Editing Gunsmoke (section)

=== Reception ===
''Gunsmoke'' was ranked television's number one show from 1957 to 1961, then it expanded to one hour and slipped into a decline. CBS planned to cancel the series in 1967 after the twelfth season, but widespread viewer reaction prevented its demise, including a mention in Congress and pressure from [[Babe Paley]], the wife of CBS's longtime president William S. Paley. ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' producer [[Sherwood Schwartz]] states that Babe 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&nbsp;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 [[Rural purge|purged most of its rural content]] in 1971. The series remained in the top 10 until the 1973–74 television season.<ref>{{cite web |title=ClassicTVguide.com: TV Ratings > 1970's |url=https://classictvguide.com/tvratings/1973.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203011147/https://classictvguide.com/tvratings/1973.htm |archive-date=February 3, 2011 |access-date=April 20, 2015}}</ref> After its last original airing on March 31, 1975, ''Gunsmoke'' was canceled after a 20-year run (with reruns continuing to air until September), even though it still ranked among the top 30 programs in the ratings; the ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show|Mary Tyler Moore]]'' spin-offs ''[[Rhoda]]'' (which was going into its second year in the Fall-1975 season) and ''[[Phyllis (TV series)|Phyllis]]'' (a fall-1975 freshman) would be scheduled for the 8 pm hour previously occupied by ''Gunsmoke'' that fall. Thirty television 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 {{frac|2|1|2}} years earlier in January 1973.[[File:Amanda Blake Jack Albertson Gunsmoke 1969.JPG|thumb|Amanda Blake and Jack Albertson, 1969]]
[[File:James Arness Amanda Blake Bette Davis Gunsmoke 1966.JPG|thumb|Guest star Bette Davis, 1966]]
[[File:Anne Helm John Drew Barrymore 1964.JPG|thumb|Guest stars [[Anne Helm]] and [[John Drew Barrymore]], 1964]]

==== Accolades ====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:5%;" | Year{{efn|Indicates the year of ceremony.}}
! scope="col" style="width:31%;" | Category
! scope="col" style="width:34%;" | Nominee(s) / Work
! scope="col" style="width:8%;" | Result
! scope="col" style="width:4%;" class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref(s)|References}}
|-
| [[8th Primetime Emmy Awards|1956]]
| Best Action or Adventure Series
| Gunsmoke
| {{Nominated}}
|
|-
| [[9th Primetime Emmy Awards|1957]]
| Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series
| James Arness
| {{Nominated}}
|
|-
| rowspan="5" | [[10th Primetime Emmy Awards|1958]]
| Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series
| James Arness
| {{Nominated}}
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic or Comedy Series
| Dennis Weaver
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| Best Dramatic Series with Continuing Characters
| ''Gunsmoke''
| {{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}}
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[11th Primetime Emmy Awards|1959]]
| Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series
| James Arness
| {{Nominated}}
| rowspan="4" |
|-
| Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series
| Dennis Weaver
| {{Won}}
|-
| Best Supporting Actress (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series
| Amanda Blake
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| Best Western Series
| ''Gunsmoke''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[18th Primetime Emmy Awards|1966]]
| Individual Achievements in Music - Composition
| Morton Stevens for "Seven Hours to Dawn"
| {{Nominated}}
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[20th Primetime Emmy Awards|1968]]
| Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition
| Morton Stevens for "Major Glory"
| {{Nominated}}
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama
| Milburn Stone
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[22nd Primetime Emmy Awards|1970]]
| Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing
| Norman Karlin and Richard E. Raderman
| {{Won}}{{efn|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}}
|
|}
{{notelist}}
* 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."<ref>[http://www.gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/20-THE.htm April 17 – 23, 1993, issue of ''TV Guide''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425235355/http://www.gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/20-THE.htm |date=April 25, 2016 }} that celebrated the 40th anniversary of television and the best television programs of all time.</ref>
* ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' (February 19, 1999, issue) ranked the premiere of ''Gunsmoke'' as No. 47 in the "100 Greatest Moments in Television".<ref>[http://gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/70-47InGreatness.htm "100 Greatest Moments in Television"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928081920/http://gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/70-47InGreatness.htm |date=September 28, 2010 }}, GunsmokeNet.com</ref>
* ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', in 1998, ranked ''Gunsmoke'' as No. 16 in The 100 Greatest TV Shows of all time.<ref>[http://gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/57-etw.htm "The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831005417/http://www.gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/57-etw.htm |date=August 31, 2010 }}, GunsmokeNet.com.</ref>
* 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".<ref>[http://gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/55-tvgd98.htm "CBS's best western"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928034516/http://gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/55-tvgd98.htm |date=September 28, 2010 }}, GunsmokeNet.com.</ref>
* In 1997, the episode "The Jailer" was ranked No. 28 on [[TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time|''TV Guide''{{'}}s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time |work=[[TV Guide]] |date=June 28 – July 4, 1997}}</ref>
* In 2002, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked ''Gunsmoke'' as No. 40 in the 50 greatest television shows of all time.<ref>[http://www.gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/collectables/TVGuide/TV-Guide-020504/index.htm "''TV Guide'' Names Top 50 Shows"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426002053/http://www.gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/collectables/TVGuide/TV-Guide-020504/index.htm |date=April 26, 2016 }}, ''TV Guide'', May 4, 2002.</ref>
* In 2013, ''TV Guide'' ranked it as #27 on their list of the 60 Best Series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/news/tv-guide-magazine-60-best-series-1074962/|title=TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time|date=December 23, 2013|website=TV Guide|access-date=October 18, 2015|archive-date=September 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160906075520/http://www.tvguide.com/news/tv-guide-magazine-60-best-series-1074962/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 2013, the [[Writers Guild of America]] ranked ''Gunsmoke'' – and ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' – #84 on their list of the 101 Best Written TV Series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-best-written-tv-series/list|title=101 Best Written TV Series|website=Writers Guild of America West|date=June 2, 2013|access-date=June 13, 2023|archive-date=April 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429170702/https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-best-written-tv-series/list|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 2019, the radio episode "The Cabin" was selected by the [[Library of Congress]] for preservation in the [[National Recording Registry]] for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Travis M. |date=March 20, 2019 |title=Jay-Z, a speech by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and 'Schoolhouse Rock!' among recordings deemed classics by Library of Congress |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jay-z-a-speech-by-sen-robert-f-kennedy-and-schoolhouse-rock-among-recordings-deemed-classics-by-library-of-congress/2019/03/19/f7eb08ea-4a58-11e9-9663-00ac73f49662_story.html? |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=March 25, 2019 |archive-date=April 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406000403/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jay-z-a-speech-by-sen-robert-f-kennedy-and-schoolhouse-rock-among-recordings-deemed-classics-by-library-of-congress/2019/03/19/f7eb08ea-4a58-11e9-9663-00ac73f49662_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>