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IMDbPro

Milburn Stone(1904-1980)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
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Milburn Stone
Character actor Milburn Stone, the beloved "Doc Adams" on TV's long-running western classic Gunsmoke (1955), was born in Kansas on July 5, 1904. Acting must have been in his blood as the nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone for Milburn left home as a teenager to find work with touring repertory troupes. Emulating his famous uncle Fred, he appeared in vaudeville as part of a song-and-dance team called "Stone and Strain."

Following a minor appearance on Broadway in "The Jayhawkers," Milburn moved to Los Angeles in 1935 to try his luck in films. He toiled for years in mostly unbilled parts for 'poverty row' Monogram Pictures and a few major studios, apprenticing in a number of background roles as both benign fellows (clerks, reporters, sailors, detectives) and bad guys (convicts, robbers, henchmen) in such films as Ladies Crave Excitement (1935), The Fighting Marines (1935), The Princess Comes Across (1936), Banjo on My Knee (1936) and They Gave Him a Gun (1937)

Out of the blue he would occasionally nab a heroic film lead in films as the crime drama Federal Bullets (1937) and The Judge (1949) or serial thrillers as The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944) and The Master Key (1945), then would invariably go right back to unbilled status in his very next role. One memorable featured part (which was also unbilled) was as debater Stephen A. Douglass in John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). In addition he played a regular support role as pal/co-pilot "Skeeter Milligan" in the "Tommy Tailspin" airborne film quickies Mystery Plane (1939), Sky Patrol (1939) and Danger Flight (1939).

Other higher visible support roles occurred in such films as the Roy Rogers western Colorado (1940), as well as Captive Wild Woman (1943), The Frozen Ghost (1945), Roadblock (1951), Black Tuesday (1954), Smoke Signal (1955). He also went on to appear in a couple of John Ford's later features such as Simone Bär and The Long Gray Line (1955).

When the crusty but lovable role of "Doc Adams" finally landed at his feet in 1955, Milburn was only too appreciative to experience a steady paycheck. He became an "overnight" star and, along with Matt Dillon's James Arness, earned an Emmy Award for "supporting actor" and stayed a citizen of Dodge City throughout its entire 20-year run (500 episodes). In 1971, Stone was temporarily sidelined by a heart attack and briefly replaced by another "doc" played by Pat Hingle. The ever-durable Stone missed only seven episodes, however, and did return on a more limited bases.

Fully retired to his ranch in 1975 after the show's cancellation, he was eventually awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Mary of the Plains College in (of course) Dodge City, Kansas. Married to Jane Garrison, the 75-year-old veteran died of a heart attack on June 12, 1980 in La Jolla, California. His wife passed away much later in 2002.
BornJuly 5, 1904
DiedJune 12, 1980(75)
BornJuly 5, 1904
DiedJune 12, 1980(75)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos134

Milburn Stone in Buck Privates Come Home (1947)
Milburn Stone in Pickup on South Street (1953)
Milburn Stone in Racket Squad (1950)
Basil Rathbone, Hillary Brooke, Nigel Bruce, and Milburn Stone in Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carrol Naish, and Milburn Stone in Strange Confession (1945)
James Arness, Martin Landau, Amanda Blake, Bert Rumsey, Milburn Stone, and Dennis Weaver in Gunsmoke (1955)
Ken Curtis, Milburn Stone, and Dennis Weaver in Gunsmoke (1955)
James Arness, Harp McGuire, and Milburn Stone in Gunsmoke (1955)
James Arness, Amanda Blake, and Milburn Stone in Gunsmoke (1955)
James Arness, Dabbs Greer, and Milburn Stone in Gunsmoke (1955)
Amanda Blake and Milburn Stone in Gunsmoke (1955)
James Arness, Milburn Stone, and Dennis Weaver in Gunsmoke (1955)

Known for

Gunsmoke (1955)
Gunsmoke
8.1
TV Series
  • Doc
John Trent in Sky Patrol (1939)
Sky Patrol
5.1
  • Skeeter Milligan
  • 1939
Marjorie Reynolds and John Trent in Mystery Plane (1939)
Mystery Plane
5.2
  • 'Skeeter' Milligan
  • 1939
Paul Guilfoyle, Katherine DeMille, Milburn Stone, and Stanley Waxman in The Judge (1949)
The Judge
6.0
  • Martin Strang
  • 1949

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Gunsmoke (1955)
    Gunsmoke
  • Climax! (1954)
    Climax!
  • Jeff Chandler in Drango (1957)
    Drango
  • Front Row Center (1955)
    Front Row Center
  • Charlton Heston, Sal Mineo, Julie Adams, Tim Considine, Tim Hovey, and Joey D. Vieira in The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
    The Private War of Major Benson
  • TV Reader's Digest (1955)
    TV Reader's Digest
  • Dana Andrews and Piper Laurie in Smoke Signal (1955)
    Smoke Signal
  • Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Wagner, and Debra Paget in White Feather (1955)
    White Feather
  • The Man Behind the Badge (1953)
    The Man Behind the Badge
  • Maureen O'Hara and Tyrone Power in The Long Gray Line (1955)
    The Long Gray Line
  • Edward G. Robinson and Jean Parker in Black Tuesday (1954)
    Black Tuesday
  • Van Johnson and Joanne Dru in The Siege at Red River (1954)
    The Siege at Red River
  • Racket Squad (1950)
    Racket Squad
  • Charlton Heston and Jack Palance in Arrowhead (1953)
    Arrowhead
  • Robert Mitchum and Linda Darnell in Second Chance (1953)
    Second Chance

Soundtrack

  • Gunsmoke (1955)
    Gunsmoke
    • (uncredited) ...

Personal details

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    • July 5, 1904
    • Burrton, Kansas, USA
    • June 12, 1980
    • La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA(heart attack)
    • December 7, 1946 - June 12, 1980 (his death)
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 4 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Inducted (as a cast member of Gunsmoke (1955)) into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1981.

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