6.4 /10 1 Votes
4.5/10 TV Theme music composer William M. Backer Original language(s) English | 8.2/10 IMDb Country of origin United States First episode date 16 October 1957 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Pat ConwayRichard Eastham Opening theme "Whistle Me Up a Memory" performed by William M. Backer Cast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tombstone territory 3x6 the horse thief1959
Tombstone Territory is an American Western series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The series' first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959. The first season was sponsored by Bristol-Myers (Consumer Products) and the second season by Lipton (Tea/Soup) and Philip Morris (Marlboro Cigarettes). The third and final season aired in syndication from 1959 until 1960. The program was produced by Ziv Television, the company responsible for other 1950s hit TV series such as first-run syndicated Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol and NBC's Bat Masterson .
Contents
Series background
This program took place in the boom town of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, one of the Old West's most notorious towns and the site of the shootout known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Located south of Tucson, Tombstone was then known by the sobriquet "the town too tough to die." The program's theme song, "Whistle Me Up a Memory", was written and performed by a New York City advertising writer, William M. Backer.
The series did not deal with real characters in the history of Tombstone in the 1880s, such as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, or the Clanton Gang. It was about fictional characters in the American Southwest. Conway played Sheriff Clay Hollister. Eastham, the only other actor besides Conway to appear in all the episodes, played Harris Claibourne, editor of The Tombstone Epitaph (an actual newspaper that still exists in limited form). Eastham also narrated the series in a deep baritone voice, describing each episode as an actual report from the newspaper's archives.
The Ziv TV series aired on Wednesdays on ABC in the 1957-1958 season opposite Robert Young's sitcom Father Knows Best, then broadcast on NBC. It was returned to the ABC schedule for twelve new episodes on March 13, 1959, followed by summer rebroadcasts. It replaced the first season of Charles Bronson's Man with a Camera on Friday evenings at the 9 Eastern time slot, preceding the popular detective series 77 Sunset Strip. After the network run, Tombstone Territory was placed in syndication and ran mostly outside prime time in selected markets until it ceased production. Conway and Eastham appeared in all ninety-three episodes.
Cast
Recurring
DVD release
On April 2, 2013, Timeless Media Group released season 1 on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.
As of late 2014,The complete series of all 91 episodes has been released on DVD.
In 2016, reruns of the show are aired daily on GETTV as a part of its daytime schedule.
Merchandising
The TV show was also adapted into a comic book by Dan Spiegle, distributed by Dell Comics.