''Fort Laramie'' is a CBS Radio Western series starring

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

as Captain Lee Quince. It aired Sunday afternoons January 22–October 28, 1956, at 5:30 pm ET. Produced and directed by

Norman Macdonnell Norman Scarth Macdonnell (November 8, 1916 – November 28, 1979) was an American producer for radio, television, and feature films. He is best known for co-creating with writer John Meston the Western series '' Gunsmoke'', which was broadcast o ...

, this Western drama depicted life at old

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

during the 19th Century. The 41 episodes starred

as Lee Quince, captain of the cavalry. One year later, Burr became a television star as

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

. In the series, the fort had 400 troops in all but they had to keep their eye on a nearby Indian reservation with 4,000 Sioux camped there. Major Ned Daggart led the troops and he didn't always see eye to eye with Quince. Daggart had a niece called Terrie Lawson, who had her eye on the Captain. Supporting regulars included

Vic Perrin Victor Herbert Perrin (April 26, 1916 – July 4, 1989)Cox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether fr ...

as Sgt. Gorse,

Harry Bartell Harry Alfred Bartell (November 29, 1913 – February 26, 2004)Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 34. was an American actor and announcer in radio, television and film. Wit ...

as the slightly green Lt. Seiberts and Jack Moyles as Major Daggett. Heard on a more irregular basis were

Howard McNear Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson, the ...

as Pliny the fort sutler,

Sam Edwards Sam George Edwards (May 26, 1915 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor. His most famous role on television was as banker Bill Anderson on ''Little House on the Prairie''.D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card completed on October 16, ...

as Trooper Harrison, and in a variety of roles, such actors as

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

John McIntire John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Novem ...

Virginia Gregg Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

James Nusser James Nusser (May 3, 1905 – June 8, 1979) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the recurring role of town drunk Louis Pheeters in the American western television series '' Gunsmoke'' from 1956 to 1970. Buzzer w ...

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

and

Barney Phillips Bernard Philip Ofner (October 20, 1913 – August 17, 1982), better known by his stage name Barney Phillips, was an American film, television, and radio actor. His most prominent roles include that of Sgt. Ed Jacobs on the 1950s '' Dragnet' ...

. Amerigo Marino supplied the music. The scripts were mostly written by

John Meston John Lyman Meston (July 30, 1914March 24, 1979) was an American scriptwriter best known for co-creating with producer Norman Macdonnell the long-running Western series ''Gunsmoke''. He developed storylines and wrote radio scripts and teleplays f ...

Kathleen Hite Mary Kathleen Hite (June 17, 1917 – February 18, 1989) was an American writer for radio and television, including writing for the popular Western series '' Gunsmoke''. Hite was the first female staff writer for CBS. Early life and education Ka ...

, Les Crutchfield and John Dunkel. John Dehner originally auditioned for the part of Lee Quince in a story that was later remade with Burr in the lead, called "The Boatwright's Story".

References

External links

Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: ''Fort Laramie''
*{{InternetArchiveOTR, id=OTRR_Fort_Laramie_Singles, title=Fort Laramie American radio dramas Western (genre) radio series 1956 radio programme debuts 1956 radio programme endings 1950s American radio programs CBS Radio programs