Milburn Stone Found Shocking Medical Mistakes in ‘Gunsmoke’ That Made Him Start Learning Medicine

Television shows and feature films aren’t always medically accurate, although such mistakes can destroy the illusion of reality when they’re far off from the real science. Gunsmoke actor Milburn Stone was bombarded with letters from real-life doctors in response to the medical information in the show. As a result, he decided to start learning medicine in his own time to start double-checking the scripts.

‘Gunsmoke’ actor Milburn Stone chose Doc Adam’s name

Stone played Doc Adams on Gunsmoke, but the character didn’t always have a first name. It took 16 years for the producers to finally want to settle on a name. Stone did such a wonderful job with the character that they gave him the honor of coming up with a name for him. He ultimately decided on the name “Galen,” which came from Claudius “Galen” Galenus. The name came from an ancient Roman doctor, who specifically treated Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

That wasn’t the only change that Stone made to Doc. Howard McNear voiced the character on the radio iteration, but there were some changes made when it went to television. Stone played the character with a softer, warmer quality to make him more likable than he ever was on the radio show.

Milburn Stone started learning medicine when he found ‘Gunsmoke’ medical mistakes

Gunsmoke fans were very vocal when it came to sending letters to the producers and stars, including Stone himself. He told the Asbury Park Press in 1964 that he developed an appreciation for medicine because of the show.

A script from the first season included a discussion that talked about the contents of the human bloodstream, but the writer made things up as they went along.

“Within a few weeks, I received hundreds of letters from doctors,” Stone said. “It burned me up because I figured the writer had researched the darned thing. As it turned out, he hadn’t.”

In turn, Stone studied textbooks on various medical subjects, including surgery and anatomy. He went on to learn more about the human anatomy than his fellow cast members, finding all of the medical errors made in the scripts and ensuring that the writers fixed them.

Gunsmoke audiences at home believed Stone as Doc so much that they started to believe that he was a real medical professional. Naturally, he had to set them straight.

“Even after 10 years, these letters shock me,” Stone said. “These people honestly expect me, an actor, to cure their ailments by mail. I always write back, ‘You’d better hurry up and see a doctor. I mean a real doctor.’”

He played Doc Adams for all 20 seasons

Stone was the only actor, other than James Arness, to remain on Gunsmoke for all 20 seasons. Unlike his co-star, Stone missed starring in a few episodes due to health reasons. Nevertheless, he gave the adult Western his all, embracing and evolving Doc over the years.

CBS canceled Gunsmoke by surprise without alerting the cast or crew, which spelled out Stone’s retirement. The network later released five made-for-TV movies, which saw the return of Arness, as well as Amanda Blake’s Miss Kitty Russell for the first installment. Unfortunately, Stone didn’t star in any of them as Doc because he died years prior.