The Six Shooter

The Six Shooter was a western radio drama starring James Stewart. It ran on the NBC radio network from 1953-1954. Stewart originally portayed the character on the April 13, 1952 episode of Hollywood Star Playhouse. Reaction to that episode was so great it was turned into a weekly series.

The Six Shooter

File:JimmyStewart.jpg Jimmy Stewart
Genre	Western
Running time	30 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English
Home station	NBC
Starring	James Stewart
Creators	Frank Burt
Writers	Frank Burt
Exec. producers	Jack Johnstone
Air dates	September 20, 1953 to June 24, 1954
No. of episodes	39
Opening theme	"Highland Lament" by Ralph Vaughan Williams

History

James Stewart had appeared on numerous radio programs, primarily performing in adaptations of Hollywood productions. In the early 1950s he was making his transisition from his usual comedy-drama roles into Hollywood westerns. In 1952 Jimmy brought his new western popularity to Hollywood Star Playhouse in an episode titled "The Six Shooter," written by Frank Burt and directed by Jack Johnstone. Stewart starred as Britt Ponset, a wandering cowboy of strong moral character. The episode, which also featured William Conrad as Sheriff Scofield, was very well received and Revue Productions was interested in turning it into a series.

In 1953 the cast and crew returned and prepared an audition program, using a variation of the same script, for the series. Within a month, Coleman Heaters was signed on to sponsor the show on NBC.

Cast & Crew

• James Stewart as Britt Ponset
• Hal Gibny - announcer
• John Wald - announcer

• Jack Johnstone - director/producer
• Frank Burt - writer/creator
• Basil Adlam - musical director/composer

Episode Log

• Hollywood Star Playhouse April 13, 1952 ("Ben Scofield" script)
• (Audition Program) July 15, 1953 ("Ben Scofield" script)
• Regular series-

1. "Jenny" September 20, 1953
2. "The Coward" September 27, 1953
3. "The Stampede" October 4, 1953
4. "Silver Annie" October 11, 1953
5. "Rink Larkin" October 18, 1953
6. "Red Lawson's Revenge" October 25, 1953
7. "Ben Scofield" November 1, 1953
8. "The Capture of Stacy Gault" November 8, 1953
9. "Escape from Smoke Falls" November 15, 1953
10. "Gabriel Starbuck" November 22, 1953
11. "Sheriff Billy" November 29, 1953
12. "A Pressing Engagement" December 6, 1953
13. "More Than Kin" December 13, 1953
14. "Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol" December 20, 1953
15. "Cora Plummer Quincy" December 27, 1953
16. "A Friend in Need" January 3, 1954
17. "Hiram's Goldstrike" January 10, 1954
18. "The Silver Buckle" January 17, 1954
19. "Helen Bricker" January 24, 1954
20. "Trail to Sunset" January 31, 1954
21. "Apron Faced Sorrel" February 7, 1954
22. "Quiet City" February 14, 1954
23. "Battle at Tower Rock" February 21, 1954
24. "Cheyenne Express" March 7, 1954
25. "Thicker Than Water" March 14, 1954
26. "Duel at Lockwood" March 21, 1954
27. "Aunt Emma" April 1, 1954
28. "General Guilford's Widow" April 8, 1954
29. "Crisis at Easter Creek" April 15, 1954
30. "Johnny Stringer" April 22, 1954
31. "Revenge at Harness Creek" April 29, 1954
32. "Anna Norquist" May 6, 1954
33. "The Double Seven" May 13, 1954
34. "The Shooting of Wyatt King" May 20, 1954
35. "Blood Relations" May 27, 1954
36. "Silver Threads" June 3, 1954
37. "The New Sheriff" June 10, 1954
38. "When The Shoe Doesn't Fit" June 17, 1954
39. "Myra Barker" June 24, 1954

Sources

• Wikipedia article
• Digital Deli's Six Shooter log