Matt Dillon has passed away at the age of 88.
http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/l...,7061891.story
Another childhood icon gone.
VCNJ~
Matt Dillon has passed away at the age of 88.
http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/l...,7061891.story
Another childhood icon gone.
VCNJ~
LA Times obit:
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/s...,1034881.story
VCNJ~
Oh gosh I thought he was already dead!
Wanna see my grandkids?
Well, crap! My dad will be devastated. RIP, James.
This makes me extremely sad. :'(
I had a weird New Year's resolution this year wherein I promised myself that I'd try to contact the few remaining actors from the old tv series I loved by the time the year was up. Arness was on the list; he had an e-mail where you could reach him. Unfortunately, I never got around to it because school and such made me too busy...now I'll never get the chance. The world's lost a good man today.
Well, at least now he'll be with his daughter who committed suicide back in the 70's, his brother Peter who died last year, 'Miss Kitty' Amanda Blake who died back in the 80's, etc.....
So sad. RIP Mr. Arness.
Cindy
Ah, how sad.
I had a big crush on him back in the day!
Well two comments!
1.) I am so happy that Miss Kitty, Doc, Matt, Chester and Festus are reunited again! I am sure they are sharing a beer and joke at the Longbranch! Another round on me Sam!
2.) James and his brother Peter Graves are reunited.
RIP Marshall Dillon! It still stands as the longest running series on TV.
regards,
Mary
Another icon from my childhood, gone. RIP Marshall Dillon.
R.I.P.
"Never cut what you can untie"
-Joseph Joubert
I keep thinking of Riders In The Sky song "You're Gonna Wear out your Welcome Matt"
http://new.music.yahoo.com/riders-in...ance--29111261
Last edited by shipmatekate; 06-03-2011 at 11:59 AM.
RIP.
This one hit me hard even though at his age I knew it was coming.I grew up with Gunsmoke and it was a big part of my life.He will always be Matt Dillon to me RIP
I bet my dad is having one hell of a conversation with him right now... wasn't a day that went by he didn't watch Gunsmoke... RIP
A bit of trivia.....
Here's John Wayne introducing the first Gunsmoke episode. 1955.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAXDCyQyd9Q
.
RIP
I'd been meaning to send him a fan e-mail to tell him how much we appreciated his show. We'd been watching all the available episodes on Netflix lately. I was afraid this would happen...
I do know that Mr. Arness was very generous with the Cerebral Palsy foundation. May God bless his memory.
I'm sorry to hear this - - when I was a child, Gunsmoke was a staple in our house. My father-in-law is a big fan, too.
They run Gunsmoke on Encore Western channel here every night at 6pm... never miss an episode.. reminds me of growing up and watching it with my Grandpa every saturday night.
I spent many an evening sitting on the couch next to my father watching Gunsmoke. It was one of the all time best shows.
I too had a big crush on him growing up. I loved the whole gang. Aren't the regulars all gone now? RIP Mr. Arness.
Watched Gunsmoke with my mother when I was a kid, always a great show
Buck Taylor (Newley) is still alive:
http://bucktaylor.com/
(PS - his dad is Dub Taylor, who specialized in playing ornery, crazy old coots; he's probably best remembered as CW Moss's father in "Bonnie and Clyde")
VCNJ~
Get otta Dodge .
Watching GUNSMOKE with my dad, a big part of my childhood too.
"Everybody is born, and everybody dies. Being born wasn't so bad , was it?"
Peter the Hermit
RIP Mr. Arness
[SIGPIC]http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Zoe_Zeppelin/Zepsig1.jpg[/SIGPIC]
Thanks for the great memories Mr. Arness
Burt Reynolds was on, he's still alive.
Going to miss him. He had a great run. Rest in Peace Matt Dillon!
RIP
R.I.P Big Jim
Wow....I didn't know that. Being one, myself, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and Hydrocephalus (I was born with it and my mother had a very difficult pregnancy with me and after I was born, she was told not to try for another child) and one who is in pain almost constantly, I admire Mr. Arness for his work with the Cerebral Palsy foundation.
Rest in peace, James. You will be missed by all your fans and your family and friends and all who knew and loved you.
"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's Heaven on Earth" - Mark Twain
Here's a great outtake from GUNSMOKE featuring Margaret "Wicked Witch of the West" Hamilton.
Trivia: Arness had a very noticeable limp due to a World War 2 injury and in the opening of GUNSMOKE in the first seasons they used a stunt double for the shots where Arness is walking. Producers were afraid that viewers would think Matt Dillon would seem weak if he limped (they'd already taken the role away from the radio Matt Dillon William Conrad because he didn't look "sheriffly"). The stunt double had been busy watching Arness all around the set and had deliberately learned to mimic his walk (the better to look like him in stunt shots of course) and, you guessed it, walked with a limp during the credits, defeating the whole purpose.
Original opening at 1:00 in this clip
After the show became a huge hit Arness filmed the credits himself. Because the show ran for two decades Arness was continually renegotiating his contract, becoming one of the richest TV actors due to the highest salary on TV and to ultimately owning a part of the show. No idea what his fortune was worth in later years but if he just held onto it and managed it reasonably well I wouldn't be surprised if he was worth well into 9 figures.
His only daughter committed suicide as mentioned above. His sons go by the original spelling of the family surname, Aurness.
Last edited by Sampiro; 06-04-2011 at 06:50 AM.
Memories. RIP.
The show was originally written and developed for John Wayne but he didn't want to do television. Even as late as the mid-50's movie stars were reluctant to do television believing it would hurt their careers. James Arness was a close friend of Wayne and John recommended him for the part. If you can envision John Wayne as Marshall Dillon it's a perfect fit, with his size and mannerisms it was classic John Wayne. Both men had great careers. JW would be a huge box office draw the rest of his career and JA had a top show run for 20 yrs. a win-win for both of them.
According to the original producers and directors, John Wayne was never offered the role of Matt Dillon..Denver Pyle was set to be cast in the role but the powers-that-be saw James Arness in a movie and he was cast. John Wayne got involved because James Arness was under personal contract to him..All turned out well, because I just can't imagine anyone but Arness in the role.And we all know Denver Pyle later became Jessie Duke and Briscoe Darling.
Arness was a real war hero unlike the make believe John Wayne. RIP
His last interview.
http://www.billoreilly.com/video?chartID=307&pid=11951
Thad always gave off a creepy sort of Amish/Mennonite vibe at odds with a deputy. I never cared for him.
I loved Ken Curtis and Dennis Weaver in their roles and even Burt Reynolds as Quint.
Poor Buck Taylor ( Muley) they tried to outtear jerk Bonanza and Michael Landon by also having Muley,fall in love, marry a girl Doc told him was dying and burying her all in a one hour episode. Michael Landon had just done a similar story line on Bonanza. Buck transitioned from gunsmith to apprentice to Doc.
regards,
Mary
Loved Matt,Kitty and Festus ******RIP*********