4 June 2011 12:13 PM, PDT | Disc Dish | See recent Disc Dish news »
Born in Minneapolis with the original surname of “Aurness, ” James Arness and his brother Peter Graves (TV’s Mission: Impossible) had the square-jawed good looks and authoritative presence of the leading men of an earlier time.
James Arness, 1923-2011
Arness started in career in films, making his debut in 1947’s The Farmer’s Daughter where he, Lex Barker and Keith Andes played Loretta Young’s brothers in her Oscar-winning triumph. With brothers like that, you almost felt bad for the dastardly villains who tried to thwart Loretta’s ambition. A few years later, he appeared in the low-budget horror classic The Thing From Another World (1951), better known as The Thing, wherein he brought to startling life the role of the titular alien.
Then came Gunsmoke.
The role of Marshall Matt Dillon in the classic western was first offered to John Wayne, who declined but recommended Arness. With the noblesse of a true star, »
- David
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