Gunsmoke

This article is about the radio and television series. For the game, see Gun.Smoke.

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.

The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and John Dunning writes that among radio drama enthusiasts "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time." The television version ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975, and was the United States' longest-running prime time, live-action drama with 635 episodes until it was surpassed in 2010 by Law & Order (with 20 seasons, 456 episodes). At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote "Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp western as romanticized by Buntline, Hart, and Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend."

Radio version

Gunsmoke

File:Gunsmokeradio.jpg The cast of radio's Gunsmoke: Howard McNear (Doc), William Conrad (Matt), Georgia Ellis (Kitty) and Parley Baer (Chester)
Genre	Western
Running time	30 minutes
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
TV adaptations	Gunsmoke
Starring	William Conrad Parley Baer Howard McNear Georgia Ellis
Created by	Norman MacDonnell John Meston
Produced by	Norman MacDonnell
Original release	April 26, 1952 – June 11, 1961 (excluding reruns)
No. of series	9
No. of episodes	413
Audio format	Monaural

In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a fan of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe radio serial, asked his programming chief, Hubell Robinson, to develop a hardboiled Western series, a show about a "Philip Marlowe of the Old West." Robinson instructed his West Coast CBS Vice-President, Harry Ackerman, who had developed the Philip Marlowe series, to take on the task.

Ackerman and his scriptwriters, Mort Fine and David Friedkin, created an audition script called "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" based on one of their Michael Shayne radio scripts, "The Crooked Wheel". Two auditions were created in 1949. The first was very much like a hardboiled detective series and starred Michael Rye (credited as Rye Billsbury) as Dillon; the second starred Straight Arrow actor Howard Culver in a more Western, lighter version of the same script. CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman was told to proceed.

But there was a complication. Culver's contract as the star of Straight Arrow would not allow him to do another Western series. The project was shelved for three years, when MacDonnell and Meston discovered it creating an adult Western series of their own.

MacDonnell and Meston wanted to create a radio Western for adults, in contrast to the prevailing juvenile fare such as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Dunning notes, "The show drew critical acclaim for unprecedented realism."

Radio cast and character biographies

The radio series aired from April 26, 1952 ("Billy the Kid," written by Walter Newman) until June 18, 1961 on CBS. It starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon; Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams; Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell; and Parley Baer as Dillon's assistant Chester Proudfoot.

Conrad was one of the last actors who auditioned for the role of Marshal Dillon. With a powerful, distinctive voice, Conrad was already one of radio's busiest actors. Though Meston championed him, MacDonnell thought Conrad might be overexposed. During his audition, however, Conrad won over MacDonnell after reading only a few lines. Dillon as portrayed by Conrad was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. MacDonnell later claimed "Much of Matt Dillon's character grew out of Bill Conrad."

Meston relished the upending of cherished Western fiction clichés and felt that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. Dunning writes that Meston was especially disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy [that type of] character he loathed." In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions."

Chester's character had no surname until Baer ad libbed "Proudfoot" during an early rehearsal. The amiable character was usually described as Dillon's "assistant," but the December 13, 1952 episode "Post Martin," Dillon described Chester as Dillon's deputy. The TV series changed Chester's last name to Goode.

Doc Adams was iconoclastic and grumpy, but McNear's performances became more warm-hearted. In the January 31, 1953 episode "Cavalcade," Doc Adams' backstory is revealed: His real name is Calvin Moore, educated in Boston, and he practiced as a doctor for a year in Richmond, Virginia where he fell in love with a beautiful young woman who was also being courted by a wealthy young man named Roger Beauregard. Beauregard forced Doc into fighting a duel with him, resulting in Beauregard's being shot and killed. Even though it was a fair duel, because Doc was a Yankee and an outsider he was forced to flee. The young woman fled after him and they were married in St. Louis, but two months later she died of typhus. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City seventeen years later under the name of "Charles Adams."

Georgia Ellis appeared in the first episode "Billy the Kid" (April 26, 1952) as "Francie Richards," a former girlfriend of Matt Dillon and the widow of a criminal. "Miss Kitty" did not appear on the radio series until the May 10, 1952 episode "Jaliscoe." Kitty's profession was hinted at, but never explicit; in a 1953 interview with Time, MacDonnell declared, "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while. We never say it, but Kitty is a prostitute, plain and simple." The television show portrayed Kitty as a saloon proprietor, not a prostitute. Sometime in 1959, Ellis was billed as Georgia Hawkins instead of Georgia Ellis.

Distinction from other radio westerns

Gunsmoke was often a somber program, particularly in its early years. Dunning writes that Dillon "played his hand and often lost. He arrived too late to prevent a lynching. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. He saved a girl from brutal rapists then found himself unable to offer her what she needed to stop her from moving into...life as a prostitute." (Dunning, 304) Some listeners, such as Dunning, argue the radio version was more realistic. Episodes were aimed at adults and featured some of the most explicit content of their time, including violent crimes, scalpings, massacres, and opium addicts. Many episodes ended on a somber note, and villains often got away with their crimes. Nonetheless, thanks to the subtle scripts and outstanding ensemble cast, over the years the program evolved into a warm, often humorous celebration of human nature.

Apart from the doleful tone, Gunsmoke was distinct from other radio westerns, as the dialogue was often slow and halting, and due to the outstanding sound effects, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the prairie where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious feel. John Dunning wrote, "The listener heard extraneous dialogue in the background, just above the muted shouts of kids playing in an alley. He heard noises from the next block, too, where the inevitable dog was barking." (Dunning, 305)

Radio's Gunsmoke was aired on Armed Forces Radio.

Talk of adapting Gunsmoke to television

Not long after the radio show began, there was talk of adapting it to television. Privately, MacDonnell had a guarded interest in taking the show to television, but publicly, he declared that "our show is perfect for radio," and he feared that, as Dunning writes, "Gunsmoke confined by a picture could not possibly be as authentic or attentive to detail." (Dunning, 305) "In the end," wrote Dunning, "CBS simply took it away from" MacDonnell and began preparing for the television version. (Dunning, 305)

Conrad and the others were given auditions, but they were little more than token efforts—especially in Conrad's case, due to his obesity. However, Meston was kept as the main writer. In the early years, a majority of the TV episodes were adapted from the radio scripts, often using identical scenes and dialogue. Dunning wrote, "That radio fans considered the TV show a sham and its players impostors should surprise no one. That the TV show was not a sham is due in no small part to the continued strength of Meston's scripts." (Dunning, 304)

MacDonnell and Meston continued the radio version of Gunsmoke until 1961, making it one of the most enduring vintage radio dramas.

Conrad directed two television episodes, in 1963 and 1971, while McNear appeared on six, playing characters other than Doc, including three times as storekeeper Howard Rudd.

Television version

Gunsmoke
File:Gunsmoke.jpg Gunsmoke title card
Created by	Norman MacDonnell John Meston
Starring	James Arness Milburn Stone Amanda Blake Dennis Weaver Ken Curtis Burt Reynolds Buck Taylor Glenn Strange Roger Ewing
Theme music composer	Rex Koury Glenn Spencer
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	6 ('Marshal Dillon', syndication re-titling of half-hour episodes) 14 ('Gunsmoke'), 20 (total seasons)
No. of episodes	233 ('Marshal Dillon', syndication re-titling of half-hour episodes), 402 ('Gunsmoke') 635 (total episodes) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	26 minutes (1955–1961), 50 minutes (1961–1975)
Production companies	CBS Television Filmaster Productions The Arness Production Company (1961-'64)
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 10, 1955 – March 31, 1975

Good evening. My name's Wayne. Some of you may have seen me before; I hope so. I've been kicking around Hollywood a long time. I've made a lot of pictures out here, all kinds, and some of them have been Westerns. And that's what I'm here to tell you about tonight: a Western—a new TV show called Gunsmoke. No, I'm not in it. I wish I were, though, because I think it's the best thing of its kind that's come along, and I hope you'll agree with me; it's honest, it's adult, it's realistic. When I first heard about the show Gunsmoke, I knew there was only one man to play in it: James Arness. He's a young fellow, and maybe new to some of you, but I've worked with him and I predict he'll be a big star. So you might as well get used to him, like you've had to get used to me! And now I'm proud to present my friend Jim Arness in Gunsmoke.

— John Wayne- Gunsmoke TV episode one
"Matt Gets It."

The TV series ran from September 10, 1955 to March 31, 1975 on CBS with 635 total episodes. Its longevity has runners-up questioning its primacy as longest run. It is said to be the king of many scripted, live-action primetime, commercial U.S. television series in contention having "recurring characters," though some rivals were foreign-made with US airing. As of 2010, it is the fifth globally, after Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005- ), Taggart (1983-), The Bill (1984–2010). James Arness and Milburn Stone portrayed their Gunsmoke characters for twenty consecutive years, as did Kelsey Grammer as the character Frasier Crane, but over two half-hour sitcoms. George Walsh, the announcer for Gunsmoke, began in 1952 on radio's Gunsmoke and continued until television's Gunsmoke was canceled in 1975.

When Gunsmoke was adapted for television in 1955, the network did not appear interested in bringing either Conrad or his radio costars to the new medium (his weight was rumored to be a deciding factor) despite a campaign to convince the network. Losing the role embittered Conrad for years, though he later starred in another CBS television series, Cannon (1971–1976). Denver Pyle was also considered for the role, as was Raymond Burr, who was ultimately seen as too heavyset for the part. Charles Marquis Warren, television Gunsmoke's first director, said "His voice was fine but he was too big. When he stood up, his chair stood with him." According to a James Arness interview, John Wayne was offered the role, but would not do it; Wayne was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and at that time, working in television was a step down in prestige for a star actor. The account is disputed by Charles Marquis Warren, the director who brought Gunsmoke to television. Although he agrees Wayne encouraged Arness to take the role, Warren claims "I hired Jim Arness of the strength of a picture he's done for me... I never thought for a moment of offering it to Wayne."

In the end, the primary roles were all recast, with Arness taking the lead role of Marshal Matt Dillon upon the recommendation of John Wayne, who also introduced the first episode of the series; Dennis Weaver playing Chester Goode; Milburn Stone being cast as Dr. Galen "Doc" Adams; and Amanda Blake taking on the role of Miss Kitty Russell, owner of the Long Branch Saloon. MacDonnell became the associate producer of the TV show and later the producer. Meston was named head writer. Arness held rein to doing one scripted role for a record twenty years.

In 1962, Burt Reynolds was added to the show's lineup, as the "halfbreed" blacksmith Quint Asper and rode the span between characters Chester Goode and Festus Haggen. Three actors, who later played Dodge deputies, Ken Curtis, Roger Ewing and Buck Taylor, had previous guest roles. In 1963, singer and character actor Ken Curtis had a guest shot as a shady ladies' man. In 1964, Weaver left the series to venture out as the lead in his own NBC series, Kentucky Jones.

Ken Curtis, reared in Las Animas, Colorado, and for a time a son-in-law of director John Ford, returned in 1964, and was cast to play the stubbornly illiterate hillbilly Festus Haggen. The character came to town (in an episode titled "Us Haggens") to avenge the death of his twin brother, Fergus Haggen, and another brother, Jeff Haggen, and decided to stay in Dodge when the deed was done. Initially on the fringes of Dodge society, Festus was slowly phased in as a reliable sidekick/ part-time deputy to Matt Dillon when Reynolds left in 1965. In the episode "Alias Festus Haggen," he is mistaken for a robber and killer whom he has to expose to free himself (both parts played by Curtis). In a comic relief episode ("Mad Dog"), another case of mistaken identity forces Festus to fight three sons of a man killed by his cousin. Chester and Festus were perhaps Dillon's more popular sidekicks, though others would pin-on a tin badge as deputy for two and a half to seven-year stints, including Roger Ewing (1966–1968) as Thad Greenwood and Burt Reynolds as Quint Asper (1962–1965). Buck Taylor, who played gunsmith Newly O'Brian from 1967–1975, also served as back-up deputy and doctor, having some studies in medicine.

When Milburn Stone left the series for health reasons for several episodes, Pat Hingle played his temporary replacement physician, Dr. John Chapman, whose presence was at first stoutly resisted by Festus, a close friend of Doc Adams though those two characters appeared to quarrel frequently over minor matters.

The back stories of some of the main characters were largely left to the imagination of the viewer. Little was said about Matt's familial background, apart from his wayward youth and subsequent tutorage of a caring lawman. Kitty Russell, born in New Orleans and reared by a flashy foster mother (who once visited Dodge), apparently had no living family, although in an early episode, John Dehner portrayed a New Orleans businessman claiming to be Kitty's father, but leaves under a cloud of suspicion after his attempts to have Kitty sign over to him her interest in the Long Branch. Barkeep Sam was said to be married, though his wife never made an appearance. Quint Asper's white father was killed by white scavengers. Thad Greenwood's father, a storekeep, was also murdered. The question as to whether Chester Goode's stiff right leg was wooden or just maimed, was never fully answered. Doc and he never discussed the issue, which might have painted the free spirited, comic deputy with a darker tone. Newly O'Brien was named after a physician uncle, who ignited his interest in medicine.

While Dillon and Miss Kitty clearly had a close personal relationship, the two never married. In a July 2, 2002 Associated Press interview with Bob Thomas, Arness explained, "If they were man and wife, it would make a lot of difference. The people upstairs decided it was better to leave the show as it was, which I totally agreed with." In the episode "Waste", featuring Johnny Whitaker as a boy with a prostitute mother, her madam questions Dillon as to why the law overlooks Miss Kitty's enterprise. It appears that bordellos could exist "at the law's discretion" (meaning the marshal's). Miss Kitty was written out in 1974. The actor sought more free time and reportedly missed her late co-star, Glenn Strange, who played her Long Branch barkeep, Sam. When Blake decided not to return for the show's 20th (and final) season, the character was said to have returned to New Orleans.

Differences between the characters on the radio and television versions

There were differences between the characters on the radio and TV versions of Gunsmoke. In the radio series, Doc was acerbic, somewhat mercenary, and borderline alcoholic — at least in the program's early years. On radio's Gunsmoke, Doc Adams's real name was Dr. Calvin Moore, who came west and changed his name to escape a charge of murder.

The television Doc, though still crusty, was in many ways softer and warmer. Miss Kitty, who in the radio series likely engaged in prostitution, was viewed more as "the proprietor of a saloon" on the television series. Except for a few early scripts taken from the radio series, viewers only saw Miss Kitty as a kindhearted businesswoman. Nonetheless, several scenes depicted one of her girls leading a cowboy to the second floor of the saloon, where the boarding house was situated.

For sixteen years on television, a sign hung over "Doc's" office that read "Dr. G. Adams". Toward the end of the series' run, Milburn Stone was given free rein to choose the character's first name. The actor chose the surname of an ancient Greek physician and medical researcher named Galen as a first name.

Format

From 1955 to 1961, Gunsmoke was a half-hour show (re-titled Marshal Dillon in syndication). It then went to an hour-long format. The series was re-titled "Gun Law" in the UK. The Marshal Dillon syndicated rerun lasted from 1961 until 1964 on CBS, originally on Tuesday nights within its time in reruns.

Popularity

Gunsmoke was TV's No. 1 ranked show from 1957 to 1961 before slipping into a decline after expanding to an hour. In 1967, the show's 12th season, CBS planned to cancel the series, but widespread viewer reaction (including a mention in Congress and the behind-the-scenes pressure from the wife of CBS's president) prevented its demise. On the Biography Channel's "Behind The Scenes: Gilligan's Island"; 2002) Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz states that the wife of CBS's president pressured her husband not to cancel "Gunsmoke" in 1967, and so the network cut Gilligan's Island instead. The show continued in its new time slot at 8 p.m. on Mondays. This scheduling move led to a spike in ratings that saw it once again rally to the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings until the 1973–1974 television season. In September 1975, despite still ranking among the Top 30 programs in the ratings, Gunsmoke was canceled after a twenty-year run; it was replaced by Mary Tyler Moore spin-offs Rhoda and Phyllis. Thirty TV Westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, and Gunsmoke was the sole survivor, with Alias Smith and Jones leaving the airwaves in 1972 and Bonanza in 1973.

For many seasons, Gunsmoke ran its ending credits with a photograph of a coffeepot on the stove in the Dodge City jail. This coffeepot at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Lubbock, Texas, resembles the one used on the series.

Arness and Stone remained with the show for its entire run though Stone missed seven episodes in 1971.

The entire cast was stunned by the cancellation, as they were unaware CBS was considering it. According to Arness, "We didn't do a final, wrap-up show. We finished the 20th year, we all expected to go on for another season, or two or three. The (network) never told anybody they were thinking of canceling." The cast and crew read the news in the trade papers. (Associated Press, July 2, 2002, Bob Thomas)

TV Movies

In 1987, some actors from the original series (James Arness, Amanda Blake, Buck Taylor) reunited for the TV movie, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, filmed in Alberta, Canada. Ken Curtis declined returning, citing a contract dispute, saying, "As Dillon's right hand man, I felt the offer should approximate Miss Blake's." Instead, Buck Taylor's Newly O'Brian became Dodge's new marshal, though the retired Matt Dillon was the hero. A huge ratings success, it led to four more TV films being made in the U.S. After Amanda Blake's death, the writers built on the 1973 two-part episodic romance of "Matt's Love Story", which was noted for the marshal's first overnight visit to a female's lodgings. In the episode, Matt loses his memory and his heart during a brief liaison with "Mike" Yardner (Michael Learned of The Waltons). In preserving the ethics of the era and the heretofore flawless hero's character, the healed Dillon returns to Dodge City. Movie number two, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (1990), had Learned reprising the role of "Mike Yardner" to divulge that Matt sired her daughter, who is now a young woman named Beth. Other films (which all featured daughter Beth) included Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), Gunsmoke: The Long Ride (1993), and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994).

In August 2009, CBS announced development of a film version prequel to reboot the series. National Treasure: Book of Secrets writer Gregory Poirier was hired to write the script.

In TV Bootleg Favs, (a book of lists about the questionable but thriving practice of copying TV shows from networks and reselling on DVD), Gunsmoke ranks fifth, (Top seven: NCIS, The Simpsons, Dancing With The Stars, CSI, Gunsmoke, The Facts of Life, and Mayberry RFD. Many of these series are not yet fully available on DVD).

Ratings

• 1956–1957: #8
• 1957–1958: #1
• 1958–1959: #1
• 1959–1960: #1
• 1960–1961: #1
• 1961–1962: #3
• 1962–1963: #10
• 1963–1964: #20
• 1964–1965: #27
• 1965–1966: #30
• 1966–1967: #34
• 1967–1968: #4
• 1968–1969: #6
• 1969–1970: #2
• 1970–1971: #5
• 1971–1972: #4
• 1972–1973: #8
• 1973–1974: #15
• 1974–1975: #28

Syndication

In syndication, the entire 20-year run of Gunsmoke is separated into three packages by CBS Paramount Television:

• 1955–1961 half-hour episodes: These episodes are sometimes seen in their original format and sometimes in the Marshal Dillon format. When first-run prime-time episodes of Gunsmoke expanded to an hour in Fall 1961, CBS-TV reran the half-hour episodes as Marshal Dillon on the network on Tuesday nights from 1961 through 1964. These were later rerun in syndication. General syndication ended in the 1980s, but they do air occasionally on cable TV. Local stations would show the re-titled Marshal Dillon version of the series, while the series under the original Gunsmoke title (with some episodes under the Marshal Dillon retitling) were seen in the late 1990s on TV Land. Me TV currently airs this version under the Marshall Dillon title.
• 1961–1966 one-hour black-and-white episodes: These episodes have not been widely seen in regular syndication since the 1980s, although selected episodes did air from the mid 1980s through the early 1990s on CBN Cable and The Family Channel, and later on the Encore Westerns Channel on a three-year contract that ended circa 2006. As of January 2010, Encore Westerns is again airing the episodes.
• 1966–1975 one-hour color episodes: The last nine seasons of the Western, these are the most widely syndicated episodes of the entire series' run and are still aired on many stations, including a popular run on TV Land.

DVD releases

Certain selected episodes are available on DVD in three different box sets. Twelve episodes from 1955 to 1964 were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume I box set, and another twelve episodes from 1964 to 1975 were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume II box set. Both volume box sets are also available as a combined single "Gift Box Set". A third unique DVD box set known as Gunsmoke: The Directors Collection was also released with ten selected episodes from certain seasons throughout the series' twenty year history. All of these box sets are available on Region 1 DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD.

Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD have released the first 3 seasons on DVD in Region 1. Season 4, volume 1 was released on October 5, 2010. Season 4, volume 2 was also released on December 13, 2010.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
The First Season	39	July 17, 2007
The Second Season, Volume 1	20	January 8, 2008
The Second Season, Volume 2	19	May 27, 2008
The Third Season, Volume 1	20	December 9, 2008
The Third Season, Volume 2	19	May 26, 2009
The Fourth Season, Volume 1	20	October 5, 2010
The Fourth Season, Volume 2	19	December 14, 2010

Regular cast; major characters

• U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (1955–1975): James Arness
• Galen "Doc" Adams, M.D. (1955–1975): Milburn Stone
• Kathleen "Kitty" Russell (1955–1974): Amanda Blake
• Chester B. Goode (1955–1964): Dennis Weaver; left series to star in unsuccessful series Kentucky Jones
• Festus Haggen (1964–1975): Ken Curtis

Cast

• Clem (bartender; 1959–1961): Clem Fuller
• Sam (bartender; 1961–1973): Glenn Strange
• Rudy (bartender; 1965–1967): Rudy Sooter
• Floyd (bartender; 1974–1975): Robert Brubaker
• Quint Asper (blacksmith; 1962–1965): Burt Reynolds
• Deputy Marshal Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood (1965–1967): Roger Ewing
• Newly O'Brian (gunsmith; 1967–1975): Buck Taylor
• Wilbur Jonas (storekeeper, 1955–1963): Dabbs Greer
• Howie Uzzell (hotel clerk, 1955–1975): Howard Culver
• Moss Grimmick (stableman; 1955–1963): George Selk
• Jim Buck (stagecoach driver; 1957–1962): Robert Brubaker
• Louie Pheeters (town drunk; 1961–1970): James Nusser
• Ma Smalley (boardinghouse owner; 1961–1972): Sarah Selby
• Hank Miller (stableman; 1963–1975): Hank Patterson
• Mr. Bodkin (banker; 1963–1970): Roy Roberts
• Barney Danches (telegraph agent; 1965–1974): Charles Seel
• Roy (townsperson; 1965–1969): Roy Barcroft
• Halligan (rancher; 1966–1975): Charles Wagenheim
• Mr. Lathrop (storekeeper; 1966–1975): Woody Chambliss
• Nathan Burke (freight agent; 1966–1975): Ted Jordan
• Percy Crump (undertaker; 1968–1972): Justin McGeary
• Ed O'Connor (rancher; 1968–1972): Tom Brown
• Judge Brooker (1970–1975): Herb Vigran
• Dr. John Chapman (1971): Pat Hingle
• Miss Hannah (saloon owner; 1974–1975): Fran Ryan
• Angus McTabbott (1966): Chips Rafferty Australian actor

Awards

• In TV Guide's April 17, 1993 issue celebrating 40 years of television, the all-time-best-TV programs were chosen. "No contest, this [Gunsmoke] was THE TV western."
• Entertainment Weekly (February 19, 1999 issue) ranked the premier of Gunsmoke as #47 in the "100 Greatest Moments in Television."
• Entertainment Weekly, in 1998, ranked Gunsmoke as #16 in The 100 Greatest TV Shows of all time.
• In a 1998 TV Guide poll of 50,000, Gunsmoke was ranked as CBS's best western and James Arness was ranked as CBS's best "Gunslinger."
• James Arness (Matt), Milburn Stone (Doc), Ken Curtis (Festus), Dennis Weaver (Chester), and Amanda Blake (Kitty) are all inductees of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
• In 2002, TV Guide ranked Gunsmoke as number 40 in the 50 greatest television shows of all time.

Miscellaneous

• Today's Dodge City has a tribute to Gunsmoke, including furniture from the 1960s television set and an old television tuned to the show. Signed photographs from the show's actors and other memorabilia are on the wall.

Notable guest stars

See also: List of Gunsmoke cast members

(partial list, alphabetical):

• Willie Aames, Jack Albertson, Mabel Albertson, Claude Akins, Chris Alcaide, Richard Anderson, Tige Andrews, R. G. Armstrong, Jenny Lee Arness, Jean Arthur, John Astin
• Edward Asner, Lew Ayres, John Drew Barrymore, Richard Basehart, Ed Begley, Ralph Bellamy, James Best, Dan Blocker, Randy Boone, Bruce Boxleitner, Eric Braeden
• Peter Breck, Beau Bridges, Morgan Brittany, Charles Bronson, James Brown, Joyce Bulifant, Gary Busey,
• Sebastian Cabot, Frank Cady, Harry Carey, Jr., John Carradine, Conlan Carter, Jack Cassidy, Mary Castle, Lee J. Cobb, Michael Cole, Don Collier, Chuck Connors
• Mike Connors, Tim Considine, Pat Conway, Elisha Cook, Jr., Ben Cooper, Glenn Corbett, Dennis Cross, Brandon Cruz, Robert Culp, Royal Dano, Kim Darby, Bette Davis
• Jim Davis (multiple appearances), Richard Deacon, Gloria DeHaven, John Dehner, Bruce Dern
• William Devane, Angie Dickinson, James Doohan, Richard Dreyfuss, Buddy Ebsen, Barbara Eden, Jack Elam, Sam Elliott, Gene Evans (10 episodes), Shug Fisher, Paul Fix
• Jay C. Flippen, Constance Ford, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Ron Foster, Anne Francis, Dean Fredericks, Bert Freed, Victor French (18 episodes)
• Beverly Garland, Leif Garrett, James Gavin, Lisa Gerritsen, Melissa Gilbert, Harold Gould, James Gregory, Tom Greenway
• Kevin Hagen, Ron Hagerthy, Alan Hale, Jr., Mariette Hartley, Ron Hayes, Katherine Helmond, Earl Holliman, Ron Howard, Bo Hopkins, Dennis Hopper, Marsha Hunt
• Josephine Hutchinson, Steve Ihnat, John Ireland, Richard Jaeckel, Salome Jens, Brad Johnson, Ben Johnson
• I. Stanford Jolley, L. Q. Jones, Robert Karnes, Don Keefer, DeForest Kelley, Dan Kemp, Adam Kennedy, George Kennedy, Richard Kiley, Jack Klugman, Ted Knight, Diane Ladd, Martin Landau
• Allan Lane, Louise Latham, Harry Lauter, Anna Lee, June Lockhart, Jack Lord, Dayton Lummis, Tyler MacDuff, Barton MacLane, Rose Marie, Scott Marlowe, Ross Martin
• Strother Martin, Darren McGavin, Peggy McCay, Howard McNear, Patrick McVey, Tyler McVey, Vera Miles, Denny Scott Miller, John Mitchum, Roger Mobley, Ricardo Montalbán, Erin Moran, Harry Morgan, Read Morgan (12 times)
• Richard Mulligan, Diana Muldaur, Gene Nelson, Leslie Nielsen, Leonard Nimoy, Jeanette Nolan, Nick Nolte, Simon Oakland, Warren Oates, Susan Olsen
• Gregg Palmer (20 times), John Payne, Brock Peters, John Pickard (12 times), Slim Pickens, Suzanne Pleshette, Judson Pratt, Andrew Prine, Denver Pyle, Dack Rambo, Gilman Rankin
• Pernell Roberts, Wayne Rogers, Ruth Roman, Katharine Ross, Kurt Russell, Albert Salmi, John Saxon
• William Shatner, Tom Simcox, Robert F. Simon, Tom Skerritt, Jeremy Slate, Quintin Sondergaard, Aaron Spelling, Loretta Swit, Harry Dean Stanton, Gloria Talbott, Russ Tamblyn, Vic Tayback
• Dub Taylor, Robert Totten (also a director), Harry Townes (seven times), Daniel J. Travanti, Forrest Tucker, Cicely Tyson, Robert Urich, Joan Van Ark, Lee Van Cleef, Warren Vanders (12 times), Mitch Vogel, Joyce Van Patten, Robert Vaughn, Jan-Michael Vincent, Gary Vinson
• Jon Voight, Lesley Ann Warren, Ruth Warrick, David Wayne, Adam West, Johnny Whitaker, James Whitmore, Robert J. Wilke, Chill Wills, William Windom, Morgan Woodward (19 times), Ian Wolfe, and Dana Wynter.

Gunsmoke had one spin-off series, Dirty Sally, a semi-comedy starring Jeanette Nolan as an old woman and Dack Rambo as a young gunfighter, leaving Dodge City for California in order to pan for gold. The program lasted only thirteen weeks and aired in the first half of 1974, a year before Gunsmoke ended.

Notable directors

• Andrew McLaglen
• Arnold Laven
• Arthur Hiller
• Dennis Weaver
• Gene Nelson
• Irving J. Moore
• John Rich
• Leo Penn
• Marc Daniels
• Mark Rydell
• Peter Graves
• Philip Leacock
• Robert Totten
• Sam Peckinpah
• Sobey Martin
• Tay Garnett
• Victor French
• Vincent McEveety
• William Conrad
• William F. Claxton
• Fred Thompson

Music

The Gunsmoke radio theme song and later TV theme was titled "Old Trails," also known as "Boothill." The Gunsmoke theme was composed by Rex Koury. The original radio version was conducted by Koury. The TV version was thought to have been first conducted by CBS west coast music director Lud Gluskin. The lyrics of the theme, never aired on the radio or television show, were recorded and released by Tex Ritter in 1955. Ritter was backed on that Capitol record by Rex Koury and the radio "Gunsmoke" orchestra.

Other notable composers included:

• Elmer Bernstein
• Franz Waxman
• Jerry Goldsmith

Products

The Gunsmoke brand was used to endorse numerous products, from cottage cheese to cigarettes.

Lowell Toy Manufacturing Corporation ("It's a Lowell Game") issued Gunsmoke as their game No. 822. Other products include Gunsmoke puzzles,

In 1985, Capcom released a video game for the arcade (and its corresponding game for the NES in 1988) with a western theme, called Gun.Smoke. Other than the western theme, the show and game have no relationship whatsoever, so to avoid plagiarism, the dot in between the words "gun" and "smoke" was inserted.

Comics

• Dell Comics published numerous issues of their Four Color Comics series on Gunsmoke. (including issues #679, 720, 769, 797, 844 and, in 1958–62, #6–27).
• Gold Key Comics continued with issues #1–6 in 1969–70.
• A comic strip version of the series ran in British newspapers for several years under the show's UK title, Gun Law.
• Hard cover comic "BBC Gunsmoke Annuals" were marketed in Great Britain under the authority of the BBC who had broadcasting rights there.
• Gunsmoke comics in Spanish were published under the title "Aventura la ley del revolver" ("Gun-Law Adventures").

Books

• In 1957, Ballantine Books published a collection of short stories Each story is based on a half hour Gunsmoke episode. Although a photo of James Arness and the CBS TV logo are on the book cover, in at least one story Matt introduces Chester as "Chester Proudfoot," an indication that the stories are actually adapted from radio scripts.
• Whitman Books published
  • Gunsmoke by Robert Turner in 1958, and
  • Gunsmoke: "Showdown on Front Street" by Paul S. Newman in 1969.
• In 1974, Award Books published the following paperback books written by Jackson Flynn based on the TV series:
  • Gunsmoke #1: "Renegades"
  • Gunsmoke #2: "Shootout"
  • Gunsmoke #3: "Duel at Dodge City"
• In 1998, Boulevard Books published the following paperbacks written by Gary McCarthy based on the TV series (however, reviewers on Amazon.com state that these adaptations are poorly done):
  • #1: Gunsmoke
  • #2: Gunsmoke: "Dead Man's Witness"
  • #3: Gunsmoke: "Marshal Festus"
• A series of novels based upon the television series written by Joseph A. West with forewords by James Arness was published by Signet:
  • Gunsmoke: "Blood, Bullets and Buckskin", January 2005 (ISBN 0-451-21348-3)
  • Gunsmoke: "The Last Dog Soldier", May 2005 (ISBN 0-451-21491-9)
  • Gunsmoke: "Blizzard of Lead", September 2005 (ISBN 0-451-21633-4)
  • Gunsmoke: "The Reckless Gun", May 2006 (ISBN 0-451-21923-6)
  • Gunsmoke: "Dodge the Devil", October 2006 (ISBN 0-451-21972-4)
  • Gunsmoke: "The Day of the Gunfighter", January 2007 (ISBN 0-451-22015-8)

Episodes

Further information: List of Gunsmoke radio episodes and List of Gunsmoke television episodes

Reruns/Syndication

Gunsmoke has aired on TV Land since it's launch in 1996. Gunsmoke also airs on many local stations, such as KFWD in Dallas, Texas.

References

• John Dunning, On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, [Oxford University Press], 1998. ISBN 0-19-507678-8
• SuzAnn Barabas & Gabor Barabas, Gunsmoke: A Complete History and Analysis of the Legendary Broadcast Series, McFarland & Company, Inc., 1990. ISBN 0-89950-418-3
• Associated Press, July 2, 2002, Bob Thomas
• Bill Carter, "NBC Will Bring Back All Three ‘Law & Order’ Shows", The New York Times, May 14, 2007.

External links

• Gunsmoke at IMDb
• Gunsmoke radio programs
• WRCW Radio - Listen to the complete series of the radio version of "Gunsmoke"
• Watch full episodes of Gunsmoke on TVLand.com
• Gunsmoke 50th Anniversary 2005 from Dodge City
• GunsmokeNet.com
• Tamara's Gunsmoke Web Page
• Episode Broadcast Dates