I was among the first generation of television kids and I remember with fondness watching those early westerns like Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Gunsmoke, and others. But even before television the western was alive and well on radio. Many of the shows we watched and loved were orignally radio programs, and very popular ones at that, which is why they were transitioned to the new (at that time) t.v. format.