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) (Milburn Stone), and saloon-keeper Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake). These three individuals were among Matt's few real friends because he knew that he could trust them in any situation. In the television version, Chester was eventually replaced by Festus Haggen (Ken Curtis), an uneducated country-boy, but savvy plainsman who ultimately became a badge-wearing Deputy U.S. Marshal; a position that always eluded Chester. In both the radio and television versions, the exact nature of Matt's relationship with Kitty Russell was deliberately kept somewhat vague. Kitty was portrayed by Georgia Ellis in the radio version and by Amanda Blake in the television version.