- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohn Lyman Meston
- John Meston was one of radio and television's most important
storytellers, and yet oddly enough his contributions are often
overlooked today. He is the writer credited with creating "Gunsmoke,"
along with producer Norman MacDonnell, essentially starting the adult
western on radio and television and setting the tone and style which
would make both the radio and television versions of the series so
memorable. Meston began in the program practices department at CBS in
the 1940s before becoming a writer and editor. Overall, he wrote 183 of
the "Gunsmoke" radio episodes (413 were produced in all between 1952
and 1961), and 196 of the 635 episodes produced for television between
1955 and 1975. While he never won any major award for his work, Meston
was a master writer, serving up memorable characters in authentic
western settings.- IMDb Mini Biography By: rtvf
- SpousesBette Ford(1958 - 1973) (divorced)Mary Ann Hooper(19?? - March 24, 1979) (his death)
- Meston's birthplace of Pueblo is mentioned in many of his scripts, with characters either coming from it or (most often) headed for it.
- A news article about Meston's grandson, Daja, who was active in the
Tibetan freedom movement, can be found on the front page of the March
15, 2005 edition of the "Wall Street Journal."
- On "Gunsmoke" - "If I had known it would last this long, I would never
have created the darn thing." - Our attempt to create as realistic and entertaining a program as possible is not, of course, the only one of its kind. But we did precede and were on the air, trying, before the release of such pictures as "High Noon" and "Shane.
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