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) first episode was introduced by John Wayne in a brief film clip in which Wayne predicted that James Arness would become a major star. He went on to play the part for the next twenty years. A popular story holds that Wayne himself had been offered the part and had turned it down. Charles Marquis Warren, who produced the first year of the television version of "Gunsmoke" and made the major casting decisions, stated that he had jokingly asked Wayne whether he would be interested in the part in a casual social setting. He added that Wayne had indicated in