Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
Strother Douglas Martin Jr. was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah.
Denver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, as Jesse Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard from 1979 to 1985, as Mad Jack in the NBC television series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and as the titular character's father, Buck Webb, in CBS's The Doris Day Show. In many of his roles, he portrayed either authority figures, or gruff, demanding father figures, often as comic relief. Perhaps his most memorable film role was that of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967), as the lawman who relentlessly chased down and finally killed the notorious duo in an ambush.
Bobby Dan Davis Blocker was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the NBC Western television series Bonanza.
Audrey Mary Totter was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s.
George Montgomery was an American actor, best known for his work in Western films and television. He was also a painter, director, producer, writer, sculptor, furniture craftsman, and stuntman. He was engaged to Hedy Lamarr in 1941, and married Dinah Shore in 1943.
Noah Lindsey Beery was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, Beery Jr. seldom broke away from playing supporting roles. Active as an actor in films or television for well over half a century, he was best known for playing James Garner's character's father, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, in the NBC television series The Rockford Files (1974–1980). His father, Noah Beery, enjoyed a similarly lengthy film career as an extremely prominent supporting actor in major films, although the elder Beery was also frequently a leading man during the silent film era.
Everett H. Sloane was an American character actor who worked in radio, theatre, films, and television.
John Herrick McIntire was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in November 1960, as the star of NBC's Wagon Train. He played Christopher Hale, the leader of the wagon train from early 1961 to the series' end in 1965. He also replaced Charles Bickford, upon Bickford's death in 1967, as ranch owner Clay Grainger on NBC's The Virginian for four seasons.
Gloria Maude Talbott was an American film and television actress.
Robert E. Bray was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series Lassie, He also starred in Stagecoach West and as Mike Hammer in the movie version of Mickey Spillane's novel My Gun Is Quick (1957).
Cimarron Strip is an American Western television series starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown. The series was produced by the creators of Gunsmoke and aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Reruns of the original show were aired in the summer of 1971. Cimarron Strip is one of only three 90-minute weekly Western series that aired during the 1960s, and the only 90-minute series of any kind to be centered primarily around one lead character in almost every episode. The series theme and pilot incidental music were written by Maurice Jarre, who also scored Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.
James Wade Hampton was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his TV roles such as Private Hannibal Shirley Dobbs on F Troop (1965–1967), Leroy B. Simpson on The Doris Day Show (1968–1969), Love, American Style (1969–1974), and his movie roles such as "Caretaker" in The Longest Yard (1974), a role which garnered him a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, as Howard Clemmons in Hawmps! (1976), Harold Howard in Teen Wolf (1985), and its sequel, Teen Wolf Too (1987), and as Jerry Woolridge in Sling Blade (1996).
John Smith was an American actor whose career primarily focused on westerns. He had his leading roles in two NBC western television series, Cimarron City and Laramie.
Vaughn Everett Taylor was an American actor. He became known for his roles in many anthology series, including Kraft Television Theatre (1947–1957) and Robert Montgomery Presents (1950–1954). He also appeared in films such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Psycho (1960).
Robert Gary Vinson was an American actor who appeared in significant roles in three television series of the 1960s: The Roaring 20s, McHale's Navy, and Pistols 'n' Petticoats.
Donald Hood Keefer was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. He was a founding member of The Actors Studio, and he performed in both the original Broadway play and 1951 film versions of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. His longest-lasting roles on television were in 10 episodes each of Gunsmoke and Angel.
Lane Bradford was an American actor. He appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predominantly in Westerns but also in more contemporary crime dramas such as Dragnet, The Fugitive, and Hawaii Five-O.
Vivi Janiss was an American actress, known for such films as The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955), Man on the Prowl (1957), and First, You Cry (1978).
Janette Lane Bradbury is an American actress and writer.
