title: Gunsmoke
text: Gunsmoke was a western drama television series. John Meston created the series. It ran for twenty years from 1955 to 1975. Each episode ran for 1 hour. In 1955, CBS television network tried to hire John Wayne. They finally decided on James Arness to play the role of Matt Dillon in the Gunsmoke series. The main cast was Arness, Dennis Weaver playing Chester Goode, Milburn Stone as Doc Adams, and Amanda Blake as saloon keeper Miss Kitty Russell. Ken Curtis played Festus Haggen and Burt Reynolds played a blacksmith.
  
  Between 1955 - 1961, the episodes were 30 minutes long. After that, they were one hour long. 635 episodes were made between 1955 to 1975. Many well known actors have been on the series. These include John Wayne  (presenter of the pilot), Bette Davis, Harrison Ford, Jon Voight, Kurt Russell and Jodie Foster. In 1987, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge was made. Arness returned in the role of Dillon. Later television movies included Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (1990), Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), Gunsmoke: The Long Ride (1993) and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994).
  
  References 
   Information on Gunsmoke 
  Gunsmoke episodes at the Internet Movie Database
  
  American drama television series
  Western (genre) television series
  CBS network shows
  1950s American television series
  1955 television series debuts
  1975 American television series endings
  English-language television programs