March 12 (1950-03-12) – September 30, 1950 (1950-09-30)
The Marshal of Gunsight Pass is an American live broadcast Western television series that began on March 12, 1950, and ended on September 30, 1950,[1] with a one-month hiatus in April and May.[2][3]
Based on a radio program,[4] the show starred Russell Hayden (1912–1981), Eddie Dean (1907–1999), and Riley Hill as Marshal No. 1, Marshal No. 2, and Marshal No. 3, respectively. Hayden, who is not identified by a character name,[5] left the program because he was dissatisfied with the way it was directed.[6] Dean uses his own name in the series, and Hill is known as "Riley Roberts". Smith Ballew took over the title role in May 1950.[2][3]
Roscoe Ates (1895–1962) played the stuttering, popeyed deputy[5] Roscoe; Andy Parker (1913–1977), Andy,[citation needed] and Bert Wenland (1929–2004), Bud Glover.[5]Jan Sterling (1921–2004),[citation needed] then Jane Adrian, appeared at the age of twenty-nine as Ruth, the deputy's niece.[5] In May 1950, Kay Christopher was the female lead.[2][3]
The ABC program was broadcast from the former Vitagraph Studios site,[7] near Chatsworth,[8] which the network had bought. The network invested more than $1 million to enable production of this and other live programs. All scenes were shot indoors, with projectors used to create background images — stationary or moving — for outdoor action.[7] Geared toward a children's audience, the program was telecast live to West Coast stations and viewed via kinescope elsewhere. Even in 1950, the production of the program seemed unusually primitive.[9][10] However, the studio did have a large collection of Western props and sets, as well as live horses.[11]
The 22-episode[citation needed] series aired live at 7 p.m. on Thursdays on the West Coast.[4]
^ abcdTerrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 658–659. ISBN978-0-7864-6477-7.
^ abWoolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. p. 328. ISBN0-8108-1651-2.
