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. The show's closing song, "The Ballad of Paladin", was written by Johnny Western (who had a role in season one, episode 35, "The Return of Dr. Thackeray"), Richard Boone, and program creator Sam Rolfe, and was performed by Western. In the first season, the closing song was a reprise of the opening theme. In syndication, the first (premise) episode concludes with the Johnny Western ballad. The rest of the first-season episodes play a reprise of the opening theme; although the theme song was used in closing at least four times in season one, including episodes 33 and 34. In the second season, the song was the only closing music. In the third season, a new lyric was added to the five-line "The Ballad of Paladin", making it six lines long. In 1962–1963, the final season, the song's lyrics were cut to four lines, the original fourth and added sixth being dropped. This occurred because the production credits for writer, producer, and director were pulled from the closing credits to appear over the opening sequences. However, in the season-si episode "Sweet Lady in the Moon" (episode 26, 1963), the ballad was played complete over the closing credits. Johnny Western has sung a fully recorded version, opening with the refrain and including a second verse never heard on the television series. When showing episodes with Paladin at the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco, beautiful background music is often played. That instrumental was "Darling Nelly Gray", which is a 19th-century popular song written and composed by Benjamin Hanby. Broadcast history and ratings September 1957 – April 1963: Saturdays at 9:30 pm Ratings: October 1957 – April 1958: #4 – 33.7 October 1958 – April 1959: #3 – 34.3 October 1959 – April 1960: #3 – 34.7 October 1960 – April 1961: #3 – 30.9 October 1961 – April 1962: #29 – 22.2 October 1962 – April 1963: #29 – 20.8 Awards The television show was nominated for three Emmy Awards. These were for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series, for Richard Boone (1959); Best Western Series (1959); and Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series (Lead or Support), for Richard Boone (1960). In 1957, Gene