Just as our Western heritage is still important, he said. "I love the Western way of life. I love the values. I love that your word is your bond. It's a great way to live, and I've still living it. I'm living my dream."

And that's one reason he paints Western scenes. "Our Western heritage was handed to us. It's up to us to preserve it or not. I choose to preserve in through painting."

"Gunsmoke's" popularity reached such heights that a lot of other stars were telling their agents, "get me a 'Gunsmoke,' " said Costello. Guest stars included Harrison Ford, Jon Voight, Nick Nolte, Donna Mills, Jean Arthur, Rex Allen, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Angie Dickinson.

Jan Shepard was a frequent guest on "Gunsmoke" — and just about every other Western, not to mention other dramas and soap operas (114 TV shows and eight movies, all told).

"I loved the Westerns," she said by phone from her California home. "There was always a moral; there was always a lesson. And it's our history."

She and Amanda Blake were actually roommates for a couple of years while they were both trying to break into the business. "I went through all her love affairs with her."

In classic Hollywood tradition, Shepard met casting director Ernest Yeager at a coffee shop one time. She told him, "people like you will keep me being a secretary all my life." He was so impressed, "he brought me back to the studio and gave me an audition. I was so nervous, I was crying — luckily the script called for that." And she landed her first role.

Shepard remembers some great times on the "Gunsmoke" set. "Amanda was a true redhead, and she was perfect as Kitty. Dennis Weaver was hard to work with because he was so funny. He kept making us laugh. Jim Arness had a lot of steel in him, but he's a wonderful man. And Milburn Stone was just such a joy. He and I were buddies."

She also liked the fact that many of the shows were done in black and white. "Black and white was incredible. The lighting made you look fantastic. With color, you lose something. At Warner's they used to say, if you weren't very good, they'd put you in color."

That was a time, she said, that will never come again. "There was such great camaraderie in Hollywood back then." But she's looking forward to her visit to Kanab. "It'll be just like a high school reunion. There we'll be all in the same boat — people who love Westerns."

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If you go . . .

What: Western Legends Round-up

Where: Kanab

When: Tuesday through Aug. 28

Cost:: Free for most activities; concerts and special events, $20-$25

Info: www.westernlegendsroundup.com

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com