James Arness, a real-life World War II hero who came home to create television's ultimate lawman in Marshal Matt Dillon, died today at his Brentwood, Calif., home. He was 88.
Arness died of natural causes, said his business manager Ginny Fazer, who told Reuters he had "just been fading" in recent years. "No disease, nothing untoward, he just got tired, I guess."
For 20 years Arness played Marshal Dillon on "Gunsmoke," the defining Western from TV's golden era of horse operas. In an age when Americans sat home and watched television on Saturday nights, "Gunsmoke" was what they watched. It was the No. 1 show on TV for five seasons starting in 1957.
Arness himself didn't just happen to play the lead role in a popular TV show. He created the kind of solid, almost mythic Western character on television that his friend and mentor John Wayne had created in the movies: a man who didn't just enforce the law, but played by the higher rules of what was right and good.
Like Wayne's character, Marshal Dillon could also have some fun. He had a wonderfully understated relationship with Kitty (Amanda Blake), the hostess at the local saloon, and his posse included the street-smart Doc Adams (Milburn Stone) and his devoted deputy Chester (Dennis Weaver).
Despite the fact the show famously opened with Marshal Dillon outdrawing a bad guy on a sun-baked Main Street, this marshal preferred to exhaust every other means of resolving disputes before dispatching the villain to the last roundup.
He stood up for underdogs, for citizens who were bullied and for anyone who wasn't getting a fair shake. He ran his town more by his heart than by a rulebook, and in the process he set the bar for lawmen in real life as well as on television.
"Gunsmoke," which was adapted with a few changes from a long-running radio serial, was considered a Western for grownups – in contrast to the Roy Rogers or Lone Ranger style of Westerns that had previously dominated the TV airwaves.
Wayne himself was initially involved in the show, with conflicting reports whether he was offered the Dillon role himself, but no doubt he recommended Arness.
Some two dozen actors were interviewed before Arness was offered the role – which he took on the condition he own a piece of the show. That clause made him a very wealthy man.
In 1955, though, it was a gamble. CBS had Wayne introduce the first episode on the air, asking viewers to give this young feller a chance.
Arness stayed with the show for all 635 episodes, which included weathering a brief stretch in 1967 when CBS tried to cancel it and relented after a viewer rebellion.
Arness was born in Minneapolis, as James Aurness, and he worked in the freight yards and as a logger before he joined the Army in 1942. He wanted to be an aviator, but at 6-foot-7 was five inches above the maximum height, so he became a rifleman in the Army infantry.
He was severely wounded during the January 1944 invasion of Anzio, Italy, where he was the first soldier ordered off the landing craft so officers could determine the depth of the water.
He was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, the World War II Victory Medal and several other decorations. After several operations to alleviate injuries that would affect him for the rest of his life, he was honorably discharged in January 1945.
While attending Beloit College he tried radio announcing, but soon moved to Hollywood to try acting. He played several supporting roles in romantic dramas, including "The Farmer's Daughter" with Loretta Young, before landing two low-budget science fiction roles that have given him enduring cult fame: "The Thing from Another World," in which he played The Thing, and "Them!"
He soon signed on with Wayne's production company and appeared in several Wayne movies, including "Hondo" and "Big Jim McClain."
After CBS cancelled "Gunsmoke" for good in 1975, Arness starred in four "Gunsmoke" movies and also in "How the West Was Won," which began with the 1976 film "The Macahans" and expanded into a mini-series in 1977, then a regular series in 1978 and 1979.
His last TV series was the short-lived 1981 police drama "McClain's Law" – whose title was a subtle nod to one of his Wayne movies.
In 1989, People magazine ranked him No. 6 among the greatest TV stars of all time – a stature he gained without a lot of promotion. He was no fan of the media, banning reporters from the "Gunsmoke" set and rarely granting interviews.
Off-camera, he was an active supporter of many charities, including the Sea Scouts and Cerebral Palsy organizations.
He was married twice and is survived by his wife Janet and his son, Rolf. He was predeceased by his younger brother, the actor Peter Graves. With News Wire Service
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...#ixzz1OWLFZLDN
|
   
   
|
|
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by felix
After the National Anthem, of course.
