Although Paladin charges steep fees to clients who can afford to hire him, typically $1,000 per job, he provides his services for free to poor people who need his help.

[1] This series follows the adventures of a man calling himself "Paladin" (played by Richard Boone on television and voiced by John Dehner on radio), taking his name from that of the foremost knights in Charlemagne's court.

Paladin is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a veteran of the American Civil War, in which he served as a Union cavalry officer.

His permanent place of residence is the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco, where he lives the life of a successful businessman and bon vivant, wearing elegant custom-made suits, consuming fine wine, playing the piano, and attending the opera and other cultural events.

He is skilled in Chinese martial arts, and is seen in several episodes receiving instruction and training with a kung ku master in San Francisco.

[citation needed] He is highly educated, able to quote classic literature, philosophy, Scripture, and case law, and speaks several languages.

His primary weapon is a custom-made, first-generation .45 caliber Colt Single Action Army Cavalry Model revolver[4] with an unusual rifled barrel, carried in a black leather holster (with a platinum chess knight symbol facing the rear), hanging from a black leather gunbelt.

He also carries a lever-action Marlin rifle (with a platinum chess knight symbol facing the rear seen in "The Hunt") strapped to his saddle.

Character actor Olan Soule appears in 10 episodes across all six seasons of Have Gun – Will Travel as an employee of the Carlton Hotel, usually identified as the manager/desk clerk.

Hal Needham, later a noted director, worked on the show as a stunt performer and can be seen as a bit-part player (in a wide variety of roles) in nearly 50 episodes.

Have Gun – Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks, and Julian Claman.

[7] Other major contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley, and Irving Wallace.

Other notable writers who contributed an episode include Gene L. Coon, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, Laurence Heath, and Fred Freiberger.

[9] For the opening theme, Herrmann reused a short sequence he had previously composed for the 1951 movie On Dangerous Ground, starring Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino.

The Have Gun – Will Travel theme (and fragments of incidental music also used in the television series) are featured in a chase scene across snowy fields; at the 35:25 mark of the film, the actual Have Gun – Will Travel opening theme is played in recognizable form, although the scoring is slightly different from the better-known television version.

[11] Johnny Western has sung a fully recorded version, opening with the refrain and including a second verse never heard on the television series.

[13] A trope common in theatrical advertising at the time was "Have tux, will travel" (originally from comedian Bob Hope in 1954[14]), and CBS has claimed this was the specific inspiration for the writer Herb Meadow.

The television show popularized the phrase in the 1950s and 1960s, and many variations have been used as titles for other works, including the 1958 science-fiction novel Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert A.

He cocks the hammer, and then rotates the gun to point the barrel at the viewer for ten seconds, often delivering a line of dialogue from the coming episode, after which the pistol is uncocked and holstered briskly.

As only the chess knight emblem in a black background is back, the name "RICHARD BOONE" appears across the screen for about five seconds.

[16] A later version of the opening sequence (seasons three to six) has a long-range shot, with Paladin in a full-body profile silhouette, and he fast-draws the revolver, dropping into a slight crouch as he turns, pointing at the camera.

[34][35][36] In 2000, Martin Grams, Jr. and Les Rayburn self-published the 500-page trade paperback, The Have Gun – Will Travel Companion, documenting the history of the radio and television series.

John Travolta was named as a possible star in the Warner Bros. production, which was scripted by Larry Ferguson and to be directed by The Fugitive director Andrew Davis.

Paramount Pictures extended an 18-month option on the television series and planned to transform the character of Paladin into a modern-day bounty hunter.

A subsequent comedic Maverick episode titled "The Cats of Paradise" features a black-clad character obviously based on Paladin, albeit without using the name.

In the third episode of the seventh season of Archer ("Deadly Prep," April 14, 2016) the titular character is seen cleaning his weapon as he sings the theme song from Have Gun - Will Travel.

For example, at his rodeo appearances he always dressed in black, called himself the "Paladin", handed out hundreds of business cards featuring a chess piece logo along with the phrase "Have gun will travel", and carried a concealed derringer pistol.

The United States Court of Appeals ruled that because Mr. DeCosta had unsuccessfully sued in the past over the same issues, "the doctrine of 'collateral estoppel' bars his new claims."