Interesting Details From the Making of the TV Western “Gunsmoke”

Miss Kitty was a huge hit on-screen, but it’s fair to say that actress Amanda Blake was also incredibly popular on the set of Gunsmoke. And while her co-stars loved her beauty and talent, she was prone to making some bizarre decisions – like taking her pet lion to work! Yes, Amanda was a huge animal lover, and she even devoted much of her time to breeding cheetahs with her husband. 

James Arness brought the character of Matt Dillon to life in such an incredible way, it seemed as though he was made to play the part. But before he became an actor, James was actually in the army – and he was even injured in battle. He was drafted in 1943, and after some initial training in the United States he was then shipped abroad to fight during the Battle of Anzio.

The world is full of famous phrases and sayings, and “Get the hell out of Dodge” is one of them. And while many people have assumed that this phrase simply came from nowhere, it actually came from the TV show Gunsmoke. The phrase was first coined on the show, with Matt Dillon using this phrase on many of the show’s villains. Of course, “Dodge” refers to Dodge City, Kansas where Gunsmoke is set. 

Dennis Weaver stole the show in his role as Chester Goode in Gunsmoke, and one of his defining characteristics was his limp. And while many fans assumed that Weaver chose to give his character a limp to make him stand out from the rest of the cast, the real reason is slightly different. In fact, it wasn’t meant to make him stand out… it was meant to make him stand apart from Matt Dillon.

Today, most people remember Gunsmoke as a television show – but it wasn’t always that way. A few years before it was adapted to be on the small screen, it was actually a radio show. It found its way onto the airwaves in 1952, and it ran until 1961 over the course of 400 episodes. And even though it didn’t last as long as the TV show, the premise, the characters, and the stories still captivated listeners.

All in all, fans of Gunsmoke were graced with the show for an incredible two decades. And while many fans tuned in to watch all 635 episodes, the same couldn’t be said for the actors on the show. In fact, only one actor on the show appeared in every single episode – and that was James Arness as Matt Dillon. But this makes sense, considering he was the main character.

Fans of Gunsmoke couldn’t imagine the character of Matt Dillon being played by anyone other than James Arness. And while we were all glad he starred on our screens for 20 years, this almost wasn’t the case. All in all, 26 different actors auditioned for the part of Matt Dillon – including William Conrad, who played Matt Dillon in the hugely popular radio show of the same name for nine years. 

Today, Westerns seem to have gone out of style – but that wasn’t the case a few decades ago. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Westerns were considered to be the most popular movie and television genre of the time, and fans couldn’t get enough of gunslinging and saloons. And what you might be interested to know is that Gunsmoke helped to make this genre as popular as it once was. 

Although many fans of Gunsmoke hoped to see more romance on the screen, it was clear to see that the producers didn’t want romance to be at the forefront of their show. In fact, over the course of 20 seasons and a whopping 635 episodes, we rarely saw Marshall Matt Dillion involved in any romantic encounters. He was a lone wolf for the most part, and actor James Arness Dillon only kissed one woman throughout its run.

We already know that Dennis Weaver decided to give his character Chester a limp in order to showcase himself as the sidekick rather than the main character, but it seems as though Dennis made this decision a little too quickly – even for his own liking. Later on in the show’s run, he began to regret his decision to give his character such a prominent and physical trait that required extra work on his part.

Although every episode of Gunsmoke was different, there was one thing that stayed the same for almost the entire 20-year run. Yes, we’re talking about the opening credits. For many years, the opening credits featured a scene from the pilot episode, where the character Matt Dillon was seen standing up to a villain with his gun in hand. This opening scene seemed perfect until it was promptly changed during the 1970s.

When Gunsmoke was canceled in 1975, fans were upset and confused. The show seemed to have been doing well, and they couldn’t understand why it would be taken off their screens. To make matters even more confusing, the final episode seemed to leave a huge number of loose ends – as though it wasn’t a finale episode at all. However, it seems as though fans weren’t the only ones confused, as the cast didn’t know it was ending, either. 

Today, Dennis Weaver is remembered for his impressive role as Chester in Gunsmoke, and many fans believe him to have been the perfect man for the job. But if you would have asked Dennis Weaver himself, he would have said the opposite. In fact, he believed that he absolutely bombed his audition for the show and that he wouldn’t have given himself the part if he was the one in charge.

When the radio show Gunsmoke was adapted into a television show, the show’s premise and characters were largely kept the same. However, there were a few changes here and there. And perhaps one of the biggest changes revolved around Amanda Blake’s Miss Kitty. That’s because Miss Kitty had a pretty controversial job on the radio show, and producers thought it would be too much to bring that job over to the screen.

A few years before he landed the role of Matt Dillon, James Arness suffered a war injury that left him permanently damaged. He had been severely wounded, and his chronic leg pain followed him for the rest of his life. Because of this, his foot and leg troubles also halted the filming of Gunsmoke on many occasions – especially if a scene required a lot of walking or horseback riding. 

When Gunsmoke was canceled after twenty years, fans were arguably extremely shocked – but mostly because it seemed to come out of the blue. The show seemed to be on a great run, especially as it had meant to have been canceled much earlier. Yes, the show was meant to be canceled back in 1967, after low ratings caused CBS executives to pull the plug. One man changed all that, though.

On our screens, Amanda Blake was a vision. She was stunning, she was extremely talented, and she was the perfect Western woman. But what many fans didn’t realize was that she was really suffering with her health while filming Gunsmoke. Throughout much of her life, she was an extremely heavy smoker and she was later diagnosed with oral cancer. However, her death in 1989 was contributed to another horrific disease.

Milburn Stone stole the show in his role as Doc Adams, and Gunsmoke was largely considered to be his most famous role. And while fans loved his character, there was something about Doc that was a little confusing. After all, nobody knew his first name! He was simply called Doc Adams for the first 16 seasons of the show, and it wasn’t until the 17th season that the showrunners decided to give him one.

Anyone that watched Gunsmoke will tell you that Amanda Blake was meant to play the role of Miss Kitty. It was almost as though she was born to play the role, and the character seemed to come to her naturally. However, things could have turned out very differently. That’s because Amanda was never meant to be Miss Kitty. The role was originally given to actress Polly Bond – but she ultimately declined the role.

In today’s day and age, it’s rare to find a show that captivates audiences the way Gunsmoke did. This show was a trailblazer and one that paved the way for a whole genre of Western TV shows and movies, and this was widely accepted by fans and critics alike. In fact, that’s why the show won so many awards over the course of its run! All in all, it was nominated for 15 Primetime Emmy Awards.

During the 1950s, John Wayne was a hugely popular actor. He was a Western regular, and he became so revered in the acting world that he was nicknamed “The Duke.” But did you know that John Wayne was actually considered for the role of Matt Dillon? In fact, the iconic actor was the producer’s number one choice for Matt, and they loved the idea of having Wayne as their leading man.

While Gunsmoke largely featured the same bunch of regular characters and actors, there’s no doubt about the fact that the producers brought in other people every so often. But what’s unusual about this situation is that many of the actors booked for cameos on this show later went on to score success in the 1966 classic Star Trek. Yes, some of the biggest faces of Star Trek starred in Gunsmoke.

While there was no doubt about the fact that the casting of Gunsmoke helped in the popularity department, many fans believed that the writing made it stand out from the crowd. Because of this, the writers were celebrated – but they were also fired regularly. In order to keep the show fresh and to avoid rehashing the same storylines and ideas, the producers decided to switch out the writers every so often with new ones.

It should come as no surprise to learn that Gunsmoke was extremely popular. Not many shows get the chance to stay on our screens for twenty years, and so it’s no wonder that CBS decided to reap the rewards of their success. In order to keep viewers on their network, they decided to create a spinoff show called Dirty Sally. This show saw Jeannette Nolan take on the lead role.

Amanda Blake’s portrayal of Miss Kitty brought in a whole range of fans from across the world, and many tuned in to watch the show each week purely for her. So, they were devastated when they learned that Amanda would be leaving the show in 1974 after appearing in a whopping 425 episodes. Many speculated why she was leaving, with some wondering whether it had something to do with the death of her friend and co-star Glenn Strange.

Most of the actors in Gunsmoke were cast with one character in mind. They stuck to those characters, and they played those characters alone for years. But this wasn’t the case for esteemed actor Ken Curtis. Although he was originally cast as Fertus in the show and ultimately starred in an incredible 307 episodes of the show overall – he didn’t play Fertus in all of these episodes. He was playing many other characters, too!

Anyone who has watched Gunsmoke back will know that the show was full of cameos from actors who were relatively unknown at the time of filming. However, they later went on to become some of the most famous people in Hollywood – and this was the case in seasons 14 and 15 of the show. In fact, eagle-eyed fans of both The Brady Bunch may have recognized some familiar young faces.

When it comes to casting a TV show, have you ever wondered how the producers do it? Logic would suggest that they cast their main character first, but it seems as though that doesn’t always happen. Not with Gunsmoke, anyway. When the producers were casting this show, they decided to focus on Dennis Weaver first. He was the first to get his name officially on the payroll, but only because James Arness was busy.

When Gunsmoke first made its way onto our screens, CBS hoped for a successful show. However, nobody could have imagined just how successful it would become – or how long it would be on our screens. All in all, the show was on our screens for almost two decades, and this meant that it was once the longest-running scripted primetime TV show in history. And it kept this title until 2009.

Some characters in Gunsmoke stayed for the majority of the show’s run, while others came and went pretty quickly. This was the case for Roger Ewing, who played the character of Clayton Thaddeus “Thad” Greenwood for two seasons of the show. And while his character seemed to strike a chord with fans at home, it seems as though acting wasn’t his thing. So, in 1972, he decided to retire from acting for good.

The president of CBS decided to put his foot down when he learned that Gunsmoke was potentially being canceled in 1967, which is why he decided to move the show to a better Monday night slot. However, in doing so, Gunsmoke caused the demise of another show. When it was moved to the slot that once housed Gilligan’s Island, the show struggled to maintain its place in the limelight and was ultimately canceled.

Although Gary Busey isn’t seen on our screens that much anymore, he was in his prime during the 1970s and ’80s. He was the name on everyone’s lips, which is why fans are surprised to hear that he made a cameo appearance on Gunsmoke in 1975. And while he only actually appeared in one episode of the show, this episode was certainly one to remember for all kinds of reasons.

One of the reasons why many people believe Gunsmoke managed to outsmart the competition and the many other Westerns on TV at the time was the fact that the show moved with the times. As technology advanced, as cultural thought changed, and a new generation loomed, the producers decided to let their show move along with this motion. This meant that they were able to keep up with their audience. 

Many fans of the Gunsmoke radio show decided to then turn on their televisions and watch the TV adaptation. But these people soon realized that there were a few differences – including the fact that Chester’s name had changed. While he was still called Chester, he was no longer Chester Proudfoot. In the TV show, he became Chester Goode, and fans wanted to know why. However, the answer is still unknown. 

When Gunsmoke first came onto our screens in 1955, each episode was originally developed to be 30 minutes long. During this time, the show became extremely popular, and it seemed as though fans couldn’t get enough of the Western genre. However, in an attempt to squeeze out even more from the show, the episodes were then lengthened to become an hour long each. Sadly, this seemed to have the opposite effect on its success.

Although Dennis Weaver was a constant presence for fans of Gunsmoke, you might remember that he was absent every so often. That’s not just because he wasn’t needed in these episodes. It’s actually because he quit the show three times over the course of its 20-year run! Every time he wanted to explore new possibilities, something about the show kept calling him back. So, he was never gone too long.

Although Gunsmoke was on our screens for 20 years, many of our favorite actors from the show quit or were fired long before the show came to an end. They were ultimately replaced with new actors here and there, but there were two actors who lasted the whole hog. Yes, James Arness and Milburn Stone were the only two Gunsmoke actors to appear in all 20 seasons – and it seems as though they were pretty proud of that.

Although William Conrad might not be a name you associate with Gunsmoke the television show, there’s no doubt about the fact that he was closer to the show than you might have thought. That’s because this actor actually voiced the character of Matt Dillon in the radio show that came before the TV show, and he even auditioned to continue his role in the TV show. Many thought he was the ultimate shoo-in.

Ken Curtis blew fans away with his appearance as Festus Haggen in Gunsmoke. And while it’s easy to assume that he simply read from a script and did as he was told, this actor took his talent to a whole new level for this show. That’s because he decided to use inspiration from his own life to bring this character to the screen – and he based his character on someone from his childhood.

As Gunsmoke was one of the most popular TV shows across two different decades, it was the dream of many aspiring actors to one day appear on the show. This was no different for the likes of Harrison Ford and Jodie Foster, who were both starting out in the acting world. They were lucky enough to score minor roles on the show, but now they’re even more famous their cameos are incredibly iconic.