Gunsmoke

The exciting 50-year history of Gunsmoke, television's finest western show - including bios, background stories and several hundred photos of Miss Kitty, Marshall Matt Dillon, Doc Adams and all the Gunsmoke characters - is now available on an easy-to-mail, simple-to-view CD. Western and television history buffs can now conveniently enjoy a "greener" version of all 620 pages of the book Gunsmoke: An American Institute by Ben Costello on their computer screens, where they can zoom in on photos or enlarge the print for their reading pleasure. Relive 635 episodes and millions of memories or gift someone else with the unique experience.

Ben Costello is a self-confessed film and television buff. Starting at the age of five, he has appeared on stage in a variety of dramatic and comedic roles. He also enjoys writing and directing.Along with fellow comedian John Babrowski, Costello has played in casinos and clubs from New York City to Las Vegas, frequently portraying characters similar to Abbott and Costello (no, Ben Costello and Bud Costello are not related). In fact, Costello and Babrowski performed the classic ôWho's on Firstö routine at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, to kick off the 2000 World Series. They were the first to do so since Abbott and Costello performed the skit there 44 years earlier.Costello wrote, produced, and costarred in The Whitley & Costello Show in 1979. In 1987, he took the classic Laurel and Hardy movie Way Out Westö and adapted it for the stage, with the blessings of Lucille Hardy Price, widow of comedian Oliver Hardy.In 1988, his play titled ôCompany Bö debuted. The show, a slapstick musical tribute to World War II, was so popular that it spawned five stage sequels. For his work on this production, Costello won Best Actor, Writer, Director, and Production awards from the Southern California Theatre Leagues.Costello teaches seminars on ôHollywood Comedy and Comediansö and is an authority on television and motion picture Westerns.A divorced father of one, Costello makes his home in the desert community of Joshua Tree, California.