Airing on the CBS network on April 26, 1952, Gunsmoke was the first and greatest adult Western, it told the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man who moved with it. That man was Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. In Dodge, Dillon was surrounded by hardened, but heartfelt, townsfolk, including his deputy, Chester Wesley Proudfoot; the town physician and mortician, Dr. Charles Adams and, the owner of the Long Branch Saloon, Miss Kitty Russell. Gunsmoke aired for over 9 years and 480 episodes, starred William Conrad, Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis and Howard McNear.