Nostalgia USA April 2016 Nostalgia USA April Issue 2016 | Page 16

T el ev iso n Sh o w
Gunsm oke is an A m er ican
radio and television Wester n
dram a ser ies created by
director
N or m an
M acdonnell and w r iter John
M eston. T he stor ies t ake
place in and around D odge
Cit y, K ansas, dur ing the
settlem ent of the A m er ican
West. T he central character
is law m an M arshal M att
D illon, played by W illiam
Conrad on radio and Jam es
A r ness on television.

GUNSMOKE

T he radio ser ies ran
from 1952 to 1961. John
D unning w rote that am ong
radio dram a enthusiasts,
"Gunsm oke is routinely
placed am ong the best
show s of any kind and any
tim e." T he television ser ies
ran for 20 seasons from 1955
to 1975, and st ands as the
United
St ates'
longest- r unning
pr im e
tim e, live- action dram a
w ith 635 episodes.

R a d io Sh o w
T he radio ser ies first aired
on CBS on A pr il 26, 1952
w ith the episode "Billy the
K id", w r itten by Walter
N ew m an, and ended on
June 18, 1961. T he show
st ars W illiam Conrad as
M arshal
M att
D illon,
H ow ard M cN ear as D oc
Charles A dam s, Georgia
Ellis as K itt y R ussell, and
Parley Baer as D illon's
assist ant Chester Wesley
Proudfoot.

Billy T he K id 4/26/52

T he Big Broad 4/28/56

Jam es A r ness I nter view