John Meston Biography

Fast Facts

• Was nominated for two Writers Guild of America Awards for Episodic Drama, 30 Minutes in Length for the "Gunsmoke" episodes "The Guitar" and "The Big Broad" in 1957
• The TV movie "Gunsmoke: To the Last Man," which aired in 1992, was dedicated to his memory
• Created "Gunsmoke" with producer Norman MacDonnell as a radio program which originally aired on CBS Radio in 1952
• Started out as a writer and editor at CBS Radio in the 1940s in the program practices department
• Quote: "[on "Gunsmoke"] "We were determined to try to avoid every cliché or rule of the B movie westerns․ We tried to do the opposite in everything - plot, language, and character․․․․ (I) tried to avoid making Dillon a typical western hero․ My aim is to make him a fallible human being․""
• Quote: "[on "Gunsmoke"] "As I recall, we were about the first show that treated Indians as human beings, not just 'red skins' or 'the only good Indians are dead ones․' We did a number of shows about that, and about intermarriage, and of cource, the buffalo․""
• Best known as the co-creator and writer of "Gunsmoke․"