Or the episode in which Kitty found a so-called wolf child who didnt speak a word, as in Francois Truffauts film, Wild Child., Mantley says that Gunsmoke is popular because its characters represent a cross-section of humanity. [60] In 2015, several of the surviving staff reunited at Wild West Fest in Dodge City, including stars Burt Reynolds, Buck Taylor, Jess Walton, Bruce Boxleitner, and writer Jim Byrnes. It was a great series, and this last year was a very good one for us. Marshal Matt Dillon, took care of the bad guys and Miss Kitty (Blake) ran the Long Branch Saloon. Miss Kitty, who after the radio series ended, was said by some to have engaged in prostitution, began in that role in the television series, working in the Long Branch Saloon. The belief that Wayne was asked to star is disputed by Warren. there was more than 2 saloons. Now Kitty often sits and drinks coffee with Matt and Doc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. (AP Photo) Originally a popular radio show (called "Gun Law"), Gunsmoke is one of the most popular TV westerns in television history. Long before its characters were name-dropped in a Toby Keith classic, viewers tuned in to the 20-season series to watch Marshal Dillon defeat villains in the wild west of Dodge City, Kansas. The production made sure that all three characters (Dillon, Chester, and The saloon prospered until the railroad replaced the cattle drive. It was a nice way to go out.. A complication arose when Culver's contract as the star of Straight Arrow would not allow him to do another Western series. The program was set after the arrival of the railroad in Dodge City (1872) and Kansas had been a state since 1861. The first, recorded in June 1949, was very much like a hardcore detective series and starred Michael Rye (credited as Rye Billsbury) as Dillon;[5][4] the second, recorded in July 1949, starred Straight Arrow actor Howard Culver in a more Western, lighter version of the same script. Its for all the residuals from Gunsmoke, and, after cashing it, we discover that Matt Dillon now owns the bank, Dodge City, all of the old West, and much of the new West. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City 17 years later under the name of Charles Adams. Say what? [10] He came west and changed his name to escape a charge of murder. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. But it was inspired by the real thing. "Gunsmoke: An American Institution, Celebrating 50 Years of Television's Best Western" Written by Ben Costello, Foreword by Jim Byrnes, and Introduction by Jon Voight and published by Five Star Publications, Inc.(now Story Monsters LLC) Published 1 edition (December 22, 2012), Bill Carter, "NBC Will Bring Back All Three, This page was last edited on 20 April 2023, at 19:37. The series followed the adventures of fictional U.S. ones not counting the "Oasis". ), Milburn Stone is recovering from open-heart surgery, so actor Pat Hingle, will be the new doctor in town during the first 12 shows, nine of which are already completed. In the final scene of that first episode, the gunman again called the marshal out for a deadly duel. The series was retitled Gun Law in the UK. The episode was based on "Matt's Love Story". In a July 2, 2002, Associated Press interview with Bob Thomas, Arness explained, "If they were man and wife, it would make a lot of difference. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; I never thought for a moment of offering it to Wayne. By Christian Schoon / March 19, 2022 1:50 pm EST. The show made Arness a multimillionaire. Between 1955 and 1975, millions of people across the country tuned in to see James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon, Milburn Stone as Doc Adams, and Amanda Black as Miss Kitty Russell. WebDodge City, Kansas was the setting of the long-running radio and television series Gunsmoke. amzn_assoc_asins = "B000BITUYI"; Marshal Matt Dillon was challenging to cast. Well, they lost. Matt, faced with the choice of marrying her or watching her become a dishonest woman, gets angry and shoots 15 wandering bums who have strayed into town. In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions."[1]. In reality, a U.S. Gunsmoke was TV's number-one-ranked show from 1957 to 1961, then expanded to one hour, and slipped into a decline. Ritter was backed on that Capitol record by Rex Koury and the radio Gunsmoke orchestra. How many people did Matt dillon shoot on gunsmoke? John Dunning wrote that among radio drama enthusiasts, "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time. Most women rented rooms above the saloon where the randy cowboys would pay them a visit. The saloon was purchased a few years later by Chalkley Beeson and William Harris, who named the saloon after his hometown of Long Branch, New Jersey. The Gunsmoke theme was composed by Rex Koury. "We did the first couple of years of the show at least, we did all of our outdoor stuff there at Melody Ranch," Arness said. List of Gunsmoke cast members - Wikipedia Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. But the show keeps rolling on. Many Gunsmoke viewers know Miss Kitty as the owner of the town saloon in Dodge City. Norman Macdonnell, producer of the successful Gunsmoke series on KWKH and CBS radio at 11:30 a.m. Saturday mornings, will script the Gunsmoke telecasts. When Milburn Stone temporarily left for heart bypass surgery in 1971, Pat Hingle played Dr. John Chapman for several episodes. Milburn Stone had died seven years earlier in 1980 and the role of Doc was not recast. 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Located at the Kansas Teachers Hall of Fame, the Gunfighters Wax Museum features life-size sculptures of legendary figures Wyatt Earp and Sitting Bull. Individual stations such as KFWD in Dallas also carry the series in their markets. The show won 15 Primetime Emmy awards as well as other accolades. A total of 635 episodes were aired over its 20 year run. Most of our episodes this season are outstanding. For two decades, "Gunsmoke" commanded serious primetime real estate on CBS. The Duke, however, wanted no part of television. supposed to be! That the TV show was not a sham is due in no small part to the continued strength of Meston's scripts."[1]. Associated Press, July 2, 2002, Bob Thomas. How many minutes does it take to drive 23 miles? In 1987, CBS commissioned a reunion movie titled Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The Long Branch Saloon was featured in the western drama and made television history for 19 years from September 1955 to its final season in 1974. Dodge City, Kansas was the setting of the long-running radio and television series Gunsmoke. Did they eat real food on Gunsmoke? chroniclesdengen.com Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). During his audition, however, Conrad won over Macdonnell after reading only a few lines. Request Answer. The lyrics of the theme, never aired on the radio or television show, were recorded and released by Tex Ritter in 1955. "[1], Gunsmoke is unique from other Westerns in that it was unsponsored in the first few years of production. The Gunsmoke actors actually drank beer, but the whiskey was tea or colored water. Gunsmokes success prompted many imitations, but none enjoyed its longevity or rose to its heights. Does the Longbranch saloon still exist in Dodge City? were In an interview with SCVTV in 2006, James Arness revealed that early on, most of the outdoor work took place at Melody Ranch, the same spot where "The Lone Ranger" was filmed. [53] The original Law & Order, which was canceled in 2010 after tying Gunsmoke's longevity record for a live-action, primetime television series, began its 21st season in February 2022. Festus finally became deputy marshal because Dillons deputy of nine seasons, Chester, left the show. Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Charles Marquis Warren, dramatizes the activities of Dillon, a man not without faults, who fights vigilantly for law and order in a frontier boomtown that was marked with a violence notorious even in that lawless era. You'll need your credit cards when you visit so you can see "Miss Kitty" perform with her dancers in the saloon over a country-style dinner. But Festus finds the responsibility too much for him, and wanders off with Doc, who has discovered a 100-proof patent medicine that doesnt cure anything, but makes you feel good. Thus, Gunsmoke gained a second life and 10 more years of success. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gunsmoke-American-television-series. Ted Post. Four good reasons to indulge in cryptocurrency! (In the last few years, in fact, hundreds of strange characters have come to Dodge City. Dedicated to uphold the true sense of justice necessary for the growth of the great West, Dillon meets the challenge of might and evil with an understanding for the homesteading pioneers, and unswerving character and a pair of fists that command respect with or without a six-gun. In any case, she was a hard-bitten broad who enjoyed life and, perhaps, the favors of Marshal Dillon. Milburn Stone was given free rein to choose the character's first name, and chose that of the ancient Greek physician and medical researcher Galen. He marries Kitty and becomes half-owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Ken Curtis balked at the salary offer he received and said that he should be paid based on Festus's importance in the character hierarchy. He has steadfastly refused to be interviewed. But it was no family restaurant; it was one of the rowdier saloons in the West. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. Heres a look at 10 For Arness, the show proved to be a soft touch. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 10 Interesting Facts About Long Branch Saloon, Dodge Citys . That is the committees recommendation. Then Dann reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Paley eyed the big board for a few minutes, then said: I see Gunsmoke is not on there.. In the radio series, Kitty's profession was hinted at, but never explicit; in a 1953 interview with Time, Macdonnell declared, "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while". I've seen on the episodes the Gunsmoke is often a somber program, particularly in its early years. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The show last one more season on CBS, then These women were rarely called prostitutes and went under the names of saloon girls, dancers, scarlet ladies, soiled doves and girls of the night. The Hartland toy company included an 8" (1/9th scale) plastic Matt Dillion figure and his horse Old Faithful Buck in their line of famous TV cowboys and horses during the 1950s. It was frequently well received, holding a top-10 spot in the Nielsen ratings for several seasons. Note: This article may feature affiliate links, and purchases made may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Beeson was a talented musician and led a five-piece orchestra that played nightly. James Arness portrays Dillon, respected Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, during the turbulent era in the nations development when a six-shooter vied with a badge for supreme authority. Dennis Weaver, who played Chester, started his program and had to leave Gunsmoke. In recent years, however, she was merely a close friend of Matt who sat around and drank a lot of coffee with Matt and Doc. Meston relished the upending of cherished Western fiction clichs and said that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. Thirty TV westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, and Gunsmoke was the sole survivor, with Alias Smith and Jones and Bonanza both leaving the airwaves 2+12 years earlier in January 1973. Three other popular shows, Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space, and The Incredible Hulk, met the same abrupt fate. [11] The television show first portrayed Kitty as a saloon dance hall employee, then from season two, episode 36 ("Daddy-O"), as half-owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Many of the early settlers of Dodge City were gamblers, gunslingers, and The project was suspended for three years, when producer Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston discovered it while creating an adult Western series of their own. there was more than 2 saloons. Note: ClickAmericana.com features authentic historical information, and is not intended to represent current best practices on any topic, particularly with regard to health and safety. This Is Where Gunsmoke Was Actually Filmed - Looper [3] It was a plain storefront bar with little ornamentation, typical for frontier saloons of the time. It appears in many of the Gunsmoke TV series episodes as a center of attention, oftentimes associated with Dodge itself. The saloon on the radio and TV series is based on, in fact, the actual Long Branch Saloon, which was a well-known saloon in Dodge City, Kansas from about 1874 to 1885. Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas, during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Strauss once said that the situation in the Old West was an excellent representation, unintentional or not, of what Hobbes meant by the state of nature."[62]. "No contest, this [ Gunsmoke] was the TV western." Entertainment Weekly (February 19, 1999, issue) ranked the premiere of Gunsmoke as No. 47 in the "100 Greatest Moments in Television". Entertainment Weekly, in 1998, ranked Gunsmoke as No. 16 in The 100 Greatest TV Shows of all time. However, McNear's performances steadily became more warm-hearted and sympathetic. How many saloons are in Gunsmoke? But with the edicts against violence, I have difficulty using him. Most famous was the 1879 Long Branch Saloon Gunfight, in which Frank Loving killed Levi Richardson.