Gunsmoke Director Norman Macdonnell On Gunsmoke's Dead Air SFX

In 1976 John Hickman of WAMU put together an outstanding five-part documentary on the history of Gunsmoke. One of the people interviewed was Gunsmoke director Norman Macdonnell. Macdonnell directed the series during its entire radio run from 1952-1961. In this clip he speaks about the sound effects patterns that SFX men Bill James, Ray Kemper, & Tom Hanley employed, and how "dead air" became a tool of theirs.