BW - EP136—007: Have Gun Will Travel—From Here To Boston

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting

By 1960, Have Gun and Gunsmoke were the last dramatic productions being recorded for CBS in Hollywood. Network radio drama was dying. The U.S. was changing. President Eisenhower’s second term was almost over. The next year, John Kennedy entered the White House. He defeated Republican Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential election. Have Gun, Will Travel’s final episode aired on November 27th, 1960. Called, “From Here to Boston,” it is regarded as a landmark episode. Paladin receives an attorney letter notifying him of a large inheritance. He must travel to Boston to claim it. He has no idea that his latest romantic interest, Louvena Todd Hunter, is responsible for his aunt's death and plans to murder Paladin with the help of her brother. Have Gun Will Travel closed with no mention in the trade columns. All remaining radio dramas, with the exception of Gunsmoke, were now produced in New York. Lawrence Dobkin remembered that time. Gunsmoke finally went off the air on June 18th, 1961.