Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) no uncertain terms that he had no interest whatsoever. (Wayne was arguably the cinema's foremost box office attraction at the time.) Warren stated that the inquiry had not been serious inasmuch as Wayne could not realistically have been expected to abandon a thriving movie career for a less certain and immensely less lucrative television role. Wayne did, however, recommend James Arness for the part and his offer to introduce the first episode was readily accepted by CBS. Others who had auditioned for the part included Raymond Burr, Richard Boone, Denver Pyle, and William Conrad. All would go on to other
Matt Pinto Matt Pinto Matt Pinto is the radio voice for the Oklahoma City Thunder for WWLS-FM 98.1, the flagship station for the Thunder Radio Network. He formerly served as the radio play-by-play voice for the Seattle SuperSonics for KTTH-AM 770, the flagship station for the Sonics Radio Network. He was previously named as the radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers for KSPN-AM (710 ESPN, Los Angeles) on August 24, 2005, and he would work at least 70 games a year, while the regular television announcing team of Ralph Lawler and Michael Smith would work the remaining 12 games on radio