Shotgun Slade – western TV show – PAGE 2

Created by Frank Gruber, the stories were written by John Berardino, Charissa Hughes, and Martin Berkeley. The series was filmed in Hollywood by Revue Studios. After several years of westerns being all over every network Studios tried to get an edge by introducing different aspects to new western shows. Shotgun Slade had three characteristics that made it different. The first was Shotgun Slade’s profession. Instead being a marshal, sheriff or wandering gunfighter, Slade was a private detective people would hire to track down criminals, return stolen money, or perform other similar duties. This seems to have been influenced by the growing popularity of TV private eyes and detectives such as The Detectives starring Robert Taylor, Peter Gunn, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, 77 Sunset Strip, and Hawaiian Eye. Also 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 fired a 12-gauge shotgun shell, 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 Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wanted Dead or Alive, Johnny Ringo, and The Rebel. Slade’s shotgun stood out even among the weapons of those other shows.