Have Gun — Will Travel

Have Gun – Will Travel
Richard Boone as Paladin
Genre	Western
Created by	Sam Rolfe Herb Meadow
Based on	Adventure's of Sir A.J. Starkey
Directed by	Andrew V. McLaglen Sam Peckinpah Lamont Johnson Ida Lupino Richard Boone William Conrad others
Starring	Richard Boone Kam Tong
Narrated by	Richard Boone
Opening theme	composed by Bernard Herrmann
Ending theme	"The Ballad of Paladin" composed by Johnny Western Richard Boone Sam Rolfe performed by Johnny Western
Country of origin	USA
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	225 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Julian Claman Sam Rolfe
Running time	25 mins.
Production company(s)	CBS Productions Filmaster Productions
Distributor	Viacom Enterprises Paramount Domestic Television CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network	CBS
Picture format	4:3 black and white
Audio format	Mono
Original release	September 14, 1957 – April 20, 1963

Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every 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. Of the 225 episodes of the television series, 24 were written by Gene Roddenberry. Other major contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley, and Irving Wallace. Andrew V. McLaglen directed 101 episodes, and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone.

This series follows the adventures of a man calling himself "Paladin" (played by Richard Boone on television and voiced by John Dehner on radio), taking his name from that of the foremost knight warriors in Charlemagne's court. He is a gentleman gunfighter who travels around the Old West working as a mercenary gunfighter for people who hire him to solve their problems for them. Although Paladin will charge steep fees to clients who can afford to hire him, typically US$1000 per job, he will provide his services for free (i.e., pro bono) to poor people who need his help. Like many westerns, the television show was set during a nebulous period after the Civil War. The radio show explicitly states the year in the opening of every episode with the introduction: