Bat Masterson

I remember this series fondly but even as a kid wondered why Gene Barry did not sport the moustache that Masterson wore almost all of his adult life and did (if I remember correctly) as portrayed in at least one episode of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. As an adult I have read almost everything written about Masterson, seen as many motion pictures as possible, and find the gambler, sportsman, writer and sometime lawman fascinating. Masterson did carry a walking stick, wore a bowler in at least one famous photograph, was a townsman and loyal friend, was involved in boxing and by all accounts was a cheerful and well-liked man - a lot like Gene Barry. Was this TV series always historically accurate? Not in the slightest! But it did capture something of the real man, a certain insouciance and worldliness lacking in the run-of-the-mill TV cowboy or lawman. 'Tis rather too bad that they never had an episode set later when Masterson was an apparently happily married man and sports writer for a New York newspaper. And yes, I frequently carry a walking stick today and fondly recall "Back when the West was very young/There lived a man named Masterson/ He wore a cane and derby hat/ They called him Bat, Bat Masterson...."

I had to respond to that post. This WAS cool, unlike almost all the the westerns on television, and this child badly wanted (and received) a bat like Bat Masterson or his birthday. Gene Barry had the cool sure arrogance in this character that America was later to see in Burke's Law and the Name of the Game. In a different area of the country, this character would have been a great robber baron or 15 years ago,a great merger and takeover artist!

This was fun - and Barry was a sort of James Bond (Roger Moore variety) in the Old West.

One of the things about this show that lingers in my mind besides the nattily dressed Gene Barry was the fact that this show eschewed any kind of supporting cast. No sidekicks, no permanent love interests, what you got was Gene Barry as Bat Masterson taming the west in his own small way.

The real Bat was quite the dude himself, maybe not as noble a character as Barry played him. That cane was as effective as the Irish Shillelagh and he used it more to disarm opponents than kill them. He wasn't always the gentleman, Masterson did make a living as a scout and a buffalo hunter and I doubt he was so stylish on the trail.

Barry was a literate and bright western hero, he would have to be because the real Bat Masterson eventually made a living as a newspaper reporter for a quaint metropolitan newspaper. If he didn't always battle for truth, justice, and the American way, he always reported it in a dignified manner.

The real Bat Masterson made his living in the last century, died, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. I think he would have liked the way Gene Barry played him.

This was a fun series that wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. Gene Barry was perfect as the suave Masterson, who apparently made a living playing cards at nearly tavern west of the Mississippi River. It was a preview for his role in "Burke's Law" five years later. Like with all westerns of that era, there is a lot of drinking, fighting, kissing and killing. The bad guys wore black hats and the women were (almost every time)gorgeous -- even if they seem to be wearing 10 pounds of clothes. Watchas well for some guest character actors who later went on to modest successes (like James Best, Louise Fletcher, Ross Martin).It's worth a half hour of your time.

and Derby Hat. They called him Bat." I always wondered how you could "wear" a cane? Oh well.

Boy, could that guy USE that cane, though. Hoooooey! He could trip you or bonk you on the head faster'n you could order up some prize-fight tickets.

This was really an odd Western. I came across on old episode preserved on a DVD with several other old Western t.v. show episodes. A woman shows up in a scene and Barry gives her a google-eyed double take. Campy acting. But, much better than Wyatt Earp (Earp had been one of the real-life Bat Masterson's buddies), starring Hugh O'Brien, which tried to take itself seriously - but didn't succeed.

Still, this was a fun show. I enjoyed it, even though I was but a tyke when it aired. It introduced me to Gene Barry, who would later star in "The Name of the Game" with Tony Franciosa and Robert Stack.

I enjoyed Barry's cameo in the newly released "War of the Worlds" (Spielberg version).