Johnny Western, a fan of the series, appears as Steve Pauley. He was so happy to be on the show that he wrote a rough draft of "The Ballad of Paladin" and gave it to Richard Boone and creator Sam Rolfe. They decided to use it as the show's closing theme.

Mr. Laird: I'll give you $1,000 now if you promise to accept this job. $1,000 later when you complete it.
Paladin: I spent $2,000 a year on cigars, Mr. Laird.

Paladin: All right, I want to see Dr. Thackeray and I want to see her right now. If there's anything, wrong, if she's been harmed or impeded in any way, you two men can toss coins to see which one I take apart first!

Sam Barton: ...If he wasn't such a weakling.
Paladin: Is he such a weakling?
Sam Barton: You've seen him. He'll take it from anybody. He's always been that way and always will be. He gets it from his mother, rest her soul.
Paladin: No, I'd say he gets it from you. You're a loud-mouthed bully. Yes, you are. It's all talk. Vicious, cutting kind of talk that probably held that boy down. Gave him the idea that he never could win, so he never tried.
Sam Barton: All I ever tried to do was make a man out of him.
Paladin: No, you're scared to death he might really become a man. Then you'd become the little man around here.
Sam Barton: That's enough! I don't have to explain to you how I feel about my son.
Paladin: Oh, am I mistaken? Would you really like that boy to kick your teeth in?
Sam Barton: I'd crack his skull if he did. And I'd love him if he tried.

Fred Cooley: Uh, you, uh, you work here, Mr.--?
Paladin: Paladin. I'm just helping a friend.
Fred Cooley: Got a specialty?
Paladin: I use a little of everything.
Fred Cooley: (glancing at Paladin's holster) But in the end, it comes down to that.
Paladin: If there are no alternatives.

Dr. Phyllis Thackeray: Talk to me, keep me awake.
Paladin: Talk to you? Just like that? It's not that easy.
Dr. Phyllis Thackeray: Well, you've never had any trouble finding the right words.
Paladin: Oh, it's easy enough to talk. To find the "right" words, the common words that men exchange with women. But you and I have grown too close for that.
Dr. Phyllis Thackeray: That's a frightening thought.
Paladin: It is. Because we're the kind of people we are. We're neither of us ready for marriage, are we?
Dr. Phyllis Thackeray: Well, you're certainly keeping me awake.
Paladin: You have to go on with your work, it's important to you. And it's important to the people who need you.
Dr. Phyllis Thackeray: And you have to go on with your work, because, you're the kind of a man you are.
Paladin: I did hear a rumor once that people can change.
Dr. Phyllis Thackeray: You believe that?
Paladin: Yes, if they're ready to change. And we're not ready to change.
Dr. Phyllis Thackeray: I'm confused. Have you been proposing to me?
Paladin: No. No, I've been explaining why I haven't proposed.