Alan Wagner, the network's vice president at the time, said, 'It's better to get rid of a program one year too soon than one year too late.' Between 19, five television movies based on the series were aired by CBS. From there, Gunsmoke remained in the top 20 for the next seven years, dropping out only in its final season. The series returned to prominence in 1967 following a shift in its programming time from Saturday to Monday night. It remained at number one until 1961 and stayed in the top 20 until 1964. During season two, Gunsmoke became one of the 10 most popular programs on American television and moved to number one in the third season. Of the hour-long episodes, 176 were in black-and-white and 226 were in color. During its run, 635 episodes were broadcast, of which 233 were 30 minutes and 402 were 60 minutes in length. The series expanded to an hour in length with season seven and began filming in color in season 12. Gunsmoke was originally a half-hour program filmed in black-and-white. In the United Kingdom, Gunsmoke was originally broadcast under the title Gun Law. The first episode aired in the United States on September 10, 1955, and the final episode aired on March 31, 1975. The series ran for 20 seasons, making it the longest-running Western in television history. Gunsmoke is an American Western television series developed by Charles Marquis Warren and based on the radio program of the same name.

Clockwise from top: Ken Curtis (Festus), Arness (Matt), Amanda Blake (Kitty) and Milburn Stone (Doc) in 1968

Embrace the Dawn by Kathleen Morgan