Claim: James Arness performed the role of Matt Dillon.

Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of Gunsmoke . He serves as the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City , Kansas , who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s . The character was created by writer John Meston , who envisioned him as a man '' ... whose hair is probably red , if he 's got any left . He 'd be handsomer than he is if he had better manners but life and his enemies have left him looking a little beat up , and I suppose having seen his mother -LRB- back about 1840 -RRB- trying to take a bath in a wooden washtub without fully undressing left his soul a little warped . Anyway , there 'd have to be something wrong with him or he would n't have hired on as a United States Marshal in the heyday of Dodge City , Kansas . '' Notwithstanding Meston 's original vision , the character evolved considerably during Gunsmokes nine-year run on CBS Radio and its 20-year run on CBS Television .