Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West.
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers 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. When aired in the United Kingdom, the television series was initially titled Gun Law, later reverting to Gunsmoke.
Amanda Blake was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the western television series Gunsmoke. Along with her fourth husband, Frank Gilbert, she ran one of the first successful programs for breeding cheetahs in captivity.
Boot Hill, or Boothill, is the given name of many cemeteries, chiefly in the Western United States. During the 19th and early 20th century it was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters, or those who "died with their boots on".
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is the first Western television series written for adults, premiering four days before Gunsmoke on September 6, 1955. Two weeks later came the Clint Walker western Cheyenne. The series is loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour, black-and-white program aired for six seasons on ABC from 1955 to 1961, with Hugh O'Brian in the title role.
Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of Gunsmoke. He is the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character was created by writer John Meston. The character evolved considerably during nine years on CBS Radio and twenty years on CBS Television.
Luke Lamar Short was an American Old West gunfighter, cowboy, U.S. Army scout, dispatch rider, gambler, boxing promoter, and saloon owner. He survived numerous gunfights, the most famous of which were against Charlie Storms in Tombstone, Arizona Territory and against Jim Courtright in Fort Worth, Texas. Short had business interests in three of the best-known saloons in the Old West: the Oriental in Tombstone, the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, and the White Elephant in Fort Worth.
David Rudabaugh was a cowboy, outlaw, and gunfighter in the American Old West. Modern writers often refer to him as "Dirty Dave" because of his alleged aversion to water, though no evidence has emerged to show that he was ever referred to as such in his own lifetime.
The Dodge City War was a bloodless conflict that took place between Luke Short and the Dodge City mayor, who tried to force Short to close the Long Branch Saloon and leave town. Luke called on several friends, including Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, who supported him during his confrontation from April 28 to June 7, 1883. The event is best remembered because it produced one of the most iconic photos of Western gamblers and gunfighters who played roles in the history of the Wild West.
The Long Branch Saloon was a well-known saloon in Dodge City, Kansas from about 1874 to 1885. It had numerous owners, most notably Chalk Beeson and gunfighter Luke Short. The establishment provided gambling and live entertainment, including Beeson's five-person orchestra. It was the scene of several altercations, shoot-outs, gunfights, and standoffs often associated with cattle towns in the American wild west. Most famous was the 1879 Long Branch Saloon Gunfight, in which Frank Loving killed Levi Richardson.
John Lyman Meston was an American scriptwriter best known for co-creating with producer Norman Macdonnell the long-running Western series Gunsmoke. He developed storylines and wrote radio scripts and teleplays for 379 episodes for the series, which was first broadcast on CBS Radio in 1952, and then adapted to the "small screen", as well, airing on television from 1955 to 1975. In addition to his work on Gunsmoke, Meston also served as a writer and editorial supervisor for other radio programs such as Escape, Suspense, Lux Radio Theater, and Fort Laramie; and in the 1970s, he wrote several episodes for two other television series, Little House on the Prairie and Hec Ramsey.
Chalkley McArtor "Chalk" Beeson was a well-known businessman, lawman, cattleman and musician but was best known for his ownership of the famous Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas.
Frank Loving, sometimes called "Cockeyed" Frank Loving, was an Old West gambler and gunman. He was involved in two well-publicized shootouts of the day.
The Long Branch Saloon gunfight, on April 5, 1879, was a gunfight that took place at the famed Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas, between Frank Loving and Levi Richardson, both gamblers who frequented the saloon.
Levi Richardson was an Old West gunman, gambler and buffalo hunter. During his lifetime, Richardson was quite well known.
Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge is a 1987 American Western television film based on the 20-year (1955–1975) series Gunsmoke starring James Arness. Although it is supposed to be set in the wilds of Kansas, it was filmed in Alberta, Canada.
Beeson is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
