Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' is an American Western television series developed by

Charles Marquis Warren Charles Marquis Warren (December 16, 1912 – August 11, 1990) was an American motion picture and television writer, producer, and director who specialized in Westerns. Among his notable career achievements were his involvement in creating the ...

and based on the radio program of the same name. The series ran for 20 seasons, making it the longest-running Western in television history. The first episode aired in the United States on September 10, 1955, and the final episode aired on March 31, 1975. All episodes were broadcast in the U.S. by CBS. In the United Kingdom, ''Gunsmoke'' was originally broadcast under the title ''Gun Law''. It was originally a half-hour program filmed in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, then expanded to an hour with season seven and began filming in color in season 12. During its run, 635 episodes were broadcast, of which 233 were 30 minutes and 402 were an hour. Of the latter, 176 were in black-and-white and 226 were in color. During season two, ''Gunsmoke'' became one of the 10 most popular American television programs and moved to number one in the third season. It remained so until 1961 and stayed in the top 20 until 1964. The series returned to prominence in 1967 following a shift in programming time from Saturday to Monday night. From there, ''Gunsmoke'' remained in the top 20 for the next seven years, dropping out only in its final season which ended March 1975; CBS canceled the series two months later, with then-vice president

Alan Wagner Alan Cyril Wagner (October 1, 1931 – December 18, 2007) was an American television executive, radio personality, writer, and opera historian and critic. He served as the East Coast vice president of programming at CBS from 1976 to 1982. After ...

saying, "It's better to get rid of a program one year too soon than one year too late." Between 1987 and 1994, five films based on the series were aired. ''Gunsmoke'' is set in and around Dodge City,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, in the post-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

era and centers on United States

Marshal Matt Dillon Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of ''Gunsmoke''. He is the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character wa ...

(

James Arness James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the CBS television series '' Gunsmoke''. Arness has the distinction of having played the ...

) as he enforces law and order in the city. In its original format, the series also focuses on Dillon's friendship with three other citizens of Dodge City: Doctor Galen "Doc" Adams (

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the CBS Western series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone and the forme ...

), the town's physician; Kitty Russell (

Amanda Blake Amanda Blake (born Beverly Louise Neill, February 21, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Along with ...

), saloon girl and later owner of the

Long Branch Saloon The Long Branch Saloon was a well-known saloon in Dodge City, Kansas from about 1874 to 1885. It had several owners, most notably Chalk Beeson and gunfighter Luke Short. The establishment provided gambling and live entertainment, including B ...

; and Chester Goode ( Dennis Weaver), Dillon's assistant. In season eight (1962–63), a fifth regular character was added to the cast: blacksmith Quint Asper (

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

), who remained until the end of season 10 (1964–65). Dennis Weaver left the series during season nine (1963–64) and was replaced by Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen, who became deputy to Marshal Dillon. In season 11 (1965–66), another deputy, Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood ( Roger Ewing), was added to the cast. Ewing's character was replaced in season 13 (1967–68) by Newly O'Brien (Buck Taylor). Amanda Blake left the series at the end of season 19 (1973–74) and was replaced in the final season by a new character, Miss Hannah, portrayed by

Fran Ryan Fran Mary Ryan (November 29, 1916 January 15, 2000) was an American character actress featured in television and films. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Career Ryan began performing at the age of six at Oakland's Henry Duffy Theatre. ...

Series overview

Half-hour episodes (1955–1961)

Season 1 (1955–56)

Season 2 (1956–57)

Season 3 (1957–58)

Season 4 (1958–59)

Season 5 (1959–60)

Season 6 (1960–61)

One-hour black-and-white episodes (1961–1966)

Season 7 (1961–62)

Season 8 (1962–63)

Season 9 (1963–64)

Season 10 (1964–65)

Season 11 (1965–66)

One-hour color episodes (1966–1975)

Season 12 (1966–67)

Season 13 (1967–68)

Season 14 (1968–69)

Season 15 (1969–70)

Season 16 (1970–71)

Season 17 (1971–72)

Season 18 (1972–73)

Season 19 (1973–74)

Season 20 (1974–75)

Television films (1987–1994)

Notes

# A. "David S. Peckinpah" is a pseudonym for Sam Peckinpah. # B. "Shimon Bar-David" is a pseudonym for Shimon Wincelberg. # C. "Arthur Dales" is a pseudonym for Howard Dimsdale.

Footnotes

References

* * *

External links

James Arness
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunsmoke Lists of American Western (genre) television series episodes Gunsmoke