September 10, 1955..."Gunsmoke" Debuts With John Wayne Intro

September 10, 1955…”Gunsmoke” Debuts With John Wayne Intro

According to “The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows”, John Wayne was the first choice to play Marshal Matt Dillon, but he declined because he did not want to commit to a weekly TV series. He did, however, recommend his friend James Arness for the role, and gave the on-camera introduction in the pilot, which is included here.

According to a TV Guide article, 26 actors screen-tested for the role of Matt Dillon. William Conrad (voice of radio’s Matt Dillon) was one, but didn’t look the part. Raymond Burr sounded great, but according to producer-director Charles Marquis Warren: “he was too big; when he stood up his chair stood up with him” (Burr later lost considerable weight to play Perry Mason).

John Pickard almost made it, but did poorly in a love scene with Kitty. Warren and producer Norman MacDonnell denied that they even considered John Wayne, but their choice for Marshall Dillon, James Arness, looked and sounded a lot like Wayne. When Arness was reluctant to take the role, Wayne persuaded him and even agreed to introduce the first episode.

‘Gunsmoke’ was created by writer John Meston and producer Norman MacDonnell as a radio series that premiered on CBS in 1952. Many of the early television episodes are adaptations of Meston’s radio scripts. The radio series ran for more than 400 episodes and lasted until 1961.

The gunfight between Matt Dillon and an unknown gunman that opened every episode was shot on the same main street as that used in High Noon (1952). During one filming of this gunfight, as a joke on everyone else, James Arness let the gunman win.

During WWII, James Arness was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division and took part in the invasion of Anzio where he was severely wounded in the leg and foot by machine-gun fire. He lost part of his foot and the wound plagued him the rest of his life. The injury made it difficult for him to walk for extended stretches, so, when shooting movies or TV shows, any scenes that required extensive walking would be shot early in the morning, before his feet and knees started giving out.

At 20 years and 635 episodes, ‘Gunsmoke’ is one of the longest-running American prime-time drama television series. It was originally produced for the CBS Television Network by Filmcrafters at the Producers Studio (now the Raleigh Studio). Around 1960, CBS took over production and moved it to KTLA Studios, then owned by Paramount Pictures. Around 1963 production was moved to CBS Studio Center, formerly Republic Studios, where it remained for the rest of the show’s run.

Slated to be canceled in 1967 due to low ratings, CBS president William Paley reversed the decision. He moved the show from Saturdays to Mondays (cancelling Gilligan’s Island in the process), placing it back in the Nielsen’s Top Ten. Paley and his wife were both big fans of the show. -Bobby Ellerbee

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