John Mantley, who oversaw Doc, Festus, Matt and Kitty as executive producer of Gunsmoke during the landmark TV Western’s final decade, has died. He was 82.
Mr. Mantley, who had Alzheimer’s disease, died Tuesday at his home here, his daughter Maria Marill said.
A former stage and radio actor who began his television career directing live dramas in New York city in the early 1950s, Mr. Mantley later wrote for many live and filmed dramatic shows, including Checkmate, Desilu-Westinghouse Playhouse, Kraft Television Theater, The Outer Limits and Rawhide, as well as 23 episodes of the The Untouchables.
Gunsmoke, which began on radio in 1952, debuted on CBS-TV in 1955. With James Arness starring as Marshal Matt Dillon, the series helped usher in an era of TV Western fare aimed at adult audiences. Mr. Mantley began as a script consultant on the show in 1964. He became associate producer the following season, producer the next and, in 1967, took the reins as executive producer.
Arness recalled last week, “The ratings were sliding a bit and they wanted to get some new blood on the show. They luckily were able to get John, and he came and just completely revived the show.”
Until Gunsmoke was canceled in 1975, Arness said, “John ran that show and made it work better than it ever had before.”
After Gunsmoke was canceled, Mr. Mantley was executive producer on How the West Was Won, an ABC series also starring Arness. They later teamed up on Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, a 1987 CBS movie, which led to four other TV movie revivals.
Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1920, Mr. Mantley grew up in a show business family. His parents were stage actors, and silent screen legend Mary Pickford was a second cousin.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Mantley is survived by his wife of 50 years, Angela; a son, Clay of Los Angeles; a sister, Patricia Brown of Pompano Beach; and a grandchild.
