Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) In the opening of most radio episodes, the announcer would describe the show as "...the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man who moved with it." William Conrad's Matt would take over, saying, "I'm that man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshalthe first man they look for and the last they want to meet. It's a chancy job, and it makes a man watchful ... and a little lonely." Conrad's Matt provided bits of narration for many of the radio episodes, usually to help set the scene for the listener or to
John Meston later star as Marshal Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke"; and Howard McNear, who would be cast as "Doc" in that radio drama. It was at this time, at the turn of the 1950s, when Meston also began adapting stories, writing original scripts, and serving as an editorial supervisor for episodes of "Romance", another popular CBS radio drama that had been on the air since 1943. He contributed scripts as well to installments of "Suspense" and "Lux Radio Theater", yet two more of CBS Radio's lineup of notable programs during 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. In 1949 executives and programmers at CBS