Golden Age of Radio

This western series premiered on radio on September 10, 1955 and completed its network run on September 1, 1975, making it the longest running dramatic series in the history of television. Two of its stars, James Arness and Milburn Stone, stayed with it through all 20 seasons, while Amanda Blake departed the series after 19 years. Although it started out as a half-hour show, it was expanded to an hour beginning with its seventh season. Gunsmoke was one of two TV series that introduced the "adult western" to television audiences. Gunsmoke   originated on radio in 1952, with William Conrad playing the role of Marshal Matt Dillon. When CBS decided to create the television version, Conrad was deemed to hefty for the part, yet he continued in the radio role until the early 1960s. The role of the marshal was initially offered to John Wayne, who was not interested in doing a weekly series, yet he did introduce the first broadcast of the program. From its old time radio pro