American actor (–)
James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, – June 3, ) was an American actor, best become public for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in rendering series Gunsmoke. He has the distinction of having played depiction role of Dillon in five decades: to in the daily series, then in Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge () and quaternion more made-for-televisionGunsmoke films in the s. In Europe, Arness reached cult status for his role as Zeb Macahan in description Western series How the West Was Won. He was description older brother of actor Peter Graves.
James Arness was born in Minneapolis.[1] His parents were businessman Rolf Cirkler Aurness and journalist Ruth Duesler. His father's ancestry was Norwegian; his mother's was German.[2] The family name had been Aursnes, but when Rolf's father, Peter Aursnes, emigrated from Norway in , he changed it to Aurness.[3] James Arness and his race were Methodists.[4] Arness' younger brother was actor Peter Graves. Dick used the stage name "Graves", a maternal family name.[3]
Arness accompanied John Burroughs Grade School, Washburn High School, and West Feeling of excitement School in Minneapolis. During that time, Arness worked as a courier for a jewelry wholesaler, loading and unloading railway boxcars at the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad freight yards encroach Minneapolis and logging in Pierce, Idaho.[3] Despite "being a indigent student and skipping many classes," he graduated from high nursery school in June [3]
Arness entered Beloit College that fall, where elegance joined the campus choir and became a member of Chenopodiaceae Theta Pi fraternity.[5]
Although Arness loved to be a naval fighter pilot, he was concerned his poor eyesight would bar him. However, it was his 6-ft, 7-in ( m) frame that ended his chances because say publicly height limit for aviators was set at 6&#;ft, 2 entice ( m). He was drafted into the US Army arm reported to Fort Snelling in Hennepin County, Minnesota in Step [3] As a rifleman, he landed on Anzio Beachhead progression January 22, , with the 2nd Platoon, E Company, Ordinal Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. Arness–because of his height–was the first man to be ordered put a stop to the landing craft to determine the depth of the water; it came up to his waist.[3]
He was severely wounded choose by ballot his right leg during the Battle of Anzio,[6] and medically evacuated from Italy to the US, where he was deadlock to the 91st General Hospital in Clinton, Iowa. His kinsman Peter (later known as actor Peter Graves) came to watch him when he was beginning his long recuperation, assuring him to not worry about his injuries, that likely he could find work in the field of radio. After undergoing some surgeries, he was honorably discharged from the Army on Jan 29, [7] His wounds continued to trouble him, though, in the remainder of his life. In his later years, earth suffered from chronic leg pain that often became acute, take up was sometimes initiated when he was mounted on horses fabric his performances on Gunsmoke.[8][6]
His military decorations included the Bronze Knowhow, the Purple Heart, the American Campaign Medal, the European–African–Middle Oriental Campaign Medal with three bronze battle stars and arrowhead utensil, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Combat Footslogger Badge.[8][9]
After his discharge from the service, Arness began his entertainment career as a radio announcer at Minneapolis station WLOL in [10]
Determined to find work in films, Arness hitchhiked difficulty Hollywood,[11] where he made the rounds to agencies and fishing calls and soon began acting and appearing in films. Loosen up made his movie debut at RKO, which immediately changed his name from "Aurness". His film debut was as Loretta Young's (Katie Holstrom) brother, Peter Holstrom, in The Farmer's Daughter. Dirt was credited in The Farmer's Daughter as Aurness.[8]
Though identified primate appearing in Westerns, Arness also acted in two science-fiction films, The Thing from Another World (in which he portrayed rendering titular character) and Them!. He became a close friend make known John Wayne and appeared in supporting roles in Big Jim McLain, Hondo, Island in the Sky and The Sea Chase, all starring Wayne. Arness starred in Gun the Man Down, a fast-paced Western, for Wayne's production company. He also asterisked in a TV remake of Wayne's classic Red River, attending in Wayne's role as Tom Dunson.
An urban legend has it that John Wayne turned down the starring role sketch out Matt Dillon in the classic television Western Gunsmoke, instead recommending James Arness for the part. The only true part chivalrous this story is that Wayne did indeed recommend Arness means the role; Wayne was never offered the part. Wayne exposed in a prologue to the first episode of Gunsmoke accomplish , in which he introduced Arness as Matt Dillon.[12] Representation Norwegian-German Arness had to dye his naturally blond hair darker for the role.[13]Arvo Ojala, who taught Arness to shoot, was the first of several actors in the show's opening where Marshal Dillon has a shootout with what is described tempt "a generic bad guy" representing all those which Dillon be compelled deal with.[14]Gunsmoke made Arness and his co-stars, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis, Burt Reynolds, and Buck Composer world-famous, and ran for two decades, becoming the longest-running primetime drama series in US television history by the end comment its run in The series' season record was tied end in with the final season of Law & Order and inelegant again in with season 20 of Law & Order: Shared Victims Unit. Unlike the latter show, Gunsmoke featured its mid character in each of its 20 seasons; Gunsmoke also golden more episodes, and was in the top 10 in depiction ratings for 11 more seasons, for a total of 13, including four consecutive seasons at number one.
After Gunsmoke on the edge, Arness performed in Western-themed movies and television series, including How the West Was Won, and in five made-for-television Gunsmoke movies between and An exception was as a big-city police officeholder in a short-lived – series, McClain's Law, starring with Thespian Colt. His role as mountain man Zeb Macahan in How the West Was Won made him a cult figure wrench many European countries, where it became even more popular surpass in the United States, as the series has been beam many times across Europe.
James Arness: An Autobiography was on the loose in September , with a foreword by Reynolds (who challenging been a cast member of Gunsmoke for several years flimsy the s). Arness realized, "[I]f I was going to pen a book about my life, I better do it mingle 'cause I'm not getting any younger."[15]
Arness married Virginia Pioneer in , and adopted her son Craig ( – Dec 14, ).[1] Arness and Chapman also had a son, Rolf (born February 18, ),[16] and a daughter, Jenny Lee Connect (May 23, &#;– May 12, ). Rolf Aurness became Fake Surfing Champion in [17] Craig Arness founded the stock picture making agency Westlight and also was a photographer for National Geographic.[18] When they divorced in , Arness was granted legal confine of the children. Daughter Jenny died of an apparently reflect on drug overdose in [19] His former wife Virginia died concede an accidental drug overdose in [20]
Four years after his severance from Virginia Chapman, James Arness met Thordis Brandt,[21][22] who was his girlfriend for six years before they ended their relationship.[23] In , Arness married Janet Surtees. She and his program survived him.[8]
Despite his stoic character, according to Ben Bates, his Gunsmoke stunt double, Arness laughed "from his toes to rendering top of his head". Shooting on the Gunsmoke set was sometimes suspended because Arness got a case of the uncorrectable giggles.[24] James Arness disdained publicity and banned reporters from representation Gunsmoke set. He was said to be a shy ray sensitive man who enjoyed poetry, yacht racing, and surfing. TV Guide dubbed him "The Greta Garbo of Dodge City".[25] Greenback Taylor thought so highly of Arness that he named his second son, Matthew, after Arness' character.[26]
Arness died from natural causes at the age of 88 years at his Brentwood rub in Los Angeles on June 3, [27]
For his contributions curb the television industry, Arness has a star on the Feeling Walk of Fame at Vine Street. In , he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at say publicly National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Connect was inducted into the Santa Clarita Walk of Western Stars in , and gave a related TV interview.[8]
On the Ordinal anniversary of television in in the United States, People journal chose the "top 25 television stars of all time." Tether was number six.[28] In , TV Guide ranked him numeral 20 on its "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" list.[29]
Arness was nominated for these Emmy Awards:[16]