Saturday is saddle day.

Of course, truth be told, I can count on no fingers  the number of times I have sat in a saddle atop a horse. Still, that doesn't stop my appreciation for the Western, and old time radio had them in abundance.  Fortunately many of these shows are still available.

At this time, I would say that my favorite radio Westerns are "Gunsmoke," "Have Gun, Will Travel," and "Frontier Gentleman."  Primarily these are considered "adult" Westerns.  There are also many "juvenile" Westerns aimed at kids.  Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Wild Bill Hickok, The Lone Ranger... to name just a few.

Radio is the theater of the mind, and the best script-writing and effective gifted actors voicing those words can put us in the picture.  Many well-known personalities got their start in radio.


There were also scores of character actors who appeared in many programs. Usually these are people who are familiar to us because we have heard or seen them often, yet we do not know their names.  They just seem to fit perfectly in any part they assume.

One such actor was John Dehner whose long career included roles in radio, movies, and television.  Among those roles were Paladin in the radio version of "Have Gun Will Travel" and J. B. Kendall, a British reporter covering the American West for The London Times. Dehner portrayed these very different characters brilliantly and convincingly as today's radio show will demonstrate.

So sit back with Southbridge Old Time Radio and enjoy this episode of Frontier Gentleman starring John Dehner titled "The Shelton Brothers."