Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and old time radio expert John Dunning writes that among radio drama enthusiasts "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time." The television version ran from 1955 to 1975 and is one of the longest-running prime time series (tied with The Simpsons), and the second-longest running prime time fictional program in U.S. television history, its record surpassed only by the Disney anthology television series and Hallmark Hall of Fame. The radio series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon; Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams; Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell; and Parley Baer as Dillon's assistant Chester Proudfoot. The Story of Gunsmoke.mp3