File talk:Gunsmoke22.jpg

Almost Certainly Not Copyrighted

Oddly, I doubt that this photo is protected by copyright at all. This is not a "title card," it's one of a series of photographs that the actors themselves had made, apart from the studio, as part of their own effort to keep their roles when the series was adapted for television. They set up costumes and went to a western set one afternoon and had a number of photographs made. None of the original radio cast members were retained, however. Brilliant actor Conrad, who would star in two series himself many years later (Cannon and Jake and the Fat Man), was rejected because of his girth. The actor playing "Doc" (Howard McNear) was soon cast as "Floyd the Barber" on The Andy Griffith Show as well as turning up occasionally in the television Gunsmoke in various other roles. Parley Baer, who played the original "Chester," continued making guest shots and playing recurring roles in various radio and television series as well as frequently playing the wrongheaded Mayor Roy Stoner on the Griffith series. Trocadero Thunder (talk) 22:12, 23 January 2016 (UTC)