For most of his life, Marshal Matt Dillon lived the bachelor’s life, though he and Miss Kitty shared a sizzling flirtation, and some speculate, a secret romance. In the 1973 Gunsmoke episode, “Matt’s Love Story,” Matt is shot and suffers amnesia. A hardened widow rancher, Mike Yardner takes him in, and they fall in love, but when Dillon regains his memory, he leaves her. The TV movie, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache takes place nearly a decade later, when Matt rushes to Mike’s aid. He learns that an Apache War Chief kidnapped Mike’s daughter Beth—and that Beth is Matt’s child from their long-ago affair. Matt doesn’t question or deny Mike’s claim. He saddles up to save the daughter he never knew he had. Matt and Beth’s story continues in Gunsmoke: To the Last Man, where Beth proves to be as brave as her dad, when they fight cattle thieves.
“I’m not too handy with words,” Matt tells his newfound daughter, “but if the Lord asked me what kind of daughter I wanted, I’d sure know what to tell him. I’m real proud of you.”
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