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William Barclay 'Bat' Masterson
[1853-1921]
![common portrait of William Barclay 'Bat' Masterson [1853-1921], sepia version](images/BatMasterson-standing.jpg) | short profile |
"There are those who argue that everything breaks even in this old dump of a world of ours. I suppose these ginks who argue that way
hold that because the rich man gets ice in the summer and the poor man gets it in the winter[, then] things are breaking even for both.
Maybe so, but I'll swear I can't see it that way."
— Bat Masterson's last recorded words, from the typescript in the machine at the desk where he died.
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
Bat Masterson was a lawman in Dodge City, Kansas
Bat Masterson was sheriff in Trinidad, Colorado at one time
Bat Masterson entry at Wikipedia
search for keywords 'Bat Masterson' at Amazon
movie & TV credits [1923-2012] for character 'Bat Masterson' at Internet Movie Database
Works About Bat Masterson
★ ★
"The Sunset Trail" [1905 novel] by Alfred Henry Lewis
contains a number of chapters very freely based on incidents in Bat Masterson's career.
"Bat Masterson: The Biography of One of The West's Most Famous Gunfighters and Marshals" [1957] by Richard O'Connor
http://www.amazon.com/Bat-Masterson-Richard-OConnor/dp/B0006AV2OC/
"Young Bat Masterson" [1967] by Richard O'Connor, Illustrated by Aldren A. Watson
 | "Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp: Their Colorado Careers" [1978] by E. Richard Churchill Western Reflections Publng 8¼x5½ pb [2001] out of print/used Timberline Books 8½x5½ pb [6/78] out of print/used see also pages for Wyatt Earp [1848-1929] and 'Doc' Holliday [1851-87] |
"The Old Colts" [1985 novel] by Glendon Swarthout
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Colts-Glendon-Swarthout-ebook/dp/B006GR0XJE/
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Colts-Glendon-Swarthout/dp/0917657705/
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Colts-Glendon-Swarthout/dp/0917657187/
"The Ham Reporter" [1986 novel] by Robert J. Randisi
features Bat Masterson as an investigating newspaperman.
"Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend" [Univ Oklahoma Press 1989] by Robert K. DeArment
http://www.amazon.com/Bat-Masterson-Robert-K-DeArment/dp/0806122218/
 | "Masterson: A Novel" [1999] by Richard S. Wheeler Former Western lawman now New York reporter 'Bat' Masterson discovers that his reputation is skewed by dime novel hype, and so he returns West to clear things up. But the job is tougher than he thought, and after talking with old pal Wyatt Earp and cowboy movie star William S. Hart in Hollywood, Masterson becomes resigned to his legend with all its inaccuracies. CreateSpace 9x6 pb [9/2012] for $13.50 BackInPrint pb [4/2006] out of print/used Forge mass pb [6/2000] out of print/many used Forge 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/99] out of print/many used author's official website |
 | "Dodge City" [2006] by Matt Braun A judge trying to mete out justice in booming cowtown Dodge City, Kansas runs afoul of the Masterson brothers and Wyatt Earp and 'Doc' Holliday. St. Martin mass pb [5/2006] for $6.99 |
 | "Black Hats: A Novel of Wyatt Earp & Al Capone" [2007] by Patrick Culhane {Max Allan Collins} In 1920, 'Doc' Holliday's widow asks 70-year-old ex-lawman Wyatt Earp for help for her son, who has run afoul of some gangster in New York City named Alphonse Capone. Wyatt teams with sportswriter 'Bat' Masterson, and the well-organized Italian gangs are no match for the two aged but steely-eyed former frontier lawmen. Harper mass pb [4/2008] for $7.99 Wm. Morrow hardcover [3/2007] for $24.95 |
"Broadway Bat: Gunfighter In Gotham - Bat Masterson's New York City Years" [Talei Publrs, 2005] by Robert K. DeArment
http://www.amazon.com/Gunfighter-Gotham-Mastersons-York-Years/dp/0806142634/
"The Buntline Special" [2010 novel] by Mike Resnick
includes Masterson, along with many other historical figures of the time.
Works by Bat Masterson
 | "Wyatt Earp Speaks!: My Side of The O.K. Corral Shoot-Out - Plus Interviews with 'Doc' Holliday & 'Bat' Masterson" [1998] Edited by John R. Stephens Fern Canyon Press pb [1/98] out of print/rare publisher book page |
Finally found one actual published work by 'Bat' Masterson; some historian ought to collect
all of Bat's public domain sports articles for New York newspapers into a Kindle Edition.
 | "Famous Gunfighters of The Western Frontier: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Luke Short and Others" [magazine serial 1907, book 1957] by W.B. (Bat) Masterson Slim volume: 112 pages in paper, 102 on Kindle; chapters/subjects are: Wyatt Earp, 'Doc' Holliday, Luke Short, Ben Thompson, and Bill Tilghman Kindle Edition from MonkeyBone Publns [8/2013] for $2.99 Dover Publns 8½x5½ pb [3/2009] for $6.26 - with a section of photographs |
Movies & TV About Bat Masterson
movie & TV credits for character 'Bat Masterson' [1923-2012] at Internet Movie Database
★ ★
"Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight" [Veriscope Company 1897]
Historically important film (added to National Film Archive in 2012): the first filmed prizefight and the first widescreen feature production.
Originally released at 70-minutes, later at 100 minutes length, only a few segments survive. The man at left ringside in the bowler hat is generally
considered to be New York sports reporter 'Bat' Masterson; lawman Wyatt Earp attended as a special reporter for The New York World.
bare credits at IMDb •
movie entry at Wikipedia •
article at the JRank Search Engine
watch segments online at YouTube: clip 1 [9:01] and clip 2 [10:07]
★ ★
"Wild Bill Hickok" silent Western feature
[Famous Players-Lasky / Paramount Nov 1923]
 | 70-minute b&w silent feature produced, co-written by & starring William S. Hart {as 'Wild Bill' Hickok}; directed by Clifford Smith; also starring Ethel Grey Terry, Kathleen O'Connor, Jim Farley, Jack Gardner {as 'Bat' Masterson} & Carl Gerard
video/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb |
"The Woman of The Town" [1943] /tt0037470/
based on the murder of Dora Hand; starring Albert Dekker as 'Bat' Masterson, with Claire Trevor & Barry Sullivan
http://www.amazon.com/Woman-Town-Claire-Trevor/dp/B002LPQIT4/
http://www.amazon.com/Woman-Town-VHS-Claire-Trevor/dp/6302010160/
★ ★
"Trail Street" [1947] /tt0039908/
starring Randolph Scott {as Marshall 'Bat' Masterson}
★ ★
"Prince of The Plains" [1949] /tt0040711/ starring Monte Hale {as 'Bat' Masterson}
★ ★
"Santa Fe" [1951] /tt0043992/ >> SA/RR & RScott
starring Randolph Scott, with Frank Ferguson {as Marshal 'Bat' Masterson}
★ ★
"Masterson of Kansas" [Columbia Pictures Dec 1954]
 | "Nobody draws faster than Masterson of Kansas" Filmed in Technicolor™; Kansas cattlemen frame Merrick for murder when he negotiates a treaty with the Indians giving them land that the ranchers covet; Dodge City sheriff 'Bat' Masterson asks for help from Wyatt Earp and 'Doc' Holliday in locating Merrick before the cattlemen's bounty hunters do. Directed by William Castle; written by Douglas Heyes; starring George Montgomery {as Masterson}, Nancy Gates, James Griffith {as 'Doc' Holliday}, Jean Willes, Benny Rubin, William Henry, David Bruce, Bruce Cowling {as Wyatt Earp}, Gregg Barton, Donald Murphy {as Virgil Earp}, Gregg Martell, Sandy Sanders, Jay Silverheels & John Maxwell
Sony Pictures Choice Collection color DVD [10/2012] for $20.95 full credits at IMDb |
"Wichita" [Allied Artists July 1955]
 | Leaders of a lawless Kansas cattle town offer the job of town marshall to an ex-buffalo hunter, who is reluctant to take the job. Directed by Jacques Tourneur; filmed in Cinemascope & Technicolor; starring Joel McCrea {as Wyatt Earp}, Vera Miles, Lloyd Bridges, Wallace Ford, Edgar Buchanan, Peter Graves, Keith Larsen {as 'Bat' Masterson}, John Smith, Walter Coy, Jack Elam & Mae Clarke
Warner Bros. Archive color DVD-R [6/2009] for $9.99 full credits from IMDb |
★ ★
"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" [1955-61 TV series]
 | Black-and-white TV series that ran for six seasons. Starring Hugh O'Brian {as Wyatt Earp}, Alan Dinehart III (as 'Bat' Masterson}, Douglas Fowley {as 'Doc' Holliday) & Paul Brinegar
Rhino Theatrical b&w/color DVD [9/2005] 4 disks for $30.99 series credits at IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia TV program theme song [runs 1 min. 39 sec.] |
★ ★
"Gunfight At The O.K. Corral" [Paramount May 1957]
 |
Captures the spirit of the legend, if not the facts. Directed by John Sturges; written by George Scullin & Leon Uris; starring Burt Lancaster {as Wyatt Earp}, Kirk Douglas {as 'Doc' Holliday}, Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland, Lyle Bettger, Frank Faylen, Earl Holliman, Ted de Corsia, Dennis Hopper, Whit Bissell, George Mathews, John Hudson, DeForest Kelley, Martin Milner & Kenneth Tobey {as 'Bat' Masterson}
Paramount color DVD [4/2003] for $9.98 Warner widescreen color VHS [2/97] out of prodn/many used full credits from IMDb |
"Badman's Country" [Warner Aug 1958]
 | Pat Garrett, Wyatt Earp, 'Doc' Holliday & 'Bat' Masterson try to prevent Butch Cassidy's gang from stealing a gold shipment on the railroad at Abilene, Kansas. Directed by Fred F. Sears; starring George Montgomery {as Garrett}, Buster Crabbe {as Wyatt}, Gregory Walcott {as Masterson}, Neville Brand {as Cassidy}, Russell Johnson {as Sundance}, Malcolm Atterbury {as 'Buffalo Bill' Cody} & Karin Booth video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Gunfight At Dodge City" [Mirisch/United Artists May 1959]
 | "All the thundering might of the most-famed gunfight of them all!" Filmed in Cinemascope, Color by Deluxe; after City Marshall Ed Masterson is murdered, his brother Bat runs for Sheriff of Ford County, Kansas and beats the crooked incumbent. Produced by Walter Mirisch; directed by Joseph M. Newman; written by Martin Goldsmith & Daniel B. Ullman; starring Joel McCrea {as 'Bat' Masterson}, Julie Adams, Don Haggerty, John McIntire, Nancy Gates, Richard Anderson, James Westerfield, Walter Coy, Wright King & Harry Lauter
Australian import widescreen color Blu-ray [undated] for $42.69 MGM/UA widescreen color DVD [5/2008] for $15.05 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch full movie online [1:17:36] at YouTube - seems dark, but sharp enough |
"Bat Masterson" TV series [NBC-TV 1958-61]
 | 107-episode three season half-hour b&w network TV series that ran from October 1958 to June 1961; the stories were often far from Masterson's life events, the tone was tongue-in-cheek, and the fancy clothing was Hollywood dress-up – Masterson usually wore a bowler hat in real life, and sometimes carried a cane, but the witty repartee, the woman-chasing, and the brocade vests were artifice. Actor Ron Hayes appeared four times as Wyatt Earp. Produced by Frederick W. Ziv; starring Gene Barry; guest actors included Claude Akins, R.G. Armstrong, James Best, Robert Blake, Edgar Buchanan, Dyan Cannon, John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr., James Coburn, Robert Conrad, William Conrad, Elisha Cook Jr., Broderick Crawford, Ray Danton, Frankie Darro, Ted de Corsia, John Dehner, John Doucette, Douglass Dumbrille, Virginia Gregg, Dabbs Greer, Reed Hadley, Alan Hale Jr., Allison Hayes, James Hong, DeForest Kelley, George Kennedy, Jack Kruschen, Joi Lansing, Harry Lauter, Eddie Little Sky, Gerald Mohr, Conrad Nagel, Warren Oates, Denver Pyle, William Schallert, Fay Spain, Harry Dean Stanton, Harold J. Stone, Karl Swenson, Gloria Talbott, Ray Teal, Marie Windsor, and Will Wright
full credits at IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia |
"Bat Masterson" Episode Guide at GM's Gene Barry fansite
"Bat Masterson" fanpage at TV.com
 | "Bat Masterson TV Series 24-Hour Marathon Collection" [2012]
NOTE: 'Marathon' does not include all 107 episodes T.G.G. Direct, LLC b&w DVD set [10/2012] 60 episodes on 8 disks for $9.97 "Bat Masterson Complete Season One" DVD Set [2013] T.G.G. Direct, LLC b&w DVD set [2/2013] 37 episodes on 5 disks for $12.49 "Bat Masterson Complete Season Two" DVD Set [2013] T.G.G. Direct, LLC b&w DVD set [4/2013] 37 episodes on 5 disks for $7.27 "Bat Masterson Complete Season Three" DVD Set [2013] T.G.G. Direct, LLC b&w DVD set [11/2013] 33 episodes on 4 disks for $13.98 |
 | "Bat Masterson: The Series - with 6 Bonus Django Movies" DVD Box Set [2013] NOTE: contains 106 episodes (absent 'Terror On The Trinity') on 14 disks; Discs 15 & 16 contain: "Django The Runner" aka "Massacre Time" [1966] starring Franco Nero; "Return of Django" [1967] starring Guy Madison; "Hanging For Django" aka "A Long Row of Crosses" [1969]; "Django, A Bullet For You" [1969]; "Pistol For Django" aka "Sartana and Sabata" [1970]; and "A Man Called Django" aka "Viva! Django" [1971] T.G.G. Direct, LLC DVD [12/2013] 16 disks for $38.75 |
"The Outlaws IS Coming"
[Normandy/Columbia Jan 1965]
 | 'The Three Stooges' make such a mess of the pressroom at a Boston wildlife conservation magazine that their boss gets rid of them by sending them Out West to stop the slaughter of buffalo, where they get challenged by one famous gunslinger after another. Luckily, pistol-packing Annie Oakley falls for their handsome editor and agrees to protect The Stooges against the bad guys. Produced, co-written & directed by Norman Maurer; starring Larry & Moe & Curly-Joe, Adam West, Nancy Kovack {as Oakley}, Emil Sitka, Henry Gibson, Don Lamond & Tiny Brauer, with Bill Camfield {as Wyatt Earp}, Hal Fryar {as Johnny Ringo}, Johnny Ginger {as Billy The Kid}, Wayne Mack {as Jesse James}, Ed T. McDonnell {as 'Bat' Masterson}, Bruce Sedley {as Cole Younger}, Paul Shannon {as 'Wild Bill' Hickok} & Sally Starr {as Belle Starr}
Sony widescreen b&w DVD [12/2002] for $9.99 Sony b&w VHS [5/95] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
★ ★
"Showdown At O.K. Corral" episode of "Appointment With Destiny" TV series [1972] /tt0514014/
featuring David H. Vowell {as Wyatt Earp}, Tim James {as 'Doc' Holliday} & Dan Ferrone {as 'Bat' Masterson}
★ ★
"Damon Runyon's Pueblo" [Rocky Mtn PBS 1981] /tt1697061/
40-minute TV documentary starring Eric Austin {as Damon Runyon}, Tim Abrahamsen {as 'Doc' Holliday} & William Campbell {as 'Bat' Masterson}
★ ★
"The Gambler Returns: The Luck of The Draw" TV movie [Nov 1991] /tt0101933/
gambler Brady Hawkes (Kenny Rogers) heads to San Francisco with the cash entry fee for a big poker contest and meets
'Bat' Masterson (Gene Barry), Marshal Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brian), Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly), President Theodore Roosevelt (Claude Akins), Diamond Jim Brady (Dion Anderson), Caine (David Carradine), rifleman Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors) & son Mark McCain (Johnny Crawford), The Westerner (Brian Keith), and Cheyenne (Clint Walker)
★ ★
"Wyatt Earp" [Tig/Warner June 1994]
 | Less about Tombstone, Arizona and the famous gunfight, and more about Wyatt Earp's life from childhood and the strong family dynamic of the Earps. • Co-produced, co-written & directed by Lawrence Kasdan; co-produced by & starring Kevin Costner {as Wyatt}; also starring Dennis Quaid {as Doc}, Gene Hackman, David Andrews, Linden Ashby, Jeff Fahey, Joanna Going, Mark Harmon, Michael Madsen, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Pullman, Isabella Rossellini, Tom Sizemore {as 'Bat' Masterson}, JoBeth Williams, Mare Winningham, Rex Linn, Randle Mell, Adam Baldwin, Lewis Smith, Betty Buckley, Alison Elliott, James Caviezel, John Dennis Johnston, Norman Howell, Gabriel Folse & Kris Kamm; won Spur Award for Best Western Script; filming locations included Chama, Galisteo, Santa Fe, Abiquiu, Las Vegas, Rancho de Los Golandrinas, and the Santa Clara, Tesuque & Zia pueblos of New Mexico
Warner widescreen color Blu-ray [9/2007] for $9.99 Warner widescreen color Special Edition DVD [5/2004] 2 disks for $25.49 Warner widescreen color DVD [5/2006] single disk for $6.99 Warner widescreen color Expanded Edition VHS [4/95] 2 tapes - out of prodn/used Warner color VHS [6/95] 2 tapes - out of prodn/many used full credits from IMDb • movie posters at AllPosters.com |
★ ★
 | "Gunfighters of The West" DVD box set [2004]
Winstar color DVD [8/2004] 3 disks - out of prodn/used the DVD set includes docufilms about Elfego Baca, Butch & Sundance, The Dalton Gang, Gunfight at The O.K. Corral (Wyatt Earp), John Wesley Hardin, 'Wild Bill' Hickok, Tom Horn, The James-Younger Gang, The Lincoln County War (Billy The Kid), and 'Bat' Masterson |
"Any Last Words?" video release [2011] /tt2116909/
"Based on the life and times of 'Bat' Masterson's life"
http://www.amazon.com/Any-Last-Words-Tom-Lagleder/dp/B008IG0GNY/
★ ★
"Wyatt Earp's Revenge" [Sony Home Video release March 2012]
 | Wyatt Earp & 'Bat' Masterson & 'Doc' Holliday team up against the bad-guys in a Dodge City, Kansas that has mountains in the background (filmed in Agoura and Santa Clarita in California). Co-produced & directed by Michael Feifer; starring Val Kilmer & Shawn Roberts {as Wyatt}, Matt Dallas {as Master-son}, Levi Fiehler {as Bill Tilghman}, Wilson Bethel {as Holliday}, Diana DeGarmo & Trace Adkins
Sony Pictures Home Ent. widescreen color DVD [3/2012] for $10.89 full credits at IMDb • watch official trailer [1:38] at YouTube |
Stageplays, Other Media
Family & Friends
friend of Damon Runyon [1884-1946] in Colorado & New York City
Bat Masterson's Emma
L i n k s
Bat Masterson entry at Wikipedia
search for keywords 'Bat Masterson' at Amazon
movie & TV credits [1923-2012] for character 'Bat Masterson' at Internet Movie Database
Masterson's Canadian Rye Whiskey, 35 Maple Street in Sonoma, California
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