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
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.