Gunsmoke

[S&WsRsweet]

Yes gunsmoke is a great western to watch ..In the very first one “Duke” introduced James Arnese as Matt Dillon. I watched Gunsmoke with my grandad .Good times ,it was great time to be a kid growing up in America .We had heroes who were larger than life ,politicians you could trust ,weren’t embarrassed to watch tv with a kid in the room ,I love the memories you guys bring up but I miss those days .Miss grandad and grandma too real bad.

 

[WPWarhawk]

I named my oldest son “Matthew”.

 

[S&WsRsweet]

Great Name biblically or western .

 

[DWalt]

"We had ...politicians you could trust..."

That must have been a very, very long time ago.

 

[rwsmith]

I named mine....

I named my oldest son “Matthew”.

I named mine 'Chester' and my daughter 'Kitty'.

I do like the old 'Marshall Dillon' B&Ws. Chester was a bad *** with a sawed-off shotgun. Out there on those muddy streets without all of the townies dressed to the hilt with their parasols.

 

[susieqz]

i love the older B&W gunsmokes.
the half hour format was perfect.
i don't think much of the hour shows.

 

[Backlighting]

The early thirty-minute episodes were probably the best and certainly more violent than the one-hour versions.

I prefer the full hour episodes..more time to develop the story line. The 30 minute shows, less commercials, amount to about 24 minutes of program.

 

[Narragansett]

Being retired, I watch way too much TV. Most of it is political, preachy, boring and lousy. The only consistently good show is Gunsmoke. Dillon never missed, they had real stars in episodes every week. Bag guys were truly bad, most of the time. Great writing, action, humor, drama, and good usually won out over evil. Festus, Chester, Miss Kitty, Doc, Louie the town drunk, many regulars too numerous to mention, the show has it all. I am rarely disappointed, violence is not glorified but raw and stark. I look forward to nearly every show.

Especially the original half hour shows

 

[MRB1]

When I was on assignment in Israel, Gunsmoke and The Lone Ranger were on the TV every night. Both shows were hilarious because they were dubbed in Hebrew. I wish I had tapped a few episodes.

 

[ACORN]

Went to a rodeo way back when. Doc and Festus were part of the
entertainment. Festus said I thought Miss Kitty was going to come
with us. Doc said she was, but she came down with a chest cold.
Festus said Them germs really know how to live.

I know if I was one of those germs that's where I'd a headed.

 

[Chino74]

I believe I read somewhere that Ken Curtis's father in law was John Ford.

 

[Old TexMex]

Back in ‘69 I surfed Rincon, near Carpinteria CA with James Aurness and his son Rolf (who went on to win a world championship in ‘70)

My first brush with hollywood fame. His pot gut wasn’t hidden by the girdle he musta worn in Gunsmoke. But he could surf pretty well, actually.

 

[OLDSTER]

When I'm trying to keep up with the treadmill at the gym, I always watch "Gun Smoke" to help pass the time. Always entertaining; and IMO, the best of all the good old TV westerns.

 

[Backlighting]

Here's an interview with Arness, probably not long before he died, with an introduction by John Wayne.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psnPEyuB9S4[/ame]

 

[ACORN]

I think he would drive anyone nuts.

YouTube

I always enjoy the interaction between Doc and Festus.

I just checked on Wikipedia to see when Arness passed and read that he was Peter Graves brother. They sure sound alike.

 

[Ogandydancer]

Never cared much for Chester (don't even like him in other movies) but Festus and Doc and Louie and Sam are a different ball of wax.

When I was a kid that program was a regular Saturday night thing with us.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I know if I was one of those germs that's where I'd a headed.

“Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon, Miss Kitty says you better get your *** over ‘t the Long Branch.”

“I do, Chester, I do.”

 

[Backlighting]

On an episode I recently saw was a Colt 1890 Gatling gun. Only 18 were ever manufactured. There's one on Guns International that is listed for $130,000. Take a look.
COLT MODEL 1890 GATLING GUN

 

[ol777gunnerz]

The only thing that could make watching Gunsmoke better, we moved to Dodge City in 1960, rented a house on Wyatt Earp Blvd. [still the main drag east & west in town] at the age of 10, witnessed the destruction of the original front street buildings for the "urban renewal" project in 1969, now recognized as a huge mistake. Two yrs, later we moved to South Dodge, shot a BB gun all over the southwest side, had a Cushman motor scooter when I was 12 yrs old, rode up & down all the alleys, when a little older rode it up 14th St. to the Arkansas river, up & down the river road west. It was a great place to grow up.

 

[Hawker800]

I like Matt's practical joke blooper.
YouTube