raysond
Based on Richard O'Connor's best selling novel and autobiography,the classic television western series "Bat Masterson" became one of the biggest hits of the 1958-1959 premiere season and introduce audiences to actor Gene Barry who became a major star due to this series which was far beyond the other typical TV-Westerns that came out that period that showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The series was produced by Ziv Television Productions,the company responsible for such hit series as "Stories of the Highway Patrol","Tales of the Texas Rangers",and "Sea Hunt". "Bat Masterson" upon the first episode was an immediate hit that ran for three seasons in prime-time for NBC-TV from October 8, 1958 until June 1, 1961 for 107 episodes all in classic black and white. The theme song to "The Ballad of Bat Masterson" was sung by Bill Lee who was a member of the popular singing group "The Mellomen".About the show, in just about every episode,took a tongue-in-cheek approach,with Gene Barry's character coming into a sort of ordinary Western town often dressed in expensive Eastern clothing and preferring to use his cane rather than a gun to get himself out of trouble or out of a sticky situation usually to help a damsel in distress or sometimes when dealing with gunslingers or bandits would use a gun whenever the situation got out of hand. In part Bat Masterson each week would roam from one Western town to another who always portrayed himself as a ladies' man traveling the vast and dangerous wastelands of the Old West in search of adventure. The show was so successful that during its three year run on NBC was Nominated for 2 Prime-Time Emmys for Outstanding Actor in a Prime-Time Series(Gene Barry),and also for Outstanding Editing in a Prime-Time Series(Richard L. Van Enger). Also during its run,Bat Masterson brought along a lot of successful writers to go along with the incredible stories in each episode. Top notch writers ranging from Andy White, Don Brinkley, Richard Collins, Harry Essex, to future "I Spy" producers David Friedkin and Morton S.Fine not to mention future "Star Trek",and future "Outer Limits" story consultant Samuel A. Peeples,along with Frank Pittman, Don Ingalls, Stanley Kallis, the husband and wife team of D.D. and Mary Beauchamp, and Ellis Kadison.Top notch directors added spice to some of the intriguing stories ranging from Alan Crosland, William Conrad, Hollingsworth Morse, to Jesse Hibbs, Monroe Askins, Montgomery Pittman, Earl Bellamy,and future "Dick Van Dyke Show" director John Rich.Several guest stars included some big name Hollywood heavyweights and newcomers including Robert F. Simon, Richard Eastham, George Macready, to Yvonne Lime, Gary Vinson, Brett King, Douglas Kennedy, Ron Hayes, Gary Vinson, Dan Sheridan, James Coburn, Warren Oates, Edgar Buchanan, to R.G. Armstrong, Gene Nelson, Kenneth Tobey, John Agar, Jack Elam, Frank Silvera, Morgan Woodward, Dabbs Greer, Ross Martin, Elaine Stewart, to future "Star Trek" players DeForest Kelley and Grace Lee Whitney not to mention fresh newcomers like Stephanie Powers, Ralph Taeger,Kevin Hagen, Diane Brewster, future Dukes of Hazzard star James Best,and Dabbs Greer along with 50's scarlet Allison Hayes and Allen Jaffe.Several great episodes from the "Bat Masterson" series stand out ranging from "Double Showdown"(the pilot episode), "Dynamite Blows Both Ways", "Death by Decree", "Dead Man's Claim", "Incident At Fort Bowie", to "A Noose Fits Anybody", "Six Feet of Gold", "License To Cheat", "Election Day", "Buffalo Kill","General Sherman's March Through Dodge City",to "The Conspiracy"(Parts 1 and 2), "The Fourth Man", "The Treasure of Worthy Hill",to "A Matter of Honor", "Jeopardy at Jackson Hole"(which was the final episode of the series). After the success of Bat Masterson's run ,actor Gene Barry went to star in the detective series "Burke's Law" in which he played a Beverly Hills millionaire who was chief of detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department that lasted from 1963 to 1966 for ABC. In 1968 he starred in the 90- minute detective drama series "The Name of the Game" that also starred Robert Stack and Tony Franciosa.
bkoganbing
One of the things about this show that lingers in my mind besides the nattily dressed Gene Barry was the fact that this show eschewed any kind of supporting cast. No sidekicks, no permanent love interests, what you got was Gene Barry as Bat Masterson taming the west in his own small way.The real Bat was quite the dude himself, maybe not as noble a character as Barry played him. That cane was as effective as the Irish Shillelagh and he used it more to disarm opponents than kill them. He wasn't always the gentleman, Masterson did make a living as a scout and a buffalo hunter and I doubt he was so stylish on the trail.Barry was a literate and bright western hero, he would have to be because the real Bat Masterson eventually made a living as a newspaper reporter for a quaint metropolitan newspaper. If he didn't always battle for truth, justice, and the American way, he always reported it in a dignified manner.The real Bat Masterson made his living in the last century, died, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. I think he would have liked the way Gene Barry played him.
alan949
Bat Masterson was born in Illinois in 1855. His real name was William Barclay Masterson. His brother Ed was two years older. Eventually they would have two more brothers and two sisters. The family eventually moved to Kansas, where they built a farm in Sedgwick County. Bat and Ed were close and often went hunting and fishing together. He didn't think much of book learning and would sneak out of the schoolhouse whenever he could.He got his first job at seventeen. He and Ed graded railroad bed for the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe railroad. Shortly afterward, he became a buffalo hunter supplying meat to the railroad crews. His headquarters was a small community called Adobe Walls, Texas. He was there when Indians led by Comanche war chief Quanah Parker, attacked the town on June 27, 1874.Bat and friend Billy Dixon were just getting ready to leave when theHe dabbled in politics over the next few years and became closer friends with Roosevelt. He and promoter Tex Rickard even sat down with him one day to discuss military strategy for the upcoming fighting in World War I. Roosevelt became ill from a fever contracted in a South American jungle and died on January 6, 1919. Bat was quite broken up over the death of his friend.Bat spent his last years writing his columns and visiting gyms. He was always very active in the fighting business. On October 25, 1921, he went to work as usual. But right in the middle of typing his article, he died of a sudden heart attack. His wife died in 1932.Please go to: http://hometown.aol.com/gibson0817/bat.htm and read his "Real Life" It is even better than the series.
