He was a struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, Gunsmoke (1955). After nine years as Chester, who he played with a stiff-legged gait, he was earning $9,000 a week.
James Arness earned himself $1,200 per episode for playing Marshal Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke during its early years. Later, after the television show earned awards and gained more popularity, he negotiated his contract and started making $20,000 an episode. Today, this would have been around $150,000.
Gunsmoke made Ken Curtis' Festus Haggen a series regular to replace Dennis Weaver's beloved Chester Goode after he left to pursue other acting opportunities. However, Curtis refused to return for the first made-for-tv Gunsmoke movie after its 20-season run because of a couple of serious disagreements with a producer.
' ” Arness, who remained close to Weaver after he left the series, praised him as a “really fine actor.” “We really liked each other a whole lot,” Arness said.
"After almost 10 years," said Weaver, "I want to walk without a limp. In Gunsmoke, I've exhausted all the dimensions of Chester. There's nothing I can do with that character anymore. I knew it some time ago, and I tried to quit the program twice before.
The Sad Reason Dennis Weaver Was Written off Gunsmoke
Did the cast of Gunsmoke get along in real life?
The cast of Gunsmoke was able to get pretty chummy with each other during the show's twenty-season run, to the point where they felt like a family. Leading this cast of Western stars was James Arness, a man who was— apparently— as tall as he was kind.
What actor appeared in the most Gunsmoke episodes?
James Arness played Marshal Matt Dillon in 635 episodes of Gunsmoke, the only cast member to appear in every single one. While fellow regulars Amanda Blake and Milburn Stone can't top that, they were both in more than 500 episodes — a significant achievement by any standard!
Unlike many television stars, Arness never took on too many characteristics of his most famous role, nor did Dillon become more like the actor. "As for the issue of the onscreen personality and the real person, there's no comparison, no way.
Mr. Curtis played Festus Haggin, sidekick to Marshal Matt Dillon, from 1964 to 1975, when the series ended. He replaced Dennis Weaver, who played Chester Goode before leaving the show after nine years.
Arness died from natural causes at the age of 88 years at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles on June 3, 2011. His body was interred in the Sanctuary of Abiding Hope alcove in the Jasmine Terrace section of the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
James Arness was the quiet type while he was away from his character, Marshal Matt Dillon. His Gunsmoke character was known for his strong moral code, sense of justice, and fairness, but off-screen Arness was known to limit personal appearances and interviews.
But the changing of the guard really happened in the Season 9 episode titled "The Prairie Wolfer," where Chester and Festus actually appear together. In fact, this particular episode had appearances from Matt, Kitty, Doc, Chester, Festus, Sam and Quint.
Milburn Stone was 51 years young when he first started playing Doc Adams on Gunsmoke in 1955. Little did he know it would be the last acting job he would ever need.
Arness was known for his physicality and willingness to do his own action scenes, including horse riding, fighting, and other physical challenges. However, for particularly dangerous or high-risk stunts, a stunt double would sometimes be used to ensure the safety of the actors.
What was the relationship between James Arness and Peter Graves?
James Arness is an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke for 20 years. His brother was the late actor, Peter Graves.
How old was Matt Dillon from Gunsmoke when he died?
James Arness, who presided over the frontier town of Dodge City as television's most enduring western hero, the laconic, fair-minded and incorruptible Marshal Matt Dillon of the two-decade-long series “Gunsmoke,” died June 3 at his home in Los Angeles at 88.
Stone was brought on as one of the original principal cast members along with James Arness, Amanda Blake, and Dennis Weaver. However, they didn't all initially get along. Stone initially “hated” Arness because he didn't think that he took the job seriously enough.
A: Matt Dillon (James Arness) and Kitty (Amanda Blake) never married during the series 1955-75 run, although close watchers of the show were convinced they had connected at some time. But in a 1973 episode, Matt had a brief affair with another woman, Mike Yardner (Michael Learned), while he had amnesia.
Did James Arness ever miss an episode of Gunsmoke?
He was the only actor to appear in all 635 episodes of Gunsmoke (1955). In 1968, he donated his 1,400-acre ranch in northern Los Angeles County to the Brandis Institute.
The television series of Gunsmoke ran from 1955 to 1975 and is said to be one of the longest running prime-time shows on television. There were 635 episodes and many of the outdoor scenes for this show were shot in Johnson Canyon near Kanab, Utah.
