Gunsmoke was on the air for twenty years. Nobody could’ve predicted just how successful that show would be. Sure, it was already a beloved radio program. But that kind of longevity on television was unprecedented.
So, if you were on one of TV’s most successful shows, how would you celebrate? Surely, the year-after-year payoffs would be enough to allow you to choose your luxury of choice. How would you spend it?
For Gunsmoke’s Milburn Stone, the answer was clear: He wanted to fish, and he wanted to do it on Lake Mead. Luckily for fans of Westerns and fishing, Stone spoke with the San Angelo Standard-Times to break down the facts and figures associated with his dream boat.
He tracked down a boat. He did the math. In total, it would cost him $650 a month to own the boat. That was the total if he only wanted to have it. Using it, of course, would cost extra. Add to the already building costs a whopping $10 an hour, and Stone would be able to put the boat to its intended purpose.
“Naturally,” said Stone, “my business manager objected to those figures. After all, his job is to object to that kind of money going.
“I said to him, ‘Look, tell me this. If I buy this boat and it costs me all this moneyβlet’s say it even costs me $50,000 a year to run, which it won’t, but let’s say it willβwill my wife have to work behind the ribbon counter? And will I be unable to support my mother?’
“He said ‘No.’ My wife wouldn’t have to work behind the ribbon counter. So I said, ‘OK, then I’ll buy the boat.'”
With that, Milburn Stone made his dream come true. He purchased the boat he wanted and was able to pull out onto the lake to fish.