'' Gunsmoke'' is an American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series developed by Charles Marquis Warren 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 CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. In the United Kingdom, ''Gunsmoke'' was originally broadcast under the title ''Gun Law''. ''Gunsmoke'' 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. ...

. The series expanded to an hour in length 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 60 minutes in length. Of the hour-long episodes, 176 were in black-and-white and 226 were in color. During season two, ''Gunsmoke'' became one of the 10 most popular programs on American television and moved to number one in the third season. It remained at number one until 1961 and stayed in the top 20 until 1964. The series returned to prominence in 1967 following a shift in its 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. In May 1975, CBS canceled the series.

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 ...

, the network's vice president at the time, said, "It's better to get rid of a program one year too soon than one year too late." Between 1987 and 1994, five television movies based on the series were aired by CBS. ''Gunsmoke'' is set in and around

Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...

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 th ...

, 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 w ...

(

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), the town's physician; Kitty Russell ( Amanda Blake), saloon girl and later owner of the Long Branch Saloon; and Chester Goode (

Dennis Weaver William Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weave ...

), Dillon's assistant. In season eight (1962–63), a fifth regular character was added to the cast: blacksmith Quint Asper ( Burt Reynolds), 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 Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Although he appeared on ''Gunsmoke'' earl ...

as Festus Haggen, who became deputy to Marshall Dillon. Both Chester and Festus appear together in the season nine episode "The Prairie Wolfer", and Festus had initially appeared the previous season, playing the same character as a quasi-outlaw helping Dillon track a killer in "Us Haggens". In season 11 (1965–66), another deputy, Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood (

Roger Ewing Roger Lawrence Ewing (born January 12, 1942) is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood in the American western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Ewing was born in Los A ...

), 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. ...

. As of May 5, 2020, all episodes of ''Gunsmoke'' have been released on DVD, while two other collections contain selected episodes from all 20 seasons. All five television movies have been released on DVD, as well.

Series overview

Episodes

*All episodes are listed in order of airdate. *''Series #'' refers to that episode's number within the overall series. *''Season #'' refers to the order in which the episode aired within that particular season.

Half-hour era

Seasons 1–6
1955/56 through 1960/61
233 half-hour

episodes
39 episodes for each of the first five seasons, with 38 episodes in the 6th season

Season 1 (1955–56)

Thirty-nine half-hour

episodes
Producer: Charles Marquis Warren; associate producer:

Norman Macdonnell Norman Scarth Macdonnell (November 8, 1916 – November 28, 1979) was an American producer for radio, television, and feature films. He is best known for co-creating with writer John Meston the Western series '' Gunsmoke'', which was broadcast o ...

Regular cast:

(as Matt Dillon),

(as Chester), Milburn Stone (as Doc), Amanda Blake (as Kitty)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 2 (1956–57)

Thirty-nine half-hour black-and-white episodes
Producer: Charles Marquis Warren (episodes 40–49, 51–52, 57), Norman Macdonnell (episodes 50, 53–56, 58–78)
Regular cast:

(Matt Dillon),

(Chester), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 3 (1957–58)

Thirty-nine half-hour black-and-white episodes
Producer: Norman Macdonnell
Regular cast:

(Matt Dillon),

(Chester), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 4 (1958–59)

Thirty-nine half-hour black-and-white episodes
Producer: Norman Macdonnell
Regular cast:

(Matt Dillon),

(Chester), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 5 (1959–60)

Thirty-nine half-hour black-and-white episodes
Producer: Norman Macdonnell
Regular cast:

(as Matt Dillon),

(as Chester), Milburn Stone (as Doc), Amanda Blake (as Kitty)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 6 (1960–61)

Thirty-eight half-hour black-and-white episodes
Producer: Norman Macdonnell; associate producer: James Arness
Regular cast:

(Matt Dillon),

(Chester), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty)
Guest cast: In credits order

One-hour black-and-white era

Seasons 7–11
1961/62 through 1965/66
176 one-hour

episodes
All two-parters counted as two individual hour-long episodes

Season 7 (1961–62)

Thirty-four one-hour black-and-white episodes
Producer:

; associate producer: Frank Paris
Regular cast:

(Matt Dillon),

(Chester), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 8 (1962–63)

Thirty-eight one-hour black-and-white episodes
Producer: Norman Macdonnell; associate producer: Frank Paris
Regular cast:

(Matt Dillon),

(Chester), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty), Burt Reynolds (Quint Asper)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 9 (1963–64)

Thirty-six one-hour black-and-white episodes
Producer:

; associate producer: Frank Paris
Regular cast:

(Matt Dillon),

(Chester), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty),

(Festus), Burt Reynolds (Quint Asper)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 10 (1964–65)

Thirty-six one-hour episodes, black-and-white
Producer: Norman Macdonnell (episodes 342–348, 350, 352, 361, 367),

Philip Leacock Philip David Charles Leacock (8 October 1917 – 14 July 1990) was an English television and film director and producer. His brother was documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock. Career Born in London, England, Leacock spent his childhood in the C ...

(episodes 349, 351, 353–360, 362–366, 368–377); associate producer: Frank Paris
Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Milburn Stone (Doc),

(Festus), Amanda Blake (Kitty), Burt Reynolds (Quint Asper)
Guest Cast: In credits order

Season 11 (1965–66)

Thirty-two one-hour episodes, black-and-white
Producer: Philip Leacock; associate producer:

John Mantley John Truman Mantley (April 25, 1920 – January 14, 2003) was a Canadian theatrical actor, writer, director, screenwriter and producer of the long-running television series, ''Gunsmoke''. He was also Mary Pickford's cousin. Family Mantley had ...

Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Ken Curtis (Festus), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty),

(Thad)
Guest Cast: In credits order

One-hour color era

Seasons 12–20
1966/67 through 1974/75
226 one hour

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...

episodes
(All two or three-parters counted as two or three individual hour-long episodes)

Season 12 (1966–67)

Twenty-nine one-hour

episodes
Executive producer: Philip Leacock; producer: John Mantley
Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Ken Curtis (Festus), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty), Roger Ewing (Thad)
Guest cast: In credits order
Note: CBS cancelled the series due to low ratings. However, letters of protest and pressure from his wife persuaded

William S. Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS) from a small radio network into ...

, the network's chief executive, to reinstate ''Gunsmoke'' for a thirteenth season.

Season 13 (1967–68)

Twenty-five one-hour color episodes
Producer: John Mantley; associate producer: Joseph Dackow
Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Ken Curtis (Festus), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty), Buck Taylor (Newly)
Guest cast: In credits order
Note: Gunsmoke began its thirteenth season in a new timeslot (Mondays at 7:30 PM eastern time). With this the series returned to being among the top ten highest rated programs, where it remained for the next six seasons.

Season 14 (1968–69)

Twenty-six one-hour color episodes
Producer / executive producer:

; associate producer: Joseph Dackow
Regular cast:

(Matt Dillon),

(Festus), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty),

Buck Taylor Buck Taylor (born May 13, 1938) is an American actor and artist, best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brian in the CBS television series ''Gunsmoke''. He is the son of Florence Gertrude Heffernan and character actor Dub Tayl ...

(Newly)
Guest cast: In credits order

Season 15 (1969–70)

Twenty-six one-hour episodes, color
Executive producer: John Mantley; producer: Joseph Dackow
Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Ken Curtis (Festus), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty), Buck Taylor (Newly)

Season 16 (1970–71)

Twenty-four one-hour episodes, color
Executive producer: John Mantley; producer: Joseph Dackow (episodes 516–528),

Leonard Katzman Leonard Katzman (September 2, 1927 – September 5, 1996) was an American film and television producer, writer and director. He was most notable for being the showrunner of the CBS oil soap opera ''Dallas''. Early life and career Leonard Katz ...

(episodes 529–539)
Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Ken Curtis (Festus), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty), Buck Taylor (Newly)
''Note'': "Pike", the two-part episode that ended the season, was later developed into a spin-off series entitled ''

Dirty Sally ''Dirty Sally'' was a humorous western television series about a hard-drinking cantankerous old woman and a young former outlaw traveling to the California gold fields in a wagon pulled by a mule named Worthless. The series consisted of 14 half-h ...

''.

Season 17 (1971–72)

Twenty-four one-hour episodes, color
Executive producer: John Mantley; producer: Leonard Katzman; associate producer: Ron Honthaner
Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Ken Curtis (Festus), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty), Buck Taylor (Newly)

Season 18 (1972–73)

Twenty-four one-hour episodes, color
Executive producer: John Mantley; producer: Leonard Katzman; associate producer: Ron Honthaner.
Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Milburn Stone (Doc), Amanda Blake (Kitty), Ken Curtis (Festus), Buck Taylor (Newly)

Season 19 (1973–74)

Season 20 (1974–75)

Twenty-four one-hour episodes, color
Executive producer: John Mantley; producer: Leonard Katzman (episodes 612-624, 635), John G. Stephens (episodes 625-634); associate producer: Ron Honthaner
Regular cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Ken Curtis (Festus), Milburn Stone (Doc), Buck Taylor (Newly),

(Hannah)

Television movies (1987–1994)

Home media releases

All twenty seasons of ''Gunsmoke'' and all five reunion films are available on DVD in Region 1. Two box sets—''The 50th Anniversary Collection'' and ''The Director's Collection''—have been released on DVD in Region 1.

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.

External links

* *

Footnotes

Text was copied fro
Gunsmoke Wiki
which is released under
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunsmoke Lists of American Western (genre) television series episodes

Series overview

Episodes

Half-hour era

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 era

Season 7 (1961–62)

Season 8 (1962–63)

Season 9 (1963–64)

Season 10 (1964–65)

Season 11 (1965–66)

One-hour color era

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 movies (1987–1994)

Home media releases

Notes

External links

See also

Footnotes

References