Matt Dillon

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• Was the character of Matt Dillon fictional?

  Yes

• Did Dillon ever shoot anyone down in cold blood?
  

  Yes ... only in the early episodes and then only when there was no other option
  

• Did Dillon ever tell a lie?

  Yes. many times. He even lied about his age to get his first deputy's job.
  

• How does Dillon like his steak cooked?

  Rare (of course)

• Where did Dillon sleep when in Dodge City.
  

On a cot in the Marshal's Office. So did Chester.


• Did anyone ever outdraw Dillon in a fair fight?
  

Yes, quite a few times...even on the first television episode


• In early episodes of Gunsmoke, to what remote place did Dillon go to think, reflect and ponder?
  

Boot Hill, Dodge City's cemetery


• The early episodes of Gunsmoke begin with Dillon on a Dodge City street in a showdown with a bad man. Who fires first?
  

The bad man


• A church is visible behind this bad man Dillon shot every week.
  

True


• According to Dillon, he never hanged anyone.
  

True. ``I don't hang anyone. The law does".

• What did Dillon call his horse?

  This is a trick question. Matt Dillon rode a number of horses during the twenty years Gunsmoke was on the air. In "The Bullet: Part 1 Festus calls Matt's horse Buck. Another horse, pictured below, is named Marshal.

  

  For more information about the name of Matt Dillon's horse, click on the picture.

• The only Gunsmoke introduction not showing Dillon in a showdown shows him riding on a running horse. Where is he in such a hurry to get to?
  

This scene is taken from a Gunsmoke two-part episode entitled Nitro. Dillon is riding to save actor David Canary from blowing himself up while extracting nitro from dynamite. He doesn't make it by the way. Canary played ranch hand Candy on Bonanza for a number of years and, interestingly, claims to be descended from the old west's Calamity Jane whose real name was Martha Jane Canary.

• Gunsmoke half hour black and white episodes were aired over CBS and are currently syndicated under the name Marshal Dillon. Are the same introductions used as were used for the original episodes?
  

No... Dillon is in a show down, but it's different than the ones used on Gunsmoke. For one thing, we see Dillon first from the front. Different theme music is also used.


• When Matt captured a wanted outlaw, what percentage of the reward was he given?
  

Zero

• Dillon was a United States Marshal. Was this position elected or appointed?
  

Appointed

• The agency for which Dillon worked was
  • The United States Department of Justice.
  • The Governor for the state of Kansas.
  • The United States War Department.
  • The Attorney General's Office.
  • The Post Office.
  • The Department of Education.
    

  Answer: ... the U.S. War Dept

• Dillon did not have jurisdiction over Indian affairs.
  

  True...this was the responsibility of the Army
  

• How many notches has Matt Dillon carved in his gun?
  

  One...as a reminder that he killed a friend.

• Dillon's favorite phrase to yell at fleeing bad guys was
• ``Stop in the name of the law".
• ``Hold it".
• ``Give it up".
• ``Please stop running".

Answer: ... ``Hold it".

• When making a point, Dillon commonly prefaced his statement with the phrase
  • ``Mark my words".
  • ``Listen to me".
  • ``You can count on this".
  • ``I'm going to make a point here".

  Answer:... listen to me

• Dillon wore a two-gun holster.
  

False


• Did Dillon know by heart the official oath to be taken by those he swore in as Deputy United States Marshals?
  

Yes

• Kitty's nick name for Dillon was

• pizza man.
• cowboy.
• stud.
• Nick.
  

  Answer:... Cowboy

• Did Dillon ever dance with Kitty?
  

  Yes

• Did Dillon ever say ``I need you Kitty."
  

  Yes

• Before Dillon, the Marshal in Dodge City was (a) Hack Prine. (b) Tom Remington. (c) Wyatt Earp. (d) Joshua Stryker. (e) John Meston.
  

  Answer: d ... Stryker

• The marshal of Dodge City before Dillon was sentenced to Kansas State Prison because he shot a man. Dillon's eyewitness testimony of the shooting was responsible for the conviction.
  

  True

• As a young man, Dillon helped clean up Larado with the help of Chauncy Deman and Billy Carter.
  

  True

• Dillon once received a wire from the President of the United States in regard to the safe passage of an Indian Chief and his party to Washington. Who was the President?
  

  Grant

• Did Dillon always get his man?
  

  No...usually but not always

• (T/F) Dillon kissed Mike.
  

  True ... played by Micheal Learned who later became the mother on The Waltons.

• Did Dillon ever kill a friend on purpose?
  

  Yes...when they resisted arrest. one old friend was even hired to kill Dillon. Matt got him first

  
  

• The folk-rock legend, Bob Dylan, whose real name is Bob Zimmernan, took his name from Gunsmoke's lead character in the late 50's.
  

  False...he took his name from the poet Dylan Thomas
  

• Did Dillon ever wear a black hat?

  Yes...a few times on the early episodes)

• Does Dillon shoot pool?
  

  Yes

• Did Dillon ever resign as Marshal?
  

  Yes...and more than once

• It was James Arness as Matt Dillon rather that Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry who first muttered the phrase "Make my day".
  

  False

• Does Dillon ever use a posse?
  

  Yes...although he has stated that they sometimes get in the way.

• Did Dillon ever get shot?
  

  Yes ... a number of times

• The character of Matt Dillon was similar to that of the real life character of Wyatt Earp in the sense that both were Marshals of Dodge City, Kansas.
  

  True

• Did Dillon ever shoot anyone with other than a six gun?
  

  Yes...a rifle for example

• Did Dillon ever stab anyone with other than a knife?
  

Yes...a pitchfork for example


• Was Dillon ever a deputy U.S. Marshal?

Yes...to Marshal Mark Handlin, Marshal Josh Stryker and to Adam Kimbro. He was a deputy Marshal in Dodge, Hays City and San Antonio. Later, Kimbro was Dillon's deputy. He died with his badge on.


• Was Dillon ever a full time sheriff?
  

  Yes
  

• In what sport did Dillon participate during his time in the army?
  

  Prizefighting

• Dillon once fought the former heavyweight bare knuckle boxing champion of the world. Did Dillon win?
  

  Yes

• For the first decade of its airing, the first part of Dillon's anatomy to appear on the television screen each week was his
  • face.
  • head.
  • rear end.
  • feet.
  • back.
    

    Answer: ... the right cheek of his rear end

• As a youth, Dillon cowboyed for
  
  • the 3-Bar.
  • the Double- Cross.
  • the Skewed S.
  • the Lazy S.

    Answer: ... The 3-Bar

• Does Dillon know Morse code?
  

No

• Could Dillon communicate to the Souix Indians in their own language?
  

Yes

• Could Dillon communicate to the Cheyenne Indians in their own language?

Yes


• Could Dillon communicate to the Commanchie Indians in their own language?
  

  Yes

• Could Dillon communicate to the Cleveland Indians in their own language?
  

  No ... baseball was not yet popular.
  

• In order to always have the edge in a gun fight, Dillon is always careful to wear coats that do not cover his holster.
  

  False
  
  

• Dillon only drank beer because whisky slowed down his draw.
  

  False

• For purposes of costume continuity, Dillon always wore the same salmon colored shirt and off white Levis.
  

  False ... usually but not always. The mostly continuing wardrobe of a yellow buck skin vest, light tan Levis and a tan hat were used to minimize wardrobe continuity problems from shoot to shoot.

• Where did Dillon shave?
  

  In his office

• Did Arness ever appear in an episode of Gunsmoke naked from the waist up?
  

  No ... he was always covered by a shirt or blanket
  

• Did Dillon ever wear pajamas?
  

  Yes ... he was shown wearing them in a show. More typically, Dillon was shown sleeping in his clothes or long johns.

• What are the fewest words ever spoken by Dillon in an episode of Gunsmoke?
  

  One ... at the end of the show he queried "Festus?"

• Possibly motivated by The Fugitive television series, Dillon was known to use the alias Matt Kimble.
  

  True

• What does Dillon do when he crosses over the border to Mexico?
  

  Takes off his badge

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