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.

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". Two auditions were created in 1949. The first was very much like a hardboiled detective series and starred 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. Eeven 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.

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)

Radios' 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	30 minutes (1955–1961), 60 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 television 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 in the teaser of the very first
Gunsmoke TV episode, "Matt Gets It."

The television series ran from September 10, 1955 to March 31, 1975 on CBS with 635 total episodes. Until 2010, it had the longest run of any scripted primetime American television series with recurring characters. As of 2010, it is the sixth globally, after Doctor Who (1963-1989), Taggart (1983-), The Bill (1984-2010), The Simpsons (1989-) and Law & Order (1990-2010). James Arness and Milburn Stone portrayed their Gunsmoke characters for twenty consecutive years, as did Kelsey Grammer as the television character Frasier Crane.

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.

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 played the same character on the same scripted series for 20 years - a record at the time.

In 1963, singer and character actor Ken Curtis had a guest role as a shady ladies' man. Burt Reynolds was added to the show's lineup, as the "halfbreed" blacksmith Quint Asper. In 1964, Weaver left the series to venture out as the lead in his own TV series, Kentucky Jones. In 1965, Ken Curtis returned 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 to Matt Dillon and was eventually made a deputy. 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, included 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 a deputy, and a back-up doctor, having some university studies in medicine.

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. Kitty Russell, born in New Orleans and raised by a flashy foster mother, apparently had no siblings. And poor Doc Adams, didn't even have a first name until 1972, when visits by a female doctor/ love interest and a longtime friend/ judge, forced the writers to provide the aged sawbones with a given name. Stone gave the writers the name Galen, an acclaimed medical researcher. 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's 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.

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 when Blake decided not to return for the show's 20th (and final) season.

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, and except for a few early scripts taken from the radio series, viewers only saw Miss Kitty as a kindhearted businesswoman. Nonetheless, there is no escaping the fact that 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 Dillion 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 pressure from the wife of the head of programming at CBS) prevented its demise. The show continued on in a different time slot: early evening on Mondays instead of Saturday nights. This seemingly minor change led to a spike in ratings that saw the series once again reach the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings until the 1973–1974 television season. In September 1975, the show was canceled after a twenty-year run; it was replaced by Mary Tyler Moore spin-offs Rhoda and Phyllis. 30 TV Westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, and Gunsmoke was one of only two westerns still on the air when it was cancelled. "Little House on the Prairie" would go on for another 7 years before the genre ended.

Arness and Stone remained with the show for its entire run. Stone missed seven episodes in 1971 due to a heart-related illness and was temporarily replaced by Pat Hingle. Hingle played "Doctor John Chapman" while Doc Adams left Dodge to further his medical studies on the East Coast.

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)

Revivals

In 1987, many of the original cast 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 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" 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 Yardley" to divulge that Matt and "Mike" conceived a 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 of 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, Mayberry RFD. Many of these series are not yet fully available on DVD). On the Biography Channel's "Behind The Scenes: Gilligan's Island"; 2002) Gilligan producer Sherwood Schwartz states that the wife of CBS' president urged her husband not to cancel "Gunsmoke" in 1967, and so the network cut "Gilligan's Island" instead.

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: #??
• 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.
• 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 has later begun releasing season sets or "half-season" sets. Season 1 on DVD in Region 1 was released on July 17, 2007. Season 2: Volume 1 was released on January 8, 2008. Season 2: Volume 2 was released on May 27, 2008. Season 3: Volume 1, which features the first 20 episodes of season 3 was released on December 9, 2008. Season 3, Volume 2 was released on May 26, 2009. [44]

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

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; 1959–61): Clem Fuller
• Sam (bartender; 1961–73): Glenn Strange
• Rudy (bartender; 1965–67): Rudy Sooter
• Floyd (bartender; 1974–75): Robert Brubaker
• Quint Asper (blacksmith; 1962–1965): Burt Reynolds
• "Thad"—Deputy Marshal Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood (1965–1967): Roger Ewing
• Newly O'Brian (gunsmith; 1967–1975): Buck Taylor
• Wilbur Jonas (storekeeper, 1955–63): Dabbs Greer
• Howie Uzzell (hotel clerk, 1955–75): Howard Culver
• Moss Grimmick (stableman; 1955–63): George Selk
• Jim Buck (stagecoach driver; 1957–62): Robert Brubaker
• Louie Pheeters (town drunk; 1961–70): James Nusser
• Ma Smalley (boardinghouse owner; 1961–72): Sarah Selby
• Hank Miller (stableman; 1963–75): Hank Patterson
• Mr. Bodkin (banker; 1963–70): Roy Roberts
• Barney Danches (telegraph agent; 1965–74): Charles Seel
• Roy (townsperson; 1965–69): Roy Barcroft
• Halligan (rancher; 1966–75): Charles Wagenheim
• Mr. Lathrop (storekeeper; 1966–75): Woody Chambliss
• Nathan Burke (freight agent; 1966–75): Ted Jordan
• Percy Crump (undertaker; 1968–72): Justin McGeary
• Ed O'Connor (rancher; 1968–72): Tom Brown
• Judge Brooker (1970–75): Herb Vigran
• Dr. John Chapman (1971): Pat Hingle
• Miss Hannah (saloon owner; 1974–75): Fran Ryan
• Angus McTabbott (1966): Chips Rafferty Australian actor

Awards

• 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 even non-boy Amanda Blake (Kitty) are all inductees of The National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Miscellaneous

• Although set in Dodge City, Kansas (and obviously filmed in Studio City and Simi Valley, California), the show featured only one cast member who actually hailed from Kansas: Milburn Stone.
• The original "outdoor" Gunsmoke film sets located at Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, California, were also later used for the filming of Little House on the Prairie.
• Some outdoor scenes were shot at "Old Vegas", a now-demolished Western-themed amusement park in Henderson, Nevada. The property is now a housing development, also named "Old Vegas".
• The series, and specifically the town of Dodge City, was parodied in the 1966 film Carry On Cowboy. The film, the eleventh in the Carry On series, was set in the fictional town of Stodge City.
• Today's Dodge City has a tribute to Gunsmoke, including 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.
• According to commentary by Dennis Weaver (Chester Goode) on the DVD Gunsmoke: 50th Anniversary Edition, Volume 1, when the producers of Gunsmoke realized that the audience would question why handsome, leading-man-type Weaver never carried a gun to "come to the aid of Mr. Dillon" each week, the producers asked Weaver to create a minor disability for Chester that would justify his non-violent approach to life in Dodge. After contemplating and struggling with the idea over a weekend, Weaver showed up to the set the following Monday and demonstrated Chester's now-famous straight-legged limp. The producers barely blinked as they told Weaver the limp would work out just fine.
• During the first year of filming the TV series, Milburn Stone reportedly did not like James Arness. In a TV Guide interview, he said "I spent the first three years [on Gunsmoke] hating Jim [Arness]. I couldn't stand him professionally." When Stone confronted him with specifics, Arness said "You're absolutely right!" Stone recounts "From that moment on I begun to love that guy. He's a great big wonderful cub bear."
• Many of radio's Gunsmokes and early TV Gunsmokes were sponsored by Liggett & Myers, makers of Chesterfield and L&M cigarettes.
• Festus is named after Porcius Festus, a governer of the Roman Empire who found the Apostle Paul blameless in his imprisonment in Acts Chapters 24-26 of the Bible.
• On television, Matt Dillon was shot on over thirty separate occasions, including the first show.
• Ken Curtis (né Curtis Wain Gates), who had been married to director John Ford's daughter, Barbara, from 1952 to 1964, had been a member of the now-famous Ford stock company before joining Gunsmoke. In real life, Curtis spoke quite eloquently and based the country twang of Festus on a man named Cedar Jack, whom Curtis' town-sheriff father often arrested and jailed in their small hometown of Las Animas, Colorado when Cedar Jack would come to town and get drunk. The family lived above the jail (Curtis' mother, Nellie, cooked for the prisoners), and Curtis gained exposure to interesting characters he could later fold into his performances.
• The prolific Gunsmoke script writer Kathleen Hite, confined to a wheelchair, was allergic to Dodge City.
• In the twenty years Gunsmoke was on television, the number of TV Sets in the US more than doubled
• George Kennedy played his first "lead guest star" role in an early, half-hour episode of the show. He has remarked that as a 6' 4" actor, it was a delight to play scenes with the 6' 7" Arness and the 6' 3" Weaver.
• After being defeated by the good guys, villains were often commanded to "get out of Dodge." The phrase turned into youth slang in the mid-1960s, and became common by the 1970s.
• The entire first verse of the Toby Keith song "Should've Been a Cowboy" refers to the romance between Matt and Kitty, and expresses the opinion that Kitty would have married Matt if he had only asked.
• Although three Gunsmoke actors who later played Matt Dillon's assistants survive as of 2010, (Burt Reynolds, Roger Ewing, and Buck Taylor), James Arness is the last survivor of the original TV cast.
• James Arness has his own web site.
• Each episode of Gunsmoke cost $215,000 on the average during the 1973-74 season and $230,000 for the final (1974-75) season.
• Television's Matt Dillon was never shown without a shirt on.
• Amanda Blake's make-up and costume transformation to Kitty took over 2 hours.
• Matt & Kitty kissed on the lips on camera, but it was in a TV commercial.
• Roy Rogers helped start Chester, Kitty and Doc's Vaudeville career. It helped the Gunsmoke stars double their income The Gunsmoke characters also appeared at numerous rodeos.
• The opening scene of Gunsmoke reshot in 1964 because, after 8 years, the original negative of the opening scene wore out.
• Prior to Gunsmoke,
  • Milburn Stone (Doc) and James Arness (Matt Dillon) both appeared in the 1953 movie INVADERS FROM MARS. Milburn Stone played Army Captain Roth and James Arness played "The Mutant Crouching by Raygunner."
  • James Arness (Matt) appeared with Amanda Blake (Kitty) in supporting roles in Stars in My Crown (1950).

Quotes

"If I had known it would last this long, I would never have created the darn thing." — John Meston

"Our attempt to create as realistic and entertaining a program as possible is not, of course, the only one of its kind. But we did proceed and were on the air, trying, before the release of such pictures as High Noon and Shane." — John Meston

"We had a great childhood and boyhood. It was a wonderful time through those years. A lot of it was through the Depression years, when things were tough, but my dad always had a job. But I had a great time. I was kind of restless, and I had a hard time staying in school all day, so me and a few pals would duck out and go out on these various adventures." — James Arness, on growing up with brother, Peter Graves, of Mission: Impossible fame.

"My portrayal of Festus is quite simple for me since I patterned him after several people I've known in my lifetime... In my opinion, it's an actor's duty to walk into the first rehearsal with a well defined character - then it's up to the director to shade or change the character to fit into the overall picture or play."— Ken Curtis

"I wouldn't care if they tattoo 'Festus' all over. He's been good to me." — Ken Curtis

"I'm really proud of Gunsmoke, We put on a good show every week—one that families could all watch together without offending anyone." — Ken Curtis

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, R. G. Armstrong, Jenny Lee Arness, Jean Arthur, John Astin
• Edward Asner, Lew Ayres, John Drew Barrymore, 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, 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, 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), 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, 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, Marsha Hunt
• Josephine Hutchinson, Dennis Hopper, John Ireland, Richard Jaeckel, Brad Johnson, Ben Johnson
• I. Stanford Jolley, L. Q. Jones, Robert Karnes, Don Keefer, DeForest Kelley, 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, Howard McNear, Patrick McVey, Tyler McVey, Vera Miles, John Mitchum, Ricardo Montalbán, Erin Moran, Harry Morgan, Read Morgan (12 times)
• Richard Mulligan, Diana Muldaur, Gene Nelson, Leslie Nielsen, Leonard Nimoy, 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, Daniel J. Travanti, Forrest Tucker, Cicely Tyson, Robert Urich, Joan Van Ark, Lee Van Cleef, Joyce Van Patten, Robert Vaughn, Gary Vinson
• Jon Voight, Lesley Ann Warren, Ruth Warrick, David Wayne, Adam West, Johnny Whitaker, James Whitmore, Robert J. Wilke, Chill Wills, William Windom, Ian Wolfe, and Dana Wynter.

Gunsmoke had one spin-off series, Dirty Sally, a semi-comedy starring Jeanette Nolan and Dack Rambo as an old woman and 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 itself left the air.

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.
• Other notable composers include
  • Elmer Bernstein
  • Franz Waxman
  • Jerry Goldsmith

Products

The Gunsmoke brand was used to endorse numerous productes, 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.

Gunsmoke 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").

Gunsmoke Books

• In 1957, Ballantine Books published a collection of short stories each based on a half hour television Gunsmoke episode
• 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

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 radio programs
• Watch full episodes of Gunsmoke on TVLand.com
• Gunsmoke review
• Einstein guest appearance rumor
• Encyclopedia of Television
• Gunsmoke 50th Anniversary 2005 from Dodge City
• James Arness
• The Ken Curtis Appreciation Site
• Gunsmoke at Internet Movie Database
• List of the composers for the series
• GunsmokeNet.com
• Gunsmoke at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Tamara's Gunsmoke Web Page
• CTVA Western - Gunsmoke episode guide pt. 1 (1955-61) 233 Half-Hour black & white episodes
• CTVA Western - Gunsmoke episode guide pt. 2 (1961-66) 176 Hour-long black & white episodes
• CTVA Western - Gunsmoke episode guide pt. pt.3 (1966-75) 226 Hour-long Color episodes