Gunsmoke Observation
- Thread starter Steel Horse Rider
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nofendertom
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Amanda Blake aka Miss Kitty died of AIDS---apparently unknowingly caught it from her husband.
The episode was in black and white.
Steel Horse Rider
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Season 12 in 1966 was the beginning of Gunsmoke in color. Same people involved in production with a wide variety of writers. I visited a nephew stationed in Tuscon in November and bought a copy of the 50th Anniversary of Gunsmoke book in a used book store and it is chuck full of information about the characters and story of Gunsmoke. Unfortunately Amanda Blake didn't have a good "picker" in real life and was married 5 times. The last husband was infected with AIDS but didn't tell her before they were married, which brought on her demise. Sad way too go.
BigBlue 94
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Supposedly John Wayne was chosen to play Matt Dillon, but declined and suggested James Arness for the role. The rest is history!
There is a video floating around of John Wayne introducing and endorsing the then little known James Arness. It might be the into to a box set of Gunsmoke I got umpteen Christmas's ago.
BTW - I think episode 1 was entitled "Matt Gets It!". He gets shot early in the episode , nearly buys it , and is slowly nursed back to health by Doc and Miss Kitty.
BTW - I think episode 1 was entitled "Matt Gets It!". He gets shot early in the episode , nearly buys it , and is slowly nursed back to health by Doc and Miss Kitty.
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buck460XVR
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That was kinda the plot in a multitude of episodes, I believe.
Between Miss Kitty and Ginger from Gilligan's Island, I developed a fascination for Redheads that has lasted until this day.(Even tho the earlier productions of Gunsmoke were in B&W). I also had a crush on Dale Evans.
Having been a big fan of Gunsmoke for year(still enjoy it on satellite TV), I found that the Dodge City in the show was much different than the real Dodge City. Law was not really respected in real life, and altho the Railroad and Buffalo hunters were a major part of the early Dodge City, there is very little mention of either in the show. The set for Gunsmoke was never in Kansas, but in Utah. Also, real Saloon girls were not "ladies of the night", but well respected by the men in Dodge.
beag_nut
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When I first saw Gunsmoke (first-run) I was a pre-teen. At that time she was just "scenery" to me (albeit very pretty scenery). Now, in my mid 70's I have special appreciation for the episodes which included a bit more of Amanda. I will always wonder if she knew that the guy she married was bisexual. What a loss!
God bless the INSP channel for re-running so many of those episodes.
doubleh
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[QUOTE="BigBlue 94,
Jack Elam made one hell of a bad guy![/QUOTE]
Elam was one hell of an actor and just as competent at comedy as bad guy.
Jack Elam made one hell of a bad guy![/QUOTE]
Elam was one hell of an actor and just as competent at comedy as bad guy.
Jim Watson
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Somebody once pointed out that there were fewer homicides in Dodge City during the several years it was Head of Rail than a good week in New York City of the same era.
My parents were kind of irked when Doc Adams took a season off for the latest treatment of his heart condition in Boston. When really, Milburn Stone went to what is now UAB in Birmingham for heart surgery.
But Birmingham was barely on the map in the Gunsmoke era, what could they say?
My parents were kind of irked when Doc Adams took a season off for the latest treatment of his heart condition in Boston. When really, Milburn Stone went to what is now UAB in Birmingham for heart surgery.
But Birmingham was barely on the map in the Gunsmoke era, what could they say?
BigBlue 94
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Elam was one hell of an actor and just as competent at comedy as bad guy.[/QUOTE]
He was a comedic genius! I liked his cameo in 'Home Improvement'. He played a retired headlight adjuster from the auto plant hahah!
But early on, he was skinny, grizzled, and had that crazy eye... Perfect for a bad guy
.308 Norma
Member
Yeah, it is titled "Matt Gets It!" I just went in the living room and read it on the box (a 6-disk set) of Gunsmoke episodes we bought a few months back.
I think we've probably watched every episode three times over by now. Our favorite episode is probably "Chesterland," which is a story about Chester of course. I won't spoil it - just in case anyone here hasn't seen it yet.
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doubleh
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I have a b-i-l that calls him "ol' good eye". 
I finally got to the point where Chester's nasal, "Mr. Dillon, Mr. Dillon" grated on my hearing. Enough, enough.
I finally got to the point where Chester's nasal, "Mr. Dillon, Mr. Dillon" grated on my hearing. Enough, enough.
25-20 WCF
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Lots of misinformation about Blake’s death floating around. First, you don’t die from AIDS, she died, according to her doctor, of viral hepatitis related to AIDS (although the hospital claimed cancer). It usually takes years to succumb to AIDS-related diseases, but she was only married to her queer fifth husband for a year, likely not long enough for the disease to manifest itself. Did she contract it from a previous husband, from her trips to Africa, or somewhere else? (I had a good friend die from an AIDS-related disease years after he received infected blood during surgery in the early 80s; back then they didn’t screen blood for HIV.). At this point we’ll never know the facts but it really doesn’t matter.
I am not claiming that the following is the last word - no one has that - but it is probably as good as any other site for information and better than many:
https://news.amomama.com/277521-gunsmoke-amanda-blakes-passing-was-origi.html
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crstrode
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Nope. It is not a studio prop.
We have Uncle 's diary from the year 1869. He mentions the day he sat for this photo in his buckskins and with his rifle. That is how we can date the photo exactly. His rifle is mentioned other times as well in his diary.
As an aside, this fellow was a genuine renaissance man. He, among other things, was a founder of the city of Spokane in Washington territory and was appointed by the territorial governor to the very first city council there. He also was a founding charter member of two Masonic lodges - one of which is also in Spokane and is the oldest lodge in Spokane today. He also was in charge of building the first public bridge over the Spokane river, founded the first public library in Spokane, built the first brick building, established the first telephone lines, operated the first jewelry store, was the first optometrist, etc, etc, etc.
In the John Wayne movie el dorado his deputy carries a colt revolving rifle and a bugle
Seedy Character
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3 legged dog walks into the saloon and growls, "I'm here to kill the man that shot my paw!"
Seedy Character
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He was a comedic genius! I liked his cameo in 'Home Improvement'. He played a retired headlight adjuster from the auto plant hahah!
But early on, he was skinny, grizzled, and had that crazy eye... Perfect for a bad guy[/QUOTE]
The Proctologist in "Cannonball Run"
Steel Horse Rider
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The trivia that was most interesting to me is a story that when they went to the color format and were shooting the opening gunfight scene where they drew, Matt spun around and fell, breaking a blood capsule in his shirt pocket as he fell. Everyone on the set was stunned until someone ran over to check him and he (James Arness) broke out laughing.
Years ago I attended a church where the preacher was a WWII vet who was in one of the Army units that provided men for the occupation force of Japan after the war and Jack Elam was in his unit. He always said that Elam had a great sense of humor and provided some great entertainment in an other wise boring assignment.
Years ago I attended a church where the preacher was a WWII vet who was in one of the Army units that provided men for the occupation force of Japan after the war and Jack Elam was in his unit. He always said that Elam had a great sense of humor and provided some great entertainment in an other wise boring assignment.
Ive seen a couple interesting pistols on old Gunsmoke episodes, one had a woman shooting an early blued S&W model 1 or 1 1/2, the one with the rod fixed under the barrel to push the empty shells from the chambers after the gun was opened (bottom break as opposed to top break) and the cylinder removed from the frame, square butt, Matt was going to take her somewhere on a trip in dangerous country I think, she was practicing shooting out at the edge of town.
The other was what looked like a Colt Richards Conversion on an 1860 with 8" barrel.
Gunsmoke episodes are on youtube along with many other old shows, and I think they have them on the Gunsmoke forum for watching along with the radio shows. If you have internet, you can get a Roku setup for about $40 i think, and watch several of the old western channels for free on your TV. I get worn out just trying to see what all the channels that are available on the Roku, let alone actually watch them..
The other was what looked like a Colt Richards Conversion on an 1860 with 8" barrel.
Gunsmoke episodes are on youtube along with many other old shows, and I think they have them on the Gunsmoke forum for watching along with the radio shows. If you have internet, you can get a Roku setup for about $40 i think, and watch several of the old western channels for free on your TV. I get worn out just trying to see what all the channels that are available on the Roku, let alone actually watch them..
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Speedo66
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James Arness also plays a pretty good monster in the 1951 film "The Thing From Another World".
His brother, Peter Graves, was a good actor, too.
His brother, Peter Graves, was a good actor, too.
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After John Wayne's (probably worst film ever made) Rio Lobo Elam was supposed to be cast in the next Wayne film, Wayne refused to work with Elam claiming Elam had stole some of Wayne's scenes in Rio Lobo............
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