Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) (whose "supposed" origins figured in the very first episode of the radio series), and he often referred to Wild Bill Hickok as being a close personal friend. In the television version (which ran from 1955 until 1975), and subsequent TV-movies (1987 to 1994), Matt was portrayed by James Arness. Since most of the early television episodes were based on stories and scripts from the radio version, Arness's initial interpretation and portrayal was similar to William Conrad's. However, as the television version continued, Arness's Marshal Matt Dillon evolved in a number of ways. In the television version, Dillon became more resigned
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) would have Pickle being less hostile to the brothers. In "The Simpsons" episode "Forgive and Regret" in the cold opening, Maggie Simpson had a gunfight with "Marshall Matt Dillon" which celebrated the show surpassing "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running scripted American primetime television series by number of episodes. Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of "Gunsmoke". He serves as the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character was created by writer John Meston, who envisioned