--- title: Photos From the Sets of Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Other TV Westerns description: LIFE.com presents photos made behind the scenes on a number of TV Westerns of the 1950s. canonical: https://time.com/25097/shoot-first-behind-the-scenes-on-classic-tv-westerns/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-09-08T20:48:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:08:33.687Z og:title: Photos From the Sets of Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Other TV Westerns og:description: LIFE.com presents photos made behind the scenes on a number of TV Westerns of the 1950s. og:url: https://time.com/25097/shoot-first-behind-the-scenes-on-classic-tv-westerns/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fe271beb7488322/6988481d06f2c170ab339461/01_007980441.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: TV Westerns of the 1950s og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Photos From the Sets of Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Other TV Westerns twitter:description: LIFE.com presents photos made behind the scenes on a number of TV Westerns of the 1950s. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fe271beb7488322/6988481d06f2c170ab339461/01_007980441.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LIFE on the Set of Classic TV Westerns > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Sep 8, 2012 8:48 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. "Six TV western heroes who never trade fire on screen because they are all in different weekly serials stage a mock battle symbolic of a ratings war." (L to R) Clint Walker, Cheyenne; Jim Arness, Gunsmoke; Dick Boone, Have Gun, WIll Travel; Robert Horton, Wagon Train; James Garner, Maverick; John Payne, Restless Gun. Caption from LIFE. "Six TV western heroes who never trade fire on screen because they are all in different weekly serials stage a mock battle symbolic of a ratings war." (L to R) Clint Walker, Cheyenne; Jim Arness, Gunsmoke; Dick Boone, Have Gun, WIll Travel; Robert Horton, Wagon Train; James Garner, Maverick; John Payne, Restless Gun.Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Sep 8, 2012 8:48 PM UTC The writer and essayist Gerald Early once asserted that “two thousand years from now, there will only be three things that Americans will be known for: the Constitution, baseball and jazz music. They’re the three most beautiful things Americans have ever created.” That’s a great soundbite, and little doubt that Early—a smart, insightful man—has given this notion a lot of thought. But one could make the case, of course, that hip-hop should probably be added to that list, and there are those among us who might strenuously argue for other uniquely American contributions to global culture. The hot dog, for example. Or the ShamWow. But one classic, identifiably, certifiably American creation that deserves to at least be in the conversation is the Western. From the earliest days of film (_The Great Train Robbery_ was made in 1903) to director John Ford’s genre-defining classics of the ’30s and ’40s to “revisionist” masterpieces like Eastwood’s _Unforgiven_, Westerns have thrilled, entertained and—with their familiar, mythic scope and often easily digested moral message—in a sense comforted countless millions. The genre on the small screen, meanwhile, has enjoyed similar success and longevity. While we’ve never again seen anything like the Golden Age of the television Western, when in the mid-1950s and 1960s it sometimes felt like there was nothing on TV _except_ gunfighters, cattle rustlers and bar maids with hearts of gold, more recent shows like _Deadwood_, _Justified_ and _Hell of Wheels_ illustrate just how potent, and popular, the recipe remains. In tribute, then, to the television Western, and in celebration of two of the greatest shows of them all, _Bonanza_ and _Gunsmoke_—both of which first aired in the second week of September, the latter in 1955, the former in 1959—LIFE.com presents photos made behind the scenes on a number of TV Westerns. Most of the pictures here were first published in an article titled “TV Goes Wild Over Westerns” in the October 1957 issue of LIFE—an article that made plain the magazine’s barely contained astonishment at the rise and rise of the seemingly inexhaustible genre: --- > “” --- --- > “” --- Only one question now remains. Which cable channel—premium or otherwise—is going to step up and broadcast “all Westerns, all the time” to an audience that’s dying for classic horse operas? We’re looking at you, TBS. . . . _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Caption from LIFE. "Six TV western heroes who never trade fire on screen because they are all in different weekly serials stage a mock battle symbolic of a ratings war." (L to R) Clint Walker, Cheyenne; Jim Arness, Gunsmoke; Dick Boone, Have Gun, WIll Travel; Robert Horton, Wagon Train; James Garner, Maverick; John Payne, Restless Gun. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. James Garner in Maverick. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Pair of unimpressed spectators (left) on set watch actors fake a fight on Tales of Wells Fargo." Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Hugh O'Brian, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  James Garner (right) films a fight on the show Maverick. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Posy-packing tenderfoot Will Hutchins, star of Sugarfoot, plays young law student wandering west who carries daisies when calling on girl." Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Undersize stand-in Clyde Howdy (right), 6' 2", wears elevated shoes to raise stature to match towering Clint Walker (left), 6' 4", on set of Cheyenne. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. A scene from the TV show, Wagon Train. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Michael Ansarra, who plays Cochise in Broken Arrow, cools off after fighting in buckskins and wig on the 100-degree sound stage." Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. On the set of the TV show, Broken Arrow. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Scene from The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "To win a desert race on Have Gun, Will Travel, Paladin (Dick Boone) trades his horse for a camel and rides up to the TV saloon set." Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Legendary actress Claudette Colbert (right) guest stars on "The Zane Grey Theater" in an episode called Blood in the Dust. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Sweeping up bullets, the blank cartridge cases expended in day's gunplay, a Warners' maintenance man cleans set for next episode." Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. A scene from the TV show Colt .45. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp. 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