Excellent. John Dehner was a great bad buy in many films and TV shows. He was reported to be the original choice to play Matt Dillon but turned it down.
“He was reported to be the original choice to play Matt Dillon but turned it down.”
—
On radio, William Conrad was Dillon. He didn’t carry over to TV version for some reason - but I’m sure it was a well-rounded decision to go with someone else.
He still appeared in over half of Gunsmoke’s radio episodes, and starred in two radio dramas during the 1950s, “Frontier Gentleman,” and the radio version of “Have Gun, Will Travel.” He then went on to a long career in TV. And, if that weren’t enough, Dehner also worked as an animator for Walt Disney, played the piano professionally and worked as a radio newsman in Los Angeles, winning a Peabody Award.
Ana exceptionally talented man, to say the least.