Gunsmoke is an American radio and television
WesternThe Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
drama series created by director
Norman MacDonnellNorman MacDonnell was an American radio and television producer best known for co-creating and producing the Western radio and television series, Gunsmoke. He was also a long-time executive producer for the television series The Virginian....
and writer
John MestonJohn Meston was an American radio and television writer best known for creating, along with Norman MacDonnell, the long-running radio and TV series, Gunsmoke. He was born in Pueblo, Colorado....
. The stories take place in and around
Dodge City, KansasDodge City is a city in, and the county seat of, Ford County, Kansas, United States. Named after nearby Fort Dodge, the city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.-History:The first settlement of...
, during the settlement of the
American West.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
.
The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and
John DunningJohn Dunning is an American writer of non-fiction and detective fiction. He is known for his reference books on old-time radio and his series of mysteries featuring Denver bookseller and ex-policeman Cliff Janeway.- Life :...
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. In 2010,
Law & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
tied this record of 20 seasons (but only 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
IliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and
OdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, created from standard elements of the
dime novelDime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
and the pulp western as romanticized by
BuntlineNed Buntline , was a pseudonym of Edward Zane Carroll Judson , an American publisher, journalist, writer and publicist best known for his dime novels and the Colt Buntline Special he is alleged to have commissioned from Colt's Manufacturing Company.-Naval and military experience:Edward Judson was...
,
HarteFrancis Bret Harte was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California.- Life and career :...
, and
TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
. It was ever the stuff of legend."
Radio version
In the late 1940s,
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
chairman
William S. PaleyWilliam S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
, a fan of
The Adventures of Philip MarlowePhilip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
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 AckermanHarry Stephen Ackerman was an American TV executive producer at Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures....
, 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 ShayneMichael Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday. It was the title of a series of 12 films starring Lloyd Nolan, a radio series under a variety of names, between 1944 and 1953, and later in 1960-1961, a 32 episode NBC television series...
radio scripts, "The Crooked Wheel". Two auditions were created in 1949. The first was very much like a hardboiled detective series and starred
Michael RyeMichael Rye is a US voice actor. He is also known as Mike Rye and sometimes used his surname at birth, Rye Billsbury...
(credited as Rye Billsbury) as Dillon; the second starred Straight Arrow actor
Howard CulverHoward Culver was an American radio and television actor, best known as hotel clerk Howie Uzzell during the entire run of TV's Gunsmoke...
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 RangerThe Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
and
The Cisco KidThe Cisco Kid refers to a character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in the collection Heart of the West...
. Gunsmoke was set in
Dodge City, KansasDodge City is a city in, and the county seat of, Ford County, Kansas, United States. Named after nearby Fort Dodge, the city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.-History:The first settlement of...
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 NewmanWalter Newman was an American radio writer and screenwriter active from the late 1940s to the early 1990s. He was nominated three times for Academy Awards , but he may be best known for a work that never made it to the screen: his unproduced original script Harrow Alley.Newman's radio...
) until June 18, 1961 on CBS. It starred
William ConradWilliam Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
as
Marshal Matt DillonMarshal Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of Gunsmoke. He serves as the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character was created by writer John Meston, who...
,
Howard McNearHoward Terbell McNear was an American film, television and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as Floyd Lawson, the barber in The Andy Griffith Show and as Doc Charles Adams in CBS Radio's Gunsmoke .-Career:McNear was born in Los Angeles, California to Luzetta M. Spencer and Franklin...
as Doc Charles Adams,
Georgia EllisGeorgia Ellis was an American actress who is best known for her recurring role of Kitty in the popular Western radio drama Gunsmoke.-External links:...
as Kitty Russell, and
Parley BaerParley Edward Baer was an American actor in film, television, and radio.-Radio:Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Baer had a circus background, but began his radio career at Utah station KSL...
as Dillon's assistant Chester Wesley 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
psychopathPsychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
s who drifted into Dodge from all directions."
Chester's character had no surname until Baer
ad libAd libitum is Latin for "at one's pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" or "ad-lib"...
bed "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
typhusEpidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
. 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 first portrayed Kitty as a saloon employee (dance-hall girl/prostitute) then later as the owner of the Long Branch Saloon. 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
lynchingLynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
. He
amputatedAmputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. He saved a girl from brutal
rapistsRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
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 crimeA violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
s,
scalpingScalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
s, massacres, and
opiumOpium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
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 effectFor the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the
prairiePrairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious feel.
John DunningJohn Dunning is an American writer of non-fiction and detective fiction. He is known for his reference books on old-time radio and his series of mysteries featuring Denver bookseller and ex-policeman Cliff Janeway.- Life :...
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
The TV series ran from September 10, 1955 to March 31, 1975 on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
with 635 total episodes. The first twelve seasons aired Saturdays at 10:00, seasons thirteen through sixteen aired Mondays at 7:30 and the last four seasons aired Mondays at 8:00. Its longevity has runners-up questioning its primacy as longest run. It is the longest running, prime time series of the 20th century. Today, it still has the highest number of scripted episodes for any, U.S. primetime, commercial live-action television series. Some rival programs in contention are foreign-made with U.S. airing. As of 2010, it is the fifth globally, after
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
(1963–1989, 2005– ),
TaggartTaggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
(1983–),
The BillThe Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
(1984–2010).
James ArnessJames King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
and
Milburn StoneMilburn Stone was an American television actor, a nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone and the son of a shopkeeper, best known for his role as "Doc" on the CBS western series Gunsmoke. He also played a doctor, CDR Blake, in the 1943 film Gung Ho!.Stone was born in Burrton in Harvey County in...
portrayed their Gunsmoke characters for 20 consecutive years, as did
Kelsey GrammerAllen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
as the character
FrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
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 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,
CannonCannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....
(1971–1976).
Denver PyleDenver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard .-Early life:...
was also considered for the role, as was
Raymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
, who was ultimately seen as too heavyset for the part.
Charles Marquis Warren-External links:...
, television Gunsmokes 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, CBS felt John Wayne was ideal for the role, but he, as most big screen stars, saw the fledging medium as a step down; The belief that Wayne was asked to pin on the badge 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 WeaverWilliam Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
playing Chester Goode;
Milburn StoneMilburn Stone was an American television actor, a nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone and the son of a shopkeeper, best known for his role as "Doc" on the CBS western series Gunsmoke. He also played a doctor, CDR Blake, in the 1943 film Gung Ho!.Stone was born in Burrton in Harvey County in...
being cast as Dr. G. "Doc" Adams (later Galen "Doc" Adams); and
Amanda BlakeAmanda Blake was an American actress known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the television western Gunsmoke.-Early life and career:...
taking on the role of Miss Kitty Russell. 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 ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
was added to the show's lineup, as the "halfbreed" blacksmith Quint Asper and elipsed the span between characters Chester Goode and
Festus HaggenFestus Haggen was Marshal Matt Dillon's only official deputy on the CBS television series Gunsmoke. He came to Dodge City in an episode titled "Us Haggens" to avenge the death of his twin brother, Fergus. Played by Ken Curtis, he first appeared in 1962 and was showcased full-time from 1964 until 1975...
. Three actors, who later played Dodge deputies,
Ken CurtisKen Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:...
,
Roger EwingRoger Ewing is a former actor originally from Los Angeles, California. He is best remembered for his characterization of part-time deputy marshal Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood in thirty-six episodes of the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke with James Arness...
and
Buck TaylorWalter Clarence "Buck" Taylor, III is an American actor and water color artist best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 113 episodes during the last eight seasons of CBS's Gunsmoke television series . In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and Gunsmoke...
, had previous guest roles. In 1963, singer and character actor
Ken CurtisKen Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:...
had a guest shot as a shady ladies' man. He previously had a small role as an Indian in one of the late 1950s episodes. In 1964, Weaver left the series to pursue a broader acting career in TV series and films.
Ken Curtis, a big band and western singer (Tommy Dorsey Band, Shep Fields Band, Sons of the Pioneers), was reared in
Las Animas, Colorado200px|right|thumb|St. Mary's [[Catholic]] Church in Las AnimasThe city of Las Animas is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Bent County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,410 at the 2010 census. Las Animas, located in southeast...
, and for a time a son-in-law of director
John FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
. In 1964 he was signed to play the stubbornly illiterate hillbilly Festus Haggen. The character came to town (in a 1962 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 reliefComic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
episode ("Mad Dog"), another case of mistaken identity forces Festus to fight three sons of a man killed by his cousin. Chester and Festus are perhaps Dillon's most recognizable sidekicks, though there were others who would become acting-deputies for two and a half to seven-year stints: Thad Greenwood (
Roger EwingRoger Ewing is a former actor originally from Los Angeles, California. He is best remembered for his characterization of part-time deputy marshal Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood in thirty-six episodes of the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke with James Arness...
) (1966–1968), Quint Asper (
Burt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
) (1962–1965), and Newly O'Brian (
Buck TaylorWalter Clarence "Buck" Taylor, III is an American actor and water color artist best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 113 episodes during the last eight seasons of CBS's Gunsmoke television series . In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and Gunsmoke...
) (1967–1975), who served as both back-up deputy and doctor, having some studies in medicine.
When Milburn Stone left the series for health reasons for several episodes,
Pat HingleMartin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
played his temporary replacement physician, Dr. John Chapman, whose presence was at first roundly resisted by Festus, a bickersome but close friend of Doc Adams.
The back stories of some of the main characters were largely left to the imagination of the viewer. Matt Dillon spent his early years in foster care, knew the Bible, was a wayward, brawling cowboy, and later mentored by 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. (See "Miss Kitty" in the following section "Differences between the characters on the radio & TV versions.") 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 storekeeper, was harassed to death by a trio of loathsome ne'er-do-well thieves. Chester Goode was known to be one of many brothers raised by an aunt and uncle, and he mentions his mother on one occasion; he referred to past service in the cavalry, and years as a cattle drover in Texas. The cause of Chester's stiff right leg was never given, but it was shown as his own leg and not a prosthesis. No direct reference was ever made to his disability in the script, although some oblique moments 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 PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
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 WhitakerJohnny Whitaker is an American actor and singer notable for several performances for film and television during his childhood...
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 actress 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. She was replaced by the hoarse-voiced, matronly actress Fran Ryan (known to many as the second Doris Ziffel on CBS' "Green Acres").
For 16 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
GalenAelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
as a first name.
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. He 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.
There was nothing in the radio series to suggest that Chester Goode was disabled, a merely visual feature added to the character on television because of actor Dennis Weaver's athletic build, to emphasize Chester's role as a follower and not an independent agent.
Miss Kitty, who, after the radio series ended, was said by some to have engaged in prostitution, began in that role in the television series, working in the Long Branch Saloon. In an earlier 1956 episode, the owner of the Long Branch was named Bill Pence. A later 1956 episode begins with Chester pointing out to Matt (who had been out of town) a new sign under the Long Branch Saloon sign stating "Russell & Pence, Proprietors." In that same episode, John Dehner portrayed a dubious New Orleans businessman claiming to be Kitty's father, who tried to talk her into selling her half interest in the Long Branch and returning to New Orleans with him as a partner in his alleged freight business. In another 1956 episode (involving a new saloon girl named "Rena Decker" who causes four deaths by provoking men into fighting over her), Miss Kitty identifies herself as half-owner of the Long Branch with Mr. Pence (played by Judson Pratt). Subsequently, Miss Kitty transitioned to sole owner. Although early film episodes showed her descending from her second-floor rooms in the saloon with Matt, or showed her or one of her girls leading a cowboy up to those same rooms, these scenes disappeared later on, and viewers were guided to see Miss Kitty just as a kindhearted businesswoman.
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
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, originally on Tuesday nights within its time in reruns.
Schedule
| Season | Time Slot |
| 1955-1956 |
Saturdays at 10:00 p.m. |
| 1956-1957 |
| 1957-1958 |
| 1958-1959 |
| 1959-1960 |
| 1960-1961 |
| 1961-1962 |
| 1962-1963 |
| 1963-1964 |
| 1964-1965 |
| 1965-1966 |
| 1966-1967 |
| 1967-1968 |
Mondays at 7:30 p.m. |
| 1968-1969 |
| 1969-1970 |
| 1970-1971 |
| 1971-1972 |
Mondays at 8:00 p.m. |
| 1972-1973 |
| 1973-1974 |
| 1974-1975 |
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 IslandGilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
producer
Sherwood SchwartzSherwood Charles Schwartz was an American television producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, and created the television series Gilligan's Island on CBS and The Brady Bunch on ABC...
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 pm on Mondays. This scheduling move led to a spike in ratings that saw it once again rally to the top 10 in the
Nielsen ratingsNielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
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 20-year run; it was replaced by
Mary Tyler MooreThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
spin-offs
RhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
and
PhyllisPhyllis is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 11, 1975 to March 13, 1977.Created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. it was the second spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards'...
. Thirty TV Westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, and Gunsmoke was the sole survivor, with
Alias Smith and JonesAlias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform...
and
BonanzaBonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
both leaving the airwaves in January 1973.
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 that 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.
TV movies
In 1987, some actors from the original series (James Arness, Amanda Blake, Buck Taylor, Fran Ryan) reunited for the TV movie,
Gunsmoke: Return to DodgeGunsmoke: Return to Dodge is the first TV-movie based on the 20-year television version of Gunsmoke starring James Arness. Retired US Marshal Matt Dillon, now a fur trapper, is shot by thieves, brought back to Dodge, and nursed by Kitty Russel...
, was filmed with the mountainous ranges of
AlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
Canada as a backdrop. Retired US Marshal Matt Dillon, now a fur trapper, is shot by thieves, brought back to Dodge, and nursed by Kitty Russell. He is hunted by vengeful, past nemesis Mannon, who holds a battered Kitty hostage in exchange for a showdown. Ken Curtis declined to return, citing a contract dispute: "As Dillon's right hand man, I felt the offer would approximate Miss Blake's." Instead, Buck Taylor's Newly O'Brian became Dodge's new marshal, though private citizen Matt Dillon remains 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
liaisonAffair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with "Mike" Yardner (
Michael LearnedMichael Learned is an American actress known for her role as Olivia Walton on The Waltons.-Personal life:Learned was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Elizabeth Duane "Betti" and Bruce Learned, a diplomat. Her maternal grandfather was an attaché for the United States Embassy in Rome...
of
The WaltonsThe Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
). 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).
Ratings
- 1955-1956: N/A
- 1956–1957: No.8 - 12,720,300 viewers (32.7 rating)
- 1957–1958: No.1 - 18,067,520 viewers (43.1 rating)
- 1958–1959: No.1 - 17,404,200 viewers (39.6 rating)
- 1959–1960: No.1 - 18,437,250 viewers (40.3 rating)
- 1960–1961: No.1 - 17,605,600 viewers (37.3 rating)
- 1961–1962: No.3 - 13,741,065 viewers (28.3 rating)
- 1962–1963: No.10 - 13,581,000 viewers (27 rating)
- 1963–1964: No.20 - 12,126,000 viewers (23.5 rating)
- 1964–1965: No.27 - 11,910,200 viewers (22.6 rating)
- 1965–1966: No.30 - 11,470,050 viewers (21.3 rating)
- 1966–1967: No.34
- 1967–1968: No.4 - 14,450,850 viewers (25.5 rating)
- 1968–1969: No.6 - 14,504,250 viewers (24.9 rating)
- 1969–1970: No.2 - 15,151,500 viewers (25.9 rating)
- 1970–1971: No.5 - 15,325,500 viewers (25.5 rating)
- 1971–1972: No.4 - 16,146,000 viewers (26 rating)
- 1972–1973: No.8 - 15,292,800 viewers (23.6 rating)
- 1973–1974: No.15 - 14,630,200 viewers (22.1 rating)
- 1974–1975: No.28 - 14,042,500 viewers (20.5 rating)
As a Top 30 series, Gunsmoke has an average rating of 28.3.
Syndication
In syndication, the entire 20-year run of Gunsmoke is separated into three packages by
CBS Television DistributionCBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
:
- 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
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
. 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
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
, 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
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
from 1996 to 2011. Me-TV now airs these episodes.
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 4 seasons on DVD in Region 1. Season 5, volume 1 was released on October 11, 2011. Season 5, volume 2 will be released on December 13, 2011.
| 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 |
| The Fifth Season, Volume 1 |
20 |
October 11, 2011 |
| The Fifth Season, Volume 2 |
19 |
December 13, 2011 |
Regular cast; major characters
- U.S. Marshal
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
Matt DillonMarshal Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of Gunsmoke. He serves as the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character was created by writer John Meston, who...
(1955–1975): James ArnessJames King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
- Galen "Doc" Adams, M.D.
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(1955–1975): Milburn StoneMilburn Stone was an American television actor, a nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone and the son of a shopkeeper, best known for his role as "Doc" on the CBS western series Gunsmoke. He also played a doctor, CDR Blake, in the 1943 film Gung Ho!.Stone was born in Burrton in Harvey County in...
- Kathleen "Kitty" Russell (1955–1974): Amanda Blake
Amanda Blake was an American actress known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the television western Gunsmoke.-Early life and career:...
- Chester B. Goode (1955–1964): Dennis Weaver
William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
; left series to star in unsuccessful series Kentucky JonesKentucky Jones is a half-hour comedy/drama starring Dennis Weaver as Kenneth Yarborough "K.Y. or Kentucky" Jones, D.V.M., a recently widowed former horse trainer and active rancher, who becomes the guardian of Dwight Eisenhower "Ike" "Wong, a 10-year-old Chinese orphan, played by Ricky Der...
- Festus Haggen (1964–1975): Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:...
Cast
- Clem (bartender; 1959–1961): Clem Fuller
- Sam (bartender; 1961–1973): Glenn Strange
Glenn Strange was an American actor who appeared mostly in Western films. He is best known for playing the Frankenstein Monster in three Universal films during the 1940s and for his role as Sam Noonan, the bartender on CBS's Gunsmoke television series...
- Rudy (bartender; 1965–1967): Rudy Sooter
- Floyd (bartender; 1974–1975): Robert Brubaker
Robert Brubaker was an American character actor best known for his roles in television and movie westerns, including as Gunsmoke and 40 Guns to Apache Pass. Brubaker was the only actor to have two recurring roles on the television series, Gunsmoke, portraying both a bartender named Floyd and a...
- Quint Asper (blacksmith; 1962–1965): Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
- Deputy Marshal Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood (1965–1967): Roger Ewing
Roger Ewing is a former actor originally from Los Angeles, California. He is best remembered for his characterization of part-time deputy marshal Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood in thirty-six episodes of the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke with James Arness...
- Newly O'Brian (gunsmith; 1967–1975): Buck Taylor
Walter Clarence "Buck" Taylor, III is an American actor and water color artist best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 113 episodes during the last eight seasons of CBS's Gunsmoke television series . In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and Gunsmoke...
- Wilbur Jonas (storekeeper, 1955–1963): Dabbs Greer
Robert William "Dabbs" Greer was an American actor who performed many diverse supporting roles in film and television for some fifty years. His distinctive, southern-accented voice fitted well in shows featuring rustic characters, such as westerns...
- Howie Uzzell (hotel clerk, 1955–1975): Howard Culver
Howard Culver was an American radio and television actor, best known as hotel clerk Howie Uzzell during the entire run of TV's Gunsmoke...
- Moss Grimmick (stableman; 1955–1963): George Selk
- Bill Pence (Long Branch owner/co-owner 1955?-1956-?): Judson Pratt
- 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
Hank Patterson was an American actor and musician. He is most known for playing stableman Hank Miller on Gunsmoke and Fred Ziffel on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres....
- Mr. Bodkin (banker; 1963–1970): Roy Roberts
Roy Roberts was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen.-Biography:...
- 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
- Bob La Mar (Backup gunslinger 1959)
- 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
Herbert "Herb" Vigran was a well-known American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances.-Career:...
- Dr. John Chapman (1971): Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
- Miss Hannah (saloon owner; 1974–1975): Fran Ryan
Fran Ryan was an American character actress featured in television and films. She was born in Los Angeles, California....
- Angus McTabbott (1966): Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty MBE was an iconic Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the 1940s until his death in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American...
Australian actor
Awards
- In TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
'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
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
(February 19, 1999 issue) ranked the premier of Gunsmoke as No.47 in the "100 Greatest Moments in Television."
- Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, in 1998, ranked Gunsmoke as No.16 in The 100 Greatest TV Shows of all time.
- In a 1998 TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
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
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
.
- In 1997, the episode "The Jailer" was ranked #28 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
- In 2002, TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
ranked Gunsmoke as number 40 in the 50 greatest television shows of all time.
Miscellaneous
- Dodge City's Boot Hill Museum has a tribute to Gunsmoke, including furniture from the 1960s and an old television tuned to the show. Signed photographs from the show's actors and other memorabilia are on display including a vest worn by Sam the Bartender (actor Glenn Strange
Glenn Strange was an American actor who appeared mostly in Western films. He is best known for playing the Frankenstein Monster in three Universal films during the 1940s and for his role as Sam Noonan, the bartender on CBS's Gunsmoke television series...
) and a dress worn by Miss KittyMiss Kitty may refer to:* Kali Troy, an American voice actor known as "Miss Kittie"* Miss Kittin, a musical performer* Stacy Carter, a former professional wrestler with the ring name Miss Kitty...
, (actress Amanda BlakeAmanda Blake was an American actress known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the television western Gunsmoke.-Early life and career:...
).
Notable guest stars
- (partial list, alphabetical):
- Willie Aames
Willie Aames is an American actor, film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He played Tommy Bradford on the 1970s’ Eight Is Enough and Buddy Lembeck on the 1980s’ Charles in Charge.-Early life:...
, Jack AlbertsonJack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
, Mabel AlbertsonMabel Albertson was an American actress.Albertson was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Russian-born Jewish immigrants Flora Craft and Leopold Albertson. Her brother was actor Jack Albertson...
, Claude AkinsClaude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
, Chris AlcaideChristopher "Chris" Alcaide was an American actor particularly known for his role in television westerns. He surfaced to national attention as Deputy Joshua Tate in the 1956 film Gunslinger, co-starring Beverly Garland as a woman marshal.In 2003, Alcaide was among recipients, including the Sons of...
, Richard AndersonRichard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
, Tige AndrewsTige Andrews was an American character actor. His work includes the role of Captain Adam Greer on the late 1960s-to-early 1970s television series The Mod Squad and Detective Lt...
, R. G. ArmstrongRobert Golden "R.G." Armstrong is an American actor and playwright. A veteran character actor who appeared in dozens of Westerns over the course of his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director Sam Peckinpah....
, Jenny Lee Arness, Jean ArthurJean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. As James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
, John AstinJohn Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...
- Edward Asner, Lew Ayres
Lew Ayres was an American actor, best known for starring as Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front and for playing Dr...
, John Drew BarrymoreJohn Drew Barrymore was a member of the Barrymore family of actors, which included his father, John Barrymore, and his father's siblings, Lionel and Ethel...
, Richard BasehartJohn Richard Basehart was an American actor. He starred in the 1960s television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, in the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson.-Career:...
, Ed BegleyEdward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
, Ralph BellamyRalph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...
, James BestJames Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
, Dan BlockerDan Blocker was an American actor best remembered for his role as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright in the NBC western television series Bonanza.-Early life:...
, Randy BooneClyde Wilson Randall Boone, Jr., known as Randy Boone , is a former actor who co-starred in two of the three 90-minute westerns telecast during the 1960s on the national television networks, NBC's The Virginian and CBS's Cimarron Strip...
, Bruce BoxleitnerBruce William Boxleitner is an American actor, and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King , and Babylon 5...
, Eric BraedenEric Braeden is a German-American film and television actor, best known for his role as Victor Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless and as John Jacob Astor IV in the 1997 film Titanic...
- Peter Breck
Joseph Peter Breck is an American prolific character actor of stage, who has played roles on television and in film...
, Beau BridgesLloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
, Morgan BrittanyMorgan Brittany is an American film and television actress. She is possibly best known for her role in the 1980s primetime soap opera Dallas, where she portrayed Katherine Wentworth, the scheming younger half-sister of Pamela Ewing and Cliff Barnes.-Early career:Under her birth name, Brittany...
, Charles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
, James BrownJames E. Brown was an American film and TV actor best known for his role as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters in all 166 episodes of the 1954-1959 ABC Western television series, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin....
, Joyce BulifantJoyce Bulifant is an American television actress, notable for her sunny "little girl"-like Southern lilt of a voice. She was a frequent panelist on the television game show Match Game, more often than not giving bizarre answers that seldom matched the contestants.-Life and career:Bulifant was born...
, Gary BuseyWilliam Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
,
- Sebastian Cabot
Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor, best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman, "Giles French," opposite Brian Keith's character, in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair. He was also known for playing Dr...
, Frank CadyFrank Cady is an American actor best known for his recurring and popular role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three US television series during the 1960s: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies.-Career:...
, Harry Carey, Jr.Harry Carey, Jr. is an American film actor. He appeared in over 90 films. He is mostly remembered for appearing in Western films — notably those by his friend John Ford — and in television programs.-Early life:...
, John CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
, Conlan CarterChester Conlan Carter is a former film and television actor best known for the role of "Doc", featured in sixty-six episodes of the Rick Jason and Vic Morrow ABC World War II television series Combat!...
, Jack CassidyJohn Joseph Edward “Jack” Cassidy was an American actor of stage, film and screen.His frequent professional persona was that of an urbane, super-confident egotist with a dramatic flair, much in the manner of Broadway actor Frank Fay...
, Mary CastleMary Ann Castle was an American actress of early film and television whose personal problems destroyed her once burgeoning career. Her best known role was as female detective Frankie Adams in the syndicated western series, Stories of the Century, which aired from 1954 to 1955.-Early years:Castle...
, Lee J. CobbLee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront and one of his last films, The Exorcist...
, Michael ColeMichael Cole is an American actor. His career includes a leading role as Pete Cochran on the television crime drama The Mod Squad, which ran from 1968 to 1973.-Career:...
, Don CollierDonald Collier is an American radio personality and a former actor, particularly known for his role in television westerns during the 1960s. He played U.S. Marshal Will Foreman in the 1960-1962 NBC series Outlaws, with Barton MacLane , Jock Gaynor , and Bruce Yarnell...
, Chuck ConnorsChuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....
- Mike Connors
Mike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in...
, Tim ConsidineTimothy Daniel "Tim" Considine is a former American child actor and young adult actor who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
, Pat ConwayPatrick Douglas Conway, known as Pat Conway , was an American actor best known for his role as young but tough Sheriff Clay Hollister on the ABC and then syndicated western television series Tombstone Territory . He was a maternal grandson of silent film star Francis X...
, Elisha Cook, Jr., Ben CooperBen Cooper is a retired American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot award in 2005 for his work in westerns.-Early films:...
, Glenn CorbettGlenn Corbett was an American actor best known for his role on CBS's adventure drama Route 66.-Acting career:...
, Dennis CrossDennis Cross was an American actor who was the lead star of the syndicated television series The Blue Angels, fictional stories of daredevil United States Navy pilots which aired from 1960-1961...
, Brandon CruzBrandon Edwin Cruz is an American former child actor and currently a punk rock musician, and also works in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. In the late 1960s, the freckled-faced Cruz came to prominence by playing Tom Corbett's charming and conniving son, Eddie Corbett, in the comedy-drama The...
, Robert CulpRobert Martin Culp was an American actor, scriptwriter, voice actor and director, widely known for his work in television. Culp first earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents...
, Royal DanoRoyal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
, Kim DarbyKim Darby is an American actress perhaps best known for co-starring with John Wayne and country singer/actor Glen Campbell in the 1969 western True Grit.-Early life and film career:...
, Bette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
- Jim Davis
Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
(multiple appearances), Richard DeaconRichard Deacon , born in Philadelphia, was an American television and motion picture actor.-Career:The bald and usually bespectacled character actor often portrayed pompous or imperious figures. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Show as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel...
, Gloria DeHavenGloria Mildred DeHaven is an American actress and a former contract star for MGM.-Early life and career:DeHaven was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actor-director Carter DeHaven and actress Flora Parker DeHaven, both former vaudeville performers.She began her career as a child...
, John DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
, Bruce DernBruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
- William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
, Angie DickinsonAngie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
, James DoohanJames Montgomery "Jimmy" Doohan was a Canadian character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek...
, Richard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
, Buddy EbsenBuddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
, Barbara EdenBarbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
, Jack ElamWilliam Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
, Sam ElliottSamuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...
, Gene EvansGene Evans was an American actor.He was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in World War II. He performed with a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. Evans made his film debut in 1947 and appeared in dozens of movies and...
(10 episodes), Shug FisherShug Fisher , born George Clinton Fisher, Jr., was an American character actor, singer, songwriter, musician and comedian. During a 50-year career, he appeared in many Western films, often as a member of The Sons of the Pioneers in Roy Rogers serials...
, Paul FixPaul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
- Jay C. Flippen
Jay C. Flippen is an American character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s/'50s....
, Constance FordConstance Ford was an American actress and model. She is best known for her long-running role as Ada Hobson on the daytime soap opera Another World.-Career:...
, Harrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
, Jodie FosterAlicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
, Ron FosterRonald R. Foster, known as Ron Foster , is an American actor, whose longest-running role was as Dr. Charles Grant from 1991-1995 in the defunct CBS soap opera The Guiding Light....
, Anne FrancisAnne Lloyd Francis was an American actress, best known for her role in the science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet , and as the female private detective in the television series Honey West . She won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy award for her role in Honey West...
, Dean FredericksDean Fredericks was an American actor best known for his portrayal of the comic strip character Steve Canyon in a 34-episode television series of the same name which aired from 1958-1959 on NBC. He was born Frederick Joseph Foote in Los Angeles, California...
, Bert FreedBert Freed was a prolific American character actor, voice over actor, and the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.-Life and career:...
, Victor FrenchVictor Edwin French was an American actor and director.-Early career:Born in Santa Barbara, California,...
(18 episodes)
- Beverly Garland
Beverly Garland was an American film and television actress, businesswoman, and hotel owner. Garland gained prominence for her role as Fred MacMurray's second wife, "Barbara Harper Douglas", in the 1960s sitcom My Three Sons...
, Leif GarrettLeif Garrett is an American singer and actor. He became famous in the late 1970s as a teen idol, but received much publicity in later life for his drug abuse and legal troubles.-Early life:...
, James Gavin, Lisa GerritsenLisa Gerritsen is an American former child actor, later a computer systems consultant/networking specialist, and more recently, possibly, as an independent relocation coordinator and facilities project manager. She currently lives with her husband John Rustan and son in Northern California...
, Melissa GilbertMelissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie...
, Harold GouldHarold V. Goldstein , best known by his stage name Harold Gould, was an American actor best known for playing Martin Morgenstern in the 1970s sitcoms Rhoda and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as Miles Webber in The Golden Girls...
, James GregoryJames Gregory was an American character actor noted for his deep, gravelly voice and playing brash roles such as McCarthy-like Senator John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate , the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and loudmouthed Inspector Luger in Barney Miller...
, Tom GreenwayTom Greenway was an American character actor of film and television, whose career, primarily in television westerns, extended from 1949 to 1965.-Early life:...
- Kevin Hagen, Ron Hagerthy
Ronald F. "Ron" Hagerthy is a former American actor known primarily for his guest-starring and supporting roles on television westerns. In 1952, he portrayed Clipper King in the modern western series, Sky King, with Kirby Grant in the title role of Clipper's uncle, Schuyler "Sky" King, pilot of...
, Alan Hale, Jr.Alan Hale, Jr. was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Skipper on the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island. Hale was the lookalike son of popular supporting film actor Alan Hale, Sr....
, Mariette HartleyMary Loretta "Mariette" Hartley is an American character actress.-Personal life:Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary Ickes “Polly” , a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was psychologist John B...
, Ron HayesRonald G. Hayes was an American television actor who, as an activist in the environmental movement, worked for the establishment of the first Earth Day, observed on April 22, 1970. He was a member of the Sierra Club and a founder of the ecological interest group Wilderness World...
, Katherine HelmondKatherine Marie Helmond is an American film, theater and television actress, who played Emily Dickinson on Meeting of Minds, as well as such fictional characters as Jessica Tate on Soap, Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss?, Doris Sherman on Coach, and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves...
, Earl Holliman-Early life:Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana. Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth...
, Ron HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
, Bo HopkinsBo Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins has appeared in more than one hundred film and television roles in a career of more than forty years, including The Bridge at Remagen, The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, American Graffiti, White Lightning, Radioland Murders, The Killer Elite, Midnight...
, Dennis HopperDennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
, Marsha HuntMarsha Hunt is an American film, theater, and television actress who was blacklisted by Hollywood movie studio executives in the 1950s.-Career:...
- Josephine Hutchinson
Josephine Hutchinson was an American actress.She was born in Seattle, Washington. Her mother, Leona Roberts, was an actress best-known for her role as "Mrs. Meade" in Gone with the Wind. Through her mother's connections, Hutchinson made her film debut at the age of thirteen in The Little Princess,...
, Steve IhnatSteve Ihnat was a Czechoslovakian-born actor and director. He immigrated to Canada when he was five years old, and later became a United States citizen.-Early life:...
, John IrelandJohn Benjamin Ireland was an actor and film director.-Biography:Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was raised in New York City from the age of 18. He started out in minor stage roles on Broadway...
, Richard JaeckelRichard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
, Salome JensSalome Jens is an American stage, film and television actress. She is perhaps best-known for portraying the Female Changeling on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Life and career:...
, Brad Johnson, Ben JohnsonBen "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
- I. Stanford Jolley
Isaac Stanford Jolley, Sr., known as I. Stanford Jolley was a prolific American character actor of film and television, primarily in western roles as cowboys, law-enforcement officers, or villains...
, L. Q. JonesL.Q. Jones is an American character actor and film director, known for his work in the films of Sam Peckinpah.-Life and career:...
, Robert KarnesRobert A. Karnes was a prolific television actor who also appeared in some films early in his career, including mostly uncredited parts in The Best Years of Our Lives , Miracle on 34th Street , Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye , and From Here to Eternity...
, Don KeeferDonald "Don" H. Keefer is a retired American actor known for the versatility of his roles. He was born in Highspire in Dauphin County near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Keefer's first role was as Bernard in the 1951 film, Death of a Salesman, based on the Arthur Miller play...
, DeForest KelleyJackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek.-Early life:...
, Dan KempDaniel "Dan" Kemp was an American actor best known for his guest-starring roles in several television westerns between 1969 and 1971....
, Adam KennedyAdam Kennedy was an American actor, screenwriter, novelist, and painter, who starred as the Irish-American newspaper editor Dion Patrick in thirty-seven episodes during the first season, 1957–1958, of NBC's western television series, The Californians...
, George KennedyGeorge Harris Kennedy, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television productions. He is perhaps most familiar as the convict Dragline in Cool Hand Luke , airline troubleshooter Joe Patroni in the Airport series of disaster movies from the 1970s and...
, Richard Kiley, Jack KlugmanJacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
, Ted KnightTed Knight was an American actor best known for playing the comedic role of Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort, and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack.- Early years :...
, Diane LaddDiane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
, Martin LandauMartin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
- Allan Lane
Allan "Rocky" Lane was a studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966...
, Louise LathamLouise Latham is an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's film Marnie...
, Harry LauterHerman Arthur "Harry" Lauter was an American character actor originally from White Plains, New York....
, Anna LeeAnna Lee, MBE was an English actress.-Career:Lee studied at the Royal Albert Hall, then debuted with a bit part in the film His Lordship...
, June LockhartJune Lockhart is an American actress, primarily in 1950s and 1960s television, but with memorable performances on stage and in film too. She is remembered as the mother in two TV series, Lassie and Lost in Space. She also portrayed Dr...
, Jack LordJohn Joseph Patrick Ryan , best known by his stage name Jack Lord, was an American television, film, and Broadway actor. He was known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the American television program Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980. Lord appeared in feature films earlier in his career,...
, Dayton LummisDayton Lummis. Sr. , was an American actor of film and television who specialized in the genre of anthology and western series, often playing authority figures. From 1959-1960, he appeared as Marshal Andy Morrison in nine episodes of NBC's Law of the Plainsman western, with Michael Ansara and...
, Tyler MacDuffTyler MacDuff, born Tyler Glenn Duff, Jr. , was an American actor, primarily on television westerns and dramas who was cast as Billy the Kid in The Boy from Oklahoma.-Biography:...
, Barton MacLaneBarton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his role as Gen...
, George MacreadyGeorge Peabody Macready, Jr. , was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains.-Background:...
, Rose MarieRose Marie is an American actress. As a child performer she had a successful singing career as Baby Rose Marie....
, Scott MarloweScott Gregory Marlowe was a versatile American actor of film, television, and stage, who was born and died in Los Angeles, California.-Early film career:...
, Ross MartinRoss Martin was a Polish-born American Emmy-nominated actor known for playing Artemus Gordon in the western TV series The Wild Wild West, starring Robert Conrad, and Andamo on Mr...
- Strother Martin
Strother Martin was an American actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison "captain" in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."-Early life:Strother Martin Jr. was born in Kokomo,...
, Darren McGavinDarren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
, Peggy McCayPeggy McCay is a long-time American actress with a career lasting over sixty years in film and television...
, Howard McNearHoward Terbell McNear was an American film, television and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as Floyd Lawson, the barber in The Andy Griffith Show and as Doc Charles Adams in CBS Radio's Gunsmoke .-Career:McNear was born in Los Angeles, California to Luzetta M. Spencer and Franklin...
, Patrick McVeyPatrick McVey was an American actor who starred in three television series between 1950 and 1961, Big Town, Boots and Saddles, and Manhunt.-Early life and career:...
, Tyler McVeyTyler McVey was an American character actor.-Early life and career:McVey was born in Bay City on Saginaw Bay in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. His first screen role, uncredited, came at the age of 39 in 1951, when he portrayed Brady in the The Day the Earth Stood Still...
, Vera MilesVera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
, Denny Scott MillerDenny Scott Miller is an American actor, perhaps best known for his guest-starring roles on Gilligan's Island and as Tarzan in the late 1950s....
, John MitchumJohn Mitchum was an American actor from the 1940s in films and, later, television. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and the younger brother of Julie Mitchum and Robert Mitchum, he initially appeared in only unbilled and extra roles before gradually receiving bigger character parts in middle age...
, Roger MobleyRoger L. Mobley in Evansville, Indiana, is a former child actor in film and television, working primarily for Walt Disney Productions during the late 1950s and early 1960s...
, Ricardo MontalbánRicardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
, Erin MoranErin Marie Moran is an American actress, best known for the role of Joanie Cunningham on Happy Days and its spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi.-Early life:...
, Harry MorganHarry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
, Read MorganRead Morgan is a former American actor whose longest-running role was as a United States Army cavalry officer in the 1960-1961 season of The Deputy, a western television series on NBC created by Norman Lear. Morgan appeared in thirty episodes as the one-eyed Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, recognized by...
(12 times)
- Richard Mulligan
Richard Mulligan was an American television and film actor best known for his role as Burt Campbell in the 1970s sitcom Soap and later as Dr. Harry Weston on The Golden Girls and its spin-off Empty Nest.-Early life:He was born in New York City, the younger brother of director Robert Mulligan...
, Diana MuldaurDiana Muldaur is an Emmy-nominated American film and television actress.-Career:Born in New York City, but raised on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Muldaur started acting in high school and continued on through college, graduating from Sweet Briar College in Virginia in 1960. She studied acting...
, Gene NelsonGene Nelson was an American dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director.-Biography:Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he moved to Seattle when he was one year old. He was inspired to become a dancer by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films when he was a child...
, Leslie NielsenLeslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
, Leonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
, Jeanette NolanJeanette Nolan was an American radio, film and television actress. Nolan was nominated for four Emmy Awards.-Early life:...
, Nick NolteNicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
, Carroll O'ConnorJohn Carroll O'Connor best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades...
, Simon OaklandSimon Oakland was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.-Early life and career:Oakland was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He began his performing arts career as a musician . He began his acting career in the late 1940s...
, Warren OatesWarren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
, Susan OlsenSusan Marie Olsen is a former American child television actress and current animal welfare advocate. Olsen is best known for her role as Mike and Carol Brady's youngest daughter, Cindy Brady, on the 1970s television sitcom The Brady Bunch for the full run of the show, from 1969-1974.-Early...
- Gregg Palmer
Gregg Palmer, originally Palmer Lee is an American actor, known primarily for his prolific work in television westerns...
(20 times), John PayneJohn Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC western television series The Restless Gun.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
, Brock PetersBrock Peters was an American actor, best known for playing the role of Tom Robinson in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird...
, John PickardJohn M. Pickard was an American actor who appeared primarily in television Westerns.-Early life and career:...
(12 times), Slim PickensLouis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
, Suzanne PleshetteSuzanne Pleshette was an American actress, on stage, screen and television.After beginning her career in theatre, she began appearing in films in the early 1960s, such as Rome Adventure and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...
, Judson PrattJudson Pratt was an American actor whose longest continuing work was in thirteen episodes of ABC's Walt Disney Presents and NBC's Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. A native of Hingham in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Pratt appeared in numerous television westerns and drama series from...
, Andrew PrineAndrew Lewis Prine is an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life and career:Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Andrew Jackson High School in Miami, Prine made his acting debut three years later in an episode of CBS U.S. Steel Hour...
, Denver PyleDenver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard .-Early life:...
, Dack RamboNorman Jay Rambeau , professionally known as Dack Rambo, was an American actor, most notable for appearing as Walter Brennan's grandson Jeff in the ABC series The Guns of Will Sonnett, as Steve Jacobi in All My Children, as cousin Jack Ewing on CBS's Dallas, and as Grant Harrison on the NBC soap...
, Gilman RankinGilman W. Rankin was a Massachusetts-born actor who appeared primarily in television westerns between 1956 and 1975. Between 1957 and 1959, he had a supporting role as Deputy Charlie Riggs in seven episodes of the series Tombstone Territory...
- Pernell Roberts
Pernell Elvin Roberts, Jr. was an American stage, movie and television actor, as well as a singer. In addition to guest starring in over 60 television series, he was widely known for his roles as Ben Cartwright's eldest son, Adam Cartwright, on the western series Bonanza, a role he played from...
, Wayne RogersWilliam Wayne McMillan Rogers III is an American film and television actor, best known for playing the role of 'Trapper John' McIntyre in the U.S...
, Ruth RomanRuth Roman was an American actress. One of her most memorable roles was in the Alfred Hitchcock 1951 thriller Strangers on a Train....
, Katharine RossKatharine Juliet Ross is an American film and stage actress. Trained at the San Francisco Workshop, she is perhaps best known for her role as Elaine Robinson in the 1967 film The Graduate, opposite Dustin Hoffman, which won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and her role...
, Kurt RussellKurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
, Albert SalmiAlbert Salmi was an American actor.-Biography:Albert Salmi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish immigrant parents, and following a stint in the Army, took up acting as a career, studying Method acting with Lee Strasberg. In 1955, Salmi starred in Bus Stop on Broadway...
, John SaxonJohn Saxon is an American actor who has worked on over 200 projects during the span of sixty years. Saxon is most known for his work in horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Black Christmas, both of which feature Saxon as a policeman in search of the killer...
- William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, Tom SimcoxThomas William Simcox, known as Tom Simcox is a former actor who resides in the unincorporated community of Leona Valley west of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, California....
, Robert F. SimonRobert F. Simon was an American character actor, often portraying military or authority figure roles. Though his face was recognized by audiences, he was mostly unknown by name...
, Tom SkerrittThomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962.-Early life:...
, Jeremy SlateJeremy Slate was an American film and television actor.-Early life:He attended a military academy and joined the navy when he was 16. He was barely 18 when his destroyer assisted in the Normandy Invasion on D-Day . After the war he attended St. Lawrence University where he graduated with honors in...
, Quintin SondergaardQuentin Charles Sondergaard, known primarily as Quintin Sondergaard , was an American actor principally active on television westerns from 1957-1970...
, Aaron SpellingAaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
, Loretta SwitLoretta Swit is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best-known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
, Harry Dean StantonHarry Dean Stanton is an American actor, musician, and singer. Stanton's career has spanned over fifty years, which has seen him star in such films as Paris, Texas, Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, Alien, Repo Man, The Last Temptation of Christ, Wild at Heart, The Green Mile and The Pledge...
, Gloria TalbottGloria Talbott was an American film and television actress.-Early life and career:She grew up in Glendale, California...
, Russ TamblynRussell Irving "Russ" Tamblyn is an American film and television actor, who is arguably best known for his performance in the 1961 movie musical West Side Story as Riff, the leader of the Jets gang....
, Vic TaybackVictor "Vic" Tayback was an American actor.-Life and career:Tayback was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, the son of Helen and Najeeb James Tayback. His parents were immigrants from Aleppo, Syria. Tayback moved with his family to Burbank, California, during his teenage years and attended...
- Dub Taylor
Walter Clarence Taylor, Jr. , better known as Dub Taylor, was an American actor who worked extensively in Westerns, but also in comedy from the 1940s into the 1990s.-Early life:...
, Robert TottenRobert C. Totten was an American television director, writer, and actor, best known for his work on the CBS series Gunsmoke. He directed twenty-seven Gunsmoke episodes between 1966 and 1971 and guest starred in eight episodes between 1967 and 1973...
(also a director), Harry TownesHarry Rhett Townes was an American television and movie actor.-Early life:Townes was born in Huntsville, the seat of Madison County in northern Alabama...
(seven times), Daniel J. TravantiDanielo Giovanni "Daniel J." Travanti is an American actor best known for his starring role as Captain Frank Furillo in the 1980s television drama Hill Street Blues.-Biography:...
, Forrest TuckerForrest Tucker was an American actor in both movies and television from the 1940s to the 1980s. Tucker, who stood 190 cm tall and weighed 93 kg , appeared in nearly 100 action films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:Forrest Meredith Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana, a son of...
, Cicely TysonCicely Tyson is an American actress. A successful stage actress, Tyson is also known for her Oscar-nominated role in the film Sounder and the television movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Roots....
, Robert UrichRobert Urich was an American actor. He played the starring roles in the television series Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire...
, Joan Van ArkJoan Van Ark is an American actress, most notable for her role as Valene Ewing, which she originated on the CBS series Dallas and continued for thirteen seasons on its spin-off, Knots Landing...
, Lee Van CleefLee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
, Warren VandersWarren Vanders was an American character actor on television and in films. He was initially a substitute teacher before breaking into the industry....
(12 times), Mitch VogelMitch Vogel is a United States former child actor who left show business as at the age of 20. He was best known for his 1970-73 Bonanza role, where he played the teen orphan Jamie Hunter Cartwright...
, Joyce Van PattenJoyce Benignia Van Patten is an American stage, film and television actress.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in New York City, the daughter of Josephine Rose , an Italian American magazine advertising executive, and Richard Byron Van Patten, a Dutch American interior decorator.She is the younger...
, Robert VaughnRobert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
, Jan-Michael VincentJan-Michael Vincent is an American actor best known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf .-Early life:...
, Gary VinsonGary Vinson was an American actor who appeared in significant roles in three television series of the 1960s: The Roaring 20s, McHale's Navy, and Pistols 'n' Petticoats.-Early life and career:...
- Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
, Lesley Ann WarrenLesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Emmy Awards and five times for Golden Globe, winning one....
, Ruth WarrickRuth Elizabeth Warrick , DM, was an American singer, actress and political activist, best known for her role as Phoebe Tyler on All My Children, which she played regularly from 1970 until her death in 2005....
, David WayneDavid Wayne was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years.-Early life and career:...
, Adam West William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
, Johnny WhitakerJohnny Whitaker is an American actor and singer notable for several performances for film and television during his childhood...
, James WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
, Robert J. WilkeRobert J. Wilke was a prolific American film actor noted primarily for his villainous roles, mainly in westerns.Wilke started as a stuntman in the 1930s and his first appearance on screen was in San Francisco...
, Chill WillsChill Theodore Wills was an American film actor, and a singer in the Avalon Boys Quartet.-Biography:Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas in 1902. He was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s...
, William WindomThis page is about the former United States politician. William Windom was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 to 1883...
, Morgan WoodwardMorgan Woodward is an American actor.He is probably best known for his recurring role in Dallas as Marvin "Punk" Anderson...
(19 times), Ian WolfeIan Wolfe was an American actor whose films date from 1934 to 1990. Until 1934, he worked as a theatre actor. Wolfe mostly found work as a character actor, appearing in over 270 films...
, Dana WynterDana Wynter was a German-born British actress, who was brought up in England and Southern Africa. She appeared in film and television for more than forty years beginning in the 1950s, most notably in the original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.-Early life:Wynter was born as Dagmar...
, and Anthony ZerbeAnthony Jared Zerbe is an American stage, film and Emmy-winning television actor. Notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; Milton Krest in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill;...
.
Gunsmoke had one spin-off series,
Dirty SallyDirty Sally is a short-lived comedy-drama Western series which ran on CBS from January 11 until April 5, 1974. The program was a spin-off of a two-part 1971 episode of Gunsmoke in which Sally nursed a young gunfighter back to health.-Synopsis:...
, a semi-comedy starring
Jeanette NolanJeanette Nolan was an American radio, film and television actress. Nolan was nominated for four Emmy Awards.-Early life:...
as an old woman and Dack Rambo as a young gunfighter, leaving Dodge City for California in order to
pan for goldPlacer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....
. The program lasted only thirteen weeks and aired in the first half of 1974, a year before Gunsmoke ended.
Notable directors
- Andrew McLaglen
Andrew Victor McLaglen is a British-American film and television director and former actor.Andrew McLaglen was born in London, the son of British actor Victor McLaglen and Enid Lamont. He was from a film family that included eight uncles and an aunt, and he grew up on movie sets with his parents...
- Arnold Laven
- Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, OC is a Canadian film director. His filmography includes 33 major studio releases, including the 1970 film Love Story...
- Dennis Weaver
William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
- Gene Nelson
Gene Nelson was an American dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director.-Biography:Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he moved to Seattle when he was one year old. He was inspired to become a dancer by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films when he was a child...
- Irving J. Moore
Irving Joseph Moore was an American television director originally from Chicago, Illinois. He was known primarily for work in two night-time soap operas, Dallas and Dynasty as well as segments of such other series as Gunsmoke and Eight Is Enough.Moore launched his Hollywood career as a messenger...
- John Rich
John Rich is a film and television director. He directed such television shows as Where's Raymond?, Mister Ed, The Dick Van Dyke Show, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, Good Times, Barney Miller, Newhart, Benson, The Brady Bunch, and Gilligan's Island...
- Leo Penn
Leo Z. Penn was an American actor and director, and father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn.-Early life:...
- Marc Daniels
Marc Daniels , born Danny Marcus, was an American television director.-Life and Career:After serving in World War II, Daniels was hired by CBS to direct its first dramatic anthology program, Ford Theater. He mastered live television directing, and was hired to direct the first 38 episodes of I...
- Mark Rydell
Mark Rydell is an American actor, film director and producer.-Career:Rydell's initial training was in music. As a youth, he wanted to be a conductor. He began his career as an actor and first became known for his role as Walt Johnson on The Edge of Night and as Jeff Baker on As the World Turns,...
- Peter Graves
Peter Aurness , known professionally as Peter Graves, was an American film and television actor. He was best known for his starring role in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973...
- Philip Leacock
Philip David Charles Leacock was an English television and film director and producer. His brother was documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock.-Career:...
- Robert Totten
Robert C. Totten was an American television director, writer, and actor, best known for his work on the CBS series Gunsmoke. He directed twenty-seven Gunsmoke episodes between 1966 and 1971 and guest starred in eight episodes between 1967 and 1973...
- Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
- Sobey Martin
Sobey Martin was an American director of television and short films, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. Martin directed the film Four Nights of the Full Moon , starring an international ensemble cast led by Gene Tierney...
- Tay Garnett
Tay Garnett was an American film director and writer.Born in Los Angeles, California, Garnett served as a naval aviator in World War I and entered films as a screenwriter in 1920. He was a gagwriter for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, then joined Pathé and began to direct films in 1928...
- Victor French
Victor Edwin French was an American actor and director.-Early career:Born in Santa Barbara, California,...
- Vincent McEveety
Vincent Michael McEveety is an American director and producer.- Career :TelevisionVince McEveety has directed numerous Emmy Award winning television series, including The Untouchables, Gunsmoke, six Star Trek , Magnum, P.I., How the...
- William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
- William F. Claxton
- Fred Thompson
- Gunnar Hellstrom
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 GluskinLudwig Elias Gluskin was a jazz bandleader.Gluskin drummed for bands in France in the 1920s, including at the Casino de Paris...
. The lyrics of the theme, never aired on the radio or television show, were recorded and released by
Tex RitterWoodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...
in 1955. Ritter was backed on that Capitol record by Rex Koury and the radio "Gunsmoke" orchestra.
Other notable composers included:
- Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
- Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman was a German-American composer, known for his bravura Carmen Fantasie for violin and orchestra, based on musical themes from the Bizet opera Carmen, and for his musical scores for films....
- Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
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,
Capcomis a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
released a video game for the arcade (and its corresponding game for the
NESThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in 1988) with a western theme, called
Gun.SmokeGun.Smoke is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game created by Capcom in 1985 . The game, which has a Western theme, centers around a character named Billy Bob, a bounty hunter who is after vicious criminals of the Wild West.Despite its name and theme, it has no connection to the western TV...
. 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
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
published numerous issues of their Four Color ComicsFour Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was a long-running American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
series on Gunsmoke. (including issues #679, 720, 769, 797, 844 and, in 1958–62, #6–27).
- Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
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
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
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"
- Gunsmoke #4: "Cheyenne Vengeance"
- In 1998, Boulevard Books published the following paperbacks written by Gary McCarthy based on the TV series (however, reviewers on Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
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
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
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)
Reruns and syndication
The program currently airs on three major venues;
TV LandTV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
, which has carried the show since coming to the air in 1996, Encore Westerns, and
Weigel BroadcastingWeigel Broadcasting is an American locally based television broadcasting company. The company is based in downtown Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV , at the apt address of 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood.- History :The company was founded by Chicago...
's Me-TV
digital subchannelIn broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
network, which carries both Gunsmoke and Marshall Dillon. Individual stations such as
KFWDKFWD, virtual channel 52.1 , is an independent television station in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, broadcasting from a transmitter in Cedar Hill, Texas...
in Dallas also carry the series in their markets.
External links