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
Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) (Milburn Stone), and saloon-keeper Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake). These three individuals were among Matt's few real friends because he knew that he could trust them in any situation. In the television version, Chester was eventually replaced by Festus Haggen (Ken Curtis), an uneducated country-boy, but savvy plainsman who ultimately became a badge-wearing Deputy U.S. Marshal; a position that always eluded Chester. In both the radio and television versions, the exact nature of Matt's relationship with Kitty Russell was deliberately kept somewhat vague. Kitty was portrayed by Georgia Ellis in the radio version and by Amanda Blake in the television version.