Television westerns used to skew towards a younger demographic with kid-friendly cowboys like Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy dominating that frontier, but everything changed in 1955. Only a few days after “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” premiered on ABC, it was CBS that truly changed the landscape in the form of the western drama “Gunsmoke” (via MeTV). The series was a risky gamble with the network but proved to be one of its greatest success stories, running for a then-unprecedented 635 episode run across 20 seasons.
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For over two decades, “The Thing from Another World” star James Arness made a name for himself as Marshal Matt Dillion, the protector of Dodge City. The role would go on to become the touchstone of his career, but it’s easy to forget that there was initially some resistance on account of the popularity of the show’s auditory predecessor.
About three years earlier, “Gunsmoke” had originated as a radio show with William Conrad as Marshall Dillon, Georgia Ellis as Kitty, Howard McNear as Doc, and Parley Baer as Chester. It ran for 480 episodes over the course of a decade. Sometimes, a more successful adaptation can make the source material that much harder to find, especially with older radio programs. In this case, however, the good folks at Old Time Radio have not only preserved and restored 476 half-hour episodes for your listening pleasure but have made them available for free on Spotify, YouTube, and their website.
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Even with four episodes missing (4, 8, 9, and 10), it’s heartening to know that someone out there is dedicated to preserving these important media landmarks of the past.
Gunsmoke was on the radio and television airwaves at the same time for six years
Perhaps what’s most interesting about “Gunsmoke” is that there was a six-year period when the radio and television programs aired concurrently. As the CBS series was heading into its seventh season, Conrad’s reign as Marshall Dillon came to an end, which left Arness to fill the void unopposed for the following 14 years until the show’s sudden cancellation in 1975.
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Audiences took to Arness’ portrayal, but it took the ultimate seal of approval from a cowboy legend of the silver screen to set the tone for what audiences were about to see. The premiere episode (“Matt Gets It”) was such a big deal in 1955 because it was preceded by an intro from John Wayne, in which he endorsed James Arness’ performance and the show’s adult themes.
In the radio program, Conrad’s Dillon was a bit rough around the edges and was often as morally ambiguous as the people rolling into Dodge. He auditioned but didn’t have the Gary Cooper look that the network was going for. (via MeTV). But while Conrad lost out on reprising his role for television, he would later go on to direct two episodes of “Gunsmoke” in its eight (“Panacea Sykes”) and sixteenth (“Captain Slingo”) seasons. His unique voice would later be featured in the series, albeit as a narrator within the two-parter “Women For Sale” in the penultimate season.
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