Bat Masterson (TV series)
| Bat Masterson | |
|---|---|
Gene Barry as Bat Masterson, 1958
|
|
| Genre | Western |
| Starring | Gene Barry |
| Narrated by | Bill Baldwin, Bob LeMond |
| Theme music composer | Havens Wray (David D. Rose) |
| Ending theme | Bill Lee (Singer) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 107 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Frank Pittman Andy White Frederick W. Ziv |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Ziv Television Programs United Artists Television |
| Distributor |
MGM Television Peter Rodgers Organization |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | October 8, 1958 – June 1, 1961 |
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black-and-white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961. The series was produced by Ziv Television Productions, the company responsible for hit first-run syndicated series such as Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol.
The show took a tongue-in-cheek outlook, with Barry's Masterson often dressed in expensive Eastern clothing and preferring to use his cane rather than a gun to get himself out of trouble, hence the nickname "Bat". Masterson was also portrayed as a ladies' man who traveled the West looking for women and adventure.
From 1955 to 1959, Mason Alan Dinehart played a 20-something Bat Masterson in thirty-four episodes of the ABC/Desilu western series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, starring Hugh O'Brian as the frontier peace officer Wyatt Earp. Dinehart left the series, and Barry was hence cast as a 40-something Masterson in a separate series on a different network. In the year 1958-1959 both actors were featured in the role of Masterson.
The black derby, fancy vest, black jacket, and elegant cane were his trademarks. Miniaturized versions were marketed to children as tie-in products during the run of the show.
The theme song was sung by Bill Lee, a member of the Mellomen.
The series was loosely based on Richard O'Connor's 1957 biography of Masterson. This was highlighted by the book's front cover being shown at the end of the closing credits with an onscreen notation "based on".
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