'Gunsmoke' Turns Golden as Encore Westerns Celebrates 50 Years of Matt Dillon

'Gunsmoke' Turns Golden as Encore Westerns Celebrates 50 Years of Matt Dillon

'Gunsmoke' Golden Bullets Marathon Begins August 26th

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ 'Gunsmoke," was once the longest-running prime time American drama series (it was recently surpassed by the WWE, if you call that drama). Be that as it may, Encore Westerns celebrates "Gunsmoke's" Golden Anniversary this year with "Golden Bullets: 50 Years of 'Gunsmoke,'" a 50-hour marathon starting Friday, August 26th at 6:00 p.m. through Sunday, August 28th at 8:00 p.m. (et/pt). In addition to showing episodes and movies, the marathon features special vignettes, interviews and behind-the-scene footage with "Gunsmoke" cast members.

"'Gunsmoke' has been a staple of our Encore Westerns channel," said Mike Ruggiero, vice president, scheduling and programming. "The series has a rock solid place in American television history and boasts an extremely dedicated and loyal fan base."

"Gunsmoke" premiered on CBS in September 1955 and completed its network run September 1975. The series was one of the earliest "adult Westerns," centering on the exploits of Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) and his cohorts (including Burt Reynolds, Dennis Weaver, Amanda Blake, and Milburn Stone) in the frontier town of Dodge City. Special guests included John Wayne, who originally was offered the part of Marshal Dillon, and Charles Bronson. Directors included Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch) and Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond). Oscar(R) winning composers Bernard Herrmann (Psycho), Elmer Bernstein (The Magnificent Seven), and Jerry Goldsmith (The Omen) composed original music for the series.

Featured during Encore Westerns Golden Bullets: 50 Years of "Gunsmoke" marathon are several episodes from the television series plus five feature-length films; Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache, Gunsmoke: The Long and Gunsmoke: To The Last.

Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG) is the largest provider of premium movie services in the United States with approximately 174 million pay units. SEG offerings include the Starz Encore Movie Pack with 13 digital movie channels and more than 750 movies per month, Starz HDTV, Starz On Demand, and Starz Ticket, an on-demand premium Internet movie subscription service available on the broadband platform. Starz Entertainment Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, www.starz.com

Contacts: Alesya Holick Tom Chen Starz Entertainment Group mPRm (720) 852-6300 (323) 933-3399 Alesya.holick@starz.comtchen@mprm.com

Source: Starz Entertainment Group LLC

CONTACT: Alesya Holick of Starz Entertainment Group, +1-720-852-6300, Alesya.holick@starz.com; or Tom Chen of mPRm, +1-323-933-3399, tchen@mprm.com, for Starz Entertainment Group

Web site: http://www.starz.com/

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