A HISTORY OF GUNSMOKE "Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!" -Rudyard Kipling Matt and Matt side by side? Yes! And Kitty and Kitty, Doc and Doc, and Chester and Chester too! Track & trail the evolution of Gunsmoke as it went through its several eras! The first regular episode of Gunsmoke, Billy the Kid, aired on April 26, 1952. Gunsmoke's first semi-regular character, Mr. Hightower, made his first appearance. TEST YOUR GUNSMOKE IQ Why did William Conrad not play Matt Dillon on TV? 1) His voice was not solid and resonant enough. 2) Radio salaries were higher than television salaries. 3) He opted to do the tv version of The Fat Man instead. 4) He lost too much weight to play Matt Dillon after a bout of dengue fever caught in downtown Los Angeles. Did Miss Kitty practice numerology & astrology? John Wayne was born on May 26, 1907; Sam Edwards on May 26, 1915; and James Arness on May 26, 1923. Gunsmoke itself was born on radio on a 26th--April 26, 1952. |
HITES & HIGHTOWERS Besides convincing James Arness to be on Gunsmoke, and introducing the show on its premiere night, John Wayne had a million other uncanny connections to Gunsmoke and its star. Bryan "Slim" Hightower was John Ford's favorite stuntman. He worked in many Ford movies, including The Searchers. Robert Marmaduke Hightower, John Wayne's character in Ford's 3 Godfathers (1948), was named after Slim Hightower. ☜ Three decades and three years before 4' 2" Billy Curtis stood next to 6' 7" James Arness as a gag in Arizona Midnight, Curtis had already done the same thing with 6' 4" John Wayne in Three Texas Steers. Gunsmoke was shown as Gun Law on British TV. In France, it was called Police des plaines. No, the setting was not changed to Illinois; Dillon remained in Kansas. Gunsmoke's first-produced tv episode, Hack Prine, wasn't shown first and lost that honor to Matt Gets It; instead, Hack Prine became... Episode No. 26. Amanda Blake herself was 26 when tv Gunsmoke first hit the air. |
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