William Conrad William Conrad William Conrad (September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American World War II fighter pilot, actor, producer, and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he starred in the detective series "Cannon" (1971–1976). A radio writer and actor, he moved to Hollywood after his World War II service and played a series of character roles in films beginning with the quintessential film noir "The Killers" (1946). He created the role of Marshal Matt Dillon for the popular radio series "Gunsmoke" (1952–1961) and narrated the television adventures of "Rocky
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) room to restore "Gunsmoke", which had just been canceled, to the schedule at the insistence of William S. Paley's wife. In an early episode of "Have Gun Will Travel", Paladin is vying for a job against another bounty hunter, who claims to have been Matt Dillon's deputy when Dillon was the marshal in Austin, Texas. Paladin calls the man a fraud, saying Dillon never served in Austin. In Maverick a character called Matt Pickle was Marshall of towns that the Maverick brothers would invariably run through. One 2nd season episode was a full parody of a gunsmoke episode. Later episodes