Hec Ramsey

Hec Ramsey is a television Western starring Richard Boone, a creation of Jack Webb's production company, Mark VII Limited in association with Universal Studios, broadcast in the United States by NBC as part of the NBC Mystery Movie wheel show during the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons.

Overview

This series was groundbreaking in that it was the first television Western set in the days when the Old West was fading, the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Critics dubbed the series "Dragnet meets John Wayne," as the scripts balanced authentic investigative methods of 1900 with action and adventure.

Hec Ramsey stars Richard Boone as Hector "Hec" Ramsey, a gunfighter and lawman who developed a strong interest in the emerging field of forensics. He still carried a firearm, but had traded his low-slung "gunfighter" rig for a Single Action Army-type revolver with a short barrel, carried in a Cavalry draw holster. However, his most important "weapons" were now fingerprinting equipment, magnifying lenses, scales, and other equipment which allowed him to determine the real perpetrators of crimes with greater accuracy than had previously been possible.