The Day That John Wayne Completely Shocked the Entire ‘Gunsmoke’ Cast

With a career that spanned 50 years on the silver screen, John Wayne‘s legacy expanded far beyond his films, he even made an unusual impact on TV’s beloved Gunsmoke. The incident happened on September 10, 1955, right before the very first episode of Gunsmoke aired on CBS. The entire cast of the show, who were all gathered together, couldn’t believe what they were seeing on TV.

When Gunsmoke premiered on CBS in 1955, it was an immediate hit. This success was not just because of a phenomenal cast, which included James Arness, Amanda Blake and Dennis Weaver, but also because it was already very popular as a radio drama starring William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, protector of Dodge City, Kansas.

The radio program was originally envisioned as a hard-boiled western. William Paley, the chairman of CBS, was a huge fan of the pulp noir character Philip Marlowe and had requested a show that would be “Philip Marlowe in the Old West.” Whether Bill Paley got what he wanted or not is subject to debate, but Gunsmoke did feel different than other westerns at the time.

GUNSMOKE, (from left): James Arness, Amanda Blake, Ken Curtis, Milburn Stone, 1955-75.

Everett Collection

Gunsmoke was a massive hit for CBS. Initially running for just 30 minutes and filmed in black and white, the show would later expand to a full hour and transition to color. All told, the series ran for 20 seasons on CBS. Of course, the success of the show had a lot to do with the man who played Dodge City’s beloved marshal, James Arness.

James wasn’t the only one who was considered for the role. Raymond Burr, Denver Pyle and William Conrad all auditioned, but none of them seemed right to bring the character to life on television. There has been a rumor out there that John Wayne was considered for the role, but that isn’t true. He did, however, have an opinion regarding who would be good.

According to Thomas “Duke” Miller, a television and movie celebrity expert, this story was relayed to him by none other than the acting legend James Stewart: “Jimmy said he was in the office with Charles Warren when Mr. Wayne came in. Mr. Warren asked Wayne if he knew James Arness, and Mr. Wayne said ‘Yes.’ Mr. Warren told Mr. Wayne about the transition of the show from radio to television, and Mr. Wayne readily agreed that James Arness would be a terrific choice for the part of Matt Dillon.”

GUNSMOKE, host John Wayne, 'Matt Gets It', (Season 1, ep, 101, aired Sept. 10, 1955), 1955-1975.

Everett Collection

That monumental conversation culminated in John Wayne making a brief on-screen appearance ahead of Gunsmoke‘s series premiere. His message was simple. Gunsmoke was different and it was a TV western that he himself approved of, and there was only one man to play the lead role, James Arness.

None of the main cast members, who were all gathered at James’ home to watch the premiere, knew that it was going to happen. So, when John Wayne showed up on their TV screens, they were completely shocked. No one thought that a star of that magnitude would do something like that. But it was truly appreciated by each and every cast member, especially by James, who saw the kind and gracious act as the ultimate vote of confidence. The rest, as they say, is television history.

One more thing, when you look at the show’s massive run, it is amazing the number of TV and movie stars that made one or more guest appearances. Here’s a random bit of trivia: Did you know that the actors who played Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty on Star Trek all showed up on Gunsmoke? In fact, Leonard Nimoy showed up a couple of times. Other notable guest stars were Bette Davis, Dennis Hopper, Adam West, Johnny Whitaker, Gary Busey, Bruce Dern, Barbara Eden, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Buddy Ebsen, Richard Dreyfuss, Nick Nolte, Charles Bronson, Cicely Tyson … the list just goes on and on.