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GUNSMOKE AUTOGRAPHS

GUNSMOKE ran from 1955-1975 making it the longest running hour long television show. The first episode was introduced by none other than John Wayne. The actor chosen to play the title role was James Arness who had appeared in many movies including some with John Wayne. Arness was not yet a star though but the show would soon make him one. Gunsmoke was already a hit radio show with William Conrad voicing the lead character "Matt Dillon." This was still early for television and the radio would continue to air until June 11, 1961. The original three main characters of the television show were James Arness as Matt Dillon, Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty, Milburn Stone as Doctor "Doc" Adams and Dennis Weaver as Chester. Later Chester was replaced by Ken Curtis as Festus. Those five were the major stars of the show. Major supporting roles included Bert Rumsey as the first bartender Sam Noonan, Glenn Strange replaced Rumsey, Roger Ewing as Thad, Buck Taylor as Newly and Bert Reynolds as Quint the blacksmith. Other supporting roles included Ted Jordan as Burke, James Nusser as Louie the town drunk, Dabbs Greer as Mr. Jonas, George Selk as Moss Grimmick plus too many more to mention. Jordan is the man who gets shot in every color episode opening. He also wrote a tell all book about his romance with Marilyn Monroe.

Gunsmoke is one of those shows that is impossible to collect everyone since so many are hard to find. I have myself settled for the top five plus Glenn Strange all of those did over 230 episodes no others matched that. I have scores of others that were in Gunsmoke but long ago gave up on concentrating on it. Without doubt it is my favorite television western and I watch it over and over. As a boy watching every Saturday I was sure that Matt was a goner since the bullet was also next to the spine! The real Matt Dillon I have always assumed died of lead poisoning while Festus and Newly likely of fractured skulls from being knocked out so many times. My favorite episode of all time was "The Snow Train" a two part episode. If there was a western star that did not appear on Gunsmoke it is probably because they were on Bonanza or Big Valley. A sad fact that so few young people today know about those shows let alone ever watch them.

James Arness in talking about the show stated his character "Matt Dillon" hated violence of any kind. This may be a surprising statement for the star of a western but it is absolutely true. Dillon never shot a man unless forced into and as Arness said there was always a reaction shot of him with a look of being repulsed by the fact he had to kill a man. Matt Dillon was not a "Dirty Harry" he did not want any one to make his day by drawing on him. He was a honest peace officer in the strictest sense of the word. Gunsmoke was called the first "adult" western and watching it today there are so many things I missed as boy. I will add that the best villain that ever appeared in an episode was Bette Davis! She is absolutely frightening in it.

The number of episodes a person appears is not always a good indication of what to collect but in the case of Gunsmoke it is a good start. The numbers are from internet movie database and include a few episodes that the person is credited but did not appear in. Buck Taylor with 174 and Ted Jordan with 131 were the only ones to reach 100 episodes other than bit players. Honorable mention needs to be made to Pat Hingle who took over the major role as "Dr. John Chapman" who filled in for "Doc" for six episodes in 1971 when Milburn Stone had surgery. For my own personal collection I consider the must have autographs to be the following with the disclaimer that Rumsey, Reynolds, Ewing and Taylor are also important.

James Arness (635)

Milburn Stone (605)

Amanda Blake (569)

Ken Curtis (306)

Dennis Weaver (290)

Glenn Strange (238)

I suppose the last thing I need to do is add another discussion no one much is interested in but here I go...

Tags: Arness, Gunsmoke

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on January 5, 2023 at 6:49pm

There's "Frankenstein."

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on January 5, 2023 at 6:36am

BUCK TAYLOR from the movie Conagher in 1991. Another of the five autographed photos I got from him in December 2022.

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Permalink Reply by meggs on January 5, 2023 at 6:46pm

Great discussion! And all of us who enjoy Gunsmoke owe a debt of gratitude to Barbara "Babe" Paley for being a huge fan of the show. As the wife of CBS head honcho William Paley, she is said to have convinced him not to cancel it for the 1967-68 season. Instead CBS cancelled Gilligan's Island and another lesser known half hour show they had originally planned to renew. I would imagine Ms. Paley's affection for the show also helped it survive the CBS rural purge of 1971.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on January 5, 2023 at 9:55pm

Thank you meggs. I felt so bad when all the rural shows were cancelled. I will have to say it did make room for shows like All in the Family, Hawaii Five-O, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, and many more. So at least there were some quality shows to take the place.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on January 5, 2023 at 6:48pm

Awesome, Scott.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on January 5, 2023 at 9:56pm

Thank you, my friend I appreciate it.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on April 9, 2024 at 5:00am

BETTE DAVIS (1908-1989) I am probably the only autograph collector in the world who collected Bette Davis because she was in an episode of GUNSMOKE. Her biography is so well-known and extensive that I will not attempt to condense it here. Suffice it to say some of my favorite Bette Davis movies are Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Dark Secret of Harvest Home (mini-series), The Catered Affair, All About Eve, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Virgin Queen, Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte and The Whales of August. The latter movie, except for the mediocre horror/comedy Wicked Stepmother, was the last movie she did. The Whales of August was her last significant role, along with co-stars Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Southern, and Harry Carey, Jr. She also did three episodes of Wagon Train. As many friends here know, Gunsmoke is one of my key collections. My favorite episodes are the hour-long ones I remember watching as they aired for the first time on CBS when I was a boy and teenager. As a young boy, I was always sure every time Matt was shot that he would surely die. My old World War II veteran father would say, "Believe me, he will be back next week." Sure, enough for 20 years he was! I like to believe the fictional Matt died of lead poisoning from all the bullets at a ripe old age. My favorite episode was "The Snow Train," followed closely by the Bette Davis episode "The Jailer," which aired October 1, 1966. I remember this episode very well. Two of her sons were played by the always sinister Bruce Dern and somewhat less sinister Tom Skerritt. Bette plays Etta Stone, a woman aptly named because she is as hard as her name implies. She blames Matt for the hanging of her husband years ago. She imprisons him in a jail cell and treats him like a criminal. Miss Kitty is also held captive and allowed to see Matt as if he were in a regular prison. Etta is determined to recreate her experience with her husband. SPOILER ALERT!!!! STOP READING!!! In the end, Etta does not hang Matt Dillon. I hope I did not spoil the ending for anyone who has not seen the episode. Of course, it is a bit like watching a movie about Lincoln and having someone say, "Oh, you know he gets killed in the end." This is a 3x5 index card I bought from jgautographs years ago.