James Arness

At 88 years old, James Arness has this physical status:

James Arness (born James King Aurness, 1923 to 2011) was an American actor best known for his role as Marshal Matt Dillon in the CBS television series Gunsmoke.

Arness has the distinction of having appeared in five distinct decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, and then in Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987) and four more made-for-television Gunsmoke films in the 1990s.

Arness earned cult status in Europe for his role as Zeb Macahan in the Western film How the West Was Won.

He was Peter Graves' older brother.

Early life

James Arness was born in Minneapolis. Rolf Cirkler Aurness and journalist Ruth Duesler were both parents, and he was a student at the University of Aurness. His father's ancestry was Norwegian; his mother's was German. The family name had been Aursnes before Rolf's father, Peter Aursnes, emigrated from Norway in 1887, but Aurness was changed to Aurness when Rolf's father, Peter Aursnes, emigrated from Norway. Arness and his families were Methodists. Peter Graves, Arness' younger brother, was a child actor. Peter used the stage name "Gratitudes," a maternal family name.

Arness attended John Burroughs Grade School, Washburn High School, and West High School in Minneapolis. Arness was a courier for a jewelry wholesaler, loading and unloading railway boxcars at Minneapolis' Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad freight yards, as well as logging in Pierce, Idaho. Despite "being a poor student and skipping many classes," he graduated from high school in June 1942.

Arness began attending Beloit College in the fall and became a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Personal life

Arness married Virginia Chapman in 1948 and adopted her son Craig (1946 – December 14, 2004). Rolf (born February 18, 1952) and Jenny Lee Arness, both had a son and a daughter, Craig, Arness, and Chapman (May 12, 1975). In 1970, Rolf Aurness became the World Surfing Champion. Craig Arness founded Westlight, a stock photography company, and he also worked as a photographer for National Geographic. When they divorced in 1963, Arness was given legal custody of the children. Jenny, a daughter, died of a heroin overdose in 1975. Virginia, the former wife, died of heroin overdose in 1977.

James Arness, a four-year-father from Virginia Chapman, met Thordis Brandt, who was his girlfriend for six years before they broke up.

Arness married Janet Surtees in 1978. She survived him.

Arness chuckled "from his toes to the top of his head" despite his stoic persona, according to Ben Bates, his Gunsmoke stunt double. Arness was occasionally barred from firing on the Gunsmoke set due to an outbreak of the uncontrollable giggles. James Arness was disdisguished by publicity and barred journalists from the Gunsmoke set. He was described as a shy and sensitive man who loved poetry, yacht racing, and surfing. "The Greta Garbo of Dodge City," a TV Guide dubbed him "The Greta Garbo of Dodge City." After Arness' appearance, Buck Taylor (Newly on Gunsmoke) was so proud of him that he named Matthew his second son, Matthew.

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Acting career

Arness began his service as a radio announcer at Minneapolis station WLOL in 1945.

Determined to find work in film, Arness rode the round to auditions and casting calls and soon began acting and appearing in films. He made his RKO debut, but "Aurness" was unveiled. In The Farmer's Daughter, Loretta Young's (Katie Holstrom) brother, Peter Holstrom, made his film debut. He was named Aurness in The Farmer's Daughter.

Although identified with Westerns, Arness appeared in two science-fiction films, The Thing from Another World (in which he played the title character) and Them! He was a close friend of John Wayne and co-starred in Big Jim McLain, Hondo, Island in the Sky, and The Sea Chase, as well as appearing in Gun the Man Down for Wayne's company. He appeared in a 1988 television adaptation of Wayne's 1948 classic Red River.

An urban legend has it that John Wayne was given the leading role in the long-running television series Gunsmoke but he turned it down, instead recommending James Arness. Wayne did indeed recommend Arness for the role, which was the only true part of this tale. In 1955, Wayne introduced Arness in a prologue to the first episode of Gunsmoke. For the role, the Norwegian-German Arness had to dye his naturally blond hair darker. Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Ken Curtis, Burt Reynolds, and Buck Taylor, the world's longest-running primetime drama series after its debut in 1976, aided Arness and his co-stars. With the final season of Law & Order in 2010, the series's season was tied in 2010 and tied again in 2018 with season 20 of Law & Order: SVU. Gunsmoke appeared in each of its 21 seasons, unlike the others; Gunsmoke also aired 179 more episodes and was in the top ten in the ratings for 11 seasons, with four seasons at number one.

Arness appeared in Western-themed movies and television series, including How the West Was Won and five made-for-television Gunsmoke films between 1987 and 1994. In a short-lived 1981–1982 film, McClain's Law, co-starring Marshall Colt, an exception was a big-city police officer. In several European countries, Zeb Macahan made him a cult figure, making it even more popular than in the United States, as the series has been rebroadcast several times.

An Autobiography by James Arness was published in September 2001, with a foreword by Burt Reynolds (who had been a cast member of Gunsmoke for many years in the 1960s). "I]f I was going to write a book about my life, I should do it now," Arness wrote.

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