Gunsmoke Compilation
Season 12, Episode 02
February 19, 2024
Two gunslingers. Two classic stories. One new adventure.
Re-Imagined Radio celebrates Gunsmoke, a defining radio drama in the Western genre, with a compilation of two episodes, "Billy The Kid" and "Young Man with a Gun." Two different young men aspire to be gunslingers. Both meet US Marshall Matt Dillon (William Conrad) in Dodge City, Kansas, late 1870s. One changes his dream. The other lives it, and dies by it as "Billy The Kid."
Access the episode script
Background
Gunsmoke was heard on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from June 26, 1952 to June 18, 1961. It was one of the longest running radio dramas and arguably radio's last great dramatic series. 480 performances were offered from 413 scripts. 479 episodes survive.
Dodge City, Kansas: A City on the Edge
Dodge City, Kansas, during the 1870s was called the "Queen of the Cow Towns," the "Wicked Little City," the "Gomorrah of the Plains." It had a reputation as a hostile, lawless town where the "fastest gun" ruled during the settlement of the American West. Cowboys herding cattle up from Texas, drifters, criminals, psychopaths—the mix was volatile. US Deputy Marshal Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), Sheriff Bat Masterson (1856-1921), Sheriff Bill Tilghman (1854-1924), and Sheriff Charlie Bassett (c. 1847-1869), all real lawmen, worked without reservation to keep Dodge City under control until civilization could take hold.
Marshal Matt Dillon (played by William Conrad) is modeled after these lawmen. He is a loner, isolated, hard as worn leather saddle. There are only two ways he can go: be an outlaw, or be a Marshal and rid the territory of the mad-dog characters drifting through, spreading misery and death in their wakes. He has chosen the latter, and is weary of his life. Scared that everyday could be his last.
A Western for Adults
Gunsmoke was originally developed by Harry Ackerman. A pilot episode was recorded in 1949 in two versions. The project was shelved until 1952 when it was revived by producer Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. They had worked together on Escape and wanted to create a Western series that would deal realistically with the hard realities of life in and around Dodge City, Kansas Territory, in the late 1800s.
Macdonnell and Meston conceptualized Gunsmoke as a Western for adults. Episodes dealt with the hard realities of life in Dodge City and the Kansas frontier from 1872-1885. They overturn Western fiction stereotypes, are mature, brutal, and explicit, with violent crimes and deaths, massacres, scalpings, racism, and opium addiction. Criminals are not always caught. Episodes often end unhappily. And women are treated poorly. Gunsmoke explored these issues well ahead of other media.
William Conrad as Matt Dillon
William Conrad estimated that he voiced more than 7,500 roles in his radio career. Many of these were solid supporting roles, but Conrad literally defined two radio programs with his distinctive voice: Escape and Gunsmoke.
Interestingly, Conrad was initially rejected by the producers of Gunsmoke who argued his familiar voice was heard on too many other radio programs. But Conrad's audition was too strong to be dismissed and over the nine-year run of Gunsmoke he defined the role of Marshal Dillon as well as the gritty and uncompromising storytelling of what is now called the greatest drama series in radio history.
Cast & Credits
William Conrad as Marshall Matt Dillon
Parley Baer as Chester Wesley Proudfoot
Howard McNear as Charles "Doc" Adams
Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell
Written by John Meston
Music composed and conducted by Rex Koury
Re-Imagined Radio's "William Conrad Tribute" episode features "Bloody Hands," the April 2, 1955, Episode #155 of Gunsmoke. Learn more and listen here
Exemplary Episodes
"Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" - Audition #00a1, 11 June 1949
"Billy the Kid" - Episode 001, 26 April 1952
"The Boughten Bride" - Episode 012, 12 July 1952
"Home Surgery" - Episode 021, 13 September 1952
"Kitty" - Episode 032, 29 November 1952
"The Cabin" - Episode 036, 27 December 1952
"Cavalcade" - Episode 041, 31 January 1953
"Jayhawkers" - Episode 050, 4 April 1953
"Sundown" - Episode 059, 6 June 1953
"Flashback" - Episode 062, 27 June 1953
"Blacksmith" - Episode 111, 5 June 1954
"Bloody Hands" - Episode 155, 2 April 1955
Resources
Production
Contents
A compilation of two episodes, "Billy The Kid" (Episode #001, April 26, 1952) and "Young Man with a Gun" (Episode #123, August 23, 1954)
Credits
Curated, Produced, and Hosted by John F. Barber
Sound Design and Music Composition by Marc Rose
Promotional Graphics by Holly Slocum with Sydney Nguyen
Producer's Notes
Ranked Top-10 Most Listened by Goodpods listeners
This compilation brings together two powerful stories that explore the mythology and reality of
gunslingers in the Old West. Through William Conrad's definitive performance as Matt Dillon, we
experience the weight of violence and the choices that define us.
— John F. Barber
Promotion
Press
Graphics
