Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone" - The Homesteaders (Aired March 23, 1958)


Sam Buffington enacted the title role on Luke Slaughter of Tombstone, another of CBS's prestigious adult Westerns. The series was produced and directed by William N. Robson, one of radio's greatest dramatic directors and Robert Stanley producer was aired from February 23 through June 15, 1958. Buffington portrayed the hard-boiled cattleman with scripts overseen by Gunsmoke sound effects artist (and sometimes scriptwriter) Tom Hanley. Each program had an authoritative opening statement: "Slaughter's my name, Luke Slaughter. Cattle's my business. It's a tough business, it's a big business. I got a big stake in it. And there's no man west of the Rio Grande big enough to take it away from me." Junius Matthews was heard as Slaughter's sidekick, Wichita. In his first adventure, tough-as-nails westerner Luke Slaughter guarantees he will bring a cattle herd to Tombstone despite the threats of rustlers and a spy among the ranks of his cowboys. Like the other CBS radio westerns, Have Gun, Will Travel or Frontier Gentleman, this one had plenty of action, the productions were well done and well acted. Luke Slaugher was cut short, like a lot of other radio shows, by the steady pressure from TV.

THIS EPISODE:

March 23, 1958. "The Homesteaders" - CBS network. Sustaining. Colonel Everett arrives in Tombstone with a Spanish land grant to the Meeker ranch, signed by General Santa Ana himself! Amerigo Moreno (music supervisor), William Quinn, Don Clark (director), Edwin Jerome, James McCallion, John McIntire, Sam Buffington, Tom Hanley (sound patterns), Wilbur Hatch (music), William N. Robson (director). 25:58. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.