Frontier Gentleman
Adult Westerns on the radio weren't anything new when Frontier Gentleman came to radio in 1958. Gunsmoke had been on the air since 1952, and James Stewart's The Six Shooter had aired in 1953-54. It is likely that there would have been more produced, but by the late 50s television had begun to claim radio's talent as well as its audience.
This is not to say that there wasn't room for more great adventure on Radio. Frontier Gentleman tells the adventures of an English newspaperman who is sent to document life on the American Frontier. Interestingly, newspaperman Kendall, played by John Dehner, interacts with a number of historical characters, including Calamity Jane, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, Sitting Bull and General George Custer.
As the series progresses we learn more about J.B. Kendall. For much of his life he had been an officer in the British Army, stationed in the Punjab region of India, which means that he is an aristocrat, but he is far from being a dude. The experience has made him a very competent pistol marksman. And having faced the enemy, there is little that he fears.
Kendall is well played by John Dehner. Dehner's career began as an animator for Disney Studios, and he went on to play in over 260 movies and TV programs. John DehnerOn radio he made several appearances in supporting roles on Gunsmoke and Philip Marlowe before taking the starring role on Frontier Gentleman. The final episode aired on Nov 16, 1958. The following Saturday it was replaced by the radio version of Have Gun, Will Travel, starring John Dehner as Paladin, an aristocratic "gun for hire" based in San Francisco.
Have Gun, Will Travel was already a popular television series starring Richard Boone as Paladin. At the beginning of the radio version, the stories were usually adaptations of the TV program from earlier in the week, but eventually original stories were written for the radio. The TV version continued to broadcast until 1963, but when the network canceled all of their radio dramas in November 1960, a finale was written for the radio. A regular character, Hey Boy, the Chinese bellhop, was played by Ben Wright. Wright earlier played J.B. Kendall in an audition version version of Frontier Gentleman.
Episodes
FG580202_The_Shelton_Brothers.mp3
FG580223_Ep004_Kendall's_Last_Stand.mp3
FG580309_Ep06_The_Claim_Jumpers.mp3
FG580316_Big_Sam_For_Governor.mp3
FG580323_Ep008_The_Actress.mp3
FG580330_Ep009_Gentle_Virtue.mp3
FG580404_Ep10_Powder_River_Kid.mp3
FG580420_Ep012_Aces_And_Eights.mp3
FG580427_Ep013_Random_Notes.mp3
FG580504_Ep014_Daddy_Buckbucks.mp3
FG580518_Advice_To_The_Lovelorn.mp3
FG580608_The_Bellboy's_Prisoner.mp3
FG580629_Ep021_Gambling_Lady.mp3
FG580706_Ep22_Education_Of_Kid_Yancey.mp3
FG580706_Ep22_Education_Of_Kid_Yancey.mp3 (test)
FG580713_Ep23_Justice_Of_The_Peace.mp3
FG580720_Ep24_Jesse_James_-_Part1.mp3
FG580727_Ep25_Jesse_James_-_Part2.mp3
FG580824_Belle_Siddon's_Encore.mp3
FG580831_Belle_Siddon_Strikes_Back.mp3
FG580907_The_Last_Of_Belle_Siddon.mp3