James Arness, iconic Western actor of Gunsmoke fame, dies at 88
By: Gary SpeerJames Arness, known to generations of Western fans primarily as the laconic Marshal Matt Dillon on TV's "Gunsmoke" series, died at his home in Los Angeles on Friday, June 3, 2011. He was 88.
Dubbed by "The New York Times" in his obituary as "the best-known tin star of his era," Arness starred on the long-running series as Marshal Dillon from 1955 to 1975 and made about 50 Hollywood films and TV movies in his career. But he will forever be remembered first and foremost as part of the legend surrounding Dodge City, Kansas, and the life and times of the Long Branch Saloon.
Arness was born on May 26, 1923, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and named born James King Aurness. (He later dropped the "u" from his last name.) He was drafted into the U.S. Army during his first year of college in Wisconsin and among other battle experiences took part in the invasion of Anzio, Italy, in 1944. During that invasion, he was wounded, suffering a shattered right leg from machine gun fire. After being hospitalized for almost a year and undergoing major surgeries, Arness was left with permanent injuries to the leg which caused him life-long pain (especially when mounting a horse) and left him with a slight limp.
After World War II, Arness tried numerous odd jobs, did a stint in radio, then moved to Los Angeles in 1946. According to the "Times" obituary, at 6-foot-7-inches tall, he was ideal for the role of Matt Dillon and his "stoic personality was remarkably like his character's."
Arness's many fans already know the story of how he got the lead part when "Gunsmoke" moved from radio to television: The role was offered originally to actor John Wayne. Wayne turned it down, but recommended Arness for the part. (Arness and Wayne had become friends filming the 1952 movie, "Big Jim McLain." Their friendship was life-long and Arness appeared in a total of three movies with Wayne.) He won some critical acclaim for his non-Western acting in the role of an unjustly accused man in "The People Against O'Hara" in 1951.
On a personal note, one of the most terrifying parts I recall seeing Arness play was as "the Thing" in the 1951 science fiction film, "The Thing From Another World." I was 7 or 8 years old, as I remember it, when I saw that film for the first time, and I don't think I realized the actor playing "the Thing" creature was the same hero of mine who had just started creating my new television hero, Marshal Dillon. (If I had been my parents, I never would have let me go to "the Thing." But I begged mightily as I recall, and they felt comfort in knowing I was going with my big brother -- who delighted in scaring the wits out of me before, during, and after "the Thing."
But, really, for me and tens of thousands of other fans, James Arness will always and only be synonymous with Marshal Matt Dillon. It is my understanding, from the reading I've done on Jim's website the last few days, that he and his family would have wanted it that way. (Arness's equally famous actor brother, Peter Graves, died in March 2010.)
On that website, Arness told a reporter in 2002 what he found to be the success of his career and of "Gunsmoke": "What made us different from other westerns was the fact that Gunsmoke wasn't just action and a lot of shooting; they were character-study shows. They're interesting to watch all these years later."
Just as Matt Dillon was one of the first real-life "good guys" ever portrayed in television Westerns, a character who was human and flawed as well as strong and heroic, so Arness seemed to be the same in real life. His personal greeting to his fans, posted some time ago on his website, makes a fitting epitaph for this iconic Western actor:
"I had a wonderful life and was blessed with so many loving people and great friends."
