document_title: Christmas and holiday season

question_text: when was the term happy holidays first used

root

text: Christmas and holiday season

text: History[edit]

text: Roman Saturnalia[edit]

text: Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn, held on December 17 of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through December 23. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves.[19] The poet Catullus called it "the best of days."[20]

tag: p

text: Christian adoption[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: The earliest source stating December 25 as the date of birth of Jesus was Hippolytus of Rome (170–236), written very early in the 3rd century, based on the assumption that the conception of Jesus took place at the Spring equinox which he placed on March 25, and then added nine months.[21] There is historical evidence that by the middle of the 4th century the Christian churches of the East celebrated the birth and Baptism of Jesus on the same day, on January 6 while those in the West celebrated a Nativity feast on December 25 (perhaps influenced by the Winter solstice); and that by the last quarter of the 4th century, the calendars of both churches included both feasts.[22] The earliest suggestions of a fast of Baptism of Jesus on January 6 during the 2nd century comes from Clement of Alexandria, but there is no further mention of such a feast until 361 when Emperor Julian attended a feast on January 6 in the year 361.[22]

text: In the Christian tradition the Christmas season is a period beginning on Christmas Day (December 25). In some churches (e.g. the Anglican Communion) the season continues until the day before the Epiphany, which is celebrated either on January 6 or on the Sunday between January 2 and 8. In other churches (e.g. the Roman Catholic Church) it continues until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which falls on the Sunday following the Epiphany, or on the Monday following the Epiphany if the Epiphany is moved to January 7 or 8. If the Epiphany is kept on January 6, the Church of England's use of the term Christmas season corresponds to the Twelve Days of Christmas, and ends on Twelfth Night.

text: This short Christmas season is preceded by Advent, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day: the majority of the secularized Christmas and holiday season falls during Advent. The Anglican Communion and some Protestant churches follow the Christmas season with an Epiphany season which lasts until Shrove Tuesday which is also known as Mardi Gras or 'Fat Tuesday'. Other European cultures have their own carnival festivities between new year and Lent.

text: Secularisation and commercialisation[edit]

text: According to Yanovski et al.,[7] in the United States the holiday season "is generally considered to begin with the day after Thanksgiving and end after New Year's Day". According to Axelrad,[8] the season in the United States encompasses at least Christmas and New Year's Day, and also includes Saint Nicholas Day. The U.S. Fire Administration[23] defines the "Winter Holiday Season" as the period from December 1 to January 7. According to Chen et al.,[24] in China the Christmas and holiday season "is generally considered to begin with the winter solstice and end after the Lantern Festival". Some stores and shopping malls advertise their Christmas merchandise beginning after Halloween or even in late October, alongside Halloween items. In the UK and Ireland, Christmas food generally appears on supermarket shelves as early as September or even August, while the Christmas shopping season itself starts from mid November when the high street Christmas lights are switched on.[25][26]

text: The precise definition of feasts and festival days that are encompassed by the Christmas and holiday season has become controversial in the United States over recent decades. While in other countries the only holidays included in the "season" are Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, St. Stephen's Day/Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Epiphany, in recent times, this definition in the U.S. has begun to expand to include Yule, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.[27] The expansion of the holiday season in the U.S. to encompass Thanksgiving is believed to have begun in the 1920s, when major department stores Macy's and Gimbels launched dueling Thanksgiving Day parades to promote Christmas sales.[28] Due to the phenomenon of Christmas creep and the informal inclusion of Thanksgiving, the Christmas and holiday season has begun to extend earlier into the year, overlapping Veterans/Remembrance/Armistice Day, Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night.

text: Shopping[edit]

text: The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the Northern Hemisphere and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (August 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The exchange of gifts is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and the season thus also incorporates a "holiday shopping season". This comprises a peak time for the retail sector at the start of the holiday season (the "Christmas shopping season") and a period of sales at the end of the season, the "January sales".

text: Although once dedicated mostly to white sales and clearance sales, the January sales now comprise both winter close-out sales and sales comprising the redemption of gift cards given as presents.[29][30] Young-Bean Song, director of analytics at the Atlas Institute in Seattle, states that it is a "myth that the holiday shopping season starts with Thanksgiving and ends with Christmas. January is a key part of the holiday season." stating that for the U.S. e-commerce sector January sales volumes matched December sales volumes in the 2004/2005 Christmas and holiday season.[31]

text: Many people find this time particularly stressful.[32] As a remedy, and as a return to what they perceive as the root of Christmas, some practice alternative giving.

text: North America[edit]

text: In the United States, the holiday season is a particularly important time for retail shopping, with shoppers spending more than $600 billion during the 2013 holiday season, averaging about $767 per person. During the 2014 holiday shopping season, retail sales in the United States increased to a total of over $616 billion, and in 2015, retail sales in the United States increased to a total of over $630 billion, up from 2014's $616 billion. The average US holiday shopper spent on average $805. More than half of it was spent on family shopping.[33]

text: It is traditionally considered to commence on the day after American Thanksgiving, a Friday colloquially known as either Black Friday or Green Friday. This is widely reputed to be the busiest shopping day of the entire calendar year. However, in 2004 the VISA credit card organization reported that over the previous several years VISA credit card spending had in fact been 8 to 19 percent higher on the last Saturday before Christmas Day (i.e., Super Saturday) than on Black Friday.[34] A survey conducted in 2005 by GfK NOP discovered that "Americans aren't as drawn to Black Friday as many retailers may think", with only 17% of those polled saying that they will begin holiday shopping immediately after Thanksgiving, 13% saying that they plan to finish their shopping before November 24 and 10% waiting until the very last day before performing their holiday gift shopping.[35]

text: According to a survey by the Canadian Toy Association, peak sales in the toy industry occur in the Christmas and holiday season, but this peak has been occurring later and later in the season every year.[36]

text: In 2005, the kick-off to the Christmas and holiday season for online shopping, the first Monday after US Thanksgiving, was named Cyber Monday. Although it was a peak, that was not the busiest on-line shopping day of that year. The busiest on-line shopping days were December 12 and 13, almost two weeks later; the second Monday in December has since become known as Green Monday. Another notable day is Free Shipping Day, a promotional day that serves as the last day in which a person can order a good online and have it arrive via standard shipping (the price of which the sender pays) prior to Christmas Eve; this day is usually on or near December 16.[37] Four of the largest 11 on-line shopping days in 2005 were December 11 to 16, with an increase of 12% over 2004 figures.[38] In 2011, Cyber Monday was slightly busier than Green Monday and Free Shipping Day, although all three days registered sales of over US$1 billion, and all three days registered gains ranging from 14% to 22% over the previous year.[37] Analysts had predicted the peak on December 12, noting that Mondays are the most popular days for on-line shopping during the holiday shopping season, in contrast to the middle of the week during the rest of the year. They attribute this to people "shopping in stores and malls on the weekends, and [...] extending that shopping experience when they get into work on Monday" by "looking for deals, [...] comparison shopping and [...] finding items that were out of stock in the stores".[31]

text: In 2006, the average US household was expected to spend about $1,700 on Christmas and holiday spendings.[39] Retail strategists such as ICSC Research[40] observed in 2005 that 15% of holiday expenditures were in the form of gift certificates, a percentage that was rising. So they recommended that retailers manage their inventories for the entire holiday shopping season, with a leaner inventory at the start and new winter merchandise for the January sales.

text: Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the Shopping Center Council, states that he expects gift certificate usage to be between US$30billion and US$40billion in the 2006/2007 holiday shopping season. On the basis of the growing popularity of gift certificates, he states that "To get a true picture of holiday sales, one may consider measuring October, November, December and January sales combined as opposed to just November and December sales.", because with "a hefty amount of that spending not hitting the books until January, extending the length of the season makes sense".[41]

text: According to the Deloitte 2007 Holiday Survey,[42] for the fourth straight year, gift cards are expected to be the top gift purchase in 2007, with more than two-thirds (69 percent) of consumers surveyed planning to buy them, compared with 66 percent in 2006. In addition, holiday shoppers are planning to buy even more cards this year: an average of 5.5 cards, compared with the 4.6 cards they planned to buy last year. One in six consumers (16 percent) plan to buy 10 or more cards, compared with 11 percent last year. Consumers are also spending more in total on gift cards and more per card: $36.25 per card on average compared with $30.22 last year. Gift cards continue to grow in acceptance: Almost four in 10 consumers surveyed (39 percent) would rather get a gift card than merchandise, an increase from last year’s 35 percent. Also, resistance to giving gift cards continues to decline: 19 percent say they don’t like to give gift cards because they’re too impersonal (down from 22 percent last year). Consumers said that the cards are popular gifts for adults, teens and children alike, and almost half (46 percent) intend to buy them for immediate family; however, they are hesitant to buy them for spouses or significant others, with only 14 percent saying they plan to buy them for those recipients.

text: Some stores in Canada hold Boxing Week sales (before the end of the year) for income tax purposes.

text: Christmas creep[edit]

text: What has become known as "Christmas creep" refers to a merchandising phenomenon in which merchants and retailers exploit the commercialized status of Christmas by moving up the start of the holiday shopping season.[43] The term was first used in the mid-1980s,[44] and is associated with a desire of merchants to take advantage of particularly heavy Christmas-related shopping well before Black Friday in the United States and before Halloween in Canada.

text: The term is not used in the UK and Ireland, where retailers call Christmas the "golden quarter", that is, the three months of October through December is the quarter of the year in which the retail industry hopes to make the most profit.[45] It can apply for other holidays as well, notably Valentine's Day, Easter and Mother's Day.

text: Europe[edit]

text: In the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, the Christmas shopping season starts from mid-November, around the time when high street Christmas lights are turned on.[25][26] In the UK in 2010, up to £8 billion was expected to be spent online at Christmas, approximately a quarter of total retail festive sales.[26] Retailers in the UK call Christmas the "golden quarter", that is, the three months of October to December is the quarter of the year in which the retail industry hopes to make the most money.[45] In Ireland, around early December or late November each year, The Late Late Toy Show is broadcast on Irish television, which features all the popular toys throughout the year being demonstrated and showcased before the holiday season and shopping sprees commence.

text: The Netherlands and Belgium have a double holiday. The first one, the arrival of the Bishop Saint Nicholas and Black Peter, starts about mid November, with presents being given on December 5 or 6. This is a separate holiday from Christmas, Bishop Saint Nick (Sinterklaas) and Santa Claus (Kerstman) being different people. Netherlands and Belgium often do not start the Christmas season until December 6 or 7, i.e. after Sinterklaas has finished.

text: In France, the January sales are restricted by legislation to no more than four weeks in Paris, and no more than six weeks for the rest of the country, usually beginning on the first Wednesday in January, and are one of only two periods of the year when retailers are permitted to hold sales.[46][47]

text: In Italy, the January sales begin on the first weekend in January, and last for at least six weeks.[46]

text: In Croatia and Bosnia (predominantly Sarajevo) the sales periods are regulated by the Consumer Protection Act. The January sales period starts on December 27 and can last up to 60 days.[48]

text: In Germany, the Winterschlussverkauf (winter sale before the season ends) was one of two official sales periods (the other being the Sommerschlussverkauf, the summer sales). It begins on the last Monday in January and lasts for 12 days, selling left-over goods from the holiday shopping season, as well as the winter collections. However, unofficially, goods are sold at reduced prices by many stores throughout the whole of January. By the time the sales officially begin the only goods left on sale are low-quality ones, often specially manufactured for the sales.[49][50] Since a legislative reform to the corresponding law in 2004,[51] season sales are now allowed over the whole year and are no longer restricted to season-related goods. However, voluntary sales still called "Winterschlussverkauf" take place further on in most stores at the same time every year.

text: In Sweden, where the week of the first Advent Sunday marks the official start of the Christmas and holiday season, continuing with Saint Lucy's Day on December 13, followed up by Christmas before the Mellandagsrea (between days sell off) traditionally begins on December 27 (nowadays often December 26 or even December 25) and lasts during the rest of the Christmas holiday. It is similar to Black Friday, but lasts longer. They last 34–35 days. Black Friday itself has also gained publicity in Sweden since the early-2010s. The Swedish Christmas and holiday season continues over Epiphany, and finally ends on St. Knut's Day when the children have a Knut's party.[52]

text: In Bosnia (Republika Srpska), Montenegro and Serbia, holiday sales starts in the middle of December and last for at least one month.

text: Asia[edit]

text: Hong Kong, China has a lot of seasonal activities and traditions to offer around Christmas time. December 25 and 26 are Public Holidays that makes most shops open for shopping. Locals and tourists love to watch the 30-meter Swarovski Christmas tree in the Central as well as the Christmas light displays on buildings on Victoria Harbour.[53] A huge party in Hong Kong called Winterfest is celebrated every year which involves malls, shops, theme parks and other attractions.

text: The Philippines has the longest Christmas season, reportedly.[54] As early as September up until January 9, which is the feast of the Black Nazarene (the season ends on the Feast of the Lord's Baptism on the 2nd Sunday of January or the Monday after Epiphany if the 2nd Sunday is marked as such), Carolers can be typically heard going door to door serenading fellow Filipinos in exchange of money. All over the entire country, parols (star shaped lanterns) are hung everywhere and lights are lit. Simbang Gabi or dawn masses start December 16 and run for nine days up until Christmas Eve.[55]

text: South Korea's population are 30% Christian[56] and Christmas is a Public Holiday. According to the Washington Post, "Koreans prefer cash Christmas gifts over more creative presents."[57]

text: Singapore widely celebrates Christmas which is a Public Holiday in this country. For six weeks, mid-November to early January, the 2.2-kilometre (1.4 mi) stretch of Orchard Road glitters with lights from decorated trees and building facades of malls and hotels.

text: Greetings[edit]

text: A selection of goodwill greetings are often used around the world to address strangers, family, colleagues or friends during the season. Some greetings are more prevalent than others, depending on culture and location. Traditionally, the predominant greetings of the season have been "Merry Christmas", "Happy Christmas", and "Happy New Year". In the mid-to-late 20th century in the United States, more generic greetings such as "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" began to rise in cultural prominence, and this would later spread to other Western countries including Canada, Australia and to a lesser extent some European countries. A 2012 poll by Rasmussen Reports indicated that 68% of Americans prefer the use of "Merry Christmas", while 23% preferred "Happy Holidays".[14] A similarly-timed Canadian poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid indicated that 72% of Canadians preferred "Merry Christmas".[17]

text: Merry Christmas and Happy Christmas[edit]

text: The greetings and farewells "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Christmas" are traditionally used in English-speaking countries, starting a few weeks before Christmas (December 25) each year.

text: Variations are:

text:
"Merry Christmas", the traditional English greeting, composed of merry (jolly, happy) and Christmas (Old English: Cristes mæsse, for Christ's Mass).
"Happy Christmas", an equivalent greeting that is common in Great Britain and Ireland.
"Merry Xmas", with the "X" replacing "Christ" (see Xmas) is sometimes used in writing, but very rarely in speech. This is in line with the traditional use of the Greek letter chi (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ), the initial letter of the word Χριστός (Christ), to refer to Christ.

tag: ul

text: These greetings and their equivalents in other languages are popular not only in countries with large Christian populations but also in the largely non-Christian nations of China and Japan, where Christmas is celebrated primarily due to cultural influences of predominantly Christian countries. They have somewhat decreased in popularity in the United States and Canada in recent decades, but polls in 2005 indicated that they remained more popular than "Happy Holidays" or other alternatives.[58]

text: History of the phrase[edit]

text: "Merry," derived from the Old English myrige, originally meant merely "pleasant, agreeable" rather than joyous or jolly (as in the phrase "merry month of May").[59] Christmas has been celebrated since the 4th century AD, the first known usage of any Christmas greeting dates was in 1534.[60] "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" (thus incorporating two greetings) was in an informal letter written by an English admiral in 1699. The same phrase is contained in the title of the English carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and also appears in the first commercial Christmas card, produced by Henry Cole in England in 1843.[61]

text: Also in 1843, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was published, during the mid Victorian revival of the holiday. The word Merry was then beginning to take on its current meaning of "jovial, cheerful, jolly and outgoing".[59] "Merry Christmas" in this new context figured prominently in A Christmas Carol. The cynical Ebenezer Scrooge rudely deflects the friendly greeting: "If I could work my will … every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding."[62] After the visit from the Ghosts of Christmas effects his transformation, Scrooge exclaims; "I am as merry as a school-boy. A merry Christmas to everybody!" and heartily exchanges the wish to all he meets.[63] The instant popularity of A Christmas Carol, the Victorian era Christmas traditions it typifies, and the term's new meaning appearing in the book popularized the phrase "Merry Christmas".[64][65]

text: The alternative "Happy Christmas" gained usage in the late 19th century, and in the UK and Ireland is a common spoken greeting, along with "Merry Christmas". One reason may be the Victorian middle class influence in attempting to separate wholesome celebration of the Christmas season from public insobriety and associated asocial behaviour, at a time when merry also meant "intoxicated" – Queen Elizabeth II is said to prefer "Happy Christmas" for this reason.[59] In her annual Christmas messages to the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth has used "happy Christmas" far more often than "merry Christmas".[66]

text: In the American poet Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (1823), the final line, originally written as "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night", has been changed in many later editions to "Merry Christmas to all", perhaps indicating the relative popularity of the phrases in the US.

text: Happy Holidays[edit]

text: In the United States, "Happy Holidays" (along with the similarly generalized "Season's Greetings") has become a common holiday greeting in the public sphere of department stores, public schools and greeting cards. Its use is generally confined to the period between United States Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.[citation needed] The phrase "Happy Holidays" has been used as a Christmas greeting in the United States for more than 100 years.[67]

text: The increasing usage of "Happy Holidays" has been the subject of some controversy in the United States. Advocates claim that "Happy Holidays" is an inclusive greeting that is not intended as an attack on Christianity or other religions, but is rather a response to what they say is the reality of a growing non-Christian population.

text: Critics of "Happy Holidays" generally claim it is a secular neologism. The greeting may be deemed materialistic, consumerist, atheistic, indifferentist, agnostic, politically correct and/or anti-Christianity. Critics of the phrase have associated it with a larger cultural clash termed the "War on Christmas".[67][68]

text: Season's Greetings[edit]

text: "Season's Greetings" is a greeting more commonly used as a motto on winter season greeting cards, and in commercial advertisements, than as a spoken phrase. In addition to "Merry Christmas", Victorian Christmas cards bore a variety of salutations, including "Compliments of the Season" and "Christmas Greetings." By the late 19th century, "With the Season's Greetings" or simply "The Season's Greetings" began appearing. By the 1920s it had been shortened to "Season's Greetings",[69] and has been a greeting card fixture ever since. Several White House Christmas cards, including U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1955 card, have featured the phrase.[70]

text: Medical analyses[edit]

text: Various studies have been performed on the effects of the Christmas and holiday season, which encompasses several feast days, on health. They have concluded that the health changes that occur during the Christmas and holiday season are not reversed during the rest of the year and have a long-term cumulative effect over a person's life, and that the risks of several medical problems increase during the Christmas and holiday season.

text: Nutrition[edit]

text: Yanovski et al.[7] investigated the assertion that the average American gains weight over the season. They found that average weight gain over the Christmas and holiday season is around 0.48 kilograms (1.1 lb). They also found that this weight gain is not reversed over the rest of the year, and concluded that this "probably contributes to the increase in body weight that frequently occurs during adulthood" (cf Lent).

text: Chan et al.[24] investigated the increases in A1C and fasting plasma glucose in type 2 diabetic patients, to see whether these increases were steady throughout the year or varied seasonally. They concluded that the winter holidays did influence the glycemic control of the patients, with the largest increases being during that period, increases that "might not be reversed during the summer and autumn months".

text: The Christmas and holiday season, according to a survey by the ADA, is the second most popular reason, after birthdays, for sharing food in the workplace. The British Columbia Safety Council states that if proper food safety procedures are not followed, food set out for sharing in the workplace can serve as a breeding ground for bacteria, and recommends that perishable foods (for which it gives pizza, cold cuts, dips, salads, and sandwiches as examples) should not sit out for more than 2 hours.[71]

text: Other issues[edit]

text: A survey conducted in 2005 found shopping caused headaches in nearly a quarter of people and sleeplessness in 11 percent.[32]

text: Phillips et al.[72] investigated whether some or all of the spike in cardiac mortality that occurs during December and January could be ascribed to the Christmas/New Year's holidays rather than to climatic factors. They concluded that the Christmas and holiday season is "a risk factor for cardiac and noncardiac mortality", stating that there are "multiple explanations for this association, including the possibility that holiday-induced delays in seeking treatment play a role in producing the twin holiday spikes".

text: The Asthma Society of Canada[73] states that the Christmas and holiday season increases exposure to irritants because people spend 90% of their time indoors, and that seasonal decorations in the home introduce additional, further, irritants beyond the ones that exist all year around. It recommends that asthmatics avoid scented candles, for example, recommending either that candles not be lit or that soy or beeswax candles be employed.

text: Other effects[edit]

text: According to the Stanford Recycling Center[74] Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Christmas and holiday season than at other times of the year.

text: Because of the cold weather in the Northern Hemisphere, the Christmas and holiday season (as well as the second half of winter) is a time of increased use of fuel for domestic heating. This has prompted concerns in the United Kingdom about the possibility of a shortage in the domestic gas supply. However, in the event of an exceptionally long cold season, it is industrial users, signed on to interruptible supply contracts, who would find themselves without gas supply.[75]

text: The U.S. Fire Administration[23] states that the Christmas and holiday season is "a time of elevated risk for winter heating fires" and that the fact that many people celebrate the different holidays during the Christmas and holiday season by decorating their homes with seasonal garlands, electric lights, candles, and banners, has the potential to change the profile of fire incidence and cause. The Government of Alberta Ministry of Municipal Affairs[76] states that candle-related fires rise by 140% during the Christmas and holiday season, with most fires involving human error and most deaths and injuries resulting from the failure to extinguish candles before going to bed. It states that consumers don't expect candle holders to tip over or to catch fire, assuming that they are safe, but that in fact candle holders can do this.

text: Because of increased alcohol consumption at festivities and poorer road conditions during the winter months, alcohol-related road traffic accidents increase over the Christmas and holiday season.[77]

text: Legal issues[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)

text: United States[edit]

text: In the United States, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States has had significant legal impact upon the activities of governments and of state-funded public schools during and relating to the Christmas and holiday season, and has been the source of controversy.

text: Public schools are subject to what the Anti-Defamation League terms the "December Dilemma",[78] namely the task of "acknowledging the various religious and secular holiday traditions celebrated during that time of year" whilst restricting observances of the various religious festivals to what is constitutionally permissible. The ADL and many school district authorities have published guidelines for schools and for teachers.[79] For example: The directive on maintaining religious neutrality in public schools over the Christmas and holiday season, given to public school administrators in the District of Columbia by the Superintendent,[80] contains several points on what may and may not be taught in the D.C. school district, the themes of parties and concerts, the uses of religious symbols, the locations of school events and classes and prayer.

text: Russia[edit]

text: In 2002, for the Christmas and holiday season, Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov ordered all stores, restaurants, cafés and markets to display seasonal decorations and lights in their windows and interiors from December 1 onwards. Banks, post offices and public institutions were to do the same from December 15, with violators liable for fines of up to 200 rubles. Every business was ordered to have illuminated windows during the hours of 16:30 until 01:00. This caused a mixed reaction, with people objecting to being forced to put up decorations.[81]


document_title: Slim Jim (snack food)

question_text: what is in a slim jim meat stick

question_tokens: what is in a slim jim meat stick

text: Slim Jim (snack food)

text: History[edit]

text: The Slim Jim was first invented by Adolph Levis in 1929 in Philadelphia, although he and his partner subsequently hired a meatpacker to develop the product for production in the 1940s.[3] He later sold the company in 1967 for about $20 million to General Mills,[3] who moved the operations to Raleigh, North Carolina, and merged them into other meatpacking operations that it renamed Goodmark Foods. He sold Goodmark in 1982 to a group led by Ron Doggett.[4] ConAgra bought Goodmark in 1998.[5]

text: The product Levis created is different from the one produced since the 1990s, with Lon Adams developing the current Slim Jim recipe while working for Goodmark.[6] Slim Jim is an example of a food product which is listed as containing mechanically separated chicken in its ingredients by requirement of the USDA.[7]

text: Production was interrupted after an explosion and fire on June 9, 2009, destroyed the packaging operations of the formerly sole Garner, North Carolina, manufacturing facility, but has since resumed there and in Troy, Ohio. On May 20, 2011, the facility in Garner closed, the same day that the company´s former spokesman "Macho Man" Randy Savage died. [8]

text: Advertising campaigns[edit]

text: Until 2000, advertising for the product included commercials that featured professional wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage, who served as spokesperson. Each commercial would close with Savage bellowing "Need a little excitement? Snap into a Slim Jim!" Other notable spokespersons have included rapper Vanilla Ice and wrestlers The Ultimate Warrior, Bam Bam Bigelow, Kevin Nash, and Edge.

text: The advertising campaign was developed at North Castle Partners in Greenwich, Connecticut, by Tom Leland and Roger Martensen, under the creative direction of Hal Rosen. The "Snap Into A Slim Jim" concept was originally intended for comedian Sam Kinison, but he declined.[citation needed] Hal Rosen then suggested using WWF wrestlers, and The Ultimate Warrior was selected for the kickoff spot. In addition to a TV spot, the Ultimate Warrior also recorded several radio commercials for Slim Jim in 1991.

text: A subsequent campaign featured Slim Jim Guy (played by actor Demetri Goritsas[9] in a giant Slim Jim costume, proclaiming "Eat me!" These ads personified the irreverent personality of the brand and were also from North Castle Partners.

text: Slim Jim advertisements were also heavily featured on MTV, ESPN, WWF, and Disney Channel. Slim Jim was one of the earliest sponsors of the ASA Pro Tour (the aggressive inline skating tour) from 1997 - 2000.[10] The ASA Pro Tour was a qualifier for ESPN's X Games.

text: In 2005, Slim Jim advertising featured the Fairy Snapmother, described in a ConAgra press release as "a character resembling a tattooed rocker with wings - and a familiar MTV-type of humor young males enjoy."[11]

text: Another campaign depicted hunters hunting a fictitious "Snapalope" within convenience stores using urban camouflage. The Snapalope is a deer-like puppet made from Slim Jims.

text: In 2008, Slim Jim launched the website "SpicySide.com", encouraging consumers to get in touch with their "Spicy Side" by creating an avatar and fighting their friends in an online landscape called Spicy Town. Slim Jim also partnered with a well known Machinima artist Myndflame to develop a World of Warcraft parody.

text: Slim Jim sponsored Bobby Labonte and David Green when they won the NASCAR Busch Series championship in 1991 and 1994, respectively.

text: Ingredients[edit]

text: A 2009 Wired article listed some of the ingredients as beef, mechanically separated chicken, lactic acid starter culture, dextrose, salt, sodium nitrite and hydrolyzed soy.[12] They note that although ConAgra refers to Slim Jim as a "meat stick", it resembles a fermented sausage, such as salami or pepperoni, which uses bacteria and sugar to produce lactic acid, lowering the pH of the sausage to around 5.0 and firming up the meat.[12]

text: Sodium nitrite is added to prevent the meat from turning gray,[12] and hydrolyzed soy contains monosodium glutamate.[12]

text: Product line, varieties[edit]

text: Slim Jim has launched several spin-off products of its main brand. These products are often of higher quality than the original Slim Jim, using premium meats.[citation needed] Such products include both tender steak strips and beef jerky.[citation needed]

text: The tender steak strips come in three flavors. Its companion beef jerky comes in three flavors: an original flavor and two spicy flavors.[13]


document_title: Cinema of South Africa

question_text: what was the first sound film in afrikaans

text: Cinema of South Africa

text: Silent Era[edit]

text:
Part of a series on the

Culture of South Africa

History

People

Languages[show]

Afrikaans
English
Ndebele
Northern Sotho
Sotho
Swazi
Tswana
Tsonga
Venda
Xhosa
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Cuisine

Festivals[show]

Public holidays

Religion

Art

Literature[show]

Writers
Poets

Music and performing arts[show]

Music
Musicians

Media[show]

Television
Cinema

Sport

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Symbols[show]

Flag
Coat of arms

 South Africa  portal

v
t
e

text:
[show]Cinema of
South Africa

List of South African films

pre 1910

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

By language

Afrikaans

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text: The first film studio in South Africa, Killarney Film Studios, was established in 1915 in Johannesburg.[5]

text: During the 1910s and 1920s, many South African films were made in or around Durban. These films often made use of the dramatic scenery available in rural KwaZulu-Natal, particularly the Drakensberg region. KwaZulu-Natal also served as the appropriate location for historical films such as De Voortrekkers (1916) and The Symbol of Sacrifice (1918). American filmmaker Lorimer Johnston directed several films in the area in the late 1910s which starred American actresses Edna Flugrath and Caroline Frances Cooke. Despite the participation of Johnson, Flugrath and Cooke, these were South African productions featuring local actors and stories.

text: Sound Era[edit]

text: Sarie Marais, the first Afrikaans-language sound film, was released in 1931. Subsequent sound releases such as Die Wildsboudjie (1948), a 1949 Sarie Marais remake, and Daar doer in die bosveld (1950) continued to cater primarily to white, Afrikaans-speaking audiences.

text: The 1950s saw an increased use of South African locations and talent by international filmmakers. British co-productions like Coast of Skeletons (1956) and American co-productions like The Cape Town Affair (1967) reflected the a growing trend of shooting in real locations, rather than using backlots.

text: The 3 major South African film distributors[edit]

text: Listed alongside each distributor are the studios they represent:

text:
Times Media Films: 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks Animation SKG.
Ster-Kinekor: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Focus Features, Walt Disney Pictures, Columbia Pictures
United International Pictures: Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, VideoVision Entertainment


document_title: Gunsmoke

question_text: what was burt reynold's character name on gunsmoke

question_tokens: what was burt reynold 's character name on gunsmoke

text: Gunsmoke

text: Radio series (1952–1961)[edit]

text:
Gunsmoke
Publicity photo from Gunsmoke's radio version (photo from 1954)Genre
WesternRunning time
30 minutesCountry of origin
United StatesLanguage(s)
EnglishTV adaptations
GunsmokeStarring
William ConradParley BaerHoward McNearGeorgia EllisCreated by
Norman MacdonnellJohn MestonProduced by
Norman MacdonnellOriginal release
April 26, 1952 – June 18, 1961No. of series
9No. of episodes
432Audio format
Monaural

text: In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a fan of the Philip Marlowe radio serial, asked his programming chief, Hubell Robinson, to develop a hardboiled Western series, a show about a "Philip Marlowe of the Old West". Robinson instructed his West Coast CBS Vice President, Harry Ackerman, who had developed the Philip Marlowe series, to take on the task.[citation needed]

text: Ackerman and his scriptwriters, Mort Fine and David Friedkin, created an audition script called "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" based on one of their Michael Shayne radio scripts, "The Crooked Wheel". Two auditions were created in 1949. The first was very much like a hardboiled detective series and starred Michael Rye (credited as Rye Billsbury) as Dillon; the second starred Straight Arrow actor Howard Culver in a more Western, lighter version of the same script. CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman was told to proceed.

text: A complication arose, though; Culver's contract as the star of Straight Arrow would not allow him to do another Western series. The project was shelved for three years, when producer Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston discovered it while creating an adult Western series of their own.[5]

text: Macdonnell and Meston wanted to create a radio Western for adults, in contrast to the prevailing juvenile fare such as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas, during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Dunning[6] notes, "The show drew critical acclaim for unprecedented realism."

text: Radio cast and character biographies[edit]

text: The radio series first aired on CBS on April 26, 1952 with the episode "Billy the Kid", written by Walter Newman, and ended on June 18, 1961. The show stars William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Dillon's assistant, Chester Wesley Proudfoot.

text: Matt Dillon[edit]

text: Matt Dillon was played on radio by William Conrad and on TV by James Arness. Two versions of the same pilot episode titled "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" are in the archives with two different actors, Rye Billsbury and Howard Culver, playing Marshal "Mark" Dillon as the lead, not yet played by Conrad. Conrad was one of the last actors to audition for the role of Marshal Dillon. With a resonantly powerful and distinctive voice, Conrad was already one of radio's busiest actors. Though Meston championed him, Macdonnell thought Conrad might be overexposed. During his audition, however, Conrad won over Macdonnell after reading only a few lines. Dillon, as portrayed by Conrad, was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. Macdonnell later claimed, "Much of Matt Dillon's character grew out of Bill Conrad."[7]

text: Meston relished the upending of cherished Western fiction clichés and felt that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. Many episodes were based on man's cruelty to man and woman, inasmuch as the prairie woman's life and the painful treatment of women as chattels were touched on well ahead of their time in most media. As originally pitched to CBS executives, this was to be an adult Western, not a grown-up Hopalong Cassidy.

text: Dunning writes that Meston was especially disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy [that type of] character he loathed". In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions."[8]

text: Chester[edit]

text:
Chester was played by Parley Baer on radio, and by Dennis Weaver on television.
Chester's character had no surname until Baer ad libbed "Proudfoot" during an early rehearsal. Initial Gunsmoke scripts gave him no name at all; his lines were simply slugged to be spoken by "Townsman". Again, Conrad's sense of what the program would be supervened, and Chester was born. Chester's middle initial was given as "W" in the June 15, 1958 episode "Old Flame", and a few episodes later, on the July 7, 1958 episode "Marshal Proudfoot", it is revealed that his middle name, and that of his 10 siblings, is Wesley. The amiable Waco expatriate was usually described as Dillon's "assistant", but in the December 13, 1952, episode "Post Martin", Dillon described Chester as Dillon's deputy. Contradicting this description, in the July 5, 1954, episode "Hank Prine" (episode 116, minute 3:02) Dillon corrects a prisoner who describes Chester as his "deputy" stating "Chester is not my deputy", though they both agree Chester acts like he is. Whatever his title, Chester was Dillon's foil, friend, partner, and in an episode in which Chester nearly dies ("Never Pester Chester"), Dillon allows that Chester was the only person he could trust. The TV series changed the newly limping Chester's last name from Proudfoot to Goode. Chester was played by Dennis Weaver who went on to star in the NBC Mystery Movie rotating TV series entry of a police drama with a comedic touch – McCloud in the early 1970s. Weaver, himself an impressive 6'2", often looked small alongside Arness' height at 6'7", this could be partly due to the character Chester having a limp. Season 2, episode 25 tells us that Chester was in the army. He would not have had the limp then, so probably got injured in the Civil War: not long ago, but long enough that he would have learned to live with the limp and virtually forget it.

text: Doc Adams[edit]

text:
Howard McNear starred as Dr. Charles Adams in the radio series, with Milburn Stone portraying Dr. Galen Adams in the television version.
In the radio series, "Doc" Adams was initially a self-interested and somewhat dark character with a predilection for constantly attempting to increase his revenue through the procurement of autopsy fees. However, McNear's performances steadily became more warm-hearted and sympathetic. Most notably, this transformation began during (and progressed steadily following) the July 1952 episode "Never Pester Chester," in which a physician with a more compassionate and devoted temperament is essential to the plotline when Chester is near-fatally injured by two trouble-making Texas drovers. Doc Adams' backstory evokes a varied and experienced life: In some episodes, he had educational ties to Philadelphia; in others, he spent time as ship's doctor aboard the gambling boats that plied the Mississippi River, which provided a background for his knowledge of New Orleans (and acquaintance with Mark Twain). In the January 31, 1953, episode "Cavalcade", a fuller history is offered, though subsequent programs kept close listeners' heads spinning. In "Cavalcade", his real name is Calvin Moore, educated in Boston, and he practiced as a doctor for a year in Richmond, Virginia, where he fell in love with a beautiful young woman who was also being courted by a wealthy young man named Roger Beauregard. Beauregard forced Doc into fighting a duel with him, resulting in Beauregard's being shot and killed. Though it was a fair duel, as a Yankee and an outsider Doc was forced to flee. The young woman fled after him and they were married in St. Louis, but two months later, she died of typhus. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City 17 years later under the name of "Charles Adams". The Adams moniker was another Conrad invention, borrowing the surname from cartoonist Charles Addams as a testament to Doc's initially ghoulish comportment.

text: Miss Kitty[edit]

text:
Kitty was played by Georgia Ellis on radio, and by Amanda Blake on TV.
Georgia Ellis first appeared in the radio episode "Billy the Kid" (April 26, 1952) as "Francie Richards", a former girlfriend of Matt Dillon and the widow of a criminal. "Miss Kitty" did not appear until the May 10, 1952, episode "Jaliscoe". Kitty's profession was hinted at, but never explicit; in a 1953 interview with Time, Macdonnell declared, "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while".[8] The magazine observed that she is "obviously not selling chocolate bars".[9] An out-take from the program makes this hilariously obvious.[10] The television show first portrayed Kitty as a saloon employee (dance-hall girl/prostitute), then from season 3 as half owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Sometime in 1959, Ellis was billed as Georgia Hawkins instead of Georgia Ellis.

text: Distinction from other radio westerns[edit]

text: Gunsmoke was often a somber program, particularly in its early years. Dunning writes that Dillon "played his hand and often lost. He arrived too late to prevent a lynching. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. He saved a girl from brutal rapists then found himself unable to offer her what she needed to stop her from moving into ... life as a prostitute."[11] Some listeners, such as Dunning, argue the radio version was more realistic. Episodes were aimed at adults and featured some of the most explicit content of their time, including violent crimes, scalpings, massacres, and opium addicts. Many episodes ended on a somber note, and villains often got away with their crimes. Nonetheless, due to the subtle scripts and outstanding ensemble cast, over the years, the program evolved into a warm, often humorous celebration of human nature.  Despite Gunsmoke's realism in some areas, the show took liberties with accuracy in others.  The program was set after the arrival of the railroad in Dodge City (1872) and Kansas had been a state since 1861.  A U.S. Marshal (actually a deputy marshal, only the senior officer in the district holds the title "marshal") would not be based in Dodge City and would not be involved in local law enforcement.  And any peace officer, then and now, would not approach an armed individual with his side-arm holstered and give the suspect a chance to draw.

text: Apart from the doleful tone, Gunsmoke was distinct from other radio Westerns, as the dialogue was often slow and halting, and due to the outstanding sound effects, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the prairie where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious feel. John Dunning wrote, "The listener heard extraneous dialogue in the background, just above the muted shouts of kids playing in an alley. He heard noises from the next block, too, where the inevitable dog was barking."[12]

text: Gunsmoke was also unique from other Westerns in that it was unsponsored for the first few years of production. The program got its support from CBS for the first two years. Series producers felt that if the show were sponsored, they would have to "clean the show up".[13] The producers wanted to find a sponsor that would allow them to keep the show the way it was.[14]

text: Talk of adapting Gunsmoke to television[edit]

text: Not long after the radio show began, talk began of adapting it to television. Privately, Macdonnell had a guarded interest in taking the show to television, but publicly, he declared, "our show is perfect for radio," and he feared, as Dunning writes, "Gunsmoke confined by a picture could not possibly be as authentic or attentive to detail." "In the end", wrote Dunning, "CBS simply took it away from Macdonnell and began preparing for the television version."[12]

text: Conrad and the others were given auditions, but they were little more than token efforts—especially in Conrad's case, due to his obesity. However, Meston was kept as the main writer. In the early years, a majority of the TV episodes were adapted from the radio scripts, often using identical scenes and dialogue. Dunning wrote, "That radio fans considered the TV show a sham and its players impostors should surprise no one. That the TV show was not a sham is due in no small part to the continued strength of Meston's scripts." [11]

text: Macdonnell and Meston continued the radio version of Gunsmoke until 1961, making it one of the most enduring vintage radio dramas.

text: Conrad directed two television episodes, in 1963 and 1971, while McNear appeared on six, playing characters other than Doc, including three times as storekeeper Howard Rudd.

text: Television series (1955–1975)[edit]

text:
Gunsmoke
Based on
Gunsmoke created byJohn MestonNorman MacdonnellDeveloped by
Charles Marquis WarrenStarring

James Arness
Milburn Stone
Amanda Blake
Dennis Weaver
Burt Reynolds
Ken Curtis
Roger Ewing
Buck Taylor
Theme music composer
Rex KouryGlenn SpencerCountry of origin
United StatesNo. of seasons
6 (Marshal Dillon, syndication retitling of half-hour episodes)14 (Gunsmoke),20 (total seasons)No. of episodes
233 (Marshal Dillon, syndication retitling of half-hour episodes), 402 (Gunsmoke)635 (total episodes) (list of episodes)ProductionRunning time
26 minutes (1955–1961), 50 minutes (1961–1975)Production company(s)
CBS ProductionsFilmaster ProductionsArness and Company(1959–1961) The Arness Production Company1961–1964)Distributor
CBS Films(1964-1966)Viacom Enterprises(1975–1976)CBS Television DistributionReleaseOriginal network
CBSPicture format
Black and white (1955–1966)  Color (1966–1975)Original release
September 10, 1955 (1955-09-10) – March 31, 1975 (1975-03-31)

text: The TV series ran from September 10, 1955, to March 31, 1975, on CBS, with 635 total episodes. It was the second Western television series written for adults,[15] premiering on September 10, 1955, four days after The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.[16][17] The first 12 seasons aired Saturdays at 10 pm, seasons 13 through 16 aired Mondays at 7:30 pm, and the last four seasons aired Mondays at 8 pm. During its second season in 1956, the program joined the list of the top ten television programs broadcast in the United States. It quickly moved to number one and stayed there until 1961. It remained among the top 20 programs until 1964.[18]

text: Longevity records[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The television series remains the longest-running primetime live-action series of the 20th century. As of  2017[update], it had the highest number of scripted episodes for any U.S. primetime, commercial, live-action television series. On April 29, 2018, The Simpsons surpassed Gunsmoke for the most scripted episodes.[19] Some TV fans question its position as having the longest run. Some foreign-made programs, i.e. produced outside the U.S., have been broadcast in the U.S. and contend for the position as the longest-running series.[notes 1] As of  2016[update], Gunsmoke was rated fourth globally, after Doctor Who (1963–89, 2005–present), Taggart (1983–2010),[20] and The Bill (1984–2010).

text: Character longevity[edit]

text: James Arness and Milburn Stone portrayed their Gunsmoke characters for 20 consecutive years, a feat later matched by Kelsey Grammer as the character Frasier Crane, but over two half-hour sitcoms (Cheers and Frasier).[21] George Walsh, the announcer for Gunsmoke, began in 1952 on radio's Gunsmoke and continued until television's Gunsmoke was canceled in 1975.[22] The first seven seasons were jointly sponsored by L&M cigarettes and Remington shaving products.

text: Transition to TV from radio[edit]

text: When Gunsmoke was adapted for television in 1955, in spite of a campaign to persuade the network, the network was not interested in bringing either Conrad or his radio costars to the television medium. Conrad's weight was rumored to be a deciding factor. Denver Pyle was also considered for the leading role, as was Raymond Burr, who was ultimately also seen as too heavy for the part. Charles Warren, television Gunsmoke's first director, said "His voice was fine, but he was too big. When he stood up, his chair stood with him."[23] According to Dennis Weaver's comments on the 50th Anniversary DVD, Disc One, Episode "Hack Prine", John Wayne was never considered for the role; to have done so would have been preposterous since Wayne was a top movie leading man. The belief that Wayne was asked to star is disputed by Warren. Although he agrees Wayne encouraged Arness to take the role, Warren says, "I hired Jim Arness on the strength of a picture he's done for me ... I never thought for a moment of offering it to Wayne."[22]

text: According to Thomas "Duke" Miller, a TV/movie/celebrity expert, this story was told to him by legendary actor James Stewart: "Jimmy said he was in the office with Charles Warren when Mr. Wayne came in. Mr. Warren asked Wayne if he knew James Arness, and Mr. Wayne said yes. Mr. Warren told Mr. Wayne about the transition of the show from radio to TV, and Mr. Wayne readily agreed that James Arness would be a terrific choice for the part of Matt Dillon. I have no reason to doubt the story, because Jimmy absolutely knew everybody."

text: In the end, the primary roles were all recast, with Arness taking the lead role of Marshal Matt Dillon (on the recommendation of Wayne, who also introduced the pilot); Dennis Weaver playing Chester Goode; Milburn Stone being cast as Dr. G. "Doc" Adams (later Galen "Doc" Adams); and Amanda Blake taking on the role of Miss Kitty Russell. Macdonnell became the associate producer of the TV show and later the producer. Meston was named head writer.

text: Good evening. My name's Wayne. Some of you may have seen me before; I hope so. I've been kicking around Hollywood a long time. I've made a lot of pictures out here, all kinds, and some of them have been Westerns. And that's what I'm here to tell you about tonight: a Western—a new television show called Gunsmoke. No, I'm not in it. I wish I were, though, because I think it's the best thing of its kind that's come along, and I hope you'll agree with me; it's honest, it's adult, it's realistic. When I first heard about the show Gunsmoke, I knew there was only one man to play in it: James Arness. He's a young fellow, and maybe new to some of you, but I've worked with him and I predict he'll be a big star, so you might as well get used to him, like you've had to get used to me! And now I'm proud to present my friend Jim Arness in Gunsmoke.

text: Additional casting[edit]

text: Chester and Festus Haggen are perhaps Dillon's most recognizable sidekicks, though others became acting deputies for 2 1⁄2- to 7 1⁄2-year stints: Quint Asper (Burt Reynolds) (1962–65), Thad Greenwood (Roger Ewing) (1966–68), and Newly O'Brien (Buck Taylor) (1967–75), who served as both back-up deputy and doctor-in-training, having some studies in medicine via his uncle, which then continued under Doc Adams.

text: In 1962, Burt Reynolds was added to the show's lineup, as the "halfbreed" blacksmith Quint Asper, and performed that role from the year just before the departure of Chester Goode and to just after the appearance of Festus Haggen. Three of the actors, who played Dodge deputies, Ken Curtis, Roger Ewing, and Buck Taylor, had previous guest roles. Curtis, a big band and Western singer (Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Shep Fields Band, Sons of the Pioneers), had five previous guest roles, including one in 1963 as a shady ladies' man named Kyle Kelly ("Lover Boy," season 9, show two [episode 307]).[25]

text: Curtis first appeared in the 1959 episode "Jayhawkers" (season four, episode 21 [episode 138]), where he played Phil Jacks, a Texas cowboy, with Jack Elam as his boss during a cattle drive from Texas. The second was another 1959 episode entitled "Change of Heart" (season four, episode 32 [episode 149]), where he played Brisco. The third appearance is the 1960 episode "The Ex-Urbanites" (season five, episode 30 [episode 186]), where he plays Jesse. He also had a small role as an Indian named Scout in the episode "Speak Me Fair" (season five, episode 34 [episode 190]) in 1960. Curtis was reared in Las Animas, Colorado, and for a time was a son-in-law of director John Ford.[26]

text: In 1963, Weaver left the series to pursue a broader acting career in TV series and films. In 1964, Curtis was signed as a regular to play the stubbornly illiterate hillbilly Festus Haggen. The character, heretofore a comic feature, came to town in a 1962 episode titled "Us Haggens," to avenge the death of his twin brother Fergus, and decided to stay in Dodge when the deed was done. Initially on the fringes of Dodge society, Festus was slowly phased in as a reliable sidekick/part-time deputy to Matt Dillon when Reynolds left in 1965. In the episode "Alias Festus Haggen," he is mistaken for a robber and killer whom he has to expose to free himself (both parts played by Curtis). In a comic relief episode ("Mad Dog," another case of mistaken identity forces Festus to fight three sons of a man killed by his cousin. As a side note, only one episode has all three actors in it playing their respective roles. It is the 1964 episode entitled "Prairie Wolfer" (season 9, episode 16 [episode 321]), with Dennis Weaver as Chester, Burt Reynolds as Quint, and Ken Curtis as Festus.[27] The 1964 episode entitled "Once a Haggen" (season 9, episode 18 [episode 323]) is the second of only two occasions in which Chester and Festus appear in the same episode.[28]

text: When Milburn Stone left the series for heart bypass surgery in 1971, Pat Hingle played his temporary replacement Dr. John Chapman for several episodes. His presence was at first roundly resisted by Festus, a bickersome but close friend of Doc Adams.

text: Character back stories[edit]

text: The back stories of some of the main characters were largely left to the imagination of the viewer. Matt Dillon spent his early years in foster care, knew the Bible, was a wayward, brawling cowboy, and was later mentored by a caring lawman. In a few episodes he mentions having spent some time in the army. Kitty Russell was born in New Orleans and reared by a flashy foster mother (who once visited Dodge), although her father visited Dodge on one occasion and wished to have her return to New Orleans.  Barkeep Sam is said to be married, but no wife is ever seen. (In the episode "Tafton," he is seen side-by-side with a woman in a church singing). Quint Asper's white father was killed by white scavengers. Thad Greenwood's father, a storekeeper, was harassed to death by a trio of loathsome ne'er-do-well thieves. Chester Goode is known to be one of many brothers raised by an aunt and uncle, and on one occasion he mentions his mother; he refers to past service in the cavalry and years as a cattle driver in Texas. The cause of Chester's stiff right leg is never given, but it is shown as his own leg and not a prosthesis. No direct reference to his disability is ever made in the script, although some oblique moments paint the free-spirited, comic deputy with a darker tone. Newly O'Brien was named after a physician uncle who ignited his interest in medicine.

text: While Dillon and Miss Kitty clearly have a close personal relationship, the two never marry. In a July 2, 2002, Associated Press interview with Bob Thomas, Arness explained, "If they were man and wife, it would make a lot of difference. The people upstairs decided it was better to leave the show as it was, which I totally agreed with." In the episode "Waste," featuring Johnny Whitaker as a boy with a prostitute mother, her madam questions Dillon as to why the law overlooks Miss Kitty's enterprise. It appears that bordellos could exist "at the law's discretion," (meaning the marshal's). As a historical matter, prior to the First World War, few laws criminalized prostitution in the United States.[29] The nearest that Matt and Miss Kitty have to a romantic evening together is when they try to have dinner over the Long Branch Saloon ("A Quiet Day In Dodge", 1973). Unfortunately, Marshal Dillon has been going over 30 hours without sleep, and when Kitty is distracted, he falls soundly asleep.[30] Ironically, the nearest Miss Kitty gets to being married is when she has to pretend to be married to Cavalry Sgt. Holly in order to save her from a robber gang ("Sergeant Holly," 1970). By the time of the "Gold Train" episode Kitty remembers when she first met Matt – 17 years before. Miss Kitty was written out in 1974. The actress sought more free time and reportedly missed her late co-star, Glenn Strange, who played her Long Branch barkeep, Sam. When Blake decided not to return for the show's 20th (and final) season, the character was said to have returned to New Orleans. She was replaced by the hoarse-voiced, matronly actress Fran Ryan (known to many as the second Doris Ziffel on CBS's Green Acres.)

text: For over a decade on television, a sign hung over Doc's office that read "Dr. G. Adams". Milburn Stone was given free rein to choose the character's first name. The actor chose the name of the ancient Greek physician and medical researcher Galen. He is first referred to in this manner by Theodore Bikel as "Martin Kellums" in the season-10 episode, "Song for Dying," aired February 13, 1965.[31]

text: Radio and TV character differences[edit]

text: Differences were noted between the characters on the radio and TV versions of Gunsmoke. In the radio series, Doc was acerbic, somewhat mercenary, and borderline alcoholic, at least in the program's early years. On radio's Gunsmoke, Doc Adams's real name was Dr. Calvin Moore.[32] He came west and changed his name to escape a charge of murder. The television Doc, though still crusty, was in many ways softer and warmer.

text: Nothing in the radio series suggested that Chester Proudfoot was disabled; this merely visual feature was added to the Chester Goode character on television because of actor Dennis Weaver's athletic build, to emphasize Chester's role as a follower and not an independent agent.[citation needed]

text: Miss Kitty, who after the radio series ended was said by some to have engaged in prostitution, began in that role in the television series, working in the Long Branch Saloon. In an earlier 1956 episode ("How to Cure a Friend" Season 2, #7), the owner of the Long Branch was named Bill Pence (a role played by at least three different actors over the years). A later episode ("Daddy O" Season 2, #36, filmed in 1956 and aired in 1957) begins with Chester pointing out to Matt (who had been out of town) a new sign under the Long Branch Saloon sign saying "Russell & Pence, Proprietors". In that same episode, John Dehner portrayed a dubious New Orleans businessman claiming to be Kitty's father, who tried to talk her into selling her half interest in the Long Branch and returning to New Orleans with him as a partner in his alleged freight business. In another 1956 episode (involving a new saloon girl named "Rena Decker" who causes four deaths by provoking men into fighting over her), Miss Kitty identifies herself as half-owner of the Long Branch with Mr. Pence (played by Judson Pratt). Subsequently, Miss Kitty transitioned to sole owner. Although early film episodes showed her descending from her second-floor rooms in the saloon with Matt, or showed her or one of her girls leading a cowboy up to those same rooms, these scenes disappeared later on, and viewers were guided to see Miss Kitty just as a kindhearted businesswoman.[citation needed]

text: Format[edit]

text: From 1955 to 1961, Gunsmoke was a half-hour show (retitled Marshal Dillon in syndication). It then went to an hour-long format. The series was retitled Gun Law in the UK. The Marshal Dillon syndicated rerun lasted from 1961 until 1964 on CBS, originally on Tuesday nights within its time in reruns.

text: Popularity[edit]

text: Gunsmoke was TV's number one-ranked show from 1957 to 1961 before slipping into a decline after expanding to an hour. In 1967, the show's 12th season, CBS planned to cancel the series, but widespread viewer reaction (including a mention in Congress and the behind-the-scenes pressure from the wife of CBS's longtime president William S. Paley) prevented its demise. On the Biography Channel's Behind The Scenes: Gilligan's Island (2002), Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz states that the wife of CBS's president pressured her husband not to cancel Gunsmoke in 1967, so the network cut Gilligan's Island instead. The show continued in its new time slot at 8 pm on Mondays. This scheduling move led to a spike in ratings that had it once again rally to the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings, which again saved the series when CBS purged most of its rural content in 1971. The series remained in the top 10 until the 1973–74 television season.[33] In September 1975, despite still ranking among the top 30 programs in the ratings, Gunsmoke was canceled after a 20-year run; it was replaced by Mary Tyler Moore spin-offs Rhoda and Phyllis (though Rhoda actually debuted while Gunsmoke was still airing first-run). Thirty TV Westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, and Gunsmoke was the sole survivor, with Alias Smith and Jones and Bonanza both leaving the airwaves 2 1/2 years earlier in January 1973.

text: Arness and Stone remained with the show for its entire run, though Stone missed seven episodes in 1971 due to illness.

text: The entire cast was stunned by the cancellation, as they were unaware that CBS was considering it. According to Arness, "We didn't do a final, wrap-up show. We finished the 20th year, we all expected to go on for another season, or two or three. The (network) never told anybody they were thinking of canceling." The cast and crew read the news in the trade papers.[34]  This seemed to have been a habit of CBS.  Three other popular shows, Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space and The Incredible Hulk met the same fate, in the same, abrupt manner.

text: TV movies[edit]

text: In 1987, CBS commissioned a reunion movie entitled Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. James Arness and Amanda Blake returned in their iconic roles of Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty, with Fran Ryan returning in her role as Kitty's friend/saloon-owner Hannah and Buck Taylor returning as Newly O'Brian. Doc Adams and Festus Haggen were not featured in the film. Milburn Stone had died 7 years earlier in 1980 and the role of Doc was not recast. Ken Curtis, meanwhile, balked at the salary offer he received and said that he should be paid based on Festus' importance in the character hierarchy. The screenwriters responded to Curtis' absence by making Newly the new Dodge City marshal. The film, shot in Alberta, featured a now-retired Marshal Dillon being attacked and a vengeful former rival returning to Dodge City to entrap him.

text: In 1990, the second telefilm, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache, premiered. Since Amanda Blake had died the year before, the writers decided to revisit a 1973 episode for the movie. The episode was based on "Matt's Love Story", which was noted for the marshal's first overnight visit to a female's lodgings.[citation needed] In the episode, Matt loses his memory and his heart during a brief liaison with "Mike" Yardner (played by Michael Learned).[notes 2] In the film, Learned returns as Mike, who reveals to Marshal Dillon that he is the father of their daughter.[35] Beth (played by Amy Stock-Poynton) and asks him for help in saving her. Dodge City was never again seen.

text: Other films included Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), Gunsmoke IV: The Long Ride (1993), and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994). Arness appeared in all five films.

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Primetime Emmy Award wins and nominations[edit]

text: 1955 (presented March 17, 1956)[edit]

text: Best Action or Adventure Series – nominated (winner: Disneyland)

text: 1956 (presented March 16, 1957)[edit]

text: Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series: James Arness – nominated (winner: Robert Young for Father Knows Best)

text: 1957 (presented April 15, 1958)[edit]

text:
Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series: James Arness – nominated (winner: Robert Young for Father Knows Best)
Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic or Comedy Series: Dennis Weaver – nominated (winner: Carl Reiner for Caesar's Hour)
Best Dramatic Series with Continuing Characters won
Best Editing of a Film for Television: Mike Pozen for "How to Kill a Woman" – won
Best Teleplay Writing (Half-Hour or Less): John Meston for "Born to Hang" – nominated (winner: Paul Monash for Schlitz Playhouse of Stars –  "The Lonely Wizard")

text: 1958 (presented May 6, 1959)[edit]

text:
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series: James Arness – nominated (winner: Raymond Burr for Perry Mason)
Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series: Dennis Weaver – won
Best Supporting Actress (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series: Amanda Blake – nominated (winner: Barbara Hale for Perry Mason)
Best Western Series – nominated (winner: Maverick)

text: 1965–1966 (presented May 22, 1966)[edit]

text: Individual Achievements in Music - Composition: Morton Stevens for "Seven Hours to Dawn" – nominated (winner: Laurence Rosenthal for Michelangelo: The Last Giant)

text: 1967–1968 (presented May 19, 1968)[edit]

text:
Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition: Morton Stevens for "Major Glory" (winner: Earle Hagen for I Spy –  "Laya")
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama: Milburn Stone – won

text: 1969–1970 (presented by June 7, 1970)[edit]

text: Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing: Norman Karlin and Richard E. Raderman – won (tied with Alex Bamattre, Michael Colgan, Douglas H. Grindstaff, Joe Kavigan, Bill Lee, and Josef E. Von Stroheim for ABC Movie of the Week: The Immortal)

text: Syndication[edit]

text: All 635 episodes of the television series, and almost all 480 episodes of the radio show, still exist.

text: In syndication, the entire 20-year run of Gunsmoke is separated into three packages by CBS Television Distribution:

text:
1955–61 half-hour episodes: These episodes are sometimes seen in their original format and sometimes in the Marshal Dillon format. When first-run, prime-time episodes of Gunsmoke expanded to an hour in fall 1961, CBS-TV reran the half-hour episodes as Marshal Dillon on the network on Tuesday nights from 1961 through 1964. These were later rerun in syndication. General syndication ended in the 1980s, but they do air occasionally on cable TV. Local stations would show the retitled Marshal Dillon version of the series, while the series under the original Gunsmoke title (with some episodes under the Marshal Dillon retitling) were seen in the late 1990s on TV Land and later Hallmark Channel. STARZ! Westerns Channel aired this version under the Marshal Dillon title. RetroPlex also aired two half-hour episodes under the original Gunsmoke title, although the episodes are advertised as Marshal Dillon, on Saturday nights from 8 to 9 pm Eastern time. MeTV announced that it will begin the half-hour black-and-white episodes beginning on January 2, 2017.
1961–66 one-hour black-and-white episodes: These episodes have not been widely seen in regular syndication since the 1980s, although selected episodes did air from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s on CBN Cable/The Family Channel, and later on Encore Westerns on a three-year contract that ended around 2006. As of January 2010, Encore Westerns was again airing the episodes. In October 2015, MeTV announced that it would begin airing the one-hour black-and-white episodes on October 26.[37]
1966–75 one-hour color episodes: The last nine seasons of the Western, the most widely syndicated episodes of the entire series' run, are still aired on some local stations, as well as nationally on TV Land and MeTV.

text: Home media[edit]

text: In 2006, as part of Gunsmoke's 50th anniversary on TV, certain selected episodes were released on DVD in three different box sets. Twelve episodes, from 1955 to 1964, were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume I box set, and another twelve episodes, from 1964 to 1975, were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume II box set. Both sets are also available as a combined single "Gift Box Set". A third unique DVD box set, known as Gunsmoke: The Directors Collection, was also released with 10 selected episodes from certain seasons throughout the series' 20-year history. All of these box sets are available on Region 1 DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD.

text: Additionally, Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD have released the first 13 seasons (seasons one to six are known as the "half-hour years") on DVD in Region 1. All DVDs have been released with English audio and close captionning from season 1 to 5 and starting season 6 English SDH.

text:
DVD releases — Seasons 1-13

DVD Name

Ep #

Release Date

The First Season

39

July 17, 2007

The Second Season, Volume 1

20

January 8, 2008

The Second Season, Volume 2

19

May 27, 2008

The Third Season, Volume 1

19

December 9, 2008

The Third Season, Volume 2

20

May 26, 2009

The Fourth Season, Volume 1

19

October 5, 2010

The Fourth Season, Volume 2

20

December 14, 2010

The Fifth Season, Volume 1

20

October 11, 2011

The Fifth Season, Volume 2

19

December 13, 2011

The Sixth Season, Volume 1

19

August 7, 2012

The Sixth Season, Volume 2

19

October 16, 2012

The Seventh Season, Volume 1

17

December 11, 2012

The Seventh Season, Volume 2

17

February 5, 2013

The Eighth Season, Volume 1

19

May 7, 2013

The Eighth Season, Volume 2

19

May 7, 2013

The Ninth Season, Volume 1

18

August 6, 2013

The Ninth Season, Volume 2

18

August 6, 2013

The Tenth Season, Volume 1

18

August 12, 2014

The Tenth Season, Volume 2

18

August 12, 2014

DVD Name

Ep #

Release Date

The Eleventh Season, Volume 1

16

December 2, 2014

The Eleventh Season, Volume 2

16

December 2, 2014

The Twelfth Season, Volume 1

15

September 20, 2016

The Twelfth Season, Volume 2

14

September 20, 2016

The Thirteenth Season, Volume 1

15

May 22, 2018

The Thirteenth Season, Volume 2

10

May 22, 2018

text: Regular cast; major characters[edit]

text:
U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (1955–75): James Arness
Dr. Galen "Doc" Adams, M.D. (1955–75): Milburn Stone
Kathleen "Kitty" Russell (1955–74): Amanda Blake
Chester B. Goode (1955–64): Dennis Weaver; left series to star in unsuccessful series Kentucky Jones
Festus Haggen (1964–75): Ken Curtis

text:
Matt Dillon, 1969

Chester, Doc, and Kitty, 1960

Kitty and Doc, 1958

Miss Kitty Russell, 1966

Chester Goode

Festus Haggen and Doc Adams, 1974

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Sam Noonan (bartender; 1955–59): Bert Rumsey
Clem (bartender; 1959–61): Clem Fuller
Sam Noonan (bartender; 1961–73): Glenn Strange
Jim Buck (stage driver; 1957-1962) and Floyd (bartender; 1974–75): Robert Brubaker
Quint Asper (blacksmith; 1962–65): Burt Reynolds
Deputy Marshal Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood (1965–67): Roger Ewing
Newly O'Brian (gunsmith/Deputy Marshal; 1967–75): Buck Taylor
Wilbur Jonas (storekeeper, 1955–63): Dabbs Greer
Howie Uzzell (hotel clerk, 1955–75): Howard Culver
Moss Grimmick (stableman; 1955–t63): George Selk
Bill Pence (Long Branch owner/co-owner 1955?–56–?): Judson Pratt
Bill Pence, (1958–61): Barney Phillips
Jim Buck (stagecoach driver; 1957–62): Robert Brubaker
Louie Pheeters (town drunk; 1961–70): James Nusser
Ma Smalley (boardinghouse owner; 1961–72): Sarah Selby
Hank Miller (stableman; 1963–75): Hank Patterson
Mr. Bodkin (banker; 1963–70): Roy Roberts
Barney Danches (telegraph agent; 1965–74): Charles Seel
Roy (townsperson; 1965–69): Roy Barcroft
Halligan (rancher; 1966–75): Charles Wagenheim
Mr. Lathrop (storekeeper; 1966–75): Woody Chambliss
Nathan Burke (freight agent; 1966–75): Ted Jordan
Percy Crump (undertaker; 1966–72): Kelton Garwood (later credited as Jonathan Harper)
Ed O'Connor (rancher; 1968–72): Tom Brown
Judge Brooker (1970–75): Herb Vigran
Dr. John Chapman (1971): Pat Hingle
Miss Hannah (saloon owner; 1974–75): Fran Ryan

text: Awards[edit]

text:
In TV Guide′s April 17, 1993, issue celebrating 40 years of television, the all-time-best-TV programs were chosen. "No contest, this [Gunsmoke] was the TV western."[38]
Entertainment Weekly (February 19, 1999, issue) ranked the premiere of Gunsmoke as No. 47 in the "100 Greatest Moments in Television".[39]
Entertainment Weekly, in 1998, ranked Gunsmoke as No. 16 in The 100 Greatest TV Shows of all time.[40]
In a 1998 TV Guide poll of 50,000, Gunsmoke was ranked as CBS's best western and James Arness was ranked as CBS's best "Gunslinger".[41]
James Arness (Matt), Milburn Stone (Doc), Ken Curtis (Festus), Dennis Weaver (Chester), and Amanda Blake (Kitty) are all inductees of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[42]
In 1997, the episode "The Jailer" was ranked No. 28 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[43]
In 2002, TV Guide ranked Gunsmoke as No. 40 in the 50 greatest television shows of all time.[44]
In 2013, TV Guide ranked it as #27 on their list of the 60 Best Series.[45]

text: Miscellaneous[edit]

text:
Dodge City's Boot Hill Museum has a tribute to Gunsmoke, including furniture from the 1960s and an old television tuned to the show. Signed photographs from the show's actors and other memorabilia are on display including a vest worn by Sam the Bartender (actor Glenn Strange) and a dress worn by Miss Kitty, (actress Amanda Blake).[46]
Despite a rumor to the contrary, Albert Einstein never appeared on Gunsmoke. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955, 4 1/2 months before Gunsmoke aired. The fact checking website Snopes attributes the likely origin of the rumor to Stephen Hawking appearing in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1993. Actor Brent Spiner was quoted at the time as saying it was "the most notable moment in television history since Albert Einstein guest-starred on Gunsmoke." Although Spiner's remark was a joke, someone wrote to TV Guide in 1994 to ask if Einstein really had appeared on the show.[47]
The anime and manga Trigun, a western-themed gunslinger tale, directly references the series by naming the planet on which it is set planet Gunsmoke.
The graphic novel series HIGH MOON, a werewolf western tale, has numerous references to the series by naming characters – like Doc McNear – after Gunsmoke actors. Author David Gallaher often cites Gunsmoke as an influence.[48][49]
German-American political philosopher and Plato scholar Leo Strauss was a fervent fan of Gunsmoke. Strauss "had one vice, or rather obsession. He would never miss a Saturday night TV program called Gunsmoke, a western about marshall Matt Dillon in Dodge City, Kansas, and his many exploits. Strauss once said that the situation in the Old West was an excellent representation, unintentional or not, of what Hobbes meant by the state of nature."[50]
The series was filmed at the present site of California Lutheran University (CLU) and nearby Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California.[51][52][53]

text: Preceding the series by nearly 2 years was a 1953 movie also titled Gunsmoke. It has been confused in the past as the basis for the series but has been proven since to have no connection with the show, or radio series, with the exception that all are westerns.

text: Notable guest stars[edit]

text:
Willie Aames, Rico Alaniz, Jack Albertson, Mabel Albertson, Claude Akins, Chris Alcaide, John Anderson (12 times), Richard Anderson, Tige Andrews, R. G. Armstrong, Jean Arthur,[54] John Astin
Edward Asner, Val Avery, Lew Ayres, Jim Backus, Trevor Bardette, Patricia Barry, John Drew Barrymore, Richard Basehart, Ed Begley, Ralph Bellamy, James Best, Dan Blocker, Randy Boone, Bruce Boxleitner, Ray Boyle, Lane Bradbury (13 times),
Scott Brady, Eric Braeden, Peter Breck, Beau Bridges, Morgan Brittany, William Boyett, Charles Bronson, James Brown, Joyce Bulifant, Michael Burns, Gary Busey,
Sebastian Cabot, Frank Cady, David Canary, Harry Carey, Jr., David Carradine, John Carradine, Conlan Carter, Jack Cassidy, Mary Castle, Peggie Castle, Lonny Chapman, Andy Clyde, Phyllis Coates, Lee J. Cobb, Michael Cole, Don Collier, Chuck Connors
Mike Connors, Tim Considine, Pat Conway, Elisha Cook, Jr., Ben Cooper, Glenn Corbett, Noreen Corcoran, Alex Cord, Robert L. Crawford, Jr., Dennis Cross, Brandon Cruz, Robert Culp, Royal Dano (13 times), Kim Darby, Bette Davis
Bette Davis, Jim Davis (11 times), Richard Deacon, Gloria DeHaven, John Dehner (12 times), Bruce Dern
William Devane, Angie Dickinson, James Doohan, Richard Dreyfuss, Buddy Ebsen, Barbara Eden, Jack Elam, Sam Elliott, Jena Engstrom (two episodes), Gene Evans (ten episodes), Shug Fisher, Paul Fix
Jay C. Flippen, Med Flory, Constance Ford, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Ron Foster, Anne Francis, Dean Fredericks, Bert Freed, Victor French
Beverly Garland, Leif Garrett, Sean Garrison, Lisa Gerritsen, Melissa Gilbert, Harold Gould, Karen Grassle, Virginia Gregg, James Gregory, Tom Greenway
Kevin Hagen, Ron Hagerthy, Alan Hale, Jr., Lynn Hamilton, Mariette Hartley, Ron Hayes, Anne Helm, Katherine Helmond, Earl Holliman, Ron Howard, Bo Hopkins, Dennis Hopper, Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., Marsha Hunt
Josephine Hutchinson, Betty Hutton, Steve Ihnat, John Ireland, Richard Jaeckel, Vivi Janiss, Salome Jens, Arch Johnson, Brad Johnson, Ben Johnson, Chubby Johnson
I. Stanford Jolley, L. Q. Jones, Robert Karnes, Don Keefer, DeForest Kelley, Jack Kelly, Ricky Kelman, Dan Kemp, Adam Kennedy, Douglas Kennedy, George Kennedy, Richard Kiley, Brett King, Wright King (eight times), Werner Klemperer, Jack Klugman, Robert Knapp (seven times) Ted Knight, Diane Ladd, Martin Landau
Allan Lane, Louise Latham, Harry Lauter, Anna Lee, June Lockhart, Jack Lord, Keye Luke, Dayton Lummis, Tyler MacDuff, Elizabeth MacRae, Barton MacLane, George Macready, Rose Marie, Scott Marlowe, Nora Marlowe, Ross Martin
Strother Martin, Darren McGavin, Peggy McCay, Howard McNear, Patrick McVey, Tyler McVey, Vera Miles, Denny Scott Miller, John Mitchum, Roger Mobley, Ricardo Montalbán, Erin Moran, Harry Morgan, Read Morgan (12 times)
Wayne Morris, Anna Karen Morrow, Richard Mulligan, Diana Muldaur, Burt Mustin, Gene Nelson, Leslie Nielsen, Leonard Nimoy, Jimmy Noel, Jeanette Nolan, Nick Nolte, Carroll O'Connor, Simon Oakland, Warren Oates, Susan Olsen, Cliff Osmond
Manuel Padilla, Jr., Gregg Palmer (20 times), Michael Parks, John Payne, Lauri Peters, Brock Peters, William Phipps, John Pickard (12 times), Slim Pickens, Suzanne Pleshette, Judson Pratt, Andrew Prine, Ainslie Pryor, Denver Pyle (14 times), Chips Rafferty (Australian actor), Dack Rambo, Gilman Rankin
Pernell Roberts, Wayne Rogers, Ruth Roman, Katharine Ross, Bing Russell (7 times),  Kurt Russell, Albert Salmi, John Saxon, Jacqueline Scott (nine episodes), Johnny Seven, Karen Sharpe
William Shatner, Dan Sheridan, Tom Simcox, Robert F. Simon, Tom Skerritt, Jeremy Slate, John Smith, Quintin Sondergaard, David Soul, Aaron Spelling, Loretta Swit, Harry Dean Stanton, Frank Sutton, Gloria Talbott, Russ Tamblyn, William Tannen, Vic Tayback
Dub Taylor, Robert Totten (also a director), Harry Townes (seven times), Daniel J. Travanti, Forrest Tucker, Lurene Tuttle, Cicely Tyson, Robert Urich, Joan Van Ark, Lee Van Cleef, Warren Vanders (12 times), Mitch Vogel, Joyce Van Patten, Robert Vaughn, Jan-Michael Vincent, Gary Vinson
Jon Voight, Lesley Ann Warren, Ruth Warrick, David Wayne, Adam West, James Westerfield, Jack Weston, Johnny Whitaker, James Whitmore, Robert J. Wilke, Elen Willard, Bill Williams, Chill Wills, Terry Wilson, William Windom, Morgan Woodward (19 times), Ian Wolfe, Dana Wynter, and Anthony Zerbe.

text: Spin-off[edit]

text: Gunsmoke had one spin-off series, Dirty Sally, a semi-comedy starring Jeanette Nolan as an old woman and Dack Rambo as a young gunfighter, leaving Dodge City for California in order to pan for gold. The program lasted thirteen weeks and aired in the first half of 1974, a year before Gunsmoke ended.

text: Notable directors[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text:
Andrew McLaglen
Richard Whorf
Arnold Laven
Arthur Hiller
Dennis Weaver
Gene Nelson
Irving J. Moore
John Rich
Leo Penn
Marc Daniels
Mark Rydell
Peter Graves
Philip Leacock
Robert Totten
Sam Peckinpah
Sobey Martin
Tay Garnett
Victor French
Vincent McEveety
William Conrad
Gunnar Hellström (23 episodes)

text: Music[edit]

text: The Gunsmoke radio theme song and later TV theme was titled "Old Trails", also known as "Boothill". The Gunsmoke theme was composed by Rex Koury.[55] The original radio version was conducted by Koury. The TV version was thought to have been first conducted by CBS west coast music director Lud Gluskin. The lyrics of the theme, never aired on the radio or television show, were recorded and released by Tex Ritter in 1955. Ritter was backed on that Capitol record by Rex Koury and the radio Gunsmoke orchestra.[56]  William Lava composed the original theme music for television, as noted in the program credits.

text: Other notable composers included:

text:
Elmer Bernstein
Jerry Goldsmith
Bernard Herrmann
Jerome Moross
Franz Waxman

text: Products[edit]

text: The Gunsmoke brand was used to endorse numerous products, from cottage cheese[57] to cigarettes.

text: Lowell Toy Manufacturing Corporation ("It's a Lowell Game") issued Gunsmoke as their game No. 822.[58] Other products include Gunsmoke puzzles,[59]

text: In 1985, Capcom released a video game for the arcade (and its corresponding game for the NES in 1988) with a Western theme, called Gun.Smoke. Other than the Western theme, the show and game have no relationship whatsoever.[60]

text: Comics[edit]

text:
Dell Comics published numerous issues of their Four Color comics series on Gunsmoke[61] (including issues #679, 720, 769, 797, 844 and, in 1958–62, #6–27).[62]
Gold Key Comics continued with issues #1–6 in 1969–70.[61][63]
A comic strip version of the series ran in British newspapers for several years under the show's UK title, Gun Law.
Hardcover comic BBC Gunsmoke Annuals were marketed in Great Britain under the authority of the BBC which had broadcasting rights there.[64]
Gunsmoke comics in Spanish were published under the title Aventura la ley del revolver[65] (Gun-Law Adventures).

text: Books[edit]

text:
In 1957, Ballantine Books published a collection of short stories.[66] Each story is based on a half-hour Gunsmoke episode. Although a photo of James Arness and the CBS TV logo are on the book cover, in at least one story Matt introduces Chester as "Chester Proudfoot", an indication that the stories are actually adapted from radio scripts.
Whitman Books published
Gunsmoke by Robert Turner in 1958, and
Gunsmoke: "Showdown on Front Street"[67] by Paul S. Newman in 1969 ...
In 1970, Popular Library published the following paperback book written by Chris Stratton:
Gunsmoke
In 1974, Award Books published the following paperback books written by Jackson Flynn based on the TV series:
Gunsmoke #1: "The Renegades"[68]
Gunsmoke #2: "Shootout"
Gunsmoke #3: "Duel at Dodge City"
Gunsmoke #4: "Cheyenne Vengeance"
In 1998, Boulevard Books published the following paperbacks written by Gary McCarthy based on the TV series:
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke: "Dead Man's Witness"
Gunsmoke: "Marshal Festus"
A series of novels based upon the television series written by Joseph A. West with forewords by James Arness was published by Signet:
Gunsmoke: "Blood, Bullets and Buckskin", January 2005 (ISBN 0-451-21348-3)
Gunsmoke: "The Last Dog Soldier", May 2005 (ISBN 0-451-21491-9)
Gunsmoke: "Blizzard of Lead", September 2005 (ISBN 0-451-21633-4)
Gunsmoke: "The Reckless Gun", May 2006 (ISBN 0-451-21923-6)
Gunsmoke: "Dodge the Devil", October 2006 (ISBN 0-451-21972-4)
Gunsmoke: "The Day of the Gunfighter", January 2007 (ISBN 0-451-22015-3)
"Gunsmoke: An American Institution, Celebrating 50 Years of Television's Best Western" Written by Ben Costello, Foreword by Jim Byrnes, and Introduction by Jon Voight and published by Five Star Publications, Inc.(now Story Monsters LLC) Published 1 edition (December 22, 2012), ISBN 978-1589852228

text: Independent E-book

text: Gunsmoke: Battlefield Dodge, June 2015, e-book, Amazon.com http://www.battlefielddodge.com

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Reruns and syndication[edit]

text: The program currently airs on three major venues: TV Land, which has carried the show since its inception in 1996, Encore Westerns, and Weigel Broadcasting's MeTV digital subchannel network. Individual stations such as KFWD in Dallas also carry the series in their markets. It has also been shown on satellite channel CBS Action in the UK, Ireland and Poland. The series also appears intermittently on MeTV's themed sister network Decades, which CBS holds a partial interest in; it appears on the schedule depending on the theme and year a particular day has.

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ Because the show was a "primetime" series, the competition does not include such long-lived shows as Captain Kangaroo (1955–84) and many daytime serials. As a "commercial" series, it cannot be compared with shows such as the PBS program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1966–2001). As "live-action" series, it is not compared against programs such as the adult animated series The Simpsons (1989–), whose voice-over actors age off-screen. Some foreign countries have broadcast series over a longer duration, but these programs have employed an array of actors in their principal lead roles.

Jump up ^ The character and the actor are both women.

tag: ol


document_title: List of Trojan War characters

question_text: who did ares side with in the trojan war

text: List of Trojan War characters

text: Armies[edit]

text:
Greek armies
Trojan armies*

Abantes
Arcadia
Aetolia
Athens and Salamis
Tiryns
Boebeans (Thessaly)
Boeotia
Crete
Dulichium
Elis
Elone (Thessaly)
Enienes
Iolcus (Thessaly)
Ithaca
Locris
Magnesia
Meliboea
Minyans
Mycenae and Corinth
Myrmidones of Argos
Oechalia
Ormenius
Pherae
Phylacia
Phocis
Pylos
Rhodes
Sparta
Syme
Amazons
Adrasteia
Chalybes (Halizones)
Colonae
Cicones
Dardania
Aethiopia
Lycia
Maeonia
Miletus
Mysia
Paionia
Pelasgians
Percote
Phrygia
Thrace
Troy
Zeleia

text: * See Catalogue of Ships

text: Individuals[edit]

text:
Participants on the Greek side (Achaeans)
Participants on the Trojan side

Gods
Humans
Gods
Humans

Athena
Hera
Poseidon
Hermes
Hephaestus
Thetis
Abantes
Acamas
Achilles
Agamemnon
Agapenor
Ajax the Great
Ajax the Lesser
Alcmaeon
Amphidamas
Amphimachus
Anticlus
Antilochus
Antimachus
Antiphates
Antiphus
Arcesilaus
Ascalaphus
Asclepius
Automedon
Calchas
Canopus
Clonius
Cyanippus
Demophon
Diomedes
Diores
Echion
Epeius
Epistrophus
Eteoneus
Eumelus
Eurymedon
Euryalus
Eurybates
Eurydamas
Eurymachus
Eurypylus
Guneus
Halaesus
Ialmenus
Iasus
Idomeneus
Iphidamas
Leitus
Leonteus
Lycomedes
Machaon
Medon
Meges
Meleager
Menelaus
Menestheus
Meriones
Neoptolemus
Nestor
Nireus
Odysseus
Patroclus
Peneleos
Pheidippus
Philoctetes
Podalirius
Podarces
Podalirius
Polypoetes
Protesilaus
Prothoenor
Prothous
Schedius
Sinon
Stentor
Sthenelus
Talthybius
Teucer
Thalpius
Thersander
Thersites
Thoas
Thrasymedes
Tlepolemus
Aphrodite
Ares
Apollo
Artemis
Scamander
Leto
Phobos
Deimos
Eris
Zeus
Acamas
Adrestus
Aeneas
Ainia
Agenor
Amphimachus
Amphius
Anchises
Andromache
Antenor
Antibrote
Antiphus
Archilochus
Ascanius
Asius
Asteropaios
Astyanax
Axylus
Calesius
Caletor
Cassandra
Cebriones
Chromis
Clete
Coroebus
Cycnus
Deiphobus
Dolon
Ennomus
Epistrophus
Eteoneus
Euphemus
Euphorbus
Eurypylus
Eurytion
Glaucus
Gorgythion
Hector
Hecuba
Helenus
Hicetaon
Hippothous
Iapyx
Ilioneus
Imbrius
Laocoon
Lycaon
Memnon
Mentes (King of the Cicones)
Mentes (King of the Taphians)
Mesthles
Mygdon of Phrygia
Mynes
Nastes
Odius
Othryoneus
Pandarus
Panthous
Paris
Pedasus
Peirous
Penthesilea
Phorcys
Polites
Poludamas
Polyxena
Priam
Pylaemenes
Pylaeus
Pyraechmes
Rhesus
Sarpedon
Scylaceus
Tenes
Troilus
Ucalegon

text: Who killed whom[edit]

text: This table lists characters killed during the war, and who was responsible for their deaths.

text:
Character
Killer

Achilles
Paris

Telamonian Ajax
suicide

Antilochus
Memnon

Antiphus
Agamemnon

Ascalaphus
Deiphobus

Astyanax
Neoptolemus (or Odysseus)

Cebriones
Patroclus

Cycnus
Achilles

Deiphobus
Menelaus

Dolon
Odysseus and Diomedes

Epipole
Palamedes

Eurypylus, son of Telephus
Neoptolemus

Hector
Achilles

Machaon
Pandarus

Medon
Aeneas

Memnon
Achilles

Palamedes
Odysseus and Diomedes

Pandarus
Diomedes

Paris
Philoctetes

Patroclus
Hector

Penthesilea
Achilles

Phorcys
Telamonian Ajax

Polites
Neoptolemus

Polyxena
Neoptolemus

Priam
Neoptolemus

Protesilaus
Hector

Rhesus
Diomedes

Sarpedon
Patroclus

Thersander
Telephus

Thersites
Achilles

Tlepolemus
Sarpedon

Troilus
Achilles

Two sons of Merops
(Adrastus and Amphius)
Diomedes