Most cowboys aren’t nearly as refined as Paladin. Sure, he could handle a gunfight or a brawl with the best of them, but how many gunslingers are graduates of West Point, or live in a fancy San Francisco hotel. Paladin enjoyed the finer things in life – good bourbon,  art, classic literature, and, of course, fine women. Versed in Greek history and Romantic poetry, this was not simple cowpoke. Paladin was a bit more complex than that.

When he wasn’t reading literature, he was keeping an eye on the newsprint of the day, seeing if he could muster up some clients. When he came across an innocent victim of the inhumanity of man, he’d simply mail off his calling card, containing his contact info, an image of a white chess night, and the ominous slogan “Have Gun, Will Travel.” His trusted Chinese assistant (and hotel bellhop) Hey Boy would dutifully deliver the responses to him from the souls that needed assistance. He usually billed the steep fee of a thousand dollars for his expert services but he wasn’t above doing a little pro bono work from time to time. Woe be to the victim who wasn’t all that innocent though, who attempted to mislead him. They would feel his swift wrath. His concrete ethics simply couldn’t be bought.

If Paladin was multi-faceted, so was the actor that portrayed him, Richard Boone. Not only did he direct the majority of the episodes, and write and cast for the show, but he even composed the “The Ballad of Paladin” which served as the popular theme song for the series (and became a hit for singer, Johnny Western.) Actor Kam Tong portrayed Hey Boy in the series, and during the occasional time when he was unavailable for filming, Lisa Lu would step in as (who else but) Hey Girl.

Have Gun, Will Travel aired on Saturday evenings right before another iconic western series, Gunsmoke. For three years, starting in 1958, it would rank in the number 3 spot. One of the writers of the series would eventually focus on more un-earthy endeavors, a new kid on the block named Gene Roddenberry, who would later create his own iconic series, Star Trek.

A bit of controversy concerning the show erupted in 1974 when a radio performer from Rhode Island named Victor De Costa sued the show, claiming that he had created the character of Paladin. Surprisingly, a Federal Court not only found his trademark infringement case to be of merit, but ruled that he was entitled to a portion of the show’s profits. An interesting twist for the popular series that ran for six seasons and produced an astounding 225 episodes. To date, the first three seasons have been released on DVD, so no matter who actually created Paladin, you can still relive the glory days of one of the most complex western gunslingers to ever live.