Marshal Matt Dillon - As Portrayed On The Radio Series

As Portrayed On The Radio Series

On the radio series (which ran from 1952 until 1961), Matt was portrayed by William Conrad, whose deep and resonant voice helped to project a larger than life presence. In the opening of most radio episodes, the announcer would describe the show as "...the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man who moved with it." Matt would take over, saying, "I'm that man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal -- the first man they look for and the last they want to meet. It's a chancy job, and it makes a man watchful . . . and a little lonely." Matt provided bits of narration for many of the radio episodes, usually to help set the scene for the listener or to provide observations that assisted with character development. In the radio series, Matt often struggled with the need to utilize violence in order to fulfill his duties. He also struggled with the frequent needless tragedies that he was forced to witness. These factors led him to become snappish and impatient at times, but he nevertheless managed to remain sufficiently in control of his emotions to perform his difficult job capably and impartially. In the radio version, Matt would speak frequently of the still-fragile acceptance of law and order on the frontier and he would sometimes determine his course of action based upon what he honestly felt was necessary to preserve its long-term acceptance. In the radio version, Matt spoke of actual persons who were well known in the history of the American West, including Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid (whose "supposed" origin figured in the very first episode of the radio series), and he often referred to Wild Bill Hickok as being a close personal friend.