Gunsmoke Gunsmoke Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television. When aired in the UK, the television series was initially titled Gun Law, later reverting to "Gunsmoke". The radio series ran from 1952 to 1961. John Dunning wrote that among radio drama enthusiasts, ""Gunsmoke" is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) impatient with others (including his friends and allies). At all times, however, he managed to remain sufficiently in control of his emotions to perform his difficult job capably and impartially. Conrad's Matt would speak frequently of the still-fragile acceptance of law and order on the frontier and he would sometimes determine his course of action based upon what he honestly felt was necessary to preserve its long-term acceptance. In the radio version, Marshal Dillon spoke of actual persons who were well known in the history of the American West, including later Dodge City personage Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid