James Arness - the Life of an American Hero

James Arness is best remembered as gunslinger Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke. The series ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975. It was one of the longest-running TV shows in history with its 635 action-packed episodes.

Arness had a relatively typical upbringing. He was the son of a businessman and a journalist and didn't do that well in school - skipping class as often as he saw fit.

When he joined the Army as a young adult, however, he had a life-changing traumatizing experience that would shape his character and life path. His leg had been severely injured by machine gunfire and although he received several surgeries to mend it, he was left with a limp and a lifetime of pain.

He first got his start in Hollywood playing in science-fiction films like The Thing and Them before his good friend John Wayne helped him score his most famous role in Gunsmoke.

Following Gunsmoke's illustrious and almost unprecedented 20 year run, Arness went on to star in How The West Was Won - another western series that ran from 1977 to 1979 that cast him as Zeb Macahan. In the late 80s and early 90s, he reprised his role of Matt Dillon in four Gunsmoke made-for-TV films. These films would prove to be the fitting end of his career on screen.

James Arness passed away on June 3, 2011.

James Arness - the Life of an American Hero
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