‘Gunsmoke’: Here’s Who the Characters Are

Gunsmoke had a cast of characters that audiences grew to love over the course of its respective radio and television show runs. Only two characters starred in the screen adaptation for the entire duration of the 20-season run between 1955-1975. However, many of them still had a very long presence over the course of the Western television series. Here’s a look at the cast of Gunsmoke characters that audiences couldn’t get enough of.

Matt Dillon

James Arness played Gunsmoke lead Matt Dillon for the entire 20 seasons that the show was on the air. The character was the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, who worked to keep the city safe from the high crime rate. The earlier episodes followed the radio adaptation version of the character a bit closer, but he deviated more as the show went along.

Arness’ Matt increasingly accepted the violent side of his career and spoke less about the dangers of the job. The older he got, the more he used other tactics to bring criminals to justice outside of violence. Nevertheless, Matt never hesitated to use force when necessary.

He kept only a few close friends in his company because he knew that he could trust them in any situation he found himself in.

Kitty Russell

Amanda Blake’s Kitty Russell was one of the main Gunsmoke characters on the show, who was also called Miss Kitty. She starred in the first 19 seasons of the show before making her exit. Kitty worked as the operator of the Long Branch Saloon, although early episodes hinted that it was a brothel.

She was one of Matt’s closest friends and Gunsmoke had a running gag that they had a potential romance looming over their friendship. However, the show intentionally never allowed them to get together. Rather, Kitty and Matt had frequent close calls and flirty chemistry, but it never became anything serious.

Doc Adams

Milburn Stone played Doc Adams, whose real name was Galen Adams. He worked as the local doctor for Dodge City and another one of Matt’s close friends. Other than the lead character, Doc was the only other character to star in Gunsmoke for all 20 seasons.

He was a sarcastic character who turned from cold and distant to compassionate and very dedicated to his line of work as a physician. Doc became a grandfatherly type for Matt, Kitty, and the other members of their close friend group.

In the Gunsmoke radio show, Doc came to Dodge City to escape a murder charge when he killed Roger Beauregard in a gun duel for the affection of a young woman. However, the television adaptation focused more on the character arc of him becoming more infectious over the course of the series.

Chester Goode

Chester Goode was another one of the major Gunsmoke characters, who Dennis Weaver brought to life in the television adaptation. He starred in the first nine seasons of the show’s run before Weaver left the show to pursue other creative opportunities. Chester was Matt’s loyal assistant and partner in bringing justice to Dodge City.

The television adaptation changed his last name from Proudfoot to Goode and gave the character a limp to replace the radio character’s elderly and whiny voice as a weakness.

Quint Asper

Burt Reynolds starred as Quint Asper from season 8 until season 10. He didn’t last as long as the aforementioned roles, but he was still an influential character in the television series. Gunsmoke introduced Quint as a half-white and half-Comanche man, who killed white people along with his mother’s tribe.

Quint crossed paths with Matt, who saw the good in him. As a result, he decided to try and integrate the young man into Dodge City. They became good friends, but Quint was written out of the show when Reynolds left to pursue his movie career.

The character suddenly disappeared in season 10, which wasn’t referenced until season 12, when a blacksmith mentioned that he left Dodge City.

Festus Haggen

Gunsmoke introduced some other new characters later in the show, including Festus Haggen. Ken Curtis played him from season 8 until the show’s conclusion in 1975. He became Matt’s deputy marshal and a very loyal sidekick to the lead character.

He came to Dodge City for revenge on his uncle for the death of his twin brother. However, Festus decided to stay put after bringing his idea of justice to him. After Weaver’s Chester left the show, Festus filled this void in the show.

Thad Greenwood

Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood, also called Thad, was a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Dodge City. Roger Ewing played another sidekick to Matt in seasons 11-12. He was the Oklahoma sheriff’s son, who went to Dodge City to pursue his father’s killers.

The character was written off when Ewing pursued his movie career in Smith and Play It As It Lays. Afterward, he quit his acting career for good.

Newly O’Brien

Newly O’Brien was the last of the main characters on Gunsmoke. He was brought in as a replacement after Thad was written off the show. Buck Taylor played the role from seasons 13-20. Newly was a former gunsmith, who became a part-time deputy and a close friend to Matt. He had some experience working in medicine, so he also served under Doc after working for his uncle.

He later became the U.S. Marshal after Matt retired. However, Newly worked alongside Matt to fight Will Mannon (Steve Forrest), who was an old nemesis who escaped from prison. The criminal wanted to kill Matt for putting him behind bars.