George Fenneman series, and then with John Stephenson when Dragnet returned to TV in 1967. It was Fenneman's voice which announced, "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent." while Stephenson would be heard at the end of the episode describing the court trials and verdicts. He was the principal commercial announcer for the radio version of "Gunsmoke", and frequently introduced "Matt Dillon" (William Conrad) after the episode to extoll the virtues of L&M or Chesterfield cigarettes. He appeared on screen in the 1951 film "The Thing from Another World" and the
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) hesitated to do so when the situation warranted. Dillon often tried to talk men out of "trying him", and would express a genuine regret to family members when he had to kill a man. In one salute to modern police dramas, one episode ["The Fourth Victim"] Matt Dillon has to try to stop a mad killer who is shooting Dodge citizens for no apparent reason. Possibly the angriest Matt Dillon ever got was after an accidental shooting ("The Round Up"). An old friend, Zel, had come to town during an influx of wild acting cattle drovers. Matt deputized him, and