''Shotgun Slade'' is an American

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

starring

Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...

that aired seventy-eight episodes in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

from 1959 to 1961 Created by

Frank Gruber Frank Gruber (born February 2, 1904, Elmer, Minnesota, died December 9, 1969, Santa Monica, California) was an American writer. He was a writer of stories for pulp fiction magazines. He also wrote dozens of novels, mostly Westerns and detect ...

, the stories were written by John Berardino, Charissa Hughes, and

Martin Berkeley Martin Berkeley (August 21, 1904 − May 6, 1979) was a Hollywood and television screenwriter who collaborated with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the 1950s by naming dozens of Hollywood artists as Communists or Communist s ...

. The series was filmed in Hollywood by

Revue Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...

. The pilot for ''Shotgun Slade'' aired earlier in 1959 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

's ''

Schlitz Playhouse ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both Television comedy, comedies and Dramatic programming, drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The ti ...

''.

Overview

After several years of total saturation on the networks, many western series began to lose popularity with viewing audiences, ''Shotgun Slade'' had three characteristics that made it unique. The first was Slade's profession. Instead being a marshal, sheriff or wandering

gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

, Slade was a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

, hired by individuals to track down criminals, return stolen money, or perform other similar duties. This was obviously influenced by the growing popularity of television private eyes such as ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'', ''

Richard Diamond, Private Detective ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' is an American detective drama, created by Blake Edwards, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960. Radio Dick Powell starred in the ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective' ...

'', ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'', and '' Hawaiian Eye''. Another quirk was Slade's weapon of choice. Instead of packing a six gun, Slade carried a combination shotgun that has an upper and lower barrel. The lower barrel fired a

12-gauge shotgun The gauge (or commonly bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) of the barrel. Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the f ...

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

, while the top barrel fired a

.32 caliber .32 caliber is a size of ammunition, fitted to firearms with a bore diameter of . .32 in caliber variations include: * .32 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol), a pistol cartridge * .32-40 Ballard, an American rifle cartridge * .32 H&R Magnum, a rimmed ...

rifle bullet. The idea was that this weapon gave Slade the ability to fire at close and distant targets with the same amount of accuracy. Several western television shows were known for featuring distinctive weapons, such as those on shows like ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'', ''

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' is the first Western television series written for adults, premiering four days before '' Gunsmoke'' on September 6, 1955. Two weeks later came the Clint Walker western ''Cheyenne''. The series is loosely ...

'', ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', ''

Johnny Ringo John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882), known as Johnny Ringo, was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County ...

'', and '' The Rebel'', but Slade's shotgun stood out even among the weapons of those other shows. Despite the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the series, ''Shotgun Slade'' lasted for only two seasons.

Guest stars

Chris Alcaide John Thomas Berger (October 22, 1923 – June 30, 2004) was an American film and television actor. He mostly appeared on western television shows including, ''Gunsmoke'', ''Bonanza'', '' Rawhide'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', ''Trackdown'', ...

appeared in "Freight Line". *

Roscoe Ates Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character S ...

as Lou Nugget in the episode "The Fabulous Fiddle" *

Lane Bradford Lane Bradford (born John Myrtland Le Varre, Jr., August 29, 1922 – June 6, 1973) was an American actor, who appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predomina ...

in the episodes "Gunnar Yensen" (1959) and "A Noose for Hurley" (1961) *

Terry Burnham Elizabeth Teresa "Terry" Burnham (August 8, 1949 – October 7, 2013) was an American actress, best known for her performance in the '' Twilight Zone'' episode, "Nightmare as a Child." Life and career Elizabeth Teresa Burnham was born on August ...

as Linda in "The Ghost of Yucca Flats" (1960)"Shotgun Slade: The Ghost of Yucca Flats – Full Cast & Crew"
''

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''. * Francis X. Bushman as Eckhart in "Crossed Guns" (1960) * Andy Clyde as Omar James in "Omar the Sign Maker" (1959) and in "A Noose for Hurley" (1961) *

Jeanne Cooper Wilma Jeanne Cooper (October 25, 1928 – May 8, 2013) was an American actress, best known for her role as Katherine Chancellor on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (1973–2013). At the time of her death, she was eighth on the ...

as Sally Claymore in "Sudden Death" and as Francie in "Turkey Shoot" (both 1960) *

Walter Coy Walter Darwin Coy (January 31, 1909 – December 11, 1974) was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, arguably most well known as John Wayne's character's brother in ''The Searchers'' (1956). Early years Originally ...

as Lou Canner in "The Deadfall" (January 1, 1960) * Ted de Corsia as Ben Douglas in "Lost Goal" (1960) *

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish ...

as Mike Oliver in "The Salted Mine" (1959) and as a Sheriff in "Charcoal Bullet" (1960), and "Valley of the Shadow" (1961) *

Dean Fredericks Frederick Joseph Foote (January 21, 1924 – June 30, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the title role in the television series ''Steve Canyon''. Born in Los Angeles, California. Fredericks se ...

as Vance in "Killer's Brand" (1960) * Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., in "A Grave at San Gallo" (1961) * Brad Johnson as Kirby in "Barbed Wire Keep Out" and in another episode "The Missing Dog" (1960) * Brett King in "Five Graves" (1961) *

Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years aft ...

as "Hack" Hackberry in the episode "Salted Mine" * Bethel Leslie in two episodes, including the character Kate Heinie (1960) *

Nan Leslie Nanette June Leslie (June 4, 1926 – July 30, 2000) was an American actress. She was known for playing Martha McGivern in the American western television series '' The Californians''. Life and career Leslie was born in Los Angeles, Cali ...

as Judy Travers in "Treasure Trap" (1959) * Nora Marlowe in "The Safe Crackers" *

Tyler McVey William Tyler McVey (February 14, 1912 – July 4, 2003) was an American character actor of film and television. Early years McVey was born Bay City, Michigan, to William David McVey and his wife, the former Jessie Arvilla Tyler. His moth ...

as Homer Carlson in episode "Dead Man's Tale" (1960) *

Gregg Palmer Palmer Edwin Lee (January 25, 1927 – October 31, 2015), known by his stage name Gregg Palmer, was an American film and television actor. Born in San Francisco, California, Palmer served in the United States Army Air Corps as a cryptographer i ...

as a marshal in "Freight Line" (1959) and "Donna Juanita" (1960) *Brad Weston as Wiley in "Mesa of Missing Men" (1959) and as Billy in "Killer's Brand" (1960)

Music themes

The third novelty of the series is that it featured a modern

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

score instead of the traditional Western-themed music that was the norm for western television shows and movies. Again, this seems an influence of the private eye genre's popularity because most private eye shows featured a jazz score.

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

References

*McNeil, Alex. ''Total Television'' (1996). New York: Penguin Books *Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1999). New York: Ballantine Books

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0052508, title=Shotgun Slade First-run syndicated television programs in the United States 1959 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings 1960s Western (genre) television series 1950s American mystery television series 1960s American mystery television series Black-and-white American television shows Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in Colorado Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Western (genre) television series featuring gimmick weapons 1950s Western (genre) television series American detective television series