Bat Masterson

Bat Masterson

1958 - United States

Based on the real-life exploits of William Bartholomew Masterson, a Dodge City lawman who preferred to use his wits instead of his fists and his cane instead of his Colt, Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass) made his TV series debut in this popular Western during the genre's golden age in 1958. 

Bat Masterson was a lawman, scout and professional gambler who had an eye for the ladies and counted among his friends the legendary Wyatt Earp. The grateful citizens of Dodge City presented his trademark cane, derby and specially designed gun to him during his tenure as sheriff. The part of a flamboyant and debonair lawman was one that Barry would recreate successfully in Burke's Law, amd The Name of the Game. The series style was no doubt influenced by the offbeat humour that had gone down so well with US audiences in Maverick, which had debuted the year before and in 1989 Barry briefly reprised the role for a single episode of Paradise

William Conrad, who went on to star as burly private detective Frank Cannon, directed a number of episodes. 

TRIVIA: Though his book contains some errors as a result of his attempting to debunk the accuracy of the persona Gene Barry depicted in the television series, Robert K. DeArment's Bat Masterson: The Man & The Legend, 1979, University of Oklahoma Press does a good job of documenting his origins.

Published on November 29th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

The Jack Jackson Show

Music, quick-fire comedy and soundbites that influenced a generation of DJs

Also released in 1958

The Big Valley

Set in California's San Joaquin Valley, The Big Valley was what the series 'Dallas' may have looked like if it had been set in the 1870s.

Also tagged Western Series

Annie Oakley

Television's first Western heroine was played by Gail Davis and co-starred Brad Johnson as Deputy Sheriff Lofty Craig and Jimmy Hawkins, as Annie's brother, Tagg.

Also tagged Western Series

Fury

US & British co-production about a black stallion that no-one has yet been able to tame.

Also tagged Western Series

Ivanhoe

Roger Moore in his TV series debut starred as Sir Walter Scott's 19th century hero Wilfred of Ivanhoe.

Also released in 1958

Bonanza

Running for 14 years on it's native NBC network, Bonanza was set on the vast Ponderosa timber and cattle ranch in Nevada in the 1860's. The show was notable for being the first TV Western to be shot in colour.

Also tagged Western Series

The Adventures of William Tell

Conrad Phillips starred as the legendary hero from the Swiss settlement of Berglan in Uri, who became a folk hero very much in the Robin Hood mode.

Also released in 1958

Branded

An innocent man is branded a coward in this classic US Western series

Also tagged Western Series

The Larkins

Classic sitcom about a family that is ruled over by their overbearing mother.

Also released in 1958