Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) 1840) trying to take a bath in a wooden washtub without fully undressing left his soul a little warped. Anyway, there'd have to be something wrong with him or he wouldn't have hired on as a United States Marshal in the heyday of Dodge City, Kansas." Notwithstanding Meston's original vision, the character evolved considerably during "Gunsmoke"s nine-year run on CBS Radio and its 20-year run on CBS Television (Columbia Broadcasting System). On the radio series which ran from 1952 until 1961, Matt was portrayed by William Conrad, whose deep and resonant voice helped to project a larger than life presence.
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) cause trouble and he would occasionally mete out harsh treatment to those who publicly challenged his authority or unwisely pushed him too far. He was fast and accurate with the single gun he carried and could easily outdraw almost any adversary, despite the fact that he virtually always allowed them to draw first. Matt was also notably compassionate toward those who had fallen on hard times or who had lost a loved one to crime or violence. In both the television and the radio versions, his closest friends were his assistant Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver), town physician Charles "Doc" Adams