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"I thought that Gunsmoke was a terrific show to be on, and I didn't know it then,
but some of the happiest years of my life were on that show."
Burt Reynolds
Starting on September 10, 1955, and continuing for more than 600 episodes over the next twenty years, Gunsmoke ruled the airwaves. Never in the history of television had a show so captured the hearts of both youngsters and adults. Each week, Marshal Matt Dillon and his friends would face a new threat to the peace and lawfulness of their frontier home of Dodge City, Kansas—and each week, goodness and determination prevailed. It was the perfect antidote for a country still emerging from the darkness of World War II.
In recognition of this, the show’s golden anniversary, author Ben Costello has produced a remarkable testament to the on-screen characters and off-screen individuals who made the story lines come alive. With lead performer biographies, hundreds of episode and behind-the-scenes photographs, complete episode logs, updates on all the surviving cast members, and interviews with the show’s luminaries, GUNSMOKE: An American Institution will be a favorite for fans and historians alike.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Linda Radke / Five Star Publications, Inc.
Phone: 480-940-8182 - Fax: 480-940-8787
E-mail: info@fivestarpublications.com
Website: http://www.50YearsofGunsmoke.com
Could it possibly be 50 years since Marshal Dillon came to Dodge City?
 New book commemorates golden anniversary of Gunsmoke, television's most popular Western
On September 10, 1955, John Wayne introduced the first episode of Gunsmoke. There were plenty of Westerns available on network television back then, but most were geared for a much younger audience. The target audience of Gunsmoke also included the adult crowd, those still emerging from the darkness of World War II. They embraced Marshal Matt Dillon, Miss Kitty of the Long Branch Saloon, Doc, and first Chester and then Festus. Every week, goodness and strength were tested, and every week they emerged victorious.
 Gunsmoke was arguably the most popular television drama in U.S. history. The show was on the air for 20 years, with the final episode being telecast on September 1, 1975. There's probably not a place on the planet that you can't catch a Gunsmoke rerun even today.
In celebration of this, the show's golden anniversary year, author Ben Costello has compiled GUNSMOKE: An American Institution-Celebrating 50 Years of Television's Best Western, a comprehensive book that contains an impressive array of facts, figures, more than 500 episode and behind-the-scenes photographs, and stories from the sets where cameras recorded the trials and tribulations of this American frontier town.
The book also includes bios of the actors and actresses who brought the story lines to life each week, updates on all surviving cast members, a complete episode log with full guest star credits, and revealing interviews.
This book reveals for fans and historians alike the facts and mystique behind this record-breaking show. Readers will learn what it takes for a show to survive two decades on television and they will begin to understand the challenges the writers and producers of Gunsmoke faced in creating the show's more than 600 episodes.
GUNSMOKE: An American Institution (ISBN 1-58985-014-9, non-fiction, hard cover), is published by Five Star Publications, P.O. Box 6698, Chandler, AZ 85246-6698. The book is available through Ingram and Baker & Taylor. A special, limited edition of the book is also being planned that will contain the actual autographs of some of the show's biggest and most popular stars. To schedule an interview with the author, please contact the publisher.
Web site: http://www.50yearsofgunsmoke.com
Fact Sheet
Publisher: Five Star Publications, Inc.
Price: U.S. / Hardcover / Non-fiction
Size: 11 x 8 1/2" / 622 pages
Illustrations: Contains both color and black-and-white photographs
ISBN: 1-58985-014-9
Website: http://www.50YearsofGunsmoke.com
Fifty years ago, on September 10, 1955, legendary Western movie actor John Wayne introduced a new television show. "I've made a lot of pictures," he said, "some of them have been Westerns...and that's what I'm here to tell you about tonight...a new television show called Gunsmoke." With that, he introduced the show's star, James Arness. "He's a young fellow, and maybe new to some of you. I predict he'll be a big star."
"Wayne probably had no idea just how right he was," says Ben Costello, author of GUNSMOKE: An American Institution. Costello says that Gunsmoke became the biggest television show of its day. And "its day" ran a total of 20 years on CBS and included more than 600 episodes (about one-third of them half-hour shows and the rest hour-long shows). The show was canceled at the end of its 15th season and public outrage spread across the nation and it was reinstated.
"There were plenty of Westerns on television at the time, such as Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, and others," says Costello, "but most were geared for younger audiences." Gunsmoke was the first Western drama to appeal to a more adult audience. Each week, Marshal Matt Dillon, Doc Adams, Miss Kitty, Chester (and later, Festus) teamed up to maintain justice and lawfulness in the frontier town of Dodge City, Kansas.
In this the show's golden anniversary year, Costello's GUNSMOKE: An American Institution captures all the intricacies and chemistry that created the most popular Western in television history.
This book reveals for fans and historians alike the facts and mystique behind this record-breaking show. Readers will learn what it takes for a show to survive two decades on television and they will begin to understand the challenges faced in creating hundreds of original episodes.
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