The long-running Western collection “Gunsmoke” was canceled in 1967, but it surely was rapidly reinstated. The explanation for its fast un-cancelation varies based on completely different sources. The e-book “How I Escaped From Gilligan’s Island” was written by “Gilligan’s Island” writer-producer William Froug, and it asserts that the schedule reshuffling was as a result of CBS govt William S. Paley, who had reportedly been championing “Gunsmoke” since its radio present days. In response to Froug, then-recent CBS president James T. Aubrey was chargeable for canceling “Gunsmoke” after 12 seasons, because the present was declining in viewers and, based on some, high quality. “Aubrey canceled it with out consulting Paley,” Froug writes, noting that the solid and crew acquired cancellation notices and a teary wrap celebration adopted.
Paley apparently wasn’t having it. “When Paley was instructed of the cancellation, he instantly ordered the present renewed,” Froug explains, “leaving [business affairs exec Anne Nelson] the extraordinarily tough job of going again to the various brokers concerned and making an attempt to select up the celebrities’ contracts as if the cancellation hadn’t occurred.” CBS paid the value, because the writer-producer says a number of “Gunsmoke” stars negotiated increased salaries after the screw-up. With “Gunsmoke” again on the air, “Gilligan’s Island” might not have its time slot, and the present — the creation of which, satirically, Aubrey had reportedly helped oversee — was canceled.
