“Around Dodge City, and into territory on west, there’s just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers: that’s with a U.S. Marshal, and the smell of…”

I was in my sophomore year of college in 1983—attending Marshall University—and Sunday afternoons would find me in the college library, reading books on OTR. The library, in particular, had a copy of what was then referred to as the “bible” of old-time radio, John Dunning’s Tune in Yesterday. I had to spend time in the library reading this book because it was in the reference section, and they wouldn’t let you check those books out. (For one brief moment in my life, I had seriously considered “liberating” this from their stacks—but I remember hearing a voice in my head saying something about the weed of crime bearing bitter fruit, and so I stayed on the straight-and-narrow.) While thumbing through the card catalog, I discovered that the library had a few OTR shows on reel-to-reel tape—which could be checked out, and so I borrowed some of those and took them to the campus radio station (I was a broadcast major at the time) to make copies for myself.

One of the reel-to-reel tapes had some Western shows on it, and I saw that a few Gunsmoke episodes had been included. Now, while I was aware that Gunsmoke had been on radio before television, I had never heard one of the radio shows before. So I gave one a listen; a broadcast from April 15, 1956 called “The Executioner.” A young gunfighter named Tom Cleg (Sam Edwards) goads Abe Curry (John Dehner) into a gunfight, and his surviving brother Morgan (Lawrence Dobkin) makes a plea to Marshal Matt Dillon (William Conrad) for justice. The only problem is, under the law, Abe drew first, and there’s not much Dillon can do about it. Morgan is finally able to goad Cleg into a similar gunfight—only Morgan is unarmed—and Dillon is forced into killing the young gunfighter, in effect becoming the titular individual.

To an individual whose only exposure to old-time radio westerns was The Lone Ranger, this was pretty powerful stuff. With the passage of time and my listening to more and more of the radio Gunsmoke, I slowly became convinced that not only was the show the gold standard by which OTR drama should be measured, but that it sort of made the TV program come off…well, a little second-best.

The roots of Gunsmoke start in 1949, when CBS president William Paley—who was a fan of the private-eye series The Adventures of Philip Marlowe—asked CBS programming about developing a series about a “Philip Marlowe in the old West.” Two Gunsmoke audition programs (featuring a character named Mark Dillon) were prepared, one with Rye Billsbury (6/11/49) and the other with Howard Culver (7/15/49), both of which still exist today. Culver was considered the best candidate for the role, but unfortunately was contractually obligated to another western appearing on Mutual at the time called Straight Arrow.

The Gunsmoke project soon fell into the hands of producer Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston, who continued to negotiate with the network about the possibility of adding what they termed an “adult Western” to the CBS schedule. Macdonnell had taken over the directing chores from William N. Robson on Escape by this time, and on December 22, 1950 he aired a story written by John Meston entitled “Wild Jack Rhett.” Several months later, the duo tried again with the story “Pagosa,” which aired on Romance August 6, 1951. It wasn’t until the untimely cancellation of a Robson program called Operation Underground on April 19, 1952 that the network decided to give Macdonnell and Meston’s concept a try. They had one week to put what eventually became Gunsmoke on the air, and the first episode—“Billy the Kid”—debuted April 26, 1952.

Chosen to play the part of Marshal Matt Dillon was veteran radio actor William Conrad—although the CBS brass wasn’t too crazy about the idea at first. Not due to any animosity towards the actor; it was just by that time Conrad had become “the hardest working man in the radio business”—appearing on such shows as Escape, Suspense, The Whistler, etc. But after auditioning hundreds of actors, there was no getting around it: Conrad was the ideal actor for the part.

Two of the Gunsmoke regulars also appeared in the very first show; although the character that listeners would come to know as Chester Wesley Proudfoot—Dillon’s loyal deputy—was called “Townsman” in the first show. (It was Conrad who dubbed the character “Chester” after complaining that he “couldn’t very well call the guy ‘Townsman.’” The actor playing the part of Chester, Parley Baer, filled in the rest of Chester’s unique moniker while ad-libbing one day.) The character of Doc—played by actor Howard McNear—also had his surname provided by Conrad; the medico, who demonstrated in the first episode a ghoulish glee at collecting a fee for a murdered man, prompted Conrad to dub him “Dr. Charles Adams,” in a subtle in-joke reference to the famed macabre cartoonist of the same name. (When the western was transplanted to TV, Chester's last name inexplicably became "Goode," while Doc's first name was changed to "Galen.") The fourth member of Gunsmoke’s acting ensemble, Kitty Russell, was introduced to the show several weeks later, although the actress who played the role, Georgia Ellis, was in the first show, playing the wife of the murdered man. Contrary to the rather chaste relationship that Dillon and Kitty enjoyed during the TV program’s 20-year run, Kitty was a traditional dance hall girl—and not in the Roy Rogers sense, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. Macdonnell himself commented in a 1953 interview with Time magazine: “Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while. We never say it, but Kitty is a prostitute, plain and simple.”

Listening to Gunsmoke is truly an experience for someone only familiar with the television show. The series often deals with incredibly mature subject matter; there are no happy endings on Gunsmoke—no clear good versus evil, and the scripts crackle with an authentic realism not present in many of the shows still on the air at that time. Meston once described the Dillon character: “Life and his enemies have left him looking a little beat-up. There’d have to be something wrong with him or he wouldn’t have signed on as a United States marshal in the heyday of Dodge City, Kansas.”

“Christmas Story,” a holiday Gunsmoke broadcast from December 20, 1952, is a kindler, gentler episode from the series—and yet, it still contains traces of the gritty realism that was the show’s hallmark. Dillon is returning to Dodge after escorting a prisoner to Oklahoma when his horse steps in a prairie dog hole and breaks his legs, necessitating that the marshal shoot the animal. (You won’t see that sort of thing on Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I’ll bet.) It’s a forty-mile trek back to Dodge, but on the way Dillon meets a stranger named Amos Cowley (Lawrence Dobkin) who offers to give him a lift on the back of his horse—provided the old, thin mount can carry both men, that is. On the journey to Dodge, Cowley asks Dillon to tell him about the town, and the marshal provides several interesting anecdotes, most of which occurred last Christmas Eve. Matt tells a story about encountering the town’s handyman, John Bomby (John Dehner)—who has some earth-shattering news:

BOMBY: Oh…hello, Marshal…

MATT: Well…hi John…

BOMBY: Lovely night for a Christmas Eve, isn’t it…?

MATT: Yeah, it certainly is, John…pretty fine night…

BOMBY: Peace on Earth…goodwill to men (giggles)…eh, Mister Dillon?

MATT: Well, that’s the way it should be, John…

BOMBY: Yeah…you know, Marshal, this is going to be quite a night for me…yes, sir…

MATT: Oh? Is that so?

BOMBY: Oh, yes sir…tonight, I’m asking Mrs. McNish to become Mrs. Bomby…

MATT: What?

BOMBY: Mm-hmm…

MATT: Why, John…I didn’t know that…

BOMBY: I know it’s been a mighty fast secret, but I’m…I’m popping the question tonight…

MATT: Well, I wish you a lot of luck, John…hey, I’ll tell you what…come by the Texas Trail later, and we’ll have a drink on it…

BOMBY: I will…I really will, Marshal…you’re good and kind, Marshal…good and kind…Merry Christmas, Marshal Dillon…Merry Christmas…

MATT (laughing) Well, the same to you, John…

During the trek back to Dodge, Dillon and Cowley are forced to make several stops along the way so as not to tire out Cowley’s horse—Cowley explains that the horse is around eight-years-old, “eats like a pig and looks like a four-legged mizzen mast.” Cowley also begins to leak out some personal information; he was once a seaman, but he also seems to be rather touchy on the subject of the sea, as if he’s harboring a secret. Matt then tells him about how he, Chester, Doc and Kitty spent last year’s Christmas Eve; getting together at the Texas Trail for drinks, he and Chester bringing a bottle of whiskey by to Mr. Hightower (Harry Bartell), the train depot’s clerk—culminating with ringing in Christmas at Doc’s place:

MATT (narrating): We rode on, and I thought about last year—about Kitty, Doc and Chester and me—going over to Doc’s place after Doc got tired of tending bar at the Texas Trail…it was about a quarter to midnight, and we stood around…sang Christmas carols (a chorus of “The First Noel” can be heard in the background)…I…I remember how it sounded that night…how it looked…the glow in the stove in the middle of the room…and, uh…the frosty windows…yeah, it was Christmas Eve, all right…

(The four of them finish “The First Noel”…then laughter)

DOC: Hey, that was fine, that was just fine…hey now, what do you say we…

(SFX: clock striking twelve midnight)

CHESTER: Hey…

KITTY: Listen…

DOC: Aw…Merry Christmas…

KITTY: Merry Christmas…

CHESTER: Merry Christmas…

MATT: Merry Christmas…

DOC: I feel sentimental…that’s exactly how I feel, I feel sentimental…

CHESTER: I know what you mean, Doc…I surely know…

KITTY: Okay, Doc…bring ‘em out!

(SFX: music)

MATT (narrating): …and I remember how Doc scuttled over to the bureau and brought out some packages…the presents weren’t much, but it didn’t matter what they were…and when we finished opening them, it was Chester who said what we were all thinking…

CHESTER: I just…I-I-I just want to say…Miss Kitty…Doc…you, Mister Dillon…I-I just want to say that this is the best doggone Christmas I ever had…and that’s what I’m gonna say…

It is nightfall, and it quickly becomes apparent that Dillon and Cowley won’t make it in time for Matt to celebrate Chistmas Eve in Dodge. Cowley tries to talk Matt into taking his horse, but Dillon will have none of it. So, the two men decide to make camp for the night:

MATT (narrating): We made a fire, and then shared what we had for supper…he seemed to soften up after that, and we talked for a couple of three hours…it was like he was starved for news of people, everyday things—and just plain company…and that’s how we spent Christmas Eve together, out on the plain…and then when the fire was dying down, and it was about ready for sleep…he said:

COWLEY: Marshal?

MATT: Yeah?

COWLEY: I want to tell you something…I’ve been meanin’ to tell it for a long time…do you mind?

MATT: Well, of course I don’t mind…

COWLEY: Well, then I’ll tell you…a few years ago, I was skipper of a little schooner…used to sail up and down the East Coast, you know, Boston, New York…

MATT: Yeah…

COWLEY: Well, one night…we hit dirty weather off New Jersey…real dirty…blew us off-course and we piled up on the rocks and knocked the bottom out…

MATT: Ah, that’s too bad…

COWLEY: …there was eighteen passengers aboard, Marshal…four of ‘em was kids…never saw ‘em again…

MATT: Oh…

COWLEY: …and my own…my own wife and my kid went down, too…

MATT: I’m…I’m sorry…

COWLEY: Well, now…somethin’ must have happened to me after that…I didn’t want nothin’ to do with…with ships or the sea…and I started to drift out this way…I couldn’t forget though, you know? And I didn’t want to be near folks…especially kids…to remind me, you know?

MATT: Yeah…

COWLEY: Well, that’s how come I’ve been slewin’ around ever since…

MATT: Sure, I understand…

COWLEY: …just kinda wanted to get it off my chest…

MATT: Sure…

COWLEY (after a pause) Marshal…I’d like to ride into Dodge with you tomorrow…you think I might meet some of them folks you was tellin’ about?

MATT: Why…I don’t see why not…

COWLEY: That’d be all right…maybe I wouldn’t need to drift no more…maybe I could…drop anchor, do you know…

MATT: Yeah…you might at that…

COWLEY: Yes…well…good night…

MATT: Good night…

COWLEY: Merry Christmas…Marshal…

MATT: Merry Christmas, Mr. Cowley…

The popularity of Gunsmoke was such that creating a television version of the western was pretty much a no-brainer; unfortunately, none of the original cast members made the transition to the tube. In particular, Conrad—who was vocally perfect in the Dillon role—was a little on the rotund side, and essentially had to make do narrating both Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Fugitive until he got his small screen break with the detective series Cannon. Parley Baer later appeared as “Darby” on The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet and Howard McNear, of course, can be seen as “Howard the Barber” on the endlessly-rerun The Andy Griffith Show.

For anyone interested in checking out what a fine dramatic series the radio Gunsmoke could be, I would heartily recommend that the newly initiated listener start with the 1976 audio documentary The Story of Gunsmoke. It is available from many OTR dealers; the copy I purchased from Steve Kelez at Radio Showcase years ago had some exceptionally fine audio.