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Western
Clippings Magazine
NEW!!
James Arness talks about 'Gunsmoke'
--------------------
By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press
Tuesday, July 2, 2002
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Some actors cringe at the thought of looking at performances
they gave years ago. Not James Arness. The longtime Marshal Matt Dillon of
Dodge City watches TV reruns of Gunsmoke every day.
But he is no Norma Desmond, who gloried in viewing her silent movie triumphs
in Sunset Boulevard. Arness has seen some of the nearly 600 shows before.
Now, though, he says, "I can enjoy them all. With Gunsmoke, we had an
outstanding quality of writing. The show had been on radio for three years,
so they were able to fine-tune the characters," he said. "What made
us different from other westerns was the fact that Gunsmoke wasn't just action
and a lot of shooting; they were character-study shows. They're interesting
to watch all these years later."
The venerable series holds the record as the longest-running dramatic TV series
in prime time. It placed in the top 10 of the audience ratings during 13 of
its 20 years as a weekly show on CBS. Two-hour Gunsmoke specials appeared
on CBS into the '90s.
"We're the only TV series that has appeared in five consecutive decades,"
Arness said.
At 79, the actor evidences the years he spent in the saddle. A bad back causes
him to lean forward. A knee will only bend part way; it was originally damaged
by German machine gun fire in the Anzio landing in the Second World War.
"What I really need is a bone replacement," he jokes. His face retains
his craggy handsomeness, and the voice possesses the same authority he had
when he advised the bad guys: "Lay your pistols down-- now!"
Interviewers remember Arness as a reticent subject during his Gunsmoke heyday.
Now he reveals his life in detail with James Arness: An Autobiography (McFarland
& Co).
The book originated when James Wise, an author and former navy captain, interviewed
Arness for a book about actors' war experiences. Wise suggested that Arness
tell his life story in a book, and the actor agreed. For almost a year, Arness
and his wife, Janet, talked into a tape recorder and sent the tapes off to
Wise in Virginia.
Don't look for any sensationalism in the book; that's not Arness' style. The
book does reveal the saga of a shy boy who grew up tall in Minneapolis and
spent vacations in the Minnesota woods. He was studying at Beloit College
when the war broke out. His ambition was to become a navy pilot, but his height,
six feet and seven inches, disqualified him. His Anzio wounds landed him in
the hospital for 18 months, and during that time he became involved with an
acting group.
Discharged with a bronze medal and Purple Heart, he enrolled at a radio announcing
school in Minneapolis, and he worked as a disc jockey and announcer at a local
station. On a lark, he and a buddy drove to Los Angeles. His mother predicted
he would never return. She was right.
An appearance at a little theatre led to an RKO contract and his first movie,
The Farmer's Daughter, as one of Loretta Young's three brothers. More featured
roles followed, including the horror classic The Thing.
Then came the fateful interview with John Wayne at his Republic Studio office.
"He asked me a couple of questions about my acting," Arness recalled.
"Then he said, 'The main thing I have to know, is -- do you drink?' I
didn't want to say, because I didn't know him at the time; maybe he was a
teetotaler. I said, 'Well, I have been known to take one occasionally.' We
got a laugh out of that, and he put me on the picture, Big Jim McLain."
Arness appeared in four Wayne films during three years under contract to him.
Arness was reluctant to test for Gunsmoke, fearing the series might not last
and would brand him as a TV actor.
Wayne advised him: "This is something you should really do. When I was
starting out, I did a lot of quickie westerns and serials. You learn so much:
how to handle yourself before the camera, how to ride, do stunts. Plus you'll
get a tremendous audience of people who will know who you are." Wayne
even did an intro to the first episode of the series, Sept. 10, 1955.
Gunsmoke, scheduled on Saturday night against the popular George Gobel Show,
failed to score among the top 25 rated series in the first season. The western
jumped to 8th the following season and reigned as No. 1 from 1957 to 1961.
Its success prompted a land rush of imitators; at one time 30 westerns appeared
in prime time. Gunsmoke outlived them all.
Much of the show's popularity was due to the interplay of the four leads:
Arness as the implacable do-righter; Dennis Weaver as his limping aide, Chester;
Amanda Blake as the softhearted saloon boss, Kitty; Milburn Stone as Doc Stone,
dispensing pills and wisdom.
"When you see the shows, as I'm doing now, you realize the amazing qualities
these people had," commented Arness at his Brentwood home. "The
four actors and the four characters they played just fit hand-in-glove."
Stone died in 1980, Blake in 1989. Weaver left the show in 1964 and was replaced
by Ken Curtis playing a similar character, Festus Haggen. Other actors came
and went, including Burt Reynolds, who played the village smithy for two years
before moving on to other pursuits.
The end of Gunsmoke came with a whimper in 1975.
"We didn't do a final, wrap-up show," Arness recalled. "We
finished the 20th year, we all expected to go on for another season, or two
or three. The (network) never told anybody they were thinking of cancelling."
The cast and crew learned of the cancellation in typical Hollywood fashion:
They read it in the trades.
Besides the two-hour Gunsmoke movies, Arness appeared in the mini-series How
the West Was Won, the police series MacLaine's Law, and the TV movies The
Alamo and Red River, playing the role created by mentor John Wayne.
Then Arness' war injury flared up, and he spent six months recovering from
an operation. To his great sorrow, he had to abandon his two favourite pursuits:
surfing and skiing.
The question often asked by Gunsmoke fans: Why didn't Matt and Kitty ever
get hitched?
"If they were man and wife, it would make a lot of difference,"
he said. "The people upstairs decided it was better to leave the show
as it was, which I totally agreed with."
'Gunsmoke' Star Arness
Marshals His Memories
--------------------
By SUSAN KING
TIMES STAFF WRITER
November 1 2001
From 1955 until 1975, James Arness played the righteous, brave and gallant
Matt Dillon, the marshal of Dodge City, on the landmark CBS western series
"Gunsmoke."
The 78-year-old actor recently completed "James Arness: An Autobiography"
(McFarland & Co. Inc.). He collaborated on the book with James E. Wise
Jr. and Burt Reynolds, a regular on "Gunsmoke" in the early '60s,
who wrote the foreword.
In his book, Arness writes about his happy childhood growing up with his younger
brother, actor Peter Graves, in Minneapolis. He also talks about his experiences
in World War II. A private in the 3rd Infantry Division, he earned the Bronze
Star and the Purple Heart. Arness also chronicles his early acting experiences
in Hollywood, including his appearances in the classic sci-fi movies "The
Thing" and "Them!"; his friendship and productive working relationship
with John Wayne; and his experiences making "Gunsmoke," which also
starred Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty, Milburn Stone as Doc, Dennis Weaver as
Chester and Ken Curtis as Festus.
On Saturday the 6-foot-7 actor will make his only personal appearance related
to the book, at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. He will meet fans and
sign copies from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Arness recently spoke on the phone about his autobiography.
Question: Why didn't Matt and Miss Kitty ever get together?
Answer: We used to get a lot of mail from people, especially from the ladies,
you know, saying they want to see Matt and Miss Kitty go ahead and get married
or something. The producers kicked that around. I think they felt if you did
that, that you would suddenly be going in a different direction. Matt really
couldn't go out and do the sort of dangerous stuff he was doing. It would
limit the directions and the options you had.
Q: It would be difficult to see her with children or being called Mrs.
Kitty.
A: That's right! Plus the fact, it worked out ideally because people would
send in mail [about their relationship]. You realize that is what you want
to do, keep them writing in saying that they want more this or that.
Q: You and Peter seem to have had an idyllic childhood.
A: We had a great childhood and boyhood. It was a wonderful time through those
years. A lot of it was through the Depression years, when things were tough,
but my dad always had a job. But I had a great time. I was kind of restless,
and I had a hard time staying in school all day, so me and a few pals would
duck out and go out on these various adventures.
Q: Why did you decide to write your autobiography?
A: It really started when I was contacted by [Jim Wise]. He is a retired naval
officer, and he was doing books on actors who had been in the service. So
he came over and he was going to interview me. We got talking about it, and
he came up with the idea of doing an autobiography instead of it being a piece
in one of those books. You don't realize it, but there is a lot of work involved.
You have to go back through 78 years and try and recall everything. That is
hard to do.
Q: I had no idea that you were wounded and won the Purple Heart.
A: That certainly was a searing experience. I don't know what words you could
apply to it. It is something I'll never forget. There isn't any experience
any more intense than that, I don't believe.
Q: Did you come back from the war changed?
A: I did. In my case, I spent almost a year in the hospital after I came back
home. My school career hadn't been very successful. I thought I would go back
to school and really be serious and try to get a college degree. But when
I did get home, I still found that I had this restlessness and I wasn't cut
out to be a student.
Q: John Wayne took you under his wing and signed you to a contract with
his company. You speak very fondly of him in the book.
A: I have met many other actors who were great also, but there was something
about him that was so special He was just off in a class by himself somehow.
It was a real privilege really to be around the man and to know him. I was
with his company for three years, and it was just a special time.
Q: He also introduced the very first episode of "Gunsmoke."
A: It was kind of an incredible thing. I don't know if anybody else would
do that, and he actually talked me into [doing the series]. I was kind of
on the fence.
Q: Were you on the fence because your film career was gathering steam?
A: I hadn't done anything really important, but I worked my way up through
the years. I happened to be doing a picture [when I was offered the part],
and the director, I asked him about it. He said, "I don't know if you
should do it. It might work against you later." I went to see Duke and
he said, "Hey, take this. Do it. You'll get a lot of experience. The
whole world will get to know you." He talked me into it, and thank God
he did.
Q: Do you think part of the appeal of "Gunsmoke" was the fact
that the characters, though archetypes, were three-dimensional?
A: . I think that's the key to it right there. As opposed to some other pretty
much shoot'-em-up action westerns. We certainly did some of that too, but
not just for its own sake. We did it if it has to be done, but there were
more character studies. It was great fun for me. I enjoyed every year of it.
Q: You also enjoyed breaking up your fellow actors on the show?
A: That happened a lot. I think a certain amount of that is good for the show.
You work on something day after day and month after month, and it kind of
breaks the tension and all. That is the way you get through all of those years.
We all, of course, got to know each other so well. We knew how to get along
and have fun with the show, which we really did. The bottom line of it is
I don't think you could make the series with the basic characters like we
had unless they really got along well, which our people certainly did.
Q: You are officially retired?
A: I don't have the stamina to go out and do shows like that anymore. It's
a lot of hard work.
Q: Well, you sound great.
A: I feel comparatively good. I had about as much fun and as great a time
as I could ever hope to. I feel like a really fortunate person.
*
James Arness will be appearing Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the
Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles,
(323) 667-2000.
For information about reprinting this article, go to http://www.lats.com/rights/register.htm