Milford Teen's Love For 'Gunsmoke' Actress Informs Major Girl Scout Project

MILFORD, MA — Milford's Cee-Cee Deslaurier-Tate is, literally, a little old-fashioned.

The 16-year-old is a big fan of the classic western TV show "Gunsmoke," and one character in particular: Miss Kitty Russell, played by actress Amanda Blake.

Deslaurier-Tate frequently travels to the Wild West City theme park in New Jersey to perform as Russell along with her parents — her father, Tom, plays Marshal Matt Dillon, and mom, Carolyn, plays Miss Clementine. But the role playing is just the tip of the iceberg for Deslaurier-Tate, who is also working on a larger project exploring Blake's life.

Blake, who died in 1989, was a major animal welfare activist, helping to start the first no-kill animal shelter in Arizona in the 1970s. Deslaurier-Tate is working on a documentary about Blake's life and animal activism as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project. The second part of the Girl Scout project involves raising money for a memorial at the Phoenix Zoo honoring Blake, and especially her work on cheetah conservation, and a second memorial at the Arizona Animal Welfare League no-kill shelter.

"My love of theater, as well as for the character of Miss Kitty, inspired me to become what some of us call a 'tribute artist,' making appearances as Miss Kitty so that her work not only as an animal advocate, but also as one of Gunsmoke's most beloved characters, may stay alive for future generations to enjoy. I guess one could say it has become my mission to follow in Ms. Blake's footsteps! Keeping alive the legacy of Amanda, Gunsmoke and the old Wild West, is something very important to me," she said in a Wild West City news release.

Outside of her work on her Girl Scouts project and on preserving Blake's legacy, Deslaurier-Tate and her parents can be seen performing at renaissance fairs as pirates. She's also performed as characters from movies like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Gilligan's Island" and "Harry Potter."

Find out more about Deslaurier-Tate's acting on her Facebook page dedicated to performing as Kitty Russell.