Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) no uncertain terms that he had no interest whatsoever. (Wayne was arguably the cinema's foremost box office attraction at the time.) Warren stated that the inquiry had not been serious inasmuch as Wayne could not realistically have been expected to abandon a thriving movie career for a less certain and immensely less lucrative television role. Wayne did, however, recommend James Arness for the part and his offer to introduce the first episode was readily accepted by CBS. Others who had auditioned for the part included Raymond Burr, Richard Boone, Denver Pyle, and William Conrad. All would go on to other
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) to the violent nature of his job, and he was generally less given to brooding about the dangers and tragedies inherent in it. Arness's Matt was somewhat more understanding and tolerant of people's foibles, and he was a bit more intuitive with respect to discerning persons who came to Dodge City with the intention of committing crimes. As Arness's Matt grew older and wiser, he became less inclined to use violence to subdue wrongdoers (plus less an emphasis on violence in later episodes of the series in the late 1960s and 1970s because of national society trends). However, he never