John Wayne's Episode Of Gunsmoke Explained (& Did He Turn Down The Lead?)

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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.

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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