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
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) provide observations that assisted with character development. Inasmuch as the radio episodes were a bit darker and more violent in nature than the television episodes (especially in the radio series' early years), Conrad's Marshal Dillon could sometimes be quick to anger and unhesitating with respect to taking violent courses of action. Paradoxically, however, Conrad's Dillon often struggled internally with the need to utilize violence in order to fulfill his duties. He also struggled internally with the frequent needless tragedies that his job caused him to witness. These factors were the primary reasons that Conrad's Matt could occasionally become snappish and