James Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon
in the television series Gunsmoke 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 and four more
made-for-television Gunsmoke films in the 1990s. In Europe Arness reached cult
status for his role as Zeb Macahan in the western series How the West Was Won.
His younger brother was actor Peter Graves.
Early life James Arness was born James King Aurness
in Minneapolis; on May 26, 1923; he dropped the "u" when he started acting.
His parents were Rolf Cirkler Aurness, a businessman, and his wife Ruth Duesler,
a journalist. His father’s ancestry was Norwegian; his mother's was German. 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 used the stage
name "Graves", a maternal family name. Arness attended John Burroughs Grade
School, Washburn High School 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 Burlington freight yards in Minneapolis,
and logging in Pierce, Idaho. 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 ended his hopes, since 6 feet 2 inches was the limit for aviators.
Instead, he was called for the Army and reported to Fort Snelling, Minnesota in
March 1943. Arness served as a rifleman with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, and
was severely wounded during Operation Shingle, at Anzio, Italy.
According to James Arness – An Autobiography, he landed on Anzio
Beachhead on January 22, 1944 as a rifleman with 2nd Platoon, E Company,
2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. Because of
his height, he was the first ordered off his landing craft to determine the depth
of the water; it came up to his waist. Arness was sent to the U.S Army 91st
General Hospital at Clinton Iowa to be treated.
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, the Purple Heart, the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze battle stars,
the World War II Victory Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Acting career After his discharge, Arness entered
Beloit College in Wisconsin. He began his performing career as a radio
announcer at Minneapolis station WLOL 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's brother, Peter Holstrom, in The
Farmer's Daughter. He was credited in The Farmer's Daughter as ARNESS.
Though identified with westerns, Arness also appeared in two science fiction
films, The Thing from Another World and Them!. He was a close friend of John
Wayne and co-starred with him in Big Jim McLain, Hondo, Island in the Sky, and
The Sea Chase, and starred in Gun the Man Down 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, 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 and his co-stars, Milburn Stone,
Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis, and Buck Taylor, world-famous and would
run for two decades, becoming the longest running prime time drama series
in US 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. 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,
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, co-starring with Marshall Colt. His role as mountain man
Zeb Macahan in How the West Was Won 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 rebroadcast many times across Europe.
James Arness: An Autobiography was released in September 2001, with a
foreword by Burt Reynolds. 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." Filmography
= Films= = Television=
The Lone Ranger - Deputy Bud Titus Lux Video Theatre, "The Chase"
Gunsmoke - 635 episodes - Marshal Matt Dillon
Front Row Center The Red Skelton Chevy Special
The Chevrolet Golden Anniversary Show A Salute to Television's 25th
Anniversary The Macahans - Zeb Macahan
How The West Was Won - Zeb Macahan McClain's Law - Det. Jim McClain
John Wayne Standing Tall - TV Movie - Himself /Host
Pioneers of Television - episode - Westerns - Himself / Marshal Matt Dillon
from Gunsmoke 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
and Craig. His daughter Jenny Lee Arness committed suicide by overdose. Rolf
Arness became World Surfing Champion in 1970. Craig Arness 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 dubbed him "The Greta Garbo of Dodge City." Buck Taylor
thought so highly of Arness that he named his second son, Matthew, after
Arness' character. Death
Arness died of natural causes at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles 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 at 1751 Vine
Street. In 1981, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at
the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Arness was
inducted into the Santa Clarita 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 magazine chose the top 25 television
stars of all time. Arness was number 6. In 1996 TV Guide 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 in a
Dramatic Series References
External links James Arness at the Internet Movie
Database James Arness at AllMovie
Comanche Stallion Website James Arness' Official website
James Arness Television Interview James Arness interview video at the
Archive of American Television N.Y. Times Obituary for James Arness
James Arness at Find a Grave