William Conrad William Conrad William Conrad (September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American World War II fighter pilot, actor, producer, and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he starred in the detective series "Cannon" (1971–1976). A radio writer and actor, he moved to Hollywood after his World War II service and played a series of character roles in films beginning with the quintessential film noir "The Killers" (1946). He created the role of Marshal Matt Dillon for the popular radio series "Gunsmoke" (1952–1961) and narrated the television adventures of "Rocky
Gunsmoke and any time." The television series ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975, and lasted for 635 episodes. At the end of its run in 1975, "Los Angeles Times" columnist Cecil Smith wrote: ""Gunsmoke" was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own "Iliad" and "Odyssey", created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp Western as romanticized by [Ned] Buntline, [Bret] Harte, and [Mark] Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend." In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a fan of the "Philip Marlowe" radio serial, asked his programming