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It was 1970. Carole King was working on a little song called "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman," and Norman Lear was working on a little TV show called "All in the Family." The status of women in society was changing, and the way women were portrayed on television mirrored the change.
The popular Western "Gunsmoke," was in its 15th year on television, and the men in charge of creating the show had anticipated the social change. When they created Miss Kitty, who owned her own saloon and often stood up to thugs, they created, perhaps unwittingly, another female archetype for the revolution.
By the 15th season, viewers were well aware of the play of feeling between Miss Kitty and Matt Dillon, the marshal of Dodge City. The show's creators explored another level of that relationship in an episode titled "The Badge," scheduled to air in February 1970.
In the episode, Matt is badly wounded. When he begins to recover, Kitty packs up and leaves Dodge, unwilling to be around the next time Matt is wounded and in danger of dying.
The story was rejected by CBS executives, who argued that Kitty's extreme reaction was out of character. But when one of the producers handed them his resignation, the episode was returned to the schedule and aired Feb. 2, 1970.
Beckey Burgoyne, author of a new biography of Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty for 19 years, remembers that episode.
"I remember vividly being 10 or 12 years old and the impact that episode had on me. It really showed Miss Kitty's beauty and brains and the strength she had," she said.
Burgoyne will be in Dodge City this weekend to attend the "Gunsmoke" 55th anniversary celebrations and to sign copies of her book.
Memories of 'Gunsmoke'
"Gunsmoke" was one of those shows that families cleared their schedules for — a show the whole family gathered around the TV to enjoy together.
"So many people have told me their fond memories of watching 'Gunsmoke' with bowls of popcorn. It was my grandfather who really loved the show in our family. You didn't dare talk while he was watching. When I got older and had other commitments, he'd record the show on a little cassette tape recorder so I could at least hear it," Burgoyne said in a recent phone interview.
Burgoyne found herself interested in writing Amanda Blake's story when she heard of the actress' death in 1989. She got hold of Blake's personal manager and was told one or two writers were already working on such a project.
Besides, Burgoyne was a young mother, just beginning a teaching career in the Midwest, with no access to the Internet. It didn't seem a likely project.
Fifteen years later, with her daughter raised, Burgoyne switched to teaching physical education, so she had no papers to grade in the evenings. She needed a project.
Digging through old papers, she unearthed the tattered slip of paper with the phone number of Blake's personal manager. She called it and got through. He thought the book was a good idea.
Burgoyne's principal has some knowledge of the publishing business from her work with curriculum. She listed three reasons Burgoyne's project would probably fail: "You don't have a publisher, you don't know if anyone with any information will be willing to talk to you, and you don't know if the topic is marketable."
Undeterred, Burgoyne called a publisher — not just any publisher but Five Star Publications, which had recently published "Gunsmoke: An American Institution" by Ben Costello.
Costello's book, which was published to honor "Gunsmoke's" 50th anniversary, included biographies of the lead performers, stills and behind-the-scenes photos of the show, episode logs, current information on the stars and interviews with many of the actors, writers and directors.
Five Star put Burgoyne in touch with Costello, and he encouraged her to pursue her project. Soon, Five Star contacted Burgoyne and told her they were interested in doing her book.
Costello was also able to assure Burgoyne that most of the people she would want to interview for her book would be eager to talk about Blake. And he assured her there was definitely an audience out there for such a project.
Burgoyne had checked off all the stumbling blocks listed by her principal, and she was ready to begin work.
She traveled to Los Angeles; to Phoenix, where Blake lived in semi-retirement; and to the East Coast. As Costello had predicted, everyone was anxious to recount their memories of Blake.
"They all spoke of her perseverance and tenacity. She never gave up on her love of life. People liked just being in the room with her," Burgoyne said.
Burgoyne was surprised at how often another term came up.
"People would talk about Amanda, tell a favorite story, then say, 'She was just real people.' I finally asked one of them what they meant by that, and they explained she was down to earth, one of the gang."
And the chain of memories continues.
"This whole project has been worth it because of the people I met," Burgoyne said.
Her book's release date was Aug. 16, 21 years to the day after Blake died.
It was 1970. Carole King was working on a little song called "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman," and Norman Lear was working on a little TV show called "All in the Family." The status of women in society was changing, and the way women were portrayed on television mirrored the change.
The popular Western "Gunsmoke," was in its 15th year on television, and the men in charge of creating the show had anticipated the social change. When they created Miss Kitty, who owned her own saloon and often stood up to thugs, they created, perhaps unwittingly, another female archetype for the revolution.
By the 15th season, viewers were well aware of the play of feeling between Miss Kitty and Matt Dillon, the marshal of Dodge City. The show's creators explored another level of that relationship in an episode titled "The Badge," scheduled to air in February 1970.
In the episode, Matt is badly wounded. When he begins to recover, Kitty packs up and leaves Dodge, unwilling to be around the next time Matt is wounded and in danger of dying.
The story was rejected by CBS executives, who argued that Kitty's extreme reaction was out of character. But when one of the producers handed them his resignation, the episode was returned to the schedule and aired Feb. 2, 1970.
Beckey Burgoyne, author of a new biography of Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty for 19 years, remembers that episode.
"I remember vividly being 10 or 12 years old and the impact that episode had on me. It really showed Miss Kitty's beauty and brains and the strength she had," she said.
Burgoyne will be in Dodge City this weekend to attend the "Gunsmoke" 55th anniversary celebrations and to sign copies of her book.
Memories of 'Gunsmoke'
"Gunsmoke" was one of those shows that families cleared their schedules for — a show the whole family gathered around the TV to enjoy together.
"So many people have told me their fond memories of watching 'Gunsmoke' with bowls of popcorn. It was my grandfather who really loved the show in our family. You didn't dare talk while he was watching. When I got older and had other commitments, he'd record the show on a little cassette tape recorder so I could at least hear it," Burgoyne said in a recent phone interview.
Burgoyne found herself interested in writing Amanda Blake's story when she heard of the actress' death in 1989. She got hold of Blake's personal manager and was told one or two writers were already working on such a project.
Besides, Burgoyne was a young mother, just beginning a teaching career in the Midwest, with no access to the Internet. It didn't seem a likely project.
Fifteen years later, with her daughter raised, Burgoyne switched to teaching physical education, so she had no papers to grade in the evenings. She needed a project.
Digging through old papers, she unearthed the tattered slip of paper with the phone number of Blake's personal manager. She called it and got through. He thought the book was a good idea.
Burgoyne's principal has some knowledge of the publishing business from her work with curriculum. She listed three reasons Burgoyne's project would probably fail: "You don't have a publisher, you don't know if anyone with any information will be willing to talk to you, and you don't know if the topic is marketable."
Undeterred, Burgoyne called a publisher — not just any publisher but Five Star Publications, which had recently published "Gunsmoke: An American Institution" by Ben Costello.
Costello's book, which was published to honor "Gunsmoke's" 50th anniversary, included biographies of the lead performers, stills and behind-the-scenes photos of the show, episode logs, current information on the stars and interviews with many of the actors, writers and directors.
Five Star put Burgoyne in touch with Costello, and he encouraged her to pursue her project. Soon, Five Star contacted Burgoyne and told her they were interested in doing her book.
Costello was also able to assure Burgoyne that most of the people she would want to interview for her book would be eager to talk about Blake. And he assured her there was definitely an audience out there for such a project.
Burgoyne had checked off all the stumbling blocks listed by her principal, and she was ready to begin work.
She traveled to Los Angeles; to Phoenix, where Blake lived in semi-retirement; and to the East Coast. As Costello had predicted, everyone was anxious to recount their memories of Blake.
"They all spoke of her perseverance and tenacity. She never gave up on her love of life. People liked just being in the room with her," Burgoyne said.
Burgoyne was surprised at how often another term came up.
"People would talk about Amanda, tell a favorite story, then say, 'She was just real people.' I finally asked one of them what they meant by that, and they explained she was down to earth, one of the gang."
And the chain of memories continues.
"This whole project has been worth it because of the people I met," Burgoyne said.
Her book's release date was Aug. 16, 21 years to the day after Blake died.
Tied to a legacy
Burgoyne hosted her first official book signing at the Gene Autry Museum several weeks ago and is looking forward to coming to Dodge City — not only to meet the fans, but to visit the town so closely tied to the "Gunsmoke" legacy.
The young girl who remembers watching "Gunsmoke" with her family will share the stage with a couple of important players in her story: Ben Costello, the author who helped in so many ways, will be there. And so will Jim Byrnes, the writer who created the story and wrote the script for "The Badge."
It will be quite a weekend.
