''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 television series starring Scott Brady that aired seventy-eight episodes in syndication from 1959 to 1961 Created by Frank Gruber, 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 cooperated with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the 1950s by naming dozens of Hollywood artists as Communists or Communist symp ...

. The series was filmed in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

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

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

's '' Schlitz Playhouse''.

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 Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

or wandering

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

, Slade was a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...

, 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 eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

s such as ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American detective fiction, private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens (actor), Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from Sept ...

'', ''

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 private detective crime drama television 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 epis ...

'', and ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...

''. 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 A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

fired a

12-gauge shotgun The gauge (in American English or more commonly referred to as bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) and other necessary parameters to define in general a smoothbore barre ...

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 Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

, while the top barrel fired a .32 caliber 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 series 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.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 late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...

'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', '' Johnny Ringo'', 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 appeared in "Freight Line". * Roscoe Ates 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. He appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predominan ...

in the episodes "Gunnar Yensen" (1959) and "A Noose for Hurley" (1961) * Terry Burnham as Linda in "The Ghost of Yucca Flats" (1960) * Francis X. Bushman as Eckhart in "Crossed Guns" (1960) *

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967), was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned some 45 years. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer Day''. H ...

as Omar James in "Omar the Sign Maker" (1959) and in "A Noose for Hurley" (1961) * Jeanne Cooper as Sally Claymore in "Sudden Death" and as Francie in "Turkey Shoot" (both 1960) * Walter Coy 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, 1899 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was born in Ferndale, California, the younger of two children of W. Tho ...

as Mike Oliver in "The Salted Mine" (1959) and as a Sheriff in "Charcoal Bullet" (1960), and "Valley of the Shadow" (1961) * Dean Fredericks 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 an American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years after his dea ...

as "Hack" Hackberry in the episode "Salted Mine" * Bethel Leslie in two episodes, including the character Kate Heinie (1960) * Nan Leslie 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. He was known for playing Tom McLowery in the final season of the American Western (genre), western televis ...

as a

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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. In some countries (

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for example, when it aired on Telecapri News), the jazz score is replaced with two songs from Diskoteka Avariya, specifically ''Новогодняя'' used in the opening credits, while ''Давай, Авария!'' was used in the ending credits. These two songs were later removed on DVD releases in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

due to copyright issues.

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'' (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