Here’s John Wayne’s Gunsmoke episode explained and whether there’s any truth to reports he passed on the series. Gunsmoke started life as a radio series before it became a TV show in 1955. While the series might look quite tame by modern standards or subsequent Western series like Hell On Wheels, for its time it was praised for its grounded approach. The series was fronted by James Arness as Marshal Dillion, who previously played the titular alien in 1951’s The Thing From Another World.
Gunsmoke – which featured a young Burt Reynolds – was a huge ratings success for CBS, and it would end up running for 20 years, finally coming to an end in 1975. For a long time, Gunsmoke held the record for the most episodes produced for a primetime, scripted series at 635. The Simpsons would eventually best this record in 2018. Arness also holds the distinction of having played Dillion across five decades and is tied with Kelsey Grammer as Frasier for having played a single character across 20 consecutive seasons of television.
Before Arness was picked for Gunsmoke, several actors such as future Perry Mason star Raymond Barr were considered. One actor who was not considered to play Gunsmoke’s Marshal Dillion is John Wayne, however. By the time Gunsmoke began airing, Wayne – who almost worked with Elvis – was one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and A-list actors committing to a primetime TV series would have been unheard of; the actor was reportedly not a fan of the medium either. Wayne did contribute to the show’s legacy, however, as he had previously worked with James Arness and recommended him for the role to Gunsmoke writer/producer Charles Warren. Wayne also recorded a surprise introduction for Gunsmoke’s first episode “Matt Gets It.”
John Wayne’s Gunsmoke introduction is brief and to the point, where he praises his “friend” Arness and the quality of the show. The cast of the series had no idea Wayne had recorded this introduction either, and it no doubt helped push the show’s success. Wayne never actually appeared in an episode of the series, though again, movie stars tended to avoid television during this period.
Following Gunsmoke’s – where Dillion was once framed in The Long Ride – ending with season 20, Arness eventually returned as Dillion for a series of TV movies, starting with Gunsmoke: Return To Dodge in 1987. Arness signed off on both the Gunsmoke franchise and his acting career with One Man’s Justice in 1994. Despite the iconic nature of the Western series, there have been no attempts to remake or revive it, and it would be hard to picture anybody taking Arness’ place as Marshal Dillion now.
