http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43269981/ns/today-entertainment/
One of our favorite Western actors has passed - James Arness was 88 years old.
One of our favorite Western actors has passed - James Arness was 88 years old.
RIP Marshall Dillon
- Thread starter Hardcase
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bedbugbilly
New member
Somehow . . . things just seemed "a little better" with Marshall Dillon walking the streets . . . may he rest in peace . . . his pistol has been holstered for the last time . . . . .
Bill Akins
New member
Did you fellas know that John Wayne was initially offered the role of Marshall Dillon on Gunsmoke but the Duke turned it down and suggested they get James Arness....which they did.
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madcratebuilder
New member
RIP Matt. I'll see you every afternoon at 4.
Double Naught Spy
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The difference is that Arness was a real war hero and people just thought John Wayne was.
Double Naught Spy
New member
You seemed to be trying to link two hero figures together via their birthdays, John Wayne not even being relevant to James Arness except for the b-day. So what does John Wayne having the same b-day have to do with Arness' death? Not a thing. I am not sure why you brought him up, but since you did, I simply pointed out a clear distinction between the two, that one was a genuine war hero and the other wasn't.
use to watch G.S. & the Marshall perched on my daddy's knee.
fond memories....the Marshall always was true to his calling, a gentlemen to the ladies & only ruff when needed......he was a great example for any child.
R.I.P. James Arness....i know you're surrounded by many a fan!
s.m.
fond memories....the Marshall always was true to his calling, a gentlemen to the ladies & only ruff when needed......he was a great example for any child.
R.I.P. James Arness....i know you're surrounded by many a fan!
s.m.
For what it's worth, John Wayne never claimed to be a war hero. In fact, his wife Pilar wrote that not serving during the war was one of the biggest mistakes and disappointments of his life - and one of the reasons that his personal ethos took such a patriotic turn.
Just as James Arness was who he was, so was John Wayne. Both are dead now, both did good works and there's no reason to impugn either's character.
armoredman
New member
I can imagine Marshall Dillon stepping up to St Peter, "Sir, if you'd like to take a break, I'm here."
Kevin Rohrer
New member
If you check James Arness' filmography, he had roles in several of John Wayne's mid-career movies:
Big Jim McLain
Hondo
Island in the Sky
Sea Chase
Big Jim McLain
Hondo
Island in the Sky
Sea Chase
Bill Akins
New member
And big Jim was the alien monster in the 1951 (I think it was '51) movie "The Thing". I keep remembering Chester (Dennis Weaver) repeatedly saying in "Gunsmoke" when Marshall Dillon called him....."I'm-a-comin Mr Dillion....I'm-a-comin"....as Chester with his bad leg shuffled along. And Festus always calling Marshall Dillon...."Matthew"....in that inimitable way that Festus (Ken Curtis) had of speaking. Ken didn't really speak that way, it was just for the role.
Actually Ken Curtis was a western star leading man in his own right in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Who would have thought that Festus (Ken Curtis) was at one time a clean cut, got the girl, handsome leading man western star....but he was. I have a large book of all the movie "serials" ever made and Ken Curtis is in it in a few movie serials as the clean cut leading man western star of the film from that era. But he will always be remembered for his mule, his colloquial way of speaking and his scruffy appearance as Matt Dillion's deputy on "Gunsmoke". Festus was pretty much the comedy relief replacement for the Chester (Dennis Weaver) character. He was to Matt Dillon kind of like Gabby Hayes was to Roy Rogers. Sidekick comedy relief. But Festus had a few serious episodes on Gunsmoke too so he wasn't exclusively just for comedy relief.
I can hear him now...."Weell Matheeew, it don't make no never mind....I found them thar owlhoots over yonder by tha stables" as he squinted one eye almost shut ala "evil eye" Jack Elam. Actually the characterization of Festus was created by Ken Curtis. The Gunsmoke writer's didn't create him that way. He started talking that way on the set one day and the director told him to keep doing it. And that's how we got Festus' endearing character on Gunsmoke.
Actually I saw the beginnings of the character of Festus when Ken Curtis talked and acted like that in the 1959 John Wayne/William Holden movie about the civil war called "The Horse Soldiers". He was also a friend of the Duke. I saw Ken Curtis using that accent and the beginnings of the same character he used on Gunsmoke as Festus. Look for Ken Curtis in the movie. He's the one who when he captured a Confederate drummer boy and asked the Duke what to do with him, the Duke told him to spank him. Curtis had quite a few lines in the movie too.
Guess y'all can tell I'm a western t.v. and movie fan.
There aren't a lot of our boyhood western star's left anymore. Just a few. Clint Walker (1950's Cheyenne Body) is still alive and looking pretty good at 75. Hugh Obrian (1950's Wyatt Earp) is still kicking, I forget his age. I'm sure there may be a few others left...but only a few. Most would be in their late '70's or even '80's, with a few even being older in their '90's. As we saw, James Arness was 88. Some of them didn't become 1950's/60's big t.v. western stars until they were in their 30's and even early 40's after having bit roles for years before getting their big break and becoming stars. They won't last forever. Ross Martin (Artimus Gordon from the Wild Wild West of the 1960's) is gone too. And the next ones to go will be the late 60's and early '70's western stars who are now in their middle to late '70's and some pushing towards their early 80's who are only a little younger than James Arness's WW2 generation. Clint Eastwood was born May 31, 1930 which makes him 81 years old. Only seven years younger than James Arness.
And although Eastwood was Rowdy Yates in the 1950's "Rawhide", he didn't really get his break and become a big star until his 1964 spaghetti western "A fist full of dollars" which spawned a host of other spaghetti westerns. By then...just as I said about others working a long time before their big breaks...he had been working in films a long time and Clint was 34 years old before he became a major star. At 81 how much longer does he have left? Makes us "boomers" feel old ourselves doesn't it?
As the previous generation of our boyhood western film stars pass on, it soberly reminds me that our post WW2 baby boomer generation will be the next to go.
"Happy Trails to you....until we meet again" to all of them.
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Actually Ken Curtis was a western star leading man in his own right in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Who would have thought that Festus (Ken Curtis) was at one time a clean cut, got the girl, handsome leading man western star....but he was. I have a large book of all the movie "serials" ever made and Ken Curtis is in it in a few movie serials as the clean cut leading man western star of the film from that era. But he will always be remembered for his mule, his colloquial way of speaking and his scruffy appearance as Matt Dillion's deputy on "Gunsmoke". Festus was pretty much the comedy relief replacement for the Chester (Dennis Weaver) character. He was to Matt Dillon kind of like Gabby Hayes was to Roy Rogers. Sidekick comedy relief. But Festus had a few serious episodes on Gunsmoke too so he wasn't exclusively just for comedy relief.
I can hear him now...."Weell Matheeew, it don't make no never mind....I found them thar owlhoots over yonder by tha stables" as he squinted one eye almost shut ala "evil eye" Jack Elam. Actually the characterization of Festus was created by Ken Curtis. The Gunsmoke writer's didn't create him that way. He started talking that way on the set one day and the director told him to keep doing it. And that's how we got Festus' endearing character on Gunsmoke.
Actually I saw the beginnings of the character of Festus when Ken Curtis talked and acted like that in the 1959 John Wayne/William Holden movie about the civil war called "The Horse Soldiers". He was also a friend of the Duke. I saw Ken Curtis using that accent and the beginnings of the same character he used on Gunsmoke as Festus. Look for Ken Curtis in the movie. He's the one who when he captured a Confederate drummer boy and asked the Duke what to do with him, the Duke told him to spank him. Curtis had quite a few lines in the movie too.
Guess y'all can tell I'm a western t.v. and movie fan.
There aren't a lot of our boyhood western star's left anymore. Just a few. Clint Walker (1950's Cheyenne Body) is still alive and looking pretty good at 75. Hugh Obrian (1950's Wyatt Earp) is still kicking, I forget his age. I'm sure there may be a few others left...but only a few. Most would be in their late '70's or even '80's, with a few even being older in their '90's. As we saw, James Arness was 88. Some of them didn't become 1950's/60's big t.v. western stars until they were in their 30's and even early 40's after having bit roles for years before getting their big break and becoming stars. They won't last forever. Ross Martin (Artimus Gordon from the Wild Wild West of the 1960's) is gone too. And the next ones to go will be the late 60's and early '70's western stars who are now in their middle to late '70's and some pushing towards their early 80's who are only a little younger than James Arness's WW2 generation. Clint Eastwood was born May 31, 1930 which makes him 81 years old. Only seven years younger than James Arness.
And although Eastwood was Rowdy Yates in the 1950's "Rawhide", he didn't really get his break and become a big star until his 1964 spaghetti western "A fist full of dollars" which spawned a host of other spaghetti westerns. By then...just as I said about others working a long time before their big breaks...he had been working in films a long time and Clint was 34 years old before he became a major star. At 81 how much longer does he have left? Makes us "boomers" feel old ourselves doesn't it?
As the previous generation of our boyhood western film stars pass on, it soberly reminds me that our post WW2 baby boomer generation will be the next to go.
"Happy Trails to you....until we meet again" to all of them.
.
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