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.

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.

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.