontier is also a chess reference.
Paladin was a former Army officer and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
. He was a polyglot
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
, capable of speaking any foreign tongue required by the plot. He also had a thorough knowledge of ancient history and classical literature, and he exhibited a strong passion for legal principles and the rule of law. Paladin was also a world traveler. His exploits had included an 1857 visit to India, where he had won the respect of the natives as a hunter of man-eating tigers.
Paladin took on his role by happenstance, as revealed in a flashback during the first episode of the final season ("Genesis" episode 193). To pay off a gambling IOU, he had been forced (by his creditor who obliquely referred to his "distinguished family name") to hunt down and kill a mysterious gunman called Smoke (played by Boone without his moustache and with grey-white hair). When they meet Smoke gives the Paladin character his nickname, facetiously calling him "a noble paladin" after a well-meaning, but mercenary, medieval knight. The turns out to be doubly ironic, as Smoke had revealed in his death scene that he had not been a criminal gunfighter, but instead had protected the nearby town from the man who had sent Paladin. During a funeral service in the town, it becomes clear that Smoke was indeed the protector of the townspeople. At the end of the episode, Paladin adopts Smoke's black outfit and confronts the other man (portrayed by William Conrad
William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
, who also directed the installment). It is implied that Paladin kills him, thus protecting the town. The episode was unusually allegorical and mythical for a popular Western in 1962.
Paladin charged steep fees for his services — typically a thousand dollars a job. His primary weapon was a custom-made .45 caliber Colt Single Action Army
Colt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army is a single action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six metallic cartridges. It was designed for the U.S...
revolver that was perfectly balanced and of excellent craftsmanship. It had a one-ounce trigger pull and a rifled barrel
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
. The accuracy was given as "one inch to the right at fifty feet."
The lever-action Marlin rifle strapped to his horse's saddle was rarely used, but the horsehead insignia embossed on the rifle's stock suggests that this weapon was as meticulously crafted as the six-shooter. The derringer
Derringer
The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...
(a double-barrel Remington in most episodes, a single-barrel Colt in some) that Paladin hid under his belt had saved his life numerous times. Paladin's intuitive sense of chesslike strategy—often anticipating moves ahead of his adversary, and backing it up with formidable skills in all areas of personal combat—plus his epicurean tastes and implied lust for women (when relaxing in San Francisco) made him very much a "James Bond" of the old West. Ever a man of refinement, Paladin even carried a few expensive cigars in his boot when out on adventure.
Paladin's great advantage over adversaries was not his impressive equipment, or his ability as a marksman, superior as this was; Paladin's edge was his rich education. He had an infallible ability to relate ancient antecedents to his current situations. When the enemy was surrounding him, Paladin could usually make some insightful quip about General Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
and the siege of Syracuse
Sicilian Expedition
The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian expedition to Sicily from 415 BC to 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure—political maneuvering in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a...
or something similar, and then use this insight to his advantage. Burying a rancher killed by Indians, he recited John Donne
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
's "Death Be Not Proud
Holy Sonnets
The Holy Sonnets, also known as the Divine Meditations or Divine Sonnets, are a series of nineteen poems by the English poet John Donne...
" above the grave. In other episodes he quoted lengthy Shakespearean passages from memory. A male role model who memorized poetry was unique in a 1950s television series. Like a chess master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
, he sought control of the board through superior position, and usually killed only as a last resort.
In the final episode of the radio show, Paladin returns to the East to claim a family inheritance. In the 1972–74 series Hec Ramsey
Hec Ramsey
Hec Ramsey is a television Western, a production of Jack Webb's production company, Mark VII Limited, in association with Universal Studios, broadcast in the United States by NBC as part of the NBC Mystery Movie wheel show during the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons.-Overview:This series was...
, set at the end of the 19th century, Boone stars as an older former gunfighter turned early forensic criminologist. But it is not true that Ramsey says, at one point, that in his younger days as a gunfighter, he had worked under the name Paladin. The origin of this myth is that Boone stated in an interview that "Hec Ramsey is Paladin — only fatter." Naturally, he merely meant that the characters had certain similarities: Ramsey, for his part, was practically buffoonish, imparting a measure of humor to Hec Ramsey that had been missing from Have Gun — Will Travel, compared to the erudite Paladin.
In the 2-part 1991 TV mini-series, "The Gambler - The Luck Of The Draw", a poker game is played by the rules of "the late Mr. Paladin" in the hotel Paladin stayed at. Paladin had died.
Hey Boy and Hey Girl
The one other major semiregular character in the show was the ChineseHan Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
bellhop
Bellhop
A bellhop, also bellboy or bellman, is a hotel porter, who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform , like certain other page boys or doormen...
at the Carlton Hotel, known as Hey Boy
Hey Boy (TV Character)
Hey Boy is the nickname used for the character Kim Chan, played by actor Kam Tong, in the 1950s-60s TV western Have Gun - Will Travel. Hey Boy was the Chinese porter at the Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where Paladin lived, and was Paladin's close friend as well...
, played by Kam Tong
Kam Tong
Kam Tong was a Chinese American actor best known for his role as Hey Boy on the television series Have Gun – Will Travel. He appeared in many movies, often as an uncredited Chinese, Japanese, or Filipino character...
. According to author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Martin Grams, Jr.
Martin Grams, Jr.
Martin Grams, Jr. is a radio historian who has written extensively on radio, television and films. The son of magician Martin Grams, Sr. and librarian Mary Pat Grams, he was educated at South Eastern School District in York County, Pennsylvania and graduated from Kennard Dale High School in Fawn...
, the character of Hey Boy was featured in all but the fourth of the show's six seasons, with the character of Hey Girl, played by Lisa Lu
Lisa Lu
Lisa Lu is a Chinese-American actress and documentary producer.-Life and career:Lu was born in Peking, China . Beginning in her teens, she was active in Chinese opera, or Kunqu, before emigrating to the United States...
, replacing Hey Boy for season four while Kam Tong pursued a career with another television series.
In the 1957 episode "Hey Boy's Revenge," Lu appears playing Hey Boy's sister, Kim Li. In that episode, the audience also learns that Hey Boy's name is Kim Chan. (We also learn that Paladin can read Chinese in at least a rudimentary way.) In another episode from the first season, "The Singer," Hey Boy responds to a stranger who addresses him with "Hey you!" by annoyedly responding that it is "Hey Boy," and not "Hey you."
In the season/episode sequencing used by Netflix, Kam Tong (Hey Boy) did actually appear in three episodes of Season 4. Episode 1 (The Fatalist), Episode 2 (Love's Young Dream) and Episode 9 (The Marshal's Boy).
Notable guest stars
Guest stars included:- Philip Ahn
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(5 times) - Kathie BrowneKathie BrowneKathie Browne was an American film and television actress.-Background:Born in San Luis Obispo, California as Jacqueline Katherine Browne she appeared in many films and TV shows such as Star Trek: The Original Series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason,...
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as (Dianne Cannon) - Harry Carey, Jr.Harry Carey, Jr.Harry Carey, Jr. is an American film actor. He appeared in over 90 films. He is mostly remembered for appearing in Western films — notably those by his friend John Ford — and in television programs.-Early life:...
(9 times) - John CarradineJohn CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
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(2 times) - Mike ConnorsMike ConnorsMike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in...
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(7 times) - Sandy KenyonSandy KenyonSandy Kenyon, born Sanford Klein was an American voice-over artist and character actor, best-known for voicing Jon Arbuckle in the first Garfield animated television special Here Comes Garfield, and other roles in film and television...
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(4 times) - Patricia MedinaPatricia MedinaPatricia Paz Maria Medina is an English actress from Liverpool, England. Her father was a Spaniard and her mother was English. Medina began acting as a teenager in the late 1930s...
(2 times) - Mike MazurkiMike MazurkiMike Mazurki was an Austrian-born American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in over 100 movies. His towering 6' 5" presence and intimidating face usually got him roles playing tough guys, thugs, strong men, and gangsters.Mazurki was born as Mikhail Mazurkevych in Tarnopol, Galicia,...
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(father of frequent director Andrew McLaglenAndrew McLaglenAndrew Victor McLaglen is a British-American film and television director and former actor.Andrew McLaglen was born in London, the son of British actor Victor McLaglen and Enid Lamont. He was from a film family that included eight uncles and an aunt, and he grew up on movie sets with his parents...
) - Nico Minardes (2 times)
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Theme songs
The program's opening theme song was composed and conducted by Bernard HerrmannBernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
. Its closing theme song, "Ballad of Paladin," was written by Johnny Western
Johnny Western
Johnny Western is an American country singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and radio show host. He is a member of the Western Music Association Hall of Fame and the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
, Richard Boone, and Sam Rolfe, and was performed by Western.
Historical setting
Like many TV westerns, the television show was set during a nebulous period after the Civil War. Based on several episodes, Paladin had served in the cavalry during that war, about 12 years previously, and the episode "The Fifth Man" (May 30, 1959) was clearly set during 1875 (the introduction to episodes of the radio version explicitly states the year 1875 as well). The episode "Full Circle" (May 14, 1960) and "Blind Circle" in the fifth season are also set in 1875. ("Full Circle" is set three years after September 1872.) The episode "Lazarus" in the fifth season takes place on March 6 and 7, 1875. On the other hand, the episode of May 16, 1959 ("Comanche") was set during 1876, as it ends with Paladin surveying the aftermath of Custer's Last Stand (Battle of the Little Big Horn). In "Out at the Old Ball Bark" in the fourth season, he speaks of having seen a baseball game in 1876. In "The Shooting of Jessie May" in the fourth season, the newspaper is dated October 7, 1876, and an event in the Civil war was "10 or 12 years ago." "The Cure" in the fourth season is set sometime after the 1876 death of Wild Bill HickokWild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
. The episode of December 6, 1958 ("The Ballad of Oscar Wilde") takes place during Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's tour of America in 1882.
On the other hand, in "Cage at McNaab", which was episode 23 of the sixth season (which originally aired 16 February 1963), Paladin is asked by the wife of a man who is condemned to die to visit him in prison and see if new evidence can be found to clear her husband. Not sure if he wants the job, Paladin agrees to the visit and it leads to quite an unexpected result. Paladin literally finds he now walks in another man's footsteps. While imprisoned, to prove he could not have spent the last year in solitary confinement, Paladin specifically states that, "Last week the liberal Republicans nominated Greely for President and Brown for Vice President." This was the 1872 election, indicating this occurred prior to November 1872, probably the summer of 1872. He also says, "Last May 22, the Amnesty Act for Confederate soldiers was signed." The Amnesty Act occurred in 1872 also. See: Ulysses S. Grant#Reconstruction 2" and United States presidential election, 1872
United States presidential election, 1872
In the United States presidential election of 1872, incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant was easily elected to a second term in office with Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts as his running mate, despite a split within the Republican Party that resulted in a defection of many Liberal Republicans...
.
In the third season episode, "Pancho", Paladin tangles with a teenager named Doroteo Arango, a man who would later be better known as Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
. The real Pancho Villa was not born until 1878.
Awards
The television show was nominated for three Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s. These were for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series, for Richard Boone (1959); Best Western Series (1959); and Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series (Lead or Support), for Richard Boone (1960).
Writers
Many of the writers who worked on Have Gun — Will Travel went on to gain fame elsewhere. Gene RoddenberryGene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
created Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, Bruce Geller
Bruce Geller
Bruce Israel Geller was an American composer, screenwriter, and television producer.-Biography:Born in New York City, New York, Geller graduated from Yale University. He pursued a career writing scripts for shows on the DuMont Television Network including Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop and others...
created Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
, and Harry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun – Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry.He wrote for various TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s, and also created several, including NBC's T.H.E. Cat, starring Robert Loggia, and Tate starring David McLean.His...
is one of the writers who created Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
(the opening title and theme scene of the Dirty Harry sequel Magnum Force
Magnum Force
Magnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...
would feature the same Paladin-like sequence of a handgun slowly cocked, and then finally pointed toward the camera, with a line of dialogue). Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
wrote one episode, which aired in 1958. Both Star Trek and Mission: Impossible were produced by Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who were married to each other from 1940 to 1960....
and later, Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
, which also now owns the rights to Have Gun — Will Travel through its successor company, CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
.
Radio show
The Have Gun — Will Travel radio show broadcast 106 episodes on CBS between November 23, 1958, and November 22, 1960. It was one of the last radio dramas featuring continuing characters and the only significant American radio adaptation of a television series. John DehnerJohn Dehner
John Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
(a regular on the radio series version of Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
) played Paladin, and Ben Wright
Ben Wright (actor)
Ben Wright was an English actor in radio, film and television. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.-Radio:...
usually (but not always) played Hey Boy. Virginia Gregg
Virginia Gregg
Virginia Gregg Burket was an American actress best known for her many roles in radio dramas.Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, Virginia Gregg was the daughter of musician Dewey Alphaleta and businessman Edward William Gregg.-Radio:Gregg was a prolific radio actor, heard on such programs as The...
played the role of Miss Wong, Hey Boy's girlfriend, before the television series began featuring the character of Hey Girl. Unlike the small-screen version, in this medium, there was usually a tag scene back 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 ("Goodbye, Paladin") in which Paladin left San Francisco, apparently forever, to claim an inheritance back East. The radio version of the show was written by producer/writer Roy Winsor
Roy Winsor
Roy Winsor was an American soap opera writer, creator and novelist.Roy Winsor was born in Chicago Illinois in 1912. He is most famous for creating some of the longest running soap operas in television history. Before he created television soap operas he wrote for many radio serials. He also...
.
Books
There were three novels based on the television show, all with the same title as the show. The first was a hardback written for children, published by WhitmanWestern Publishing
Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company was a Racine, Wisconsin firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Western Publishing also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products as Golden Books Family Entertainment...
in 1959 as part of a series of novelizations of television shows. It was written by Barlow Meyers and illustrated by Nichols S. Firfires. The second was a 1960 paperback original, written for adults by Noel Lomis. The last book, called A Man Called Paladin, written by Frank C. Robertson
Frank Chester Robertson
Frank Chester Robertson was an American author best known for his western novels. He published over 150 hard cover books and countless other short stories, serials and newspaper articles. In later years, he also wrote a column for the Provo Herald called, “The Chopping Block”.-Early...
and published in 1963 by Collier-Macmillan in both hardback and paperback, is based on the television original episode, "Genesis," by Frank Rolfe. This novel is the only source where a name is given to the Paladin character, Clay Alexander, but fans of the series do not consider this name canonical. Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
published a number of comic books with original stories based on the television series.
In 2001, a trade paperback book titled The Have Gun — Will Travel Companion was published, documenting the history of the radio and television series. The 500-page book was authored by Martin Grams, Jr.
Martin Grams, Jr.
Martin Grams, Jr. is a radio historian who has written extensively on radio, television and films. The son of magician Martin Grams, Sr. and librarian Mary Pat Grams, he was educated at South Eastern School District in York County, Pennsylvania and graduated from Kennard Dale High School in Fawn...
and Les Rayburn.
Film
In 1997 it was announced that a movie version of the television series would be made. John TravoltaJohn Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
was named as a possible star in the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
production scripted by Larry Ferguson
Larry Ferguson
Larry Ferguson was a college football player for the University of Iowa. He was named a first team All-American in 1960 and played one season for the Detroit Lions.-Playing career:...
and to be directed by The Fugitive
The Fugitive (1993 film)
The Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was one of the few movies associated with a television series to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best...
director Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis (film director)
Andrew Davis is an American film director, producer and cinematographer, noted for the action films Code of Silence, The Fugitive, Chain Reaction, Collateral Damage, Above the Law, The Guardian and Under Siege.-Biography:Born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, Davis has directed several films...
. However, the film was not made.
In 2006, it was confirmed that the reports of a possible Have Gun — Will Travel movie starring Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
with a possible release date of 2008 was being made, although that was later changed to 2010, but now set for a 2013 release. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
extended an 18-month option on the television series, and planned to transform the character of Paladin into a modern-day bounty hunter. Eminem was also expected to work on the soundtrack.
Home video and DVD
All of the episodes were released on VHS by Columbia HouseColumbia House
The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by the Columbia Records division of CBS, Inc. as an umbrella for its mail-order music clubs, the primary incarnation of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. It had a significant market presence in the 1980s and early...
.
CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
) has released the first five seasons of Have Gun — Will Travel on DVD in Region 1.
Note: In the second-season DVD, two of the episodes are mislabeled. On disk three, the episode titled "Treasure Trail" is actually "Hunt the Man Down," and on disk four, "Hunt the Man Down" is "Treasure Trail"; the "Wire Paladin" in each case refers to the other episode.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 39 | May 11, 2004 |
| Season 2 | 39 | May 10, 2005 |
| Season 3 | 39 | January 3, 2006 |
| Season 4- Volume 1 | 19 | March 2, 2010 |
| Season 4- Volume 2 | 19 | July 6, 2010 |
| Season 5- Volume 1 | 19 | November 30, 2010 |
| Season 5- Volume 2 | 19 | February 22, 2011 |
The real Paladin?
In April 1974, a Portuguese cowboy from Rhode IslandRhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
named Victor DeCosta won a federal court judgment in his second suit against CBS for trademark infringement, a decision supporting his claim that he had created both the Paladin character and some concepts seen in the series.
Historically, the real Paladin was a king of Babylonia called "Nabu-Apla-Iddina", complete with Paladin's "Chess Knight" (actually an astrological sign) above his head on this 875-850 B.C. tablet: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/File:Nabu-apla-iddina_confirming_a_grant_of_land.jpg
Popular culture
- Have Space Suit—Will Travel is a 1958 "space opera" type science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, which partly spoofs the title of this series. It is also a picaresque with the main character starting at home, then being called to adventure in space. The connection between Westerns (known also as "horse operas") and science fiction in Americana is once again alluded to.
- "Have Love, Will TravelHave Love, Will Travel"Have Love, Will Travel" is a 1959 song written and recorded by Richard Berry.-Covers:In its most known instantiation, the garage rock-protopunkers The Sonics covered the song in 1965 and it appeared on their album Here Are The Sonics of that year...
" is a 1959 song written and recorded by Richard BerryRichard BerryRichard Berry was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins....
. - In a scene in Stand By MeStand by Me (film)Stand by Me is a 1986 American drama film directed by Rob Reiner. Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King, the film takes its title from the Ben E. King song of the same name, which plays over the end credits.-Plot:...
, the main characters sing the show's closing theme song as a way of evoking that film's era (it is set in late 1959). This scene is partially re-created in a scene in an episode of Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. - The 1962 Tom and JerryTom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
cartoon Tall in the TrapTall in the TrapTall in the Trap is a 1962 Czechoslovakian-produced American animated short film. It was originally released as part of the Tom and Jerry series on September 1, 1962. The film was directed by Gene Deitch, was produced by William L. Snyder, and written by Deitch, Bill Danch, Tedd Pierce. The musical...
(directed by Gene DeitchGene DeitchEugene Merril "Gene" Deitch is an American illustrator, animator and film director. He has been based in Prague, capital of Czechoslovakia and the present-day Czech Republic, since 1959. Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston...
) was a parody of Have Gun — Will Travel. - A feature of Frank ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's 1970 tour's performances was the "Paladin Routine," a brief improvisedImprovisationImprovisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
comedyComedyComedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
sketch based on the Have Gun — Will Travel characters, culminating in a vocalization of the music from the series' opening-credit sequence. One such performance is documented on the bootleg album Freaks & Motherfu*#@%! (later released as part of Beat the BootsBeat the BootsBeat the Boots is a collection of bootleg recordings by Frank Zappa which were originally distributed illegally but were released officially by Rhino Entertainment in 1991. The recordings were available as individual CDs and as an LP or cassette box set...
).
Listen to
- Have Gun — Will Travel on radio (50+ episodes)
- "Ballad of Paladin" (closing theme) — written by Johnny Western, Richard Boone, and Sam Rolfe and performed by Johnny Western