The West Old & New Vol. III Issue IV April 2014 | Page 8

of Dodge City regard him with trepidation (and even suspicion) because his job involves being "...paid to handle a bad
element." It is apparent that the incident at the dance has considerably strengthened the bond and the trust between Matt
and Kitty.
In a 1949 audition show for the radio series, the character was named "Mark Dillon," but by 1952, when the regular
series aired, the name had been changed to Matt Dillon. When the program came to television in 1955, the first episode
was introduced by John Wayne in a brief film clip in which Wayne predicted that James Arness would become a major
star. He went on to play the part for the next twenty years. A popular story holds that Wayne himself had been offered
the part and had turned it down. Charles Marquis Warren, who produced the first year of the television version of Gunsmoke and made the major casting decisions, stated that he had jokingly asked Wayne whether he would be interested
in the part in a casual social setting. He added that Wayne had indicated in no uncertain terms that he had no interest
whatsoever. Warren stated that the inquiry had not been serious inasmuch as Wayne could not realistically have been
expected to abandon a thriving movie career for a less certain and less lucrative television role. Wayne did, however,
recommend James Arness for the part and his offer to introduce the first episode was readily accepted by CBS. Others
who had auditioned for the part included Raymond Burr, Richard Boone, Denver Pyle, and William Conrad. All would
go on to other television successes. Conrad, in particular, would continue to portray Matt on the radio series until it
ended in 1961. He would also go on to direct a number of television programs (including two episodes of Gunsmoke),
to become "The Narrator" for the original television series of The Fugitive (1963–1967) and star in two television series, Cannon (1971–1976) and Jake and the Fat Man (1987–1992).
Amanda Blake played Kitty in the television series. In both the radio and television versions, the exact nature of Matt's relationship with Kitty Russell was deliberately kept
somewhat vague. Kitty was portrayed by Georgia Ellis in the radio version and by
Amanda Blake in the television version. In both versions, she was initially just another
saloon hostess, and a popular story holds that she was actually a prostitute in the early
radio episodes. However, this was never actually stated (or even directly implied) in any
of the story lines and Kitty eventually acquired a considerable measure of respectability
by becoming a part-owner (and ultimately the sole owner) of the thriving Long Branch
Saloon. In both the radio and television versions, Matt frequently dined and socialized
with Kitty and he rarely showed more than polite interest in any other woman. Kitty was
similarly devoted to Matt. Her job brought her into daily contact with many different
men from all walks of life, but she seldom showed more than fleeting interest in any of
them. It was evident that Kitty would have readily accepted Matt's proposal of marriage,
but she was a realist. She was well aware that Matt was reluctant to marry because the
high-risk nature of his job could have made her a widow at any time. She nevertheless found this situation difficult to
accept at times, and she would occasionally decide to leave Dodge City to pursue other opportunities or relationships.
This occurred more often in the television episodes than it did in the radio episodes, and it typically occurred after Matt
had inadvertently been thoughtless. Kitty always returned to Dodge City a