The Wake: Gunsmoke (January 15, 1961)

“The Wake” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast January 15, 1961. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A traveling man named Gus Mather arrives in Dodge City with his friend Orson Boggs already dead in a coffin. After burying Boggs at Boot Hill with minimal ceremony, Mather announces he will hold a wake that evening to honor his fallen companion. Doc Adams and Chester become suspicious of the unusual circumstances surrounding Boggs's death and the hasty burial.

Dodge City, Kansas and Boot Hill cemetery

Characters: Doc Adams, Chester Proudfoot, Gus Mather, Marshal Matt Dillon, Orson Boggs

Listen for: A wake held in honor of a deceased man whose mysterious death and quick burial raise questions about his true fate

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.