James Arness

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James Arness

James Arness (originally Aurness) (born May 26, 1923 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an actor best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke for 20 years, a record length for a character on a single prime time show (though the length of time in a role is shared with Kelsey Grammer’s portrayal of Dr. Frasier Crane, Grammer played the same role on three different programs, Cheers, Frasier, and Wings). Arness's parents were Rolf Cirkler Aurness and Ruth Duesler, descendants of German and Norwegian immigrants. Arness is the older brother of actor Peter Graves. He was the tallest actor ever to play a lead role, standing 6' 7" (2.01 m).

1 Military service in World War II
2 Acting career
3 Filmography
4 Television Work
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Military service in World War II

James Arness served in the United States Army during World War II, and was severely wounded at the Battle of Anzio, leading to a lifelong slight limp. He was reported to have been first off his landing craft at the landing beaches at Anzio because of his height: if the water was too deep for him at 6'7", it would certainly be too deep for the rest of the soldiers.

[edit] Acting career

Though primarily identified with Westerns, he also is remembered for appearing in two science fiction films, The Thing from Another World and Them!. He was a close personal friend of John Wayne's and co-starred with him in Big Jim McLain, and Island in the Sky. Wayne said that when he imagined Marshal Dillon, he saw Arness. Wayne even did a television spot introducing Arness in the role.

After Gunsmoke ended, Arness performed primarily in western-themed movies and television series, including How the West Was Won, and five made-for-television Gunsmoke reunion movies between 1987 and 1994. A notable exception was a brief turn as a big city police officer in the short-lived 1981 series, McClain's Law.

For his contribution to the television industry, James 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, Oklahoma. After the war Arness entered Beloit College where he was initiated into Beta Theta Pi, under his original last name.