Radio’s greatest adult western told the story of Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal, "the first man they look for and the last they want to meet." It aired from April 26, 1952 through June 18, 1961 and spawned television’s longest-running prime-time drama. Gunsmoke grew out of a request from CBS founder William Paley for a "Philip Marlowe in the Old West," and featured grimly realistic stories set in the vicinity of Dodge City, the "Gommorrah of the West," with William Conrad as Dillon.
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