Tombstone Territory - Series Background

Series Background

The program takes place in the boom town of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, one of the Old West's most notorious frontier towns and the site of the shootout, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Located south of Tucson, Tombstone was then known by the sobriquet, "the town too tough to die." The theme song, "Whistle Me Up a Memory" was composed and performed by William M. Backer.

The series did not deal with Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, or the Clanton Gang of the early 1880s, but with fictional characters in the American Southwest. Conway, then twenty-six, played the lawman in the series, Sheriff Clay Hollister. The Tombstone Epitaph, the actual name of the longstanding local newspaper, was edited in the series by Eastham's character of Harris Claibourne, who also narrated the series in a deep baritone voice.

The Ziv TV series aired on Wednesdays on ABC in the 1957-1958 season opposite Robert Young's sitcom Father Knows Best, then broadcast on NBC. It was returned to the ABC schedule for twelve new episodes on March 13, 1959, followed by summer rebroadcasts. It replaced the first season of Charles Bronson's Man with a Camera on Friday evenings at the 9 Eastern time slot, preceding the popular detective series 77 Sunset Strip. After the network run, Tombstone Territory was placed in syndication and ran mostly outside prime time in selected markets until it ceased production. Conway and Eastham appeared in all ninety-three episodes.