The CONTROVERSIAL Scene That Took Gunsmoke Off The Air

When are you going to start shooting at him? I'm just waiting for you to beat me. Gunsmoke is considered one of the best television shows in history. It was a very popular western drama loved by Americans and even foreigners around the world. I watched The Adventures of Marshall Matt Dylan every week for 20 years, from 1955 to 1975. There was also a radio show from 1952 to 1961. Many thought it was the best Western television series of the time, because of how the show gained recognition world. It was shocking to discover it. that one

scene

in particular caused viewers to collectively cancel it before CBS, the network sponsoring it, suddenly ended it.

What was the

controversial

scene

? Keep watching to find out Matt, if you say I told you so, I'll never talk to you again, one of America's favorites. Classic TV Shows To understand these Revelations, we must first understand some important context. Did you know that Gunm Smoke actually started as a radio show? The show was based on a radio play called Gunsmoke, which was very popular and then executives decided to bring it to television. he kept the radio version going for six more years from 1952 to 1961. John Wayne was originally supposed to play Matt Dylan, but he turned it down because the television schedules were too demanding.

Despite this, he gave the show a good review before it initially aired. Gunsmoke was sponsored by LM. cigarettes for Seven Seasons showing how times have changed William Conrad initially played Matt Dylan on the radio, but James Aress

took

over for the television series for appearance reasons. Gary Buuy had a major role in Gunsmoke's history as a Harvard diary and his character was the last to die. Before she ended the show, Kitty Russell was a professional lady on Gunsmoke, but her work was rarely mentioned on television. Executives and producers avoided discussing it due to the need for family-friendly content.

The show's opening scene changed when politics influenced the depiction of violence. Initially, each episode featured a shootout between Matt Dylan and another gunman, but this changed around 1970 due to political pressure against violence on television. In 1967, CBS planned to cancel Gunsmoke, but audiences protested so they canceled Gilligan's Island, that's what they made everyone believe, but the thing is, that's not the only reason CBS ended up canceling Gilligan's Island, you'll find out soon enough, stay with us, grow up, you men have a good idea. What it's like to grow up, just solve it with a gun, just shoot someone and that makes you a man. held the primetime record for most episodes until The Simpsons surpassed it in 2018 despite only airing for 20 seasons.

Gunsmoke had more episodes per season than modern television shows. Have you ever thought about how the casting of the show went when choosing actors for a television? The show's directors must organize several auditions to find the best one for Gunsmoke. They had 26 people on the final list, but who knows how many they saw before. James Aress was one of them, but the first choice was William Conrad, he had played an American Marshall. Radio before James Aress was as tough in real life as the tough guy he played on the show. He filmed every episode of the show even though he had a leg injury from World War II and was really big, he was 6'7 tall.

Unfortunately his height contributed to his arthritis later during Gunsmoke, the pain was so intense that he couldn't stand filming for many days in a row, so the producers allowed him to do all the scenes for one episode in just one day, the impressive Amanda Blake. She starred as Miss Kitty Russell, the red-haired lady who owned a salon in Gunsmoke. She appeared in over 500 episodes of the long-running show, but in the radio version of Gunsmoke, Miss Kitty's job was more gossip-worthy than the person who made the series. Norman McDonnell never directly said what he did, but he hinted at it, he said that Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit from time to time because of that clue.

Time magazine

took

the view that she probably wasn't selling chocolate bars. What do you think? Amanda Blake began acting when she was young. She got a contract with MGM when she was still a teenager when she discovered they were making a television show of the Gunsmoke radio show. She really wanted to play Miss Kitty Russell and it kept bothering her. the people in charge of her until she was given the role, she played the saloon owner for 19 years in Gunsmoke. She became good friends with Glenn Strange, who played the bartender at her saloon. She left the show before it ended because her friend passed away.

What make you think? You can wake me up in the middle of the night to listen to a long, sad story about one of your old loves. Amanda Blake was not the first choice to play Miss Kitty. Polly Bond married to Tommy Bond from The Little Rascals was asked first but she said no because she would have made more money than her husband. Tommy worked at a television station and Paully thought it would cause problems in her marriage. It's hard to imagine anyone else like Miss Kitty, but she sadly missed out due to financial problems in her marriage.

When choosing who would play Matt Dylan, the lead cowboy, those responsible wanted someone ideal for the job. Some people say they asked the famous John Wayne to do it, but there is no evidence that Charles Marquis Warren, who directed some episodes, and the new Wayne said Wayne would do it. He didn't want it, he wasn't much into television, but Wayne suggested that James appear for the role with so many episodes that it's hard to remember all the actors in Gunsmoke 10, seven main actors, seven who appeared a lot and many guest stars, the most recent. The actor died in 2018.

Actor Bert Reynolds starred as Quint Asper, who was half-Native American from 1962 to 1965 because, since ER was part-Native American, he couldn't drink in Dodge City. Reynolds was very successful and passed away at 82, then there was Dennis. Weaver, once he accepted his role as the funny sidekick, quickly landed the role, but when he read the lines with the actors trying out for the lead character, Matt Dylan, there was a new problem: the producers thought that Weaver was so charming that he seemed like the main character. They asked him to give his character a physical problem. Weaver decided to limp and practiced it in his yard, but then wished she hadn't because he had to continue limping while he was on set.

Milbourne Stone's Dr. Adams had a long history on Gunsmoke. He studied in Philadelphia, worked as a doctor for players on ships and even met Mark Twain, although he was a major part of the show for over 10 years, people didn't know his name after 16 years, the producers let Milbourne pick one, Since he knew the character well, he chose Galen, special appearances and villains, other famous actors from different shows also appeared in the middle of the smoke. Remember the crew of the USS Enterprise. Well, they weren't the only ones, the people from The Brady Bunch also made appearances.

Christopher Knight, who Peter Brady appeared in an episode called The Miracle Man in season 14. Eve Plum, known for playing Jan Brady, appeared as Sue in another episode in the same season called Gold Town and Susan Olen, who played Cindy Brady, was in two episodes during seasons 14 and 15 there is more about the guest appearances Charles Bronson, who once played James Bond, was in an episode as a crazy man named Crego in 1956, he even returned to play the same role a few years later, they also had David Kadine of Kung Fu fame playing a horse. the thief Leslie Neelen from Naked Gun was a gang leader and there were more famous faces like Nick Noti Dennis Hopper Sam Elliott Richard dfus Kurt Russell and Harrison Ford appearing in different episodes Ken Curtis did many different jobs on Gunsmoke when it started once he acted as a Texan cowboy who unfortunately did not make it;

Then, in episode 13 of season 8, he played the unforgettable Festus Haggen. A year later, he became a regular part of the show. Fesus watched over the streets of Dodge City and made everyone laugh. Along the way, Ken Curtis based Tes on a boy he knew since he was a child named Cedar Jack, who used to make wooden poles. Do you know other actors who channel their childhood friends to perfect their roles? Besides, many actors generally stick to one. type of movie like a western, but Glenn Strange did a lot of different things, he played bartender Sam Nunan in Gunsmoke, but that was just a small part of what he did before, which was Frankenstein's monster in three movies in the 1990s. 1940 after Boris Carof, who played the monster.

Before he passed away, Glenn Strange took over, he was very good at being scary, but he could also be funny. He demonstrated it in a film called Abbot and Castello Meet Frankenstein in 1948, but Gun Smoke was his last achievement. He died of lung cancer in 1973. Actors don't leave a big mark But others are remembered for generations Glenn Strange was one of those extraordinary actors, even today his influence on the rest of the cast is still felt when Frankenstein actor Glenn Strange passed away, his friend and Gunsmoke co-star Buck. Taylor showed her love and respect by naming her third child after him.

It's just a way to show how much Strange was loved both on and off screen. Now think about this, what could it be like for a war that ended a decade before Gunsmoke began? delayed before becoming an actor Ares was chosen to serve in the US Army in March 1943. He fought in the Battle of Anzio in Italy on January 22, 1944 during the battle, he was hit by machine gun fire in the right lower leg and foot. he earned him honors such as the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Recovery was difficult, but he eventually got better, but those injuries stayed with him for the rest of his life because of this, Gunsmoke had to plan all the Ares scenes where he had to walk early in the morning.

James Arnes and Milbourne Stone were mainstays in almost every episode of Gunsmoke Stone, almost equaling Ares' record, only missing six episodes due to a heart attack in 1971, despite his health problems, Arnus was affected by severe arthritis and filmed all of his scenes in one day to allow for a Recovery Week. Glenn Str's last film role was in Gunsmoke in 1973, capping a career in Hollywood that began in the 1930s but skyrocketed in the 1970s. 1940 when she replaced Boris Carof as Frankenstein Amanda Blake was not the original choice for Miss Kitty Russell Pauline Bond. he was initially cast but turned down the role Paving the way for Blake's iconic performance oh that's not all the producers tried out many actors for Matt Dylan before James Aress got the role actors like Raymond Burr and Denver Pile auditioned two Gunsmoke was the number one for four years when it became a one hour show in 1957 viewership declined but in the 60's and 70's it became popular again they made five movies later the cast reunited for five TV movies the movies were Gunsmoke returned to Dodge in 1987 gunm smoke the last Apache in 1990 Gunsmoke to the last man in 1992 Gunsmoke the long ride in 1993 and Gunsmoke one man's Justice in 1994 James Aress was in all five films, but they were not well received throughout Gunsmoke's run .

The villains were often told to leave Dodge City. This phrase became famous because On the set of the show in Dodge City, Kansas, people began saying it in the 1960s and 1970s, but not so much Matt Dylan, the main character, was tough and didn't show much romance in the 20 years and 635 episodes of the show, he only kissed a woman once, which happened in the third episode of season 19, appropriately titled Matt's Love Story, well there you go, Miss Kitty, thank you, you know, if you come to Long Branch tonight you can have all the beer you can drink oh the funny joke and why they canceled the show.

Gunsmoke Chester viewers did not carry a gun as Dennis Weaver, who played him, wanted the character to be non-violent and different from Matt. Dylan Chester's limp was added to differentiate him, but Weaver regretted the decision as it became difficult to maintain throughout the 290 episodes. Ken Curtis had a long run on Gunsmoke appearing in 307 episodes from 1959 to 1975 primarily as Fesus. You may not know it, but in one of the original 30-minute episodes, Curtis played the role of an Indian and later played a Kansas rancher who befriends him. with Chester played by Dennis Weaver only to meet a tragic end shortly after Curtis was a true team player James Arnes known for his hero role on television was also aReal-life hero during World War II served in the military despite suffering a serious leg injury that likely worsened his extreme arthritis.

Ares received several awards for his service, including a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Medal of the European, Middle Eastern African campaign, with three bronze campaign stars, the World War II Victory Medal and a combat infantry badge. Marshall Trimble, a history expert who knows a lot about the Wild West, said Matt Dylan's character shot 407 people with gun smoke that comes from both the TV series and made-for-TV movies, some of the bad guys. They lived after being shot, but most did not kill for the last time in the famous series. is probably the most memorable in the final episode of Gunsmoke William Gary Buzy who played a character who died on screen due to a brain tumor remember that the shooting we talked about was like those in the movies titled High Noon with Matt Dylan during filming by James Arnes who played the main character pretended to lose on purpose everyone found it funny in places where people speak Spanish they call Gunsmoke something like Gunsmoke for most of Gunsmoke's time on television they stuck with the same beginning Since it started in 1955, it always showed a gunfight, people knew what to expect when the show aired each week, but as the Vietnam War progressed and people in America became concerned about violence, they decided to change the beginning and they made a new one with less fighting, so Matt Dylan's shooting at the beginning of each episode is gone forever and now, for the big reveal, Mr.

Dylan CBS suddenly ended Gunsmoke without telling the actors and crew , unlike other 1970s shows that had memorable big endings, Gunsmoke didn't have one in 1977. Roots had a huge audience. around 140 million Americans make its final episode the second most watched series in history, on the other hand, the final episode of Gunsmoke, TheSharecroppers is a light and forgettable story about Fesus who accidentally shoots a farmer and then works in the farm to make up for it. It doesn't offer the serious and satisfying ending that Gunsmoke after being on television for 20 years deserved, and it also doesn't. It doesn't focus on the main character, US Marshal Matt Dylan, who was the heart of the show, that's a big reason.

Arss, who starred in the first The Thing film, then returned for the 1987 TV movie. Gunm Smoke returned to dodge CBS, probably thinking Gunm Smoke was out of style and wanted to replace it with newer shows even though was still doing well, although this did not bring back the TV series, it returned for four more films as Gunm Smoke The Long Ride and Gunm Smoke One Man's Justice in 1994, the latter not only ending. Gunsmoke as a series, at least for now, was also Ares' last acting job, although it's not unusual for a popular TV show to end without a big ending, as those married with children did.

Gunsmoke ending without a hitch was incredibly disappointing, luckily returning to dodge helped correct that mistake. M AK, you should know that the sudden end of gun smoke was not an accident, the TV network planned it that way. David R Greenland's book The Gunsmoke Chronicles, a new history of television's greatest western, explained how CBS canceled the show without telling anyone in the cast or crew James Ares, who played the title character, recalled that everyone was expecting another Gunsmoke season. CBS made them think everything was fine, but then when it was almost time to start again, CBS suddenly stopped the show, even producer John Mantley didn't know about it beforehand.

He found out when he read the news in The Hollywood Reporter. Arnes added that CBS didn't even bother to call JN. CBS had considered ending gun smoke before then, although it is unclear why from 1957 to 1961 Gunsmoke was the most popular show in the series. Television and people still liked it in the 1970s, but in 1967 they almost stopped it early. A TV boss was going to cancel it, but then something strange happened. The boss's wife at CBS found out and was angry. She told them they couldn't cancel it. smoking because it was their favorite so instead of Gunsmoke they ended up canceling Gilligan's Island by mistake and then Gunsmoke got the good time slot that Gilligan's Island had and the show became even more popular again in the top 10, finally CBS canell the show if CBS If they had given Gunsmoke a proper ending, it could have come out like Mash did in regards to a sense of closure and a lot more people watching in 1975 smoked the TV out for a while because of a scene where they kill a guy with a shotgun. too violent for some viewers, so they had to cut it.

Were you able to see that

controversial

scene before it was cut, and which of the facts we revealed about the show surprised you the most? Share it with us in the comments if you liked watching it, click the like button subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to never miss an upload