R.I.P. Marshall Dillon

[gnoahhh]

The passing of yet another TV western icon- James Arness. Thanks for instilling a sense of moral certitude in a generation of wide-eyed boys glued to their TV sets. Give Miss Kitty a hug (maybe now you'll get to actually sleep with her!) and kick old Festus in the pants to keep him in line. Adios!

[3006guns]

RIP Matt....

Wow, I'm really dating myself but I can remember when Matt's "sidekick" was Chester (Dennis Weaver)!

[Jim]

Dad and I watched that show regular.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

ya me and my Dad did too

[jmsj]

Another one of the great ones passes on. This was and is one of my favorite shows of all times.

[dragonrider]

RIP Jim. I wonder if any of you know what was his first starring role in a movie. I'll give you a hint it was not a western and is from 1951. This is the role I think of whenever he is mentioned.

[Heavy lead]

Still watch the old Gunsmoke, wow, the epitome of all roll models IMHO. RIP Jim.

[twotoescharlie]

"the Thing"

TTC

[462]

Yep, Chester (Dennis Weaver) not Festus.

"The Thing" was his first movie. A B-Grade sci-fi movie about some kind of Arctic monster that resembled a carrot.

[HeavyMetal]

Them

Still have a B&W dvd that I scare the kids with now and then.

[WILCO]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/television/2015228964_arnessobit04.html

I never knew he was a WWII Veteran or that he had such tragic times in his life.

[gnoahhh]

Gunsmoke was one of those shows we didn't miss. Even Mom and my sisters gathered in front of the tube to watch it.

Heck, I'm old enough to remember it as a radio show, with Robert Conrad speaking the part of Matt Dillon. I was pretty young but I remember it playing on the radio in the dining room while eating dinner. It was the only media intrusion Pop allowed during meal time.

[Pepe Ray]

gnoahh;
You stole my thunder.
Not a lot of old radio show listeners , I guess.
R.I.P. Matthew
Pepe Ray

[Charley]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/television/2015228964_arnessobit04.html

I never knew he was a WWII Veteran or that he had such tragic times in his life.

If I remember correctly, he was wounded at Anzio.

[MtGun44]

Young enough to barely remember Chester, all my real memories of the show (and good
ones, they are) are with Festus. Good show, lot of good morality plays on TV in those
days, helped all of us learn what it meant to be a good person, be a man and the right
and wrong ways to behave. TV could use a lot more of this sort of shows, rather than how
to cheat and steal, and be a worthless nothing.

Loved his mountain man character in all leather in "How the West was Won" (IIRC).

Bill

[WILCO]

If I remember correctly, he was wounded at Anzio.

Here's the link: http://www.nndb.com/people/954/000022888/


James Arness grew up in Minneapolis. When World War II broke out, he wanted to become a navy pilot, but his enormous height disqualified him. Instead he joined the Army, and received a Purple Heart after suffering serious injuries to his right leg during the 1944 invasion at Anzio, Italy. His injuries left him hospitalized for almost a year, and during that time he kept hearing from nurses that with his booming voice, he ought to be in radio. He went to work as an announcer and disc jockey at a Minneapolis station, then decided to try his luck in Hollywood.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

He not only outlived his wife and daughter, he outlived his kid brouther,Peter Graves. At least that was his movie name. Yes James was wounded in the Italian campaign. I think he was shot in the right leg.

[Ickisrulz]

RIP Jim. I wonder if any of you know what was his first starring role in a movie. I'll give you a hint it was not a western and is from 1951. This is the role I think of whenever he is mentioned.

The Thing

[Daywalker]

I myself really loved to watch gunsmoke. While driving a truck on the road, I had a subscription to serious satelite radio. IIRC channel 118 was the old time radio shows. Everyday while driving, I would catch the episodes of Gunsmoke when he had chester as his sidekick.

I really believe James Arness fit the bill for being Marshall Matt Dillon... He will be missed.

[WildmanJack]

I know my dad (rest his soul) and Jim Arness are up in Heaven right now talking over ll those great TV shows. Rest in Peace Jim, you were a great guy...
Jack

[white eagle]

wow thats a sad day
one of my favorites next to the Rifleman and Bonanza and Daniel Boone

[onesonek]

One of the greastest if not the greatest! May he Rest In Peace.

[winshooter]

I grew up watching Gun Smoke and still enjoy it today when it occassionally runs on cable. I also download the Gun Smoke radio programs as PodCasts from iTunes with Robert Conrad playing Dillon.

[Jim]

Odd, how you remember things.
Some bad guy was tryin' to find out something and caught Miss Kitty upstairs in her place. He slapped her and she screamed. Ol' Festus was makin' his rounds about that time and heard it. The guy was runnin' down that outside stair case and Festus was runnin' down the side walk. Festus got to the bottom of the steps just before the bad guy did. Festus wheeled around the corner with that sawed off double, came up with it and the bad guy just about caught those barrels in his face. Festus looked at him over the barrels, both hammers back and asked him kinda' comically like "Where ya' goin'?"

FESTUS AND MATTHEW
http://jgcphotos.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/matt_festus.jpg

[bootsnthejeep]

My dad was such a fan of Gunsmoke and Matt dillon, he named his son after him. At least that's the story I'm told. A coworker about my dad's age and equally enamored with the show found out about it, and refused to refer to me as anything except "Mahh-theww".

If John Wayne thought you were a "pretty good young actor", I can't think of higher praise. He called that long career pretty well, too.