So long Gene Barry.

To me, you will always be that debonaire Bat Masterson. They don’t play it that way any longer. Perhaps they never did. They, whoever, they may be, certainly should.

One of the coolest parts of the Television series was that the Bat Masterson character, portrayed by Mr. Barry, often beat his adversaries senseless with the use of his gold-tipped cane, as opposed to the use of firearms (with which he was equally dexterous).

My Grandad would say: “now there’s a gentleman – for you”. And, if he were, tragically, absent from the living room, then my Dad would always carry the banner. It was a determined play on words, and directed amicably towards the hapless villains. Oh, and they were a dastardly bunch.

Great stuff, really.

Please join me with a rousing rendition of the Bat Masterson THEME SONG:

“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!

A man of steel, the story says

But women’s eyes all glanced his way.

A gambler’s game he always won

His name was Bat

Bat Masterson!

Refrain

The trail that he blazed is still there

No one has come since to replace his name

and those with too ready a trigger,

forgot to figure on his lightning cane.

Now in the legend of the West

One name stands out above the rest

The man who had the fastest gun,

His name was Bat

Bat Masterson!”

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork