Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke was a western drama television series. John Meston created the series. It ran for twenty years from 1955 to 1975. Each episode ran for 1 hour. In 1955, CBS television network tried to hire John Wayne. They finally decided on James Arness to play the role of Matt Dillon in the Gunsmoke series. The main cast was Arness, Dennis Weaver playing Chester Goode, Milburn Stone as Doc Adams, and Amanda Blake as saloon keeper Miss Kitty Russell. In later episodes Ken Curtis played Festus Haggen and Burt Reynolds played blacksmith Quint Asper.
| Gunsmoke | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Norman MacDonnell John Meston |
| Starring | James Arness Milburn Stone Amanda Blake (Seasons 1-19) Dennis Weaver (Seasons 1-9) Ken Curtis (Seasons 9-20) Burt Reynolds (Seasons 8-10) Buck Taylor (Seasons 13-20) Glenn Strange (Seasons 7-18) Roger Ewing (Seasons 11-12) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 26 minutes (1955–1961), 50 minutes (1961–1975) |
| Original release | |
| Release | March 31, 1975 |
Between 1955 - 1961, the episodes were 30 minutes long. After that, they were one hour long. 635 episodes were made between 1955 to 1975. Many well known actors appeared as guest stars. These include John Wayne (presenter of the pilot), Bette Davis, Harrison Ford, Jon Voight, Kurt Russell and Jodie Foster. In 1987, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge was made with Arness as Dillon. Later television movies included Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (1990), Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), Gunsmoke: The Long Ride (1993) and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994).
Gunsmoke Media
William Conrad in 1952, when Matt Dillon was created on radio
The interior of the real Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas, photographed between 1870 and 1885
- Gunsmoke cast 1963.JPG
1963 cast with Burt Reynolds
- Ken Curtis James Arness Gunsmoke 1968.JPG
Ken Curtis as Festus and Arness as Dillon, 1968
- Gunsmoke main cast 1967.JPG
Clockwise from top: Ken Curtis (Festus), James Arness (Matt), Amanda Blake (Kitty), and Milburn Stone (Doc) in 1968
- Dennis Weaver Mariette Hartley Gunsmoke 1962.JPG
Dennis Weaver and Mariette Hartley, 1962
- Amanda Blake Jack Albertson Gunsmoke 1969.JPG
Amanda Blake and Jack Albertson, 1969
- James Arness Amanda Blake Bette Davis Gunsmoke 1966.JPG
Guest star Bette Davis, 1966
- Anne Helm John Drew Barrymore 1964.JPG
Guest stars Anne Helm and John Drew Barrymore, 1964
- James Arness Matt Dillon Gunsmoke 1969.JPG
Publicity photo of James Arness as Sheriff Matt Dillon from the television program Gunsmoke.
References
- Information on Gunsmoke Archived July 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- Gunsmoke episodes at the Internet Movie Database
