Santa Clarita Valley History In Pictures

'Gunsmoke'
Melody Ranch, Placerita Canyon


Dennis Weaver (left) as Chester Goode and James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon in TV's "Gunsmoke," seen here on the main street at Gene Autry's Melody Ranch. Publicity photo, 1956.


"Gunsmoke" was the longest-running scripted primetime TV show in television history when it hung up its spurs in 1975. It all started 20 years earlier at Melody Ranch in Placerita Canyon.

Melody Ranch wasn't used exclusively during the early years of "Gunsmoke" (they also filmed at the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth and other locations for a change of scenery), but it was used frequently — from the original title sequences in 1955 until 1962 when the Longbranch Saloon and the rest of Gene Autry's Western movie town — and some of his guns — went up in smoke.

James Arness (Marshal Matt Dillon) discusses the early days in this television interview.


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DENNIS WEAVER

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Walk Index


Weaver Obituary

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Gunsmoke 1956

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Duel 1971

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Walk of Stars 1984

"GUNSMOKE"

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Legacy: James Arness
(SCVTV 2006)

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Series Announcement 1955

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James Arness 1950s

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Prank Open 1955

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Dennis Weaver, James Arness 1956

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Dell No. 679 (Gunsmoke No. 1)

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James Arness, Amanda Blake at Vasquez Rocks

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TV Guide May 1957

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Argosy Feature 1959

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Jim Garner and "Gunsmog" 1959

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Horseplay on the Set 1959

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Memo: Use of Firearms 1974

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