Days Gone By: The Legacy Television Classic Gunsmoke
In the 1950s, Western television shows dominated the airwaves. Audiences loved taking a step back into America's wild past, and one show stood above the rest. That show was Gunsmoke, which wound up becoming one of the longest-running series in the history of television.
The incredibly popular show hasn't produced a new episode since 1975, but the legacy it left behind is still influencing our lives today. Here is everything you need to know about the iconic television show, including the fact that it was almost canceled in the 1960s!
It Ran For Two Decades
It's not easy for a new television show to run for one season let alone two decades. Debuting on television in 1955, Gunsmoke aired its finale in 1975. In that time it transitioned from being broadcast in black and white to color and is considered one of the greatest television shows of all time.
The show followed the life of a Marshall Matt Dillon who keeps the people of the Dodge City, Kansas in line.
It Began As A Radio Show
Gunsmoke might be most famous as a television show, but it actually began as a radio program in 1952. For three years it built a following on the radio before being developed into a television show.
The success of the radio program was one of the prime reasons the TV show was such a huge hit right away. Each episode lasted for 30 minutes, with William Conrad starring as Matt Dillon. The TV show replaced Conrad with James Arness.
Over 600 Episodes Were Produced
By the time Gunsmoke went off the air in 1975, 635 episodes had been produced. At the time, no scripted television show in prime time had made more episodes. To most audiences, it felt like no television show would even come close.
The success of Gunsmoke was unrivaled at the time, but then another show came along that was wildly different from the dramatic western. That show debuted in 1989 and is still on the air today.
The Simpsons Is The New King Of Prime Time
The Simpsons debuted with the fledgling FOX network in 1989 with small ambitions. In that time, the show has produced nearly 700 episodes across 30 seasons and inspired one theatrical film. With no end in sight, we can only guess what the final episode count for Homer and his family will be.
When The Simpsons passed Gunsmoke as the prime time episode record holder, it made sure to acknowledge it. The episode opened with a parody of the western instead of using starting with its normal couch gag.
William Conrad Created The Character Of Matt Dillon
It is very likely that without the radio program Gunsmoke being created in 1952, the television version never would have existed. In fact, without the creative mind of William Conrad, there would never have been a show to begin with.
Conrad wasn't just voice of the main character Matt Dillon, he also created the character. He didn't create the show, but if Dillon wasn't the main character, there's a good chance the show never would have made it past its radio incarnation.
He Also Had an Illustrious Career Outside the Show
Outside of Gunsmoke, William Conrad had quite a successful career in Hollywood. He might be best known for playing Matt Dillon, but he also worked as a director, writer, and producer.
Conrad's career spanned decades, with his last role coming as the narrator in Hudson Hawk. He also appeared as District Attorney James McShane in Matlock. In 1972 Conrad received his first Golden Globe nomination for the show Cannon. The next year he was nominated again. Both years he lost.
James Arness Took Over The Role On Television
When Gunsmoke made the transition to television, the role of Matt Dillon was recast with James Arness. Even though Conrad had played on-screen roles before CBS decided o go in a different direction for the adaptation.
The show was huge for Arness' career. He starred in the role for all 20 seasons and returned for five television movies. The role landed him three Primetime Emmy nominations, but zero wins. He continued to work in television after the series aired its finale.
Arness Played The Role For Five Decades
William Conrad may have created the character of Matt Dillon, but James Arness embodied it. Beginning in 1955, the official end of Gunskmoke came with the television movie Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice in 1994.
That means that Arness played the role of Matt Dillon in five different decades! Aside from the starring role, Arness got his most significant work in Hollywood playing Zeb Macahan for 26 episodes on How The West Was Won, another western that aired from 1976 until 1979.
An Amazing List Of Guest Stars
Over the course of 20 years, a successful television show is bound to feature dozen, if not hundreds of guest stars. Gunsmoke not only featured an incredible amount of guest stars, but several went on to become major stars in their own right.
This list of stars includes Charles Bronson, Gary Busey, Beau Bridges, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, and so many more. Harrison Ford, who would go on to play Han Solo and Indiana Jones might be the most famous guest star of all!
Did Albert Einstein Appear On The Show?
At some point in time, a rumor started circulating that Albert Einstein was involved with Gunsmoke in some capacity. No one knows where the rumor came from, but it quickly turned into an urban legend.
Anyone curious about this urban legend will be disappointed. Einstein died a few months before the show began airing, so that chances of him having shot any scenes or working on it in some other capacity are slim to none.
The Show Gave No Backstory
One of the most important aspects new shows must include to hook viewers are character backstories. Gunsmoke did not provide any but still proved to be wildly popular with audiences.
The show left the back story up to the imagination of its audience, which worked with the western setting. After all, the great myth about the American wild west is just as interesting as the characters who lived in it. Still, a little back story would have been nice.
The Show Was Always Highly Rated
It didn't take long for Gunsmoke to find its footing with an audience. Two years after premiering on CBS it became the top-rated show on television. It held the crown for four seasons before ratings began to fall.
Rating fell to their lowest level around the time the show was almost canceled by CBS. Luckily for the network, it changed its mind, because Gunsmoke jumped back into the primetime top ten for viewership numbers in the 1970s.
John Wayne Was Involved With Casting
John Wayne was ever seriously considered for the starring role in Gunsmoke, but he did help James Arness land the gig. is probably the most famous Western star of all time. Arness was offered the part but was hesitant to take it.
The Wayne stepped in and talked to the young actor. Whatever he said worked, and Arness took the role of a lifetime. Can you imagine if he hadn't listened to the advice of the greatest Western actor of all time?
CBS Almost Axed It
Like we said before, it's hard to make it past one season as a television show, so the fact that Gunsmoke ran for 20 years is incredible. Even more incredible is how close CBS came to canceling it in 1967.
In its 12th season, ratings were beginning to drop, so CBS planned to drop the show from its schedule. Before the final decision was made, however, the network changed its mind and Gunsmoke ran for eight more seasons.
The Show Won Emmys Every Decade It Aired
Gunsmoke aired in three decades, the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In each of those decades it managed to make television history by winning Emmys. Over its 20 season run, the show was nominated for 15 awards and won five statuettes.
The show was also nominated for four Golden Globes, three for Amada Blake as "Best TV Actress." The five television movies never received any major nominations, although James Arness returned to star in every single one.
Parley Baer Worked At The Circus
Before becoming a TV actor, Parley Baer was active in the circus. When he finished school, he didn't jump into acting, instead becoming a ringmaster and publicist for the greatest show on Earth. When he left the circus he became an animal trainer.
It wasn't until 1950, when he was nearly 40-years-old, that he was cast in his first role as the Bartender in Comanche Territory. He continued to act 2001, starring as Cat in Man and Cat. One year later he passed away.
The Creator's Wife Fought Bulls
John Meston is credited as one the creators of Gunsmoke, but we don't want to talk about him. We want to talk about his wife, who became a bullfighter while the couple was happily married.
His wife was an actress to start her career, but didn't make a name for herself until she began fighting bulls professionally. Most notably, she was the first woman to ever fight a bull in the Plaza Mexico, the world's largest bullfighting arena.
Gunsmoke Pushed Several Products
At the peak of its popularity, Gunsmoke became much more than just a television show. The name recognition it provided was used to sell unrelated products because as long it carried the show's name it sold out at stores.
Some of the products that began carrying the Gunsmokebranding were toys, cottage cheese, and cigarettes. That's a large variety, and there were even stranger products sold with the name, too. How much would you pay for the Gunsmoke jigsaw puzzle featured here?
Amanda Blake Bred Animals
When Gunsmoke ended, not everyone involved continued to work in Hollywood. Amanda Blake, who was nominated for several awards for her role took a long break and became a famous animal breeder.
With her husband, the couple did something incredible as an animal breeder. They began breeding cheetah in captivity. They were so successful that they ended up running the first cheetah breeding program and became involved with no-kill shelters and animal refuges. The Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge opens in 1997 in California.
The Show Is Considered One Of The Best All-Time
As the years passed with Gunsmoke off the air, it became revered as one of the greatest shows of all-time. The praise came despite its lack of awards. The 1990s were especially nice to the show.
That decade saw it named the best Western of all-time by TV Guide and the 16th greatest show of all-time by Entertainment Weekly. James Arness was also recognized by TV Guides readers as the best television gunslinger in a 1998 reader poll.
James Arness Was A Television Man
James Arness is most famous for his role as James Arness in Gunsmoke, but it wasn't the only role he ever played. The actor stayed relevant on television after the show ended, most notable in How The West Was Won.
Arness continued to act through the 1990s, fittingly making his final appearance in Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice. Arness lived a long life. After retiring in 1993, he settled into retirement, passing away in 2011 at 88-years-old.
Arness Wasn't The Only Talented One In His Family
James Arness was a talented actor, and so was his brother, Peter Graves. Graves was most famous for starring as Jim Phelps in Mission Impossible. The show ran on CBS from 1967 until 1973, and was eventually turned into a movie franchise starring Tom Cruise.
Aside from Mission Impossible, Graves also starred in several movies including House on Haunted Hill, Men In Black II, and Airplane! He sadly was not asked to appear in Mission Impossible when it was adapted as a cinematic experience.
Height Matters
James Arness stood at an astonishing 6’7” tall, making him a true giant in Hollywood. It also made him three inches taller than John Wayne. Amazingly, Arness never appeared to be that tall in any of his roles and was even asked about how it worked.
He replied, “I guess people just had to get used to it. The big thing with the show was that we had a lot of really fine actors, and more than that, we had started out with great writing.”
Arness Was Friends With John Wayne
You already know that John Wayne convinced James Arness to take the lead role in Gunsmoke, but did you also know they were close friends in real life. Maybe it was their similar heights that connected them?
As friends, they also eventually became co-stars, appearing in the films Big Jim McLain, Hondo, Island in the Sky, and The Sea Chase together. And despite being nearly 20 years apart in age, the two were both born on the same day: May 26.
Arness' Life Off Screen
Outside of Hollywood, James Arness was a private man. He got married twice. His first wife tragically died of an overdose after the couple divorced. His second marriage was with Janet Surteesin, and the couple stayed together
Arness enjoyed sailing and poetry in his private time, proving to be a much more sensitive soul than his television counterpart. Before he died, he wrote a letter to Surteesin that read, "I had a wonderful life and was blessed with so many loving people and great friends.”
Festus Wasn't Always Festus
Festus Haggen was one of the most memorable characters on Gunsmoke. He was introduced in the show's 8th season and was played by actor Ken Curtis. Before stepping into the role of Festus, Curtis had actually appeared before as other characters.
Perhaps having a feel for what the actor was capable of made the producers confident he could handle the everyday workload. It's hard to imagine Gunsmoke without Festus, and we can't imagine anyone else playing role.
Ken Curtis Faked His Accent
Thanks to the show, Ken Curtis became known for his hillbilly accent. Like so many great actors, though, he faked it for his craft. Curtis was originally from Colorado and didn't even have an accent close!
After Gunsmoke ended, Curtis continued to find success in Westerns and televisions shows. A few of his biggest roles were in Petrocelli, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, The Yellow Rose, In The Heat of the Night, and How The West was Won.
He Spent His Later Years In California
When he retired from acting, Ken Curtis left the city life behind and headed to Clovis California. The small town near Fresno erected a statue of the actor to honor him after his passing in 1991.
Curtis' last starring role was as Seaborn Tay in Conagher. The television movie aired in 1991 and had him acting alongside Western legend Sam Elliot. That same year he passed away in his sleep during a heart attack. His body was cremated.
Miss Kitty Had Chemistry
Miss Kitty Russell, the fiery-haired saloon owner on "Gunsmoke," was Matt Dillon's love interest. Although this was never revealed on-air. The actress who played Miss Russell spoke about the unspoken connection of the two in 1960.
She said, "She'd love Matt to say, 'Kitty, let's buy a hunk o' land and raise some beans and kids.' But then we'd have I Love Lucy Out West." Arness also acknowledged the love connection, "If you have Matt and Kitty have an onscreen love affair, then, you know, they'd have to get married, and then you'd have a different show there."
Amanda Blake After The Show
After “Gunsmoke,” Amanda Blake continued acting for a while. She found roles in The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, Dragnet, and Brothers. When she decided to leave acting behind, she became a major animal rights activist.
In 1989, Blake passed away due to severe health complications. The official cause of death was, "Cardio-pulmonary arrest due to liver failure and CMV Hepatitis," but before that came out, the media claimed she had contracted AIDs, an allegation her family fought.
Ron Howard
As you know, Gunsmoke featured several guest stars over 20 years that went on to become major hollywood players. One of those guest star was Ron Howard, who became famous for his role in Happy Days before taking up a life behind the camera.
As a director, Ron Howard has won two Academy Awards and been nominated for four. His wins came for the film A Beautiful Mind, which told the life story of genius mathematician John Nash. His other nominations were for Frost/Nixon.
Do You Recognize Richard Dreyfus?
Another surprising guest appearance comes from a young Richard Dreyfus. He appeared on the show in 1973, two years before his big breakthrough in Jaws came. The summer shark spectacle skyrocketed Dreyfus' career.
In 1977, the actor won an Oscar for acting in the film The Goodbye Girl. Nearly two decades later he was nominated again for Mr. Holland's Opus but didn't win. He continues to act today and has several movies currently in production.
Barbara Eden
Most famous for her role as Jeannie on I Dream of Jeannie, Barbara Eden guest-starred on a 1957 episode of Gunsmoke. The episode, titled "Romeo" featured her a character named Judy Pierce who is lovestruck in Dodge.
Eden refused to let the sitcom she was famous for pigeonhole and continued to find success after I Dream of Jeannie ended. In 2018 she appeared as herself on an episode of the reality show Long Island Medium.
Leonard Nimoy
Most famous for playing Spock on Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy also contributed his talents to Gunsmoke for several episodes. Much more than just a guest star, Nimoy was featured in four episodes.
As Spock, Nimoy found his career-defining role. For years he battled against the image of Spock, even agreeing to be in the second film if the character was killed off. Eventually, Nimoy came back around and ended up playing the character again in the 2009 reboot. From the wild west to outer space.
William Shatner
Another Star Trek icon, William Shatner, appeared on Gunsmoke in 1966, just before heading to space for his role as James Kirk. In the episode, Shatner played a bad man named Fred Bateman who was ultimately brought justice.
Unlike Nimoy, Shatner was able to break away from the chains of Captain Kirk and found continued success in both television and movies. Some of his other works include T.J. Hooker, The Practice, Boston Legal, and Rescue 911.
A High Noon Connection
The opening scene of Gunsmoke shows Matt Dillon in a shootout with an unknown gunman. Taking place in the street of a small town, the opening has become Iconic, even being parodied by The Simpsons.
That's that the only thing you need to know, though. The scene was also shot on the same set that High Noon was shot on in 1952. That Western starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly and was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
Harry Morgan Went From Gunsmoke To M*A*S*H
Harry Morgan played three different characters over a five-year span on Gunsmoke, but none would come to define him as a later role did. After paying his dues as a guest actor, Morgan was cast as a new character in the third season of M.*A*S*H.
He played Colonel Sherman T. Potter and won an Emmy for his portrayal in 1980. As the 1990s came around, Morgan once again found him playing supporting characters on a variety of shows including 3rd Rock From The Sun.
Harry Morgan Passed Away At 96
Harry Morgan was 96-years-old when he passed away peacefully in his sleep in 2011. His body was cremated and given to his family. After his passing, Mike Farrell, one of his co-stars, released this statement:
"The love and admiration we all felt for him were returned tenfold in many, many ways. And the greatest and most selfless tribute to the experience we enjoyed was paid by Harry at the press conference when our show ended. He remarked that someone had asked him if working on M*A*S*H had made him a better actor. He responded by saying, 'I don't know about that, but it made me a better human being.' It’s hard to imagine a better one."
The Real Matt Dillon
If talking about Matt Dillon has been confusing, we understand. While the character lived for 20 years on television, and even more thanks to television movies, there is a real Matt Dillon, and he is an Oscar-nominated actor.
In 2006, Matt Dillon received an Oscar nomination for his role in Crash. He didn't win, but the movie did turn him into a known quantity in Hollywood. He also turned heads with his comedic timing in the comedy There's Something About Mary.
Matt Dillon Was Named After His Uncle
Matt Dillon was born in 1964, nine years into Gunsmoke's run. It would be logical to think he was named after the famous Western character, but he was actually named after his uncle.
Dillon also has another famous brother, Kevin, who is most famous for his role on the HBO original series Entourage, which ran for eight seasons and one theatrical movie. Kevin is one year younger than Matt and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
