 On that show, six-foot-seven-inch James Arness portrayed Marshall Dillon, with Dennis Weaver as Chester, Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty, and Milburn Stone as Doc Adams. But as all of you are well aware by now, radio came first, debuting back in the spring of 1952 with an entirely different cast. In addition to the previously mentioned Bill Conrad as Dillon, it featured Parley Barris Chester, Georgia Ellis as Kitty, and Howard McNeer as Doc.