| John Meston | |
|---|---|
 John Meston was co-creator, with Norman Macdonnell, of both the "Gunsmoke" TV and radio series. | |
| Personal Information | |
| Birthname: | John Lyman Meston |
| Born: | July 30, 1914 |
| Birthplace: | Pueblo, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | March 24, 1979 (aged 64) |
| Death Location | Tarzana, California, U.S. |
| Occupation/ Career: |
Scriptwriter |
| Spouse(s): | Rosemary Carver (m. 1942–div.1954) Bette Ford (m. 1958–div. 1973) Mary Ann Hooper (1977–1979; his death) |
| Series connection | |
| Appeared on/Involved with: | Gunsmoke (radio series) Gunsmoke (TV series) |
| Episode appearances/ Involved with: |
379 of radio series, 287 of TV series (writer/teleplay/story) |
| Jobs/Role(s): | Writer, co-creator of both the Gunsmoke radio & TV series with Norman Macdonnell |
John Meston (born John Lyman Meston, July 30, 1914-died March 24, 1979) was an American scriptwriter best known for co-creating with producer Norman Macdonnell the long-running Western series Gunsmoke. He developed storylines and wrote radio scripts and teleplays for 379 episodes for the series, which was first broadcast on CBS Radio in 1952, and then adapted to the "small screen", as well, airing on television from 1955 to 1975.[1][2] In addition to his work on Gunsmoke, Meston also served as a writer and editorial supervisor for other radio programs such as Escape, Suspense, Lux Radio Theater, and Fort Laramie; and in the 1970s, he wrote several episodes for two other television series, Little House on the Prairie and Hec Ramsey.[3][4][5]
Personal life and death[]
John Meston was married three times. Shortly before his army enlistment in 1942, he wed Rosemary Carver, and they had one child before divorcing in 1954.[6] Four years later, he met Bette Ford (born Dingeldein), an actress and model who several years earlier had changed careers, becoming a professional bullfighter and the first American woman to fight "on foot" in the Plaza México, the largest bullring in the world.[7] Ford reportedly met Meston in 1958 at MGM Studios in Los Angeles, during meetings to discuss with screenwriters a proposed biopic about Ford, a feature film that would highlight her training as an apprentice (novillera) and fights as a matador.[8] He was one of those writers. After what was described as their "whirlwind romance", Meston and Ford were married in Las Vegas.[8] That marriage lasted 15 years, until their divorce in 1973.[9] Then, on April 17, 1977, just two years before his death, Meston married Mary Ann (O'Brien) Hooper.[10]
In March 1979, Meston died at age 64 from a cerebral hemorrhage in Tarzana, California.[2][11] He was survived by his wife Mary Ann and his daughter, Feather, from his marriage to Rosemary Carver.[2] Thirteen years after his passing, the production subsidiary of CBS developed the made-for-television movie Gunsmoke: To the Last Man. That film, which was originally broadcast on January 10, 1992, is dedicated to Meston and stars James Arness, who reprised his role as Matt Dillon, although portrayed as a cattleman after his retirement as marshal of Dodge City.[12][13]
In an interview following John's death, Mary Ann Meston described her husband as essentially a walking dichotomy, a complex person who defined himself and was motivated by simplicity:Template:Quote
References[]
- ↑ Barabas, SuzAnne and Barabas, Gabor (1990). Gunsmoke: A Complete History and Analysis of the Legendary Broadcast Series. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 1990, pp. 34-35.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "John Meston, 64, Script Writer Who Created 'Gunsmoke' for TV", obituary, The New York Times, March 28, 1979, digitized copy of obituary. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ↑ Barabas, pp. 29-35, 361.
- ↑ "John Meston" writing credits, CBS Interactive, Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ↑ McLeod. Elizabeth (2016). "[Macdonnell] and Meston Redux, Radio Classics, January 22, 2016. Sirius XM Radio, Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ↑ "John Lyman Meston, 1914-1979", MyHeritage, Ltd., Or Yehuda, Israel. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ↑ Feiner, Muriel (2003). Women in the Bullring Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2003. Template:ISBN
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedSalazar - ↑ "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984", Betty Ford and John L. Meston, April 1973, Los Angeles City, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ↑ "California Marriage Index, 1960-1985", California Department of Health Services, Sacramento. FamilySearch. Retrieved November 6, 2018. In California marriage records for 1977, "Maryann’s" union with Meston is listed twice, once under the surname Hooper and again under O'Brien.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedLAT - ↑ "Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992)", credits and notes, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Time Warner, Inc. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ↑ "The Gunsmoke Movies", Gunsmoke To the Last Man (1992), Gunsmoke.net. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
External links[]
- John Meston at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
