Norman Macdonnell an anthology series they had done. Their boss at CBS, Harry Ackerman, and other network executives dismissed that title, preferring "Gunsmoke", a program heading that Ackerman himself was credited with conceiving. Once given permission to proceed with "Gunsmoke", Macdonnell began developing a detailed production schedule for the new series' 30-minute episodes and arranging auditions to cast its recurring characters. His and Meston’s "Jeff Spain" soon became United States Marshal Matt Dillon, and veteran voice actor William Conrad was chosen by Macdonnell, Meston, and two other CBS screeners to portray that lead character. Other seasoned actors soon filled the needed regular
Paul Richards (actor) "Gunsmoke", "Bonanza", "Trackdown", "Rawhide", "The Virginian", "The Loner", and "The Guns of Will Sonnett." Richards also performed four times as a guest star on "Gunsmoke". In 1955, in that long-running CBS series' very first episode, “Matt Gets It,” he portrays a gunfighter who outdraws and nearly kills Marshal Matt Dillon. The next year, in the episode “Mr. and Mrs. Amber”, he delivered another memorable performance playing a poor, desperate homesteader beleaguered by his rich, self-righteous brother-in-law. His other two appearances on "Gunsmoke" are in 1958 and 1968 episodes. Richards guest-starred three times in 1956 on the NBC western anthology series