James Arness
Encyclopedia
James King Arness was an American
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon
Marshal Matt Dillon
Marshal Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of Gunsmoke. He serves as the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character was created by writer John Meston, who...

 in the television series Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....

 for 20 years. Arness has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in five separate decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge
Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge
Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge is the first TV-movie based on the 20-year television version of Gunsmoke starring James Arness. Retired US Marshal Matt Dillon, now a fur trapper, is shot by thieves, brought back to Dodge, and nursed by Kitty Russel...

 (1987) and four more made-for-TV Gunsmoke movies in the 1990s. In Europe Arness reached cult status for his role as Zeb Macahan in the western series How the West Was Won
How the West Was Won (TV series)
How the West Was Won is an American western television series that featured an all star cast that included: James Arness, Eva Marie Saint, Fionnula Flanagan, Bruce Boxleitner, G. W. Bailey, Trisha Noble, William Shatner, Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Kiley, Lloyd Bridges,...

. His younger brother was actor Peter Graves
Peter Graves
Peter Graves may refer to:* Peter Graves , American actor* Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves , English actor and peer* Peter Graves , English cricketer...

.

Early life

Arness was born James Aurness in Minneapolis; he dropped the "u" when he started acting. His parents were Rolf Cirkler Aurness, a businessman, and his wife Ruth Duesler, a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

. His father's ancestry was Norwegian; his mother's was German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

. The family name had been Aursnes, but when Rolf's father Peter Aursnes emigrated from Norway in 1887, he changed it to Aurness. Arness and his family were Methodists. Arness' younger brother was actor Peter Graves
Peter Graves
Peter Graves may refer to:* Peter Graves , American actor* Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves , English actor and peer* Peter Graves , English cricketer...

 (1926–2010). Peter used the stage name "Graves", a maternal family name.

Arness attended John Burroughs Grade School, Washburn High School
Washburn High School
Minneapolis Washburn High School is a four-year public high school serving grades 9–12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. By enrollment, Washburn is the fourth-largest high school in the Minneapolis Public School District.Principal Mrs...

 and West High School in Minneapolis. During this time, Arness worked as a courier for a jewelry wholesaler, loading and unloading railway boxcars at the James J. Hill's Burlington
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...

 freight-yards in Minneapolis, and logging in Pierce, Idaho
Pierce, Idaho
Pierce is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho. Elias D. Pierce and Wilbur F. Bassett made the first discovery of gold in Idaho , on Orofino Creek in 1860, a mile north of Pierce....

. Despite "being a poor student and skipping many classes", he graduated from high school in June 1942.

Military service in World War II

Arness wanted to be a naval fighter pilot, but he felt his poor eyesight would bar him. His height of 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) ended his hopes, since 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) was the limit for aviators. Instead, he was called for the Army and reported to Fort Snelling, Minnesota
Fort Snelling, Minnesota
Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was a military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota...

 in March 1943. Arness served as a rifleman
Rifleman
Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th century musketeers and streltsy, the term rifleman originated from the 18th century. It would later become the term for the archetypal common soldier.-History:...

 with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, and was severely wounded during Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...

, at Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

According to James Arness – An Autobiography, he landed on Anzio Beachhead on January 22, 1944 as a rifleman with 2nd Platoon, E Company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment
7th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The United States Army's 7th Infantry Regiment, known as "The Cottenbalers" from an incident that occurred during the Battle of New Orleans, while under the command of Andrew Jackson, when soldiers of the 7th Infantry Regiment held positions behind a breastwork of bales of cotton during the...

 of the 3rd Infantry Division. Due to his height, he was the first ordered off his landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...

 to determine the depth of the water; it came up to his waist.

On January 29, 1945, having undergone surgery several times, Arness was honorably discharged. His wounds continued to bother him, and in later years Arness suffered from chronic leg pain, which sometimes hurt when mounting a horse. His decorations include the Bronze Star Medal
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...

, the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...

 with three bronze battle stars, the World War II Victory Medal
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during World War II and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of...

 and the Combat Infantryman Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...

.

Acting career

After his discharge, Arness entered Beloit College
Beloit College
Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...

 in Wisconsin. He began his performing career as a radio announcer in Minnesota in 1945.

Arness came to Hollywood by hitchhiking and soon began acting and appearing in films. He began with RKO, which immediately changed his name from "Aurness". His film debut was as Loretta Young
Loretta Young
Loretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...

's (Katie Holstrom) brother, Peter Holstrom, in The Farmer's Daughter (1947).

Though identified with westerns, Arness also appeared in two science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 films, The Thing from Another World
The Thing from Another World
The Thing from Another World , is a 1951 science fiction film based on the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell . It tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being...

 (in which he portrayed the title character) and Them!
Them! (1954 film)
Them! is a 1954 American black and white science fiction film about man's encounter with a nest of gigantic irradiated ants. It is based on an original story treatment by George Worthing Yates. It was developed into a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman and Russell Hughes for Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.,...

. He was a close friend of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...

 and co-starred with him in Big Jim McLain
Big Jim McLain
Big Jim McLain is a 1952 political thriller film starring John Wayne and James Arness as HUAC investigators hunting down communists in the post-war Hawaii organized labor scene. Edward Ludwig directed....

, Hondo
Hondo
-Places:*Rio Hondo, the name of several locations*Hondo, Texas, a city in the United States*Hondo, New Mexico*Hondo, Kumamoto, a city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan: old name for the main Japanese island of Honshū-Fiction:...

, Island in the Sky
Island in the Sky (1953 film)
Island in The Sky is a 1953 American aviation adventure/drama film written by Ernest K. Gann based on his 1944 novel of the same name, directed by William A. Wellman, and starring and co-produced by John Wayne. It was released by Warner Bros...

, and The Sea Chase
The Sea Chase
The Sea Chase is a 1955 World War II drama film starring John Wayne and Lana Turner. It was directed by John Farrow and written by James Warner Bellah. The plot is basically a nautical cat and mouse game, with Wayne determined to get his German freighter home during the first few months of the war,...

, and starred in Gun the Man Down
Gun the Man Down
Gun the Man Down is a 1956 western film distributed through United Artists and starring James Arness and Angie Dickinson in her first leading role. The movie was produced by John Wayne and his brother Robert E. Morrison for Wayne's company Batjac Productions and was also the first theatrical...

 for Wayne's company.

An urban legend has it that John Wayne was offered the leading role of Matt Dillon in the longtime favorite television show Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....

, but he turned it down, recommending instead James Arness for the role. The only part of this story that is true is that Wayne did indeed recommend Arness for the part. Wayne introduced Arness in a prologue to the first episode of Gunsmoke, in 1955. The Norwegian-German Arness had to dye his naturally blond hair darker for the role. Gunsmoke made Arness world-famous and would run for two decades, becoming the longest running drama series in U.S. television history by the end of its run in 1975. The series' season record was tied only in 2010 with the final season of Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

. Unlike the latter show, Gunsmoke featured its lead character in each of its twenty seasons; Gunsmoke also aired 179 more episodes, and was in the top 10 in the ratings for eleven more seasons, for a total of thirteen, including four consecutive seasons at number one.

After Gunsmoke ended, Arness performed in western-themed movies and television series, including How the West Was Won
How the West Was Won (TV series)
How the West Was Won is an American western television series that featured an all star cast that included: James Arness, Eva Marie Saint, Fionnula Flanagan, Bruce Boxleitner, G. W. Bailey, Trisha Noble, William Shatner, Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Kiley, Lloyd Bridges,...

, and in five made-for-television Gunsmoke movies between 1987 and 1994. An exception was as a big city police officer in a short-lived 1981-1982 series, McClain's Law
McClain's Law
McClain's Law is an American crime drama television series that aired on NBC during the 1981-1982 season. New episodes ended on March 20, and rebroadcasts continued until August 24, 1982.-Summary:...

, co-starring with Marshall Colt
Marshall Colt
Marshall N. Colt is a marriage, family, and life enhancement therapist in San Diego, California, who was an actor of film and television from 1976 to 1995...

. His role as mountainman Zeb Macahan in How the West Was Won
How the West Was Won (TV series)
How the West Was Won is an American western television series that featured an all star cast that included: James Arness, Eva Marie Saint, Fionnula Flanagan, Bruce Boxleitner, G. W. Bailey, Trisha Noble, William Shatner, Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Kiley, Lloyd Bridges,...

 made him into a cult figure in many European countries, where it became even more popular than in the United States, as the series has been re-broadcast many times across Europe.

James Arness: An Autobiography was released in September 2001, with a foreword by Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...

. Arness noted that he realized, "[I]f I was going to write a book about my life, I better do it now ... 'cause I'm not getting any younger."

Films

  • The Farmer's Daughter (1947)
  • Man From Texas (1947)
  • Roses are Red (1947) - credited as "James Aurness"
  • Battleground (1949)
  • Wagon Master
    Wagon Master
    Wagon Master is a 1950 Western film directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond.-Plot:Learning of their ability as experienced horsemen, Mormon Elder Wiggs , hires Travis Blue and Sandy Owens to guide a small group of Mormons across the West to the...

     (1950)
  • Sierra (1950)
  • Two Lost Worlds
    Two Lost Worlds
    Two Lost Worlds is a science fiction/adventure film, presenting James Arness in his first starring role and Laura Elliott. The film was produced independently by Boris Petroff from his original story...

     (1950)
  • Double Crossbones
    Double Crossbones
    Double Crossbones is a 1951, American, Technicolor film starring Donald O'Connor, Helena Carter, and Will Geer.-Plot:After being accused falsely of dishonesty, Davey Crandall decides to become a pirate.-Cast:...

     (1950)
  • Stars In My Crown (1950)
  • Wyoming Mail (1950)
  • Cavalry Scout
    Cavalry Scout
    The Cavalry Scout is a job title and a reconnaissance specialist in the United States Army. Cavalry Scouts work to obtain, distribute and share vital combat and battlefield information on the enemy and on combat circumstances and environmental conditions. The role originated with the United States...

     (1951)
  • Belle le Grand (1951)
  • Iron Man (1951)
  • The Thing (1951)
    The Thing from Another World
    The Thing from Another World , is a 1951 science fiction film based on the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell . It tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being...

     (1951)
  • The People Against O'Hara
    The People Against O'Hara
    The People Against O'Hara is a 1951 film noir based on Eleazar Lipsky's novel. The movie stars Spencer Tracy, Pat O'Brien, and James Arness, and is directed by John Sturges, who also directed the The Great Escape.- Plot :...

     (1951)
  • Carbine Williams
    Carbine Williams
    Carbine Williams is a 1952 American drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring James Stewart. The film follows the life of its namesake, David Marshall Williams, who invented the operating principle for the M1 Carbine while in a North Carolina prison...

     (1952)
  • Hellgate (1952)
  • The Girl in White
    The Girl in White
    The Girl in White is a 1952 anthology film directed by John Sturges....

     (1952)
  • Big Jim McLain
    Big Jim McLain
    Big Jim McLain is a 1952 political thriller film starring John Wayne and James Arness as HUAC investigators hunting down communists in the post-war Hawaii organized labor scene. Edward Ludwig directed....

     (1952)
  • Horizons West
    Horizons West
    Horizons West is a 1952 Western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Robert Ryan.-Cast:* Robert Ryan - Dan Hammond* Julie Adams - Mrs Lorna Hardin * Rock Hudson - Neil Hammond* Judith Braun - Sally Eaton...

     (1952)
  • The Lone Hand (1953)

  • Ride the Man Down (1953)
  • Island in the Sky
    Island in the Sky
    Island in the Sky or may refer to:*Island in the Sky , 1953 film starring John Wayne*Island in the Sky *Island in the Sky, the Ernest K...

     (1953)
  • Veils of Bagdad (1953)
  • Them! (1954)
  • Hondo
    Hondo
    -Places:*Rio Hondo, the name of several locations*Hondo, Texas, a city in the United States*Hondo, New Mexico*Hondo, Kumamoto, a city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan: old name for the main Japanese island of Honshū-Fiction:...

     (1954)
  • Her Twelve Men
    Her Twelve Men
    Her Twelve Men is a 1954 comedy drama film made by MGM. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, and written by William Roberts and Laura Z. Hobson, based on story by Louise Baker.-Cast:*Greer Garson as Jan Stewart*Robert Ryan as Joe Hargrave...

     (1954)
  • Flames of the Islands
    Flames of the Islands
    Flame of the Island is a 1956 drama film about a Rosalind Dee Yvonne De Carlo a café singer who buys into a casino, encountering multiple men who quickly fall in love with her and her attempt to sort through these various personalities to find true love and bring her happiness.-Plot:Flame of the...

     (1955)
  • Many Rivers to Cross (1955)
  • The Sea Chase
    The Sea Chase
    The Sea Chase is a 1955 World War II drama film starring John Wayne and Lana Turner. It was directed by John Farrow and written by James Warner Bellah. The plot is basically a nautical cat and mouse game, with Wayne determined to get his German freighter home during the first few months of the war,...

     (1955)
  • Arizona Mission
    Arizona Mission
    Arizona Mission is a 1956 western film, starring: James Arness.-Plot:Three desperado friends rob a bank, but one of them is wounded. His two partners and his girlfriend take his share of the loot and run off, leaving him to be captured by the sheriff. Years later, after he gets out of prison, he...

     (1956)
  • Gun the Man Down
    Gun the Man Down
    Gun the Man Down is a 1956 western film distributed through United Artists and starring James Arness and Angie Dickinson in her first leading role. The movie was produced by John Wayne and his brother Robert E. Morrison for Wayne's company Batjac Productions and was also the first theatrical...

     (1956)
  • The First Traveling Saleslady
    The First Traveling Saleslady
    The First Traveling Saleslady was a 1956 American film starring Ginger Rogers and Carol Channing. The cast includes James Arness, and a young Clint Eastwood . Commercially unsuccessful, it was among the films that helped to close RKO Pictures.-External links:...

     (1956)
  • Alias Jesse James
    Alias Jesse James
    Alias Jesse James is a Bob Hope western comedy movie. A highlight for fans of Westerns of that era happens during the gun fight climax at the end of the movie that features a number of cameos by movie and television personalities Alias Jesse James (1959) is a Bob Hope western comedy movie. A...

     (1956), as Marshal Matt Dillon
    Marshal Matt Dillon
    Marshal Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of Gunsmoke. He serves as the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character was created by writer John Meston, who...

  • The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory
    The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory
    The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory is a made-for-TV film starring Brian Keith as Davy Crockett, James Arness as James Bowie, Alec Baldwin as Col. Travis, Raul Julia as Santa Anna, and a single scene cameo by Lorne Greene as Sam Houston...

     (1987 TV movie), as Jim Bowie
  • Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge
    Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge
    Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge is the first TV-movie based on the 20-year television version of Gunsmoke starring James Arness. Retired US Marshal Matt Dillon, now a fur trapper, is shot by thieves, brought back to Dodge, and nursed by Kitty Russel...

     (1987 TV movie)
  • Red River (1988 TV movie)
  • Gunsmoke II: The Last Apache (1990 TV movie)
  • Gunsmoke III: To the Last Man (1992 TV movie)
  • Gunsmoke IV: The Long Ride (1993 TV movie)
  • Gunsmoke V: One Man's Justice (1993 TV movie)


Television

  • The Lone Ranger
    The Lone Ranger
    The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....

     (1950, 1 episode as Deputy Bud Titus)
  • Lux Video Theatre, "The Chase" (1954)
  • Gunsmoke
    Gunsmoke
    Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....

     (1955-1975)
  • Front Row Center
    Front Row Center
    Front Row Center is an American variety show that aired on the DuMont Television Network from March 25, 1949 to April 2, 1950. The show was originally 30 minutes then expanded to 60 minutes. It was one of several DuMont network programs to originally start as a local show on one of its affiliates...

     (1956)
  • The Red Skelton Chevy Special (1959)
  • The Chevrolet Golden Anniversary Show (1961)
  • A Salute to Television's 25th Anniversary (1972)
  • The Macahans (1976)
  • How The West Was Won
    How the West Was Won
    How the West Was Won may refer to:* How the West Was Won * How the West Was Won * How the West Was Won * How the West Was Won * How the West Was Won...

     (1977 miniseries
    Miniseries
    A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

    )
  • How The West Was Won
    How the West Was Won
    How the West Was Won may refer to:* How the West Was Won * How the West Was Won * How the West Was Won * How the West Was Won * How the West Was Won...

     (1978-1979 TV series)
  • McClain's Law
    McClain's Law
    McClain's Law is an American crime drama television series that aired on NBC during the 1981-1982 season. New episodes ended on March 20, and rebroadcasts continued until August 24, 1982.-Summary:...

     (1981-1982 TV series)


This section's references:

Personal life

Arness was married twice, first to Virginia Chapman from 1948 until their divorce in 1960. He adopted her son. She died of a drug overdose in 1976. Arness was married to Janet Surtees from 1978 until his death. He had two sons, Rolf (born February 18, 1952) and Craig (died December 14, 2004). His daughter Jenny Lee Aurness (May 23, 1950 – May 12, 1975) committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 by overdose. Rolf Aurness became World Surfing Champion in 1970. Craig Aurness founded the stock photography agency Westlight and also was a photographer for National Geographic. Arness is survived by Rolf and by his adopted son.

Despite his stoic character, according to Ben Bates, his Gunsmoke stunt double, Arness laughed "from his toes to the top of his head". Shooting on the Gunsmoke set was suspended because Arness got a case of the uncontrollable giggles. James Arness disdained publicity and banned reporters from the Gunsmoke set. He was said to be a shy and sensitive man who enjoyed poetry, sailboat racing, and surfing. TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...

 dubbed him "The Greta Garbo of Dodge City". Buck Taylor
Buck Taylor
Walter Clarence "Buck" Taylor, III is an American actor and water color artist best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 113 episodes during the last eight seasons of CBS's Gunsmoke television series . In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and Gunsmoke...

 (Newly on Gunsmoke) thought so highly of Arness that he named his second son, Matthew, after Arness' character.

Arness died of natural causes at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 on June 3, 2011. He is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Awards

For his contributions to the television industry, Arness has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

 at 1751 Vine Street. In 1981, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...

 in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...

. Arness was inducted into the Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States and the twenty-fourth largest city in the state of California. The 2010 US Census reported the city's population grew 16.7% from the year 2000 to 176,320 residents. It is located about northwest of downtown...

 Walk of Western Stars in 2006, and gave a related TV interview.

On the 50th anniversary of television in 1989 in the United States, People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...

 magazine chose the top 25 television stars of all time. Arness was number 6.

In 1996 TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...

 ranked him number 20 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.

Arness was nominated for the following Emmy Awards:
  • 1957: Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series
  • 1958: Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series
  • 1959: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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