Gunsmoke was a superb adult Western series broadcast from 1952 to 1961 on CBS. The radio show was also turned into a TV show, endorsed by John Wayne, and became enormously popular. Set in Dodge City, Kansas during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s, Gunsmoke featured William Conrad as Matt Dillon, a US marshall during the settlement of the American West. Parley Baer starred as Chester Wesley Proudfoot, Dillon's deputy. Georgia Ellis played Kitty Russell, the saloon girl. Howard McNear was the show's regular Dr. Charles Adams. Rex Koury composed Gunsmoke's theme music which became the best-known piece on the air. John Dunning, a respected detective fiction writer, noted that "the show drew critical acclaim for unprecedented realism." He added that "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time."
