Let's be honest: Sometimes the best couples are the ones who never make it into a proper relationship. For example, feast your eyes on famed Marshal Matt Dillon and Kitty Russell, who many viewers believed were a match made in heaven, if only they could just admit it to each other (and themselves). But with 20 seasons in as many years, the two characters never graduated past the will-they-won't-they stage, if one could even call it that.

However, James Arness offered a possible explanation as to why Kitty and Matt never properly got together. In his autobiography, James Arness: An Autobiography, he acknowledged that he was aware of fans' desire to see the two in a romantic relationship. He wrote, "Over the years, fans have often asked me about my character Matt Dillon's relationship with Kitty, and why it never seemed to progress beyond the air of the romantic between us."

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Arness was able to shed some light on the subject, explaining that it was actually a creative decision from the producers of Gunsmoke. He wrote, "That was the producers' decision, since going a step further would complicate matters and might even lessen the show's popularity." Arness added that the subtlety and elusiveness of Russell and Dillon's romance might actually have been better for viewers, even if they probably didn't think so. Arness said, "Our relationship was downplayed because they thought it was more titillating to leave matters to the viewers' imagination.

The love between Arness and Amanda Blake as actors, though platonic, was still evident behind the scenes of the series. Arness praised the casting of Blake as Russell and said she "was an example of the superb casting that made the program such a success." Arness also called Blake "a wonderful actress and a great friend."

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