Episode 8642: Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Gunsmoke" - Lochinvar (10-17-52)

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Gunsmoke"
Lochinvar (Aired October 17, 1952)
Matt Dillon was played on radio by William Conrad and on TV by James Arness. Two versions of the same pilot episode titled "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" were produced with Rye Billsbury and Howard Culver playing Marshal "Mark" Dillon as the lead, not yet played by Conrad. Conrad was one of the last actors to audition for the role of Marshal Dillon. With a resonantly powerful and distinctive voice, Conrad was already one of radio's busiest actors. Though Meston championed him, Macdonnell thought Conrad might be overexposed. During his audition, however, Conrad won over Macdonnell after reading only a few lines. Dillon, as portrayed by Conrad, was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. Macdonnell later claimed, "Much of Matt Dillon's character grew out of Bill Conrad." The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and John Dunning writes that among radio drama enthusiasts "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time."
THIS EPISODE:

October 17, 1952. CBS network. "Lochinvar". Sustaining. Artis Nash is planning to marry Ben Martin, but not if Frank Craig has anything to say about it!. Barney Phillips, Clancey Cassell (announcer), Georgia Ellis, Herb Ellis, Howard McNear, Les Crutchfield (writer), Parley Baer, Tom Tully, Vivi Janis, William Conrad. 30:39. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.