November 23: Happy Birthday, John Dehner

In the 1930's, thin, henna-headed John Dehner popped from show biz industry job to show biz industry job, jockeying discs and drawing cartoons for Disney.  He even played some piano.  One can see him dreaming of being in front of the camera, and it may have been the part of the villain he craved.  That's what he's known for, anyway.

Dehner often played a crooked bank owner or a leader of a band of desperadoes in movies and TV Westerns.  He was booked to play various bad guys in the radio version of Gunsmoke.

However, he wasn't always a villain or a one-time character.  He landed the role of playing Paladin on the radio version of Have Gun--Will Travel.  He co-starred with Ben Wright and Virginia Gregg.

We love the pencil-thin mustache, John. Thanks for the memories!

March 6: Happy Birthday, Virginia Gregg

March 6: Happy Birthday, Virginia Gregg

She had gun and she traveled, even if Virginia Gregg didn't have one of the lead roles in the radio drama Have Gun--Will Travel. She played Miss Wong, the girlfriend of Hey Boy (Ben Wright), a booksmart, somewhat sophisticated gal.

Have Gun Will Travel was a rare beast that began as a television series and then went to radio. Both versions were wildly successful, and some of the credit for the success of the radio show goes to the quality of the cast. Gregg was already a big name in radio before the show began airing. As was the case with many performers of the day, she made the rounds of many different series such as The Adventures of Adventures of Sam Spade, Lux Radio Theatre, Johnny Dollar, and Dragnet.

Virginia Gregg was born on Mar. 6, 1916 in Harrisburg, Illinois, and died in Encino, CA on Sept. 15, 1986.