In the 1950s, TV was populated with singing cowboys and their lovable horses. But Gunsmoke was different. It was the first "adult" Western (see entry under 1930s—Film and Theater in volume 2) with flawed characters and gritty stories that were designed with a degree of realism. The show's popularity kept it on the air for twenty seasons, longer than any other Western, or any other dramatic series, in television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) history.

The show actually began on radio (see entry under 1920s— TV and Radio in volume 2), in 1952. Set in the Old West town of Dodge City, Kansas, it featured the same core group of characters that would form the nucleus of the TV show: Marshal Matt Dillon, Deputy Chester Proudfoot, local physician Doc Adams, and Miss Kitty, beautiful proprietor of the Long Branch Saloon. Matt Dillon was portrayed by William...