Comments on: RIP, James Arness (1923-2011)

RIP, James Arness (1923-2011)

cerebus19 — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:23:13 -0800

James Arness, the 6'7" actor famous for his long-running role as Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, has passed away just a week after his 88th birthday. Arness's younger brother, fellow actor Peter Graves, passed away last year.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:24:57 -0800

Wow. I never knew Arness and Graves were brothers. My grandmother loved, loved, loved Gunsmoke. She never missed an episode. .

By: paulsc

paulsc — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:38:24 -0800

I bet it's a sad day in Dodge City, and there's no Miss Kitty to shed a tear and buy the beer at the Longbranch. By all accounts, Arness was a decent guy, who helped a lot of fellow actors and show folk, through Gunsmoke, and his personal efforts. And I still enjoy an episode of Gunsmoke, now and then, still airing daily on cable TV.

By: Mike D

Mike D — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:43:29 -0800

There are a whole passel of giant ants who aren't going to miss him one little bit. RIP, Jim.

By: DigDoug

DigDoug — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:46:03 -0800

My stepfather died a few days ago (suddenly, unexpectedly). Yesterday I deleted 22 gunsmoke episodes off of my mother's DVR. I hope this isn't my fault.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:46:14 -0800

By: Rangeboy

Rangeboy — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:48:44 -0800

"As a young boy, James Arness nurtured a howling bitterness in the face of the awesomely superior talent of his brother, Peter Graves."

By: DaddyNewt

DaddyNewt — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:49:52 -0800

One of my earliest memories is watching Gunsmoke with my dad. (I was really excited to meet Festus when I was 9 or 10.) .

By: Halloween Jack

Halloween Jack — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:51:19 -0800

. [into the sunset]

By: D_I

D_I — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:54:25 -0800

I remember watching a ton of Gunsmoke with my Dad. Good times. Arness was also The Thing. .

By: Seekerofsplendor

Seekerofsplendor — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:57:48 -0800

I recall the story some years back when Kelsey Grammar passed Arness' record for the longest playing of a TV character ('Frasier' on both "Cheers" and the title show) that he apparently called Arness who simply said F*** you" and hung up. Whether this is verifiable, I'm unsure,. but I'm sure its up on the web archives somewhere.

By: tomswift

tomswift — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:58:23 -0800

I don't think anyone embodied the concept of "Cowboy" or "Sheriff" any better than James Arness as Matt Dillon.

By: kitchenrat

kitchenrat — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:00:13 -0800

in one episode of gunsmoke, that ratty little festus character looked at arness and said "marshall, i think you got a case of the belabberin' jibjabs" i wonder if it may have proved fatal

By: justgary

justgary — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:00:24 -0800

Before my mom died, when she was very sick and couldn't do much more than get to the couch, Gunsmoke was one of the things that always brought a smile to her face. We watched every boxed set as well as what we could find on tv. I eventually helped her get a signed James Arness picture from his website. He put "matt" in quotes. She said he always reminded her of her father. It's now in the guest bathroom. I'll never have the heart to get rid of that picture. Thanks for the memories Mr. Arness.

By: Dr-Baa

Dr-Baa — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:03:58 -0800

. he apparently called Arness who simply said F*** you" and hung up. To be fair, I'd probably do the same if Kelsey Grammar called me.

By: Faze

Faze — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:06:39 -0800

The well-known folksinger Bob Dylan (nee Zimmerman) named himself after the James Arness character Matt Dillon. According to Daniel Mark Epstein in his biography, The Ballad of Bob Dylan, "He was a great fan of Matt Dillon, the sheriff of the television series Gunsmoke. In 1958, he confided to his high school sweetheart [Echo Helstrom] that he planned to devote his life to music, adding that 'I know what I'm going to call myself. I've got this great name—Bob Dillon.' That was how he told new friends to spell his (assumed) last name. He also told them that Dillon was his mother's maiden name (it wasn't), and that Dillon was a town in Oklahoma (it isn't)."

By: lapolla

lapolla — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:08:16 -0800

By: teleri025

teleri025 — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:09:53 -0800

Mr. Arness and Marshall Dillon taught me a great lesson in life. My dad, who is still a great big Gunsmoke fan, would constantly nag me about going outside and doing stuff. He would make a big deal out of it and I would protest hugely. I didn't like doing new things, I wanted to stay inside and read or goof off and do the same old stuff. To combat this, Dad would point out how every episode of Gunsmoke that was really good were the ones where Matt left Dodge City. So he would always say "Get out of Dodge, and you'll have a good time." And he was right. It was drama to leave the house/town/comfort zone, but once I got out doing stuff I always had a ball. Now everytime I'm hesitant about something, or just don't want to try stuff, I think of the good eps when the Marshall left town. And I get on my metaphorical horse and leave town. He will be missed.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:11:20 -0800

By: octobersurprise

octobersurprise — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:18:49 -0800

Arness was also The Thing. And the best damn bloodthirsty alien carrot ever.

By: briank

briank — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:27:49 -0800

"The first man they look for, and the last they want to meet" (Okay, so that's William Conrad, but it's still Matt Dillon)

By: Herodios

Herodios — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:46:32 -0800

Faze: Bob Dylan (nee Zimmerman) named himself after the James Arness character Matt Dillon. Nice link, but all other signs seem to point to Dylan Thomas. BTW, it's née for girls and né for boys. That show was on the air for my entire childhood, yet I don't think I ever watched a single episode all the way through. Still: .

By: caddis

caddis — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:48:41 -0800

A new television show called Gunsmoke (introduction by the Duke).

By: billcicletta

billcicletta — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:48:48 -0800

Mr. Arness and Marshall Dillon taught me a great lesson in life... Cool story, teleri025.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:55:34 -0800

caddis: "A new television show called Gunsmoke (introduction by the Duke)" That may be the wrong link, caddis.

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:56:05 -0800

It sounds like, well, just as though you're describing some form of super carrot. .

By: caddis

caddis — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:03:52 -0800

Well that is a different kind of gun. Here is the Arness kind: correct link

By: queensissy

queensissy — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:09:20 -0800

Aw, DigDoug! I know how you feel. Years ago when I was working in a video store, I told a customer that I preferred Fred Astaire to Gene Kelly, and a half hour later the news was reporting that Kelly was dead. .

By: antifuse

antifuse — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:22:19 -0800

I kept seeing tweets about this, and I thought it was this Matt Dillon. I was very confused, because I was pretty sure he wasn't in Gunsmoke.

By: The 10th Regiment of Foot

The 10th Regiment of Foot — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:28:34 -0800

Sorry for his death. For me Matt Dillon will always be Conrad.

By: Lynsey

Lynsey — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:35:05 -0800

I remember lying on the floor of our living room in Great Falls, watching Gunsmoke on the black and white t.v. RIP, Mr. Dillon!

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:18:37 -0800

By: Faze

Faze — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:45:34 -0800

all other signs seem to point to Dylan Thomas. Herodios -- Thanks for taking me across your nee on that. Here's a discussion of the Dillon/Dylan thing. I saw a picture somewhere of Gerde's Folk City at the time of an early appearance, where it's spelled Dillon. He changed it to Dylan to sound more poncy for the Village crowd.

By: kitchenrat

kitchenrat — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:52:03 -0800

lying on the floor in great falls. hah

By: disclaimer

disclaimer — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:05:27 -0800

By: bwg

bwg — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:21:57 -0800

TV was so different then; no one on Gunsmoke ever called anyone else a cocksucker.

By: Twang

Twang — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:52:09 -0800

So long, Mister Dillon.

By: kinnakeet

kinnakeet — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:31:49 -0800

By: The 10th Regiment of Foot

The 10th Regiment of Foot — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:21:35 -0800

TV was so different then; no one on Gunsmoke ever called anyone else a cocksucker. You take that back, you dad-blame, lily-livered, hornswoggler!