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.

Amanda Blake (February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the television western Gunsmoke.

The first "Gunsmoke" movie was commissioned as a reunion project by CBS in 1987 and saw Arness and longtime cast member ...