GUNSMOKE, which ran for 20 years on CBS, has been chosen the Greatest TV Western Series of All Time by Western Writers of America (WWA). WWA, a nonprofit organization of professional writers, announced the Greatest TV Western Series, Miniseries and Movies of All Time today, during the association’s annual convention.
GUNSMOKE teleplays won six Spur Awards from WWA, and McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-honored novel, LONESOME DOVE, won a Spur while the Emmy-winning series by the same name won Best TV Western.
WWA President Johnny D. Boggs says. “Many of our members study GUNSMOKE episodes and LONESOME DOVE, both the novel and the miniseries, as examples of great writing.”
In the series category, MAVERICK was second, followed by RAWHIDE; BONANZA; HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL; THE RIFLEMAN; WAGON TRAIN; HIGH CHAPARRAL; DEATH VALLEY DAYS; and THE VIRGINIAN. A more recent hit, HBO’s DEADWOOD, placed 11th.
CENTENNIAL was second in the miniseries/movie category, followed by THE SACKETTS; CONAGHER; MONTE WALSH; Disney’s DAVY CROCKETT; LAST STAND AT SABER RIVER; BROKEN TRAIL; RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE; and INTO THE WEST.
Eight of the top 10 movies/miniseries were originally Western novels. THE SACKETTS was based on two works by Louis L’Amour, who also wrote CONAGHER. Jack Schaefer wrote MONTE WALSH. Elmore Leonard, recipient of this year’s Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement, wrote LAST STAND AT SABER RIVER. Alan Geoffrion’s novel and script for BROKEN TRAIL won Spur Awards, and Zane Grey penned RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE.
“Many of our members remember when Westerns ruled television in the 1950s and ’60s,” Boggs says. “Some even wrote for those series, and with DEADWOOD, INTO THE WEST and BROKEN TRAIL, we’ve seen how successful Westerns can still be, and how important powerful writing is to that success.”
WWA plans to announce the Greatest Western Songs of All Time at its 2010 convention in Knoxville, Tenn.