James Arness

  • Name: James Arness
  • Date of Birth: May 29, 1923
  • Place of Birth: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mini-bio: Standing 6'6" and casting a shadow every bit as impressive as his mentor John 'Duke' Wayne, James Arness burned himself indelibly into the American psyche as Marshall Matt Dillon, Dodge City's straigh...( read more)t-shootin' sheriff on the long-running CBS series "Gunsmoke" (1955-1975). Born James Aurness, this older brother of actor Peter Graves was recovering from WWII wounds suffered during the Anzio invasion when he joined a little-theater group, supporting himself as a real estate agent and advertising man. He made his screen debut in 1947's "The Farmer's Daughter" and appeared as GI Garby in William Wellman's WWII drama "Battleground" (1949) before working his way up to a supporting role in John Ford's "Wagon Master" (1950). That same year, he played to fearsome effect the vegetable monster of the Howard Hawks-produced "The Thing", but his size which made him perfect for the sci-fi classic's 8' cognitive carrot precluded him from working with most leading men. After six years in pictures, he still took a job credited as 'Mutant crouching by Raygunner' in "Invaders from Mars" (1953).

One actor Arness did not dwarf was 'The Duke', and he supported Wayne in four pictures, beginning with Edward Ludwig's "Big Jim McClain" (1952). When CBS approached Wayne about playing the Matt Dillon role, he suggested the 32-year-old Minnesotan. The rest is history. As Marshall Dillon, Arness became a towering figure of rectitude presiding over the weekly rawhide morality play. The sad eyes had seen too much, but the voice remained gentle. Slow to provoke, implacable in pursuit, he gunned down evil and kept his town safe. When the longest-running drama in TV history finally fell, there wasn't much left for Arness to do. Although he would star in two short-lived series, ABC's "How the West Was Won" (1978-79) and NBC's "McClain's Law" (1981-82), his Matt Dillon character was just too huge a presence to forget, and he reprised the role in five TV-movies into the 90s. Arness also portrayed the larger-than-life character Jim Bowie in "The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory" (NBC, 1987) and starred in the 1987 CBS-TV remake of Howard Hawks' "Red River" (1948), playing Wayne's part, Tom Dunson.
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VITAL STATS

James Arness Information:
Eye color:Blue
Height:6' 7"
Nickname(s):Jim
Notable feature(s):6' 7" tall - beautiful blue eyes
Education:
Family:Wife - 3 children
Resides in:California
Religious affiliations:
Political affiliation:
Personal interests/hobbies:
Charities/Causes:United Cerebral Palsy
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Last update: Nov 11 2009, 11:42 AM EST by rjkelley58 (content history | content tools) (help)
Keyword tags: James Arness James Arness biography James Arness quotes James Arness trivia James Arness vital stats James Arness wiki
James Arness Biography James Arness Quotes James Arness Best Movies and Characters

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  • bballgirl1334
    bballgirl1334
    I have only watched the gunsmoke movies... but Gunsmoke the best tv show in the world.
    posted 790 days ago
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  • Which 1951 Howard Hawks horror classic featured James Arness as a bloodthirsty alien who comes out of the North Pole ice?  Answer »
  • In the first filming (50's) of "The Thing" who had the role?   Answer »
  • Who played Sheriff Matt Dillon in the TV series Gunsmoke?  Answer »
  • American Actor Peter Graves is the brother of what other telivision star?  Answer »
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