Marshal Matt Dillon - Character Name and Casting Decisions

Character Name and Casting Decisions

In a 1949 audition show (or pilot) for the radio series, the character was named "Mark Dillon," but by 1952, when the regular series aired, the name had been changed to Matt Dillon. When the program came to television in 1955, the first episode was introduced by John Wayne in a brief film clip in which Wayne predicted that James Arness would become a major star. He went on to play the part for the next twenty years. A popular story holds that Wayne himself had been offered the part and had turned it down. Charles Marquis Warren, who produced the first year of the television version of Gunsmoke and made the major casting decisions, stated that he had jokingly asked Wayne whether he would be interested in the part in a casual social setting. He added that Wayne had indicated in no uncertain terms that he had no interest whatsoever. Warren stated that the inquiry had not been serious inasmuch as Wayne could not realistically have been expected to abandon a thriving movie career for a less certain and less lucrative television role. Wayne did, however, recommend James Arness for the part and his offer to introduce the first episode was readily accepted by CBS. Others who had auditioned for the part included Raymond Burr, Richard Boone, Denver Pyle, and William Conrad. All would go on to other television successes. Conrad, in particular, would continue to portray Matt on the radio series until it ended in 1961. He would also go on to direct a number of television programs (including two episodes of Gunsmoke), to become "The Narrator" for the original television series of The Fugitive (1963–1967) and star in two television series, Cannon (1971–1976) and Jake and the Fat Man (1987–1992).