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
Boot Hill Hill Cemetery in Dodge City, Kansas. Boot Hill is the name of the cemetery in Dodge City in the "Gunsmoke" radio series. In many episodes, the marshal (Matt Dillon) would allude to "putting you in Boot Hill", or "another man headed to Boot Hill". In the first season of the "Gunsmoke" television series, the introduction to each episode showed Matt Dillon walking around Boot Hill reflecting on the deaths of men buried there. Boothill Graveyard is referenced in many films such as "Tombstone" (1993), "Wyatt Earp" (1994), and "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957), during which it was repeatedly sung