Q 01/05

In what year did Gunsmoke first air on CBS radio?

A) 1955

B) 1958

C) 1961

D) 1952

Answer · why

D) 1952

It debuted with an episode called 'Billy the Kid' and ran unsponsored at first, with the network paying for it out of its own pocket.

Q 02/05

Whose deep voice played Marshal Matt Dillon on the radio series?

A) Orson Welles

B) William Conrad

C) Jack Webb

D) Raymond Burr

Answer · why

B) William Conrad

He later said the producers had auditioned everybody else first because he was already in too many radio shows, then hired him after two lines.

Q 03/05

Who played Marshal Matt Dillon for the show's entire television run?

A) James Arness

B) Chuck Connors

C) Clint Walker

D) Hugh O'Brian

Answer · why

A) James Arness

He stood 6 feet 7 inches, which had kept him out of Navy flight training in World War II.

Q 04/05

Which movie star introduced the first television episode on camera in 1955?

A) Gary Cooper

B) James Stewart

C) John Wayne

D) Randolph Scott

Answer · why

C) John Wayne

The intro predicted the show's star would become a big name; the persistent story that he had turned down the part himself is disputed by the show's f...

Q 05/05

How many television episodes were broadcast over the show's entire run?

A) 388

B) 635

C) 470

D) 552

Answer · why

B) 635

That count stood as the record for scripted American primetime television until 2018.