After the RADIO VERSION of Gunsmoke…
During Gunsmoke‘s nine years on the radio, CBS presented 480 performances of 413 scripts. Many of these radio plays were adapted to television.
When the series went off the air in 1961, the four actors who played the continuing characters moved on to other things.
<fredn> William Conrad wasn’t allowed to be Marshal Dillon on TV because he was considered too fat – James Arness was part of John Wayne’s production company so he had them use Arness.
Let’s take at the other two characters (on each side of William Conrad)… The one of the left looks familiar (but what about the one on the right)?
On the Andy Griffith show the two people next to Barney were…
Parley Baer – (The Mayberry Mayor) and Howard McNear (Floyd the Barber) – These were among the first “radio actors” to transition to TV
What was comical is that floyd the noisey barber was actually a fairly sadistic Doc Adams on the radio version of Gunsmoke – Kind of fun to listen to at this URL
http://www.radioechoes.com/gunsmoke
He was also part of a 1937 radio show drama
http://www.radioechoes.com/speed-gibson-of-the-international-secret-police
IMHO that was a hell of a run considering he was born in 1905 & died 1969… the guy on the left (above) was actor and Howard’s old friend Parley Baer who delivered his eulogy. Parley Baer died in 2002 at 88 of a stroke.
I always thought this T-shirt was funny..
So what happened to the women who played Miss Kitty?.. I believe prior to the radio show, she was in the movie “Dragnet”…
I don’t think she acted much after that…?
