Gunsmoke: A Complete History

by SuzAnne Barabas, Gabor Barabas

The series ran not only nine years on radio, but also 20 years on television, making it the all-time longest running prime-time program with continuing characters. It introduced to the American people a cast of characters that quickly took on mythic proportions. This book discovers what made Gunsmoke unique and why it was so popular. Especially insightful are 74 in-depth interviews and reminiscences by principal performers (Arness, Blake, Weaver, et al.), guest stars (Hartley, O'Connor, Leachman, Reynolds, Conrad, et al.), directors, writers and producers associated with the radio and television programs. A 128-page glossy section contains 241 photographs. A comprehensive episode-by-episode guide provides reference to over 1,000 radio and television programs, spanning 23 years and includes title, synopsis, air date, cast, director, writer, producer and anecdotal information. memorable quotes from the program, TV schedules and awards. Enormous index.

848 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1990

Reviews

[Adam]

So far this is pretty good, but why can't more books about pop culture be edited and fact checked by knowledgeable people?

On pp 16-17 alone, there are numerous errors that any good copy editor should have caught.

It's not "The Oxbow Incident," it's "The Ox-Bow Incident."

Film director Delmer Daves's surname is "Daves," not "Dove."

The film "Duel in the Sun" was released in 1946, not 1948.

Richard Boone's character on the TV show "Have Gun - Will Travel" was named Paladin, not "Paladine." (Oh, and the other recurring character on the show is named "Hey Boy," not "Heyboy.")

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pull this book out all the time when watching one of my favorite shows. An excellent companion to the IMDB.com website. We are always naming the actors that appear on an episode, but the older we get the harder it is to remember. This book has an episode lookup and then we plug it onto the website to see what else they were in. Spoiler: they are all dead now .