The CONTROVERSIAL Scene That Took Gunsmoke Off The Air

[Music] when are you going to get around to shooting him I'm just waiting for you to beat me to it Gunsmoke is considered one of the greatest TV shows in history it was a very popular Western drama loved by Americans and even foreigners across the globe people watched Marshall Matt Dylan's Adventures every week for 20 years from 1955 to 1975 there was also a radio show from 1952 to 1961 many thought it was the best western series on TV at the time with how the show gained worldwide recognition it was shocking to find out that a particular scene made viewers collectively cancel it before CBS the channel sponsoring it suddenly brought it to an end what was the controversial scene keep watching to find out Matt if you say I told you so I will never speak to you again one of America's favorite classic TV shows to understand these Revelations we need to understand some important context first did you know gunm smoke actually started as a radio show the show was based on a radio play called Gunsmoke which was very popular then the executives decided to bring it to television they kept the radio version going for six more years from 195 2 to 1961 originally John Wayne was supposed to play Matt Dylan but he declined because TV schedules were too demanding despite this he gave the show a good review before it aired initially Gunsmoke was sponsored by LM cigarettes for Seven Seasons showing how times have changed William Conrad initially played Matt Dylan on the radio but James aress took over for the TV series for appearance reasons Gary buuy had a significant role in Gunsmoke history as Harvard daily and his character was the last to die before the show ended Kitty Russell was a professional Madam on Gunsmoke but her work was rarely mentioned on TV Executives and producers avoided discussing it due to the need for familyfriendly Content the show's opening scene changed when politics influenced the portrayal of violence initially every episode featured a gunfight between Matt Dylan and another gunman but this changed around 1970 due to political pressure against violence on TV in 1967 CBS planned to cancel Gunsmoke but the audience protested so they canceled Gilligan's Island instead that's what they made everyone believe but the thing is that's not the only reason CBS ended up canceling Gilligan's Island instead you'll find out soon enough stay with us grow up you men have a fine idea of what growing up is just settle it with a gun just shoot somebody and that makes you a man gunm smoke help held the prime time record for most episodes until the Simpsons surpassed it in 2018 despite airing for only 20 Seasons Gunsmoke had more episodes per season than modern TV shows have you ever thought about how the casting for the show played out when picking actors for a TV show directors must organize several auditions to find the best one for Gunsmoke they had 26 people on the final list but who knows how many they saw before that James aress was one of them but the First Choice was William Conrad he had played a US Marshall on the radio before James aress was just as tough in real life as the tough guy he played on the show he filmed every episode of the show even though he had a leg injury from World War II plus he was really big standing 6' 7 in tall unfortunately his height contributed to him getting arthritis later on during Gunsmoke the pain was so bad that he couldn't handle filming for many days in a row so the producers let him do all his scenes for an episode in just one day the stunning Amanda Blake acted as Miss Kitty Russell the red-haired lady who owned a saloon in Gunsmoke she appeared in over 500 episodes of the show that ran for a long time but in the radio version of Gunsmoke Miss Kitty's job was more gossip worthy the person who made the series Norman McDonnell never directly said what she did for a living but he hinted at it he said Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while because of that hint Time Magazine had the opinion that she probably wasn't selling candy bars what do you think Amanda Blake started acting when she was young she got a contract with MGM when she was still a teenager when she found out they were making a TV show from the Gunsmoke radio show she really wanted to play Miss Kitty Russell she kept bothering the people in charge until they gave her the part she played the saloon owner for 19 years on Gunsmoke she became close friends with Glenn Strange who played the bartender at her Saloon she left the show before it ended because her friend passed away what makes you think you can wake me up in the middle of the night to listen to some long sad story about one of your Old Flames Amanda Blake wasn't the first choice to play Miss Kitty Polly Bond married to Tommy bond from The Little Rascals was asked first but she said no because she would have made more money than her husband Tommy worked at a TV station and paully thought it would cause problems in their marriage it's hard to imagine anyone else as Miss Kitty but sadly she missed out because of financial problems in her marriage when picking who would play Matt Dylan the main Cowboy the people in charge wanted someone just right for the job some people say they ask the famous John Wayne to do it but there's no proof Charles Marquis Warren who directed some episodes and new Wayne said Wayne wouldn't have wanted it he didn't like TV much but Wayne did suggest James aress for the role with so many episodes it's tough to remember all the actors in Gunsmoke 10 main actors seven who showed up a lot and many guests the most recent leading actor died in 2018 actor Bert Reynolds acted as Quint asper who was half Native American from 1962 to 1965 because as ER was part native American he couldn't drink in Dodge City Reynolds became very successful and passed away at 82 years old then there was Dennis Weaver once he accepted his role as a funny sidekick he got the part quickly but when he read lines with actors trying out for the main character Matt Dylan there was a new issue the producers thought Weaver was so Charming that he seemed like the main guy so they asked him to give his character a physical problem Weaver decided on a limp and practiced it in his yard but later he wished he hadn't because he had to keep limping while on set doc Adams played by Milbourne Stone had a long history in Gunsmoke he studied in Philadelphia worked as a doctor for gamblers on boats and even knew Mark Twain even though he was a big part of the show for over 10 years people didn't know his first name after 16 years the producers let Milbourne choose one since he knew the character well he picked Galen guest appearances and villains other famous actors from different shows also popped up in gunm smoke remember the crew from the USS Enterprise well they weren't the only ones the people from The Brady Bunch made appearances too Christopher Knight who was Peter Brady showed up in an episode called The Miracle Man in season 14 Eve Plum known for playing Jan Brady appeared as Sue in another episode from the same season called gold town and Susan Olen who played Cindy Brady was in two episodes during Seasons 14 and 15 there's more about guest appearances Charles Bronson who once played James Bond was in one episode as a crazy guy named crego in 1956 he even came back to play the same role a few years later they also had David kadine known for Kung Fu playing a horse thief Leslie neelen from Naked Gun was a gang leader and there were more famous faces like Nick Noti Dennis Hopper Sam Elliott Richard dfus Kurt Russell and Harrison Ford popping up in different episodes Ken Curtis did lots of different jobs on Gunsmoke when it first started once he acted as a Texan cowboy who sadly didn't make it then in episode 13 of season 8 he played the unforgettable Festus Haggen a year later he became a regular part of the show fesus kept an eye on the streets of Dodge City and made everyone laugh along the way Ken Curtis based f Tes on a guy he knew from when he was a kid named Cedar Jack who used to make wooden posts do you know other actors who Channel their childhood friends to perfect their roles that aside many actors usually stick to one type of movie like Western's but Glenn Strange did lots of different things he played bartender Sam Nunan on Gunsmoke but that was just a small part of what he did before that he was Frankenstein's monster in three movies in the 1940s after Boris carof who played the monster before him passed away Glenn Strange took over he was really good at being scary but he could also be funny he showed that in a movie called Abbot and Castello Meet Frankenstein in 1948 but gunm smoke was his last achievement he died from lung cancer in 1973 some actors don't leave a big mark But others are remembered for Generations Glenn Strange was one of those extraordinary actors even today his influence on the rest of the cast is still felt when Frankenstein actor Glenn Strange passed away his friend and Gunsmoke co-star Buck Taylor showed his love and respect by naming his third son after him it's just one way to show how much strange was loved both on and off the screen now think about this how could a war that finished a decade before Gunsmoke even started CA it to be delayed before he became an actor Ares was chosen to serve in the US Army in March of 1943 he fought in the Battle of anzio in Italy on January 22nd 1944 during the battle he got hit by Machine Gun fire in his lower right leg and foot which earned him honors like the bronze star and purple heart recovery was tough but aress eventually got better yet those injuries stayed with him for the rest of his life because of this Gunsmoke had to plan all of ares's scenes where he had to walk in the early morning James arnes and Milbourne Stone were Main Stays in almost every episode of Gunsmoke Stone nearly matched ares's record only missing six episodes due to a heart attack in 1971 despite his health struggles arnus powered through severe arthritis filming all his scenes in one day to allow for a week of recovery Glenn Str 's final film role was in Gunsmoke in 1973 capping a Hollywood career that began in the 1930s but skyrocketed in the 1940s when he replaced Boris carof as Frankenstein Amanda Blake wasn't the original choice for Miss Kitty Russell Pauline Bond was initially cast but declined the role Paving the way for Blake's iconic portrayal oh that's not all the producers tried many actors for Matt Dylan before James aress got the role actors like Raymond Burr and Denver pile auditioned two Gunsmoke was number one for four years when it became an hourlong show in 1957 viewership dropped but in the 60s and 70s it became popular again they made five movies later the cast reunited for five TV films the films were Gunsmoke returned to Dodge in 1987 gunm smoke the last Apache in 1990 Gunsmoke to the last man in 1992 Gunsmoke the long ride in 1993 and Gunsmoke one man's Justice in 1994 James aress was in all five films but they weren't well received throughout the Run of Gunsmoke villains were often told to leave Dodge City this phrase became famous due to the show's setting in Dodge City Kansas people started saying it in the 1960s and 1970s but not as much Matt Dylan the main character was tough and didn't show much romance in the show's 20 years and 635 episodes he only kissed a woman once which happened in the third episode of the 19th season fittingly titled Matt's Love Story well there you go Miss Kitty thank you you know if you come by the Long Branch tonight you can have all the beer you can drink oh the funny prank and why the show got cancelled by viewers on Gunsmoke Chester didn't carry a weapon as Dennis Weaver who played him wanted the character to be nonviolent and distinct from Matt Dylan Chester's limp was added to set him apart but Weaver regretted the decision as it became difficult to maintain throughout the 290 episodes Ken Curtis had a lengthy stint on Gunsmoke appearing in 307 episodes from 1959 to 1975 mainly as fesus you might not know this but in one of the original 30-minute episodes Curtis played the role of an Indian later he portrayed a Kansas Cattleman who becomes friends with chester played by Dennis Weaver only to face a tragic end soon after Curtis was a true team player James arnes known for his role as a hero on television was also a hero in real life during World War II he served in the military despite suffering a severe leg injury which likely worsened his extreme arthritis Ares received several awards for his service including a bronze star Purple Heart European African Middle Eastern campaign medal with three bronze campaign Stars the World War II Victory Medal and a combat infantry badge Marshall Trimble a history expert who knows a lot about the wild west said Matt Dylan's character shot 407 people in gunm smoke that's from both the TV series and the movies made for TV some of the bad guys lived after getting shot but most didn't the last kill in the famous series is probably the most memorable in the final episode of Gunsmoke William Gary buzy who played a character died on screen because of a brain tumor remember that gunfight we talked about it was like the ones in the movies titled High Noon with Matt [Music] Dylan during filming James arnes who played the main guy pretended to lose on purpose everyone found it hilarious in places where people speak Spanish they call Gunsmoke something like the law of the revolver during most of gunsmoke's time on TV they stuck with the same beginning since it started in 1955 it always showed a gunfight people knew what to expect when the show came on each week but as the Vietnam War went on and people in America got worried about violence they decided to change the beginning they made a new one with less fighting so Matt Dylan's gunfight at the start of every episode was gone for good and now for the big reveal Mr Dylan CBS suddenly ended Gunsmoke without telling the actors and crew unlike other shows of the 1970s that had big memorable endings Gunsmoke didn't get one in 1977 Roots had a huge audience about 140 million Americans making its final episode the second most watched series ending ever on the other hand gunsmoke's final episode The sharecroppers is a light and forgettable story about fesus who accidentally shoots a farm boy and then works on the farm to make up for it it doesn't give the serious and satisfying ending that Gunsmoke after being on TV for 20 years deserved plus it doesn't focus on the main character US Marshall Matt Dylan who was the show's heart that's a big reason aress who acted in the first The Thing movie later returned for the 1987 TV movie gunm smoke returned to dodge CBS probably thought gunm smoke was old-fashioned and wanted to replace it with newer shows even though it was still doing well although this didn't bring back the TV series aress returned for four more movies like gunm smoke the long ride and gunm smoke one man's Justice in 1994 the last one not only ended Gunsmoke as a series at least for now it was also ares's final acting job while it's not uncommon for a popular TV show to end without a big finale like married with children did Gunsmoke finishing without fuss was incredibly disappointing luckily return to dodge helped fix that mistake M AK you should know the sudden end of gunm smoke wasn't an accident the TV network planned it that way David R Greenland's book The Gunsmoke Chronicles a new history of television's greatest Western explained how CBS canceled the show without telling anyone in the cast or crew James Ares who played the main character remembered they were all expecting another season of Gunsmoke CBS made them think everything was fine but then when it was almost time to start again CBS suddenly stopped the show even the producer John mantley didn't know beforehand he learned about it when he read the news in The Hollywood Reporter arnes added that CBS didn't even bother to give JN a call CBS had thought about ending gunm smoke before then although it's unclear why from 1957 to 1961 Gunsmoke was the most popular show on TV and people still liked it in the 1970s but in 1967 they almost stopped it early a TV boss was going to cancel it but then something weird happened the boss's wife at CBS heard about it and got mad she told them they couldn't cancel gunm smoke because it was her favorite so instead of Gunsmoke they ended up canceling Gilligan's Island by mistake and then Gunsmoke got the good time slot that Gilligan's Island had and the show got even more popular back in the top 10 finally CBS canell the show if CBS had given Gunsmoke a proper ending it could have gone out like mash did with respect a feeling of closure and lots more people watching in 1975 they took gunm smoke off the TV for a while because of a scene where a guy gets killed with a shotgun it was too violent for some viewers so they had to cut it out did you get to watch that controversial scene before it got removed and which of the facts we revealed about the show shocked you the most share with us in the comments if you enjoyed watching click the like button subscribe to our Channel and hit the notification Bell so you never miss an upload

Channel: The Ultimate Expedition

Views: 1,351,341

Keywords: The Controversial Episode, Off The Air, controversial, episode, off, air, television, show, sitcom, scandal, iconic, series, airwaves, unravel, discovery, revelation, cancellation, That Took Gunsmoke, Gunsmoke

Id: WhTIXnf5e5s

Length: 20min 10sec (1210 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 23 2024