Amanda Blake and ASDM director Mervin W. Larson at the cat enclosure dedication. In 1973, she was here to dedicate the museum’s new cat enclosure. Also at the dedication was Congressman Mo Udall.

Spanning an impressive 20-year run, it starred Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty Russell, James Arness as Matt Dillon, Dennis Weaver as his trusty sidekick Chester, and Milburn Stone as Doc Adams.

Actress Amanda Blake, who died from AIDS-related hepatitis in 1989, was one tough cookie, just like her most famous character, Miss Kitty Russell on TV’s long-running Western, Gunsmoke.