George Fenneman series, and then with John Stephenson when Dragnet returned to TV in 1967. It was Fenneman's voice which announced, "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent." while Stephenson would be heard at the end of the episode describing the court trials and verdicts. He was the principal commercial announcer for the radio version of "Gunsmoke", and frequently introduced "Matt Dillon" (William Conrad) after the episode to extoll the virtues of L&M or Chesterfield cigarettes. He appeared on screen in the 1951 film "The Thing from Another World" and the
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) provide observations that assisted with character development. Inasmuch as the radio episodes were a bit darker and more violent in nature than the television episodes (especially in the radio series' early years), Conrad's Marshal Dillon could sometimes be quick to anger and unhesitating with respect to taking violent courses of action. Paradoxically, however, Conrad's Dillon often struggled internally with the need to utilize violence in order to fulfill his duties. He also struggled internally with the frequent needless tragedies that his job caused him to witness. These factors were the primary reasons that Conrad's Matt could occasionally become snappish and