It’s the mystery that has vexed Gunsmoke viewers for generations: Were Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) and beautiful barkeep Miss Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake) a couple? The debate will likely last into infinity, though there were plenty of hints it was so, from their flirtatious banter to their longing stares. In spite of the show’s writers not troubling Marshal Dillon with a longterm gal, the lawman finally got a single-episode romance in Season 19. “Matt’s Love Story” sees Matt finally kiss a lady for all the world to see — even if he doesn’t remember it in the end.
Various TV experts, and Arness himself, have weighed in on why Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty never confirmed their status onscreen. One was that, given the danger of his job, the marshal would be forever tasked with protecting his lady from bad guys. And if he up and got married, he’d have to do that and be a serviceable husband, too, which wouldn’t suit the show’s storylines at all. So Marshal Dillon stayed single for the duration of the show’s 20 seasons.