Gunsmoke (1955–1975): The Cast Found Out It Was Cancelled From the Newspapers

Marshal Matt Dillon walked down Front Street in Dodge City for twenty years – 635 episodes on CBS, from 1955 to 1975, and four seasons as the most watched show in America. But Gunsmoke almost never happened the way we remember it. The marshal was first a voice on the radio. John Wayne introduced the first episode – but the famous story that he turned down the role has never been shown in a document. In 1967 CBS cancelled the show, then changed its mind. And in 1975, the cast learned it was over from the Hollywood trade papers. This is the story of Gunsmoke, from the first broadcast to the last ride out of Dodge. CHAPTERS 00:00 Marshal Matt Dillon 01:50 The Voice on the Radio 05:19 Dodge City on CBS 08:30 One Full Hour 12:00 The Network Changes Its Mind 15:35 The Last Ride THE SHOW • Gunsmoke on CBS radio (1952–1961) – William Conrad as Matt Dillon; 480 episodes • Gunsmoke on CBS television (1955–1975) – James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis; 20 seasons, 635 episodes • Dennis Weaver – Emmy Award, 1959, for Chester Goode SOURCES • Television Academy; CBS press releases of the period • MeTV and TV Insider histories of the 1967 cancellation and the 1975 ending • Associated Press interview with James Arness (2002) • Boot Hill Museum, Dodge City, Kansas; U.S. Census (2020) PHOTO & VIDEO CREDITS Public domain: CBS, NBC and studio publicity photographs (published without copyright notice); Library of Congress (Dodge City, 1880; Gottscho-Schleisner, 1942; John Margolies); Robert M. Wright, "Dodge City, the Cowboy Capital" (1913); Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (Conrad Poirier, 1945); film stills and trailers in the public domain. Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons (each file is in the end credits): Autocrat Radio Ltd; G.C. Goode & Co. Ltd (CC BY 4.0); Billy Hathorn (CC BY-SA 3.0); Boston Public Library (CC BY 2.0); CBeli001 (CC BY 4.0); electromechanic812291 (CC BY 2.0); Emerson Radio & Phonograph Corporation (costruttore) (CC BY-SA 4.0); Frankcook0317 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Holly Cheng (CC BY-SA 4.0); indeciso42 (CC BY-SA 4.0); John Atherton (CC BY-SA 2.0); King of Hearts (CC BY-SA 3.0); Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0); Lithistman (CC BY-SA 3.0); MARC912374 (CC BY-SA 3.0); Martha Willman, Los Angeles Times (CC BY 4.0); Michael Steeber from USA (CC BY-SA 2.0); nccmrm97 (CC BY-SA 2.0); Niceley (CC BY-SA 4.0); Nicolj (CC BY-SA 3.0); Philips (produttore) (CC BY-SA 4.0); Quelle GmbH (costruttore) (CC BY-SA 4.0); Steve Brown (CC BY 2.0); Steve Mays (CC BY 2.0); Steve Shook from Moscow, Idaho, USA (CC BY 2.0); vagueonthehow from Tadcaster, York, England (CC BY 2.0); Vanessa Lua (CC BY-SA 2.0). Stock footage from Pexels: Alex Moliski, Major &Wang, RDNE Stock project, Tom Fisk, Zeynep Sude Emek. Images were cropped, resized, color graded and animated; adapted CC BY-SA images remain under the same license. No endorsement by the authors is implied. Music (CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons): "SOLO ACOUSTIC GUITAR" — Jason Shaw; "12 MORNINGS" — Jason Shaw; "TRAVEL LIGHT" — Jason Shaw; "GREEN LEAVES" — Jason Shaw; "ACOUSTIC MEDITATION" — Jason Shaw; "AUTUMN SUNSET" — Jason Shaw. Thumbnail: archival CBS publicity photographs and Dodge City, 1878 (Robert M. Wright, 1913) – public domain. No AI images are used. Who was your favorite in Dodge City – Matt, Kitty, Doc, Chester or Festus? And do you remember watching Gunsmoke on Saturday night, or on Monday? Tell us in the comments. #ClassicTV #Gunsmoke #JamesArness #TVWesterns #MissKitty