Shotgun Slade

1 9 5 9 – 1 9 6 1 (USA)
78 x 30 minute episodes

While set in the Wild West in the 1860s, this fascinating syndicated series was closer in tone to Peter Gunn with its jazzy score.

Shotgun Slade (former boxer Scott Brady) wasn’t a Marshal, Sheriff, or gunfighter for hire. He was a private detective, hired to track down criminals, return stolen money, or solve mysteries surrounding the death of townspeople.

Slade carried a unique modified gun, like fellow cowboy heroes Lucas McCain and Josh Randall. But Slade’s piece was even wilder, with a shotgun barrel welded to a rifle barrel.

The series often cast unlikely people in supporting roles: Ernie Kovacs played a bewhiskered desert rat in the first episode; others included football star Elroy “Crazy-legs” Hirsch as a saloonkeeper, World War II ace Gregory “Pappy” Boyington as a wealthy rancher, recording stars Johnny Cash, Tex Ritter, and Jimmy Wakely as sheriffs, and golfer Paul Hahn, baseball players Chuck Essegian and Wally Moon, and heavyweight boxer Lou Nova in other roles.

Shotgun Slade
Scott Brady
Monica
Monica Lewis

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