Gunsmoke "The Cisco Kid." "Gunsmoke" was set in Dodge City, Kansas, during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Dunning notes, "The show drew critical acclaim for unprecedented realism." The radio series first aired on CBS on April 26, 1952 with the episode "Billy the Kid", written by Walter Newman, and ended on June 18, 1961. The show stars William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Dillon's assistant, Chester Wesley Proudfoot. Matt Dillon was played on radio by William Conrad and on TV by James Arness. Two
John Meston later star as Marshal Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke"; and Howard McNear, who would be cast as "Doc" in that radio drama. It was at this time, at the turn of the 1950s, when Meston also began adapting stories, writing original scripts, and serving as an editorial supervisor for episodes of "Romance", another popular CBS radio drama that had been on the air since 1943. He contributed scripts as well to installments of "Suspense" and "Lux Radio Theater", yet two more of CBS Radio's lineup of notable programs during 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. In 1949 executives and programmers at CBS