Tweet
I used to like this actor, him & Festus.
Six-foot-seven James Arness, the erudite symbol of the television series Gunsmoke passed away on Friday, June 3, 2011, at his Brentwood, California home. Arness was 88.
According to family spokesperson Ginny Fazer, Arness, who portrayed Marshal Matt Dillon, died of natural causes.
Gunsmoke aired in 1955 on CBS and air for the next 20 years. The series was one of the longest-running prime-time series in network Television history. Arness portrayed a sheriff who amply filled the boots of the mythic Dodge City lawman in the series, which earned praise for breaking TV western-genre conventions with its strong dramatic stories and psychologically complex characters.
Before Arness' time as Marshall Dillon the Minnesota native and WWII Army combat veteran had amassed a string of film credits, including playing the alien monster in the 1951 science-fiction classic, The Thing From Another World. He also co-starred in the 1954 sci-fi thriller, Them!
Of Norwegian descent, Arness was born James Aurness in Minneapolis on May 26, 1923. His brother, future actor Peter Graves, was born three years later. After the war and at the suggestion of his brother, Arness enrolled in a radio announcing school in Minneapolis. He quickly found work as a disc jockey at a local station.
After several months, he quit to join a friend on a trip to Los Angeles. Instead of spending a few weeks vacationing, he decided to stay after making business contacts. His acting career was about to begin.
On the set, Arness became known for his sense of humor. Off set, Arness was known to avoid journalists and the Hollywood scene, preferring instead the company of stagehands and fellow pilots.
A surfer since he arrived in California, Arness learned to fly in the late '60s so he could easily get to remote surf breaks in Baja. He also skied and sailed.
Arness' 1948 marriage to actress Virginia Chapman ended in divorce in 1958. They had three children: Rolf Aurness, winner of the 1970 World Surfing Championship; Craig Aurness, a photographer, who died in 2004; and Jennie Aurness, who died in 1975.
He is survived by his wife, Janet; two sons, Rolf and Jimmy; and six grandchildren.
Source
Six-foot-seven James Arness, the erudite symbol of the television series Gunsmoke passed away on Friday, June 3, 2011, at his Brentwood, California home. Arness was 88.
According to family spokesperson Ginny Fazer, Arness, who portrayed Marshal Matt Dillon, died of natural causes.
Gunsmoke aired in 1955 on CBS and air for the next 20 years. The series was one of the longest-running prime-time series in network Television history. Arness portrayed a sheriff who amply filled the boots of the mythic Dodge City lawman in the series, which earned praise for breaking TV western-genre conventions with its strong dramatic stories and psychologically complex characters.
Before Arness' time as Marshall Dillon the Minnesota native and WWII Army combat veteran had amassed a string of film credits, including playing the alien monster in the 1951 science-fiction classic, The Thing From Another World. He also co-starred in the 1954 sci-fi thriller, Them!
Of Norwegian descent, Arness was born James Aurness in Minneapolis on May 26, 1923. His brother, future actor Peter Graves, was born three years later. After the war and at the suggestion of his brother, Arness enrolled in a radio announcing school in Minneapolis. He quickly found work as a disc jockey at a local station.
After several months, he quit to join a friend on a trip to Los Angeles. Instead of spending a few weeks vacationing, he decided to stay after making business contacts. His acting career was about to begin.
On the set, Arness became known for his sense of humor. Off set, Arness was known to avoid journalists and the Hollywood scene, preferring instead the company of stagehands and fellow pilots.
A surfer since he arrived in California, Arness learned to fly in the late '60s so he could easily get to remote surf breaks in Baja. He also skied and sailed.
Arness' 1948 marriage to actress Virginia Chapman ended in divorce in 1958. They had three children: Rolf Aurness, winner of the 1970 World Surfing Championship; Craig Aurness, a photographer, who died in 2004; and Jennie Aurness, who died in 1975.
He is survived by his wife, Janet; two sons, Rolf and Jimmy; and six grandchildren.
Source