Farewell Marshall Dillon

[Major 2]

   James Arness has gone over

[GunClick Rick]

NO FRIGGIN WAY!!!!

[Shotgun Franklin]

Arness was a decorated WWII Vet. He served in Italy where he was awarded the Bronze Star and was awarded a Purple Heart. His wounds caused him problems the rest of his life, you'll notice his limp in many shows and movies. A HERO on and off the screen.

[GunClick Rick]

 My little memorial

[Deadeye Don]

Very sad indeed although 88 is nothing to sneeze at.    Miss Kitty will be waiting for him.

[GunClick Rick]

FESTUS~Sing it blast ya!

[Monument Valley Mike]

James Arness, the star of GUNSMOKE, passed away in his sleep today at age 88.

Words like icon, hero and TV legend will be used to describe James Arness, and rightly so. But I want to share a story of what this man did for a 5 year-old when they shot GUNSMOKE at KTLA studios on Sunset Blvd.  The would-be "stars" of today should take a lesson from Arness.

Marshal Matt Dillon was my hero since I could walk.  It was doubly cool when I found out my dad played opposite him in several episodes of Gunsmoke.  Every Saturday night I faithfully strapped on my Mattel Fanner 50 and gunbelt, my Matt Dillon badge and hat and stood in front of the TV to imitate my hero's famous showdown with the bad guy.

So imagine my thrill when, as a 5 year-old kid, I found myself working at KTLA doing a TV commercial and learned that they filmed GUNSMOKE a few stages away.  As soon as I was finished with the commercial, I refused to leave the lot until my mom took me over to the set so I could meet my hero.

The whole stage was dressed as the main street in Dodge City.  They were filming in the Long Branch saloon and my mom & I sat on folding chairs across the dirt street, my watching intently for any sign of my hero.

I heard him before I saw him.  He came out of the saloon bigger than life.  "Wow!  It's Matt!" I said to myself.  He walked past us and all I could do was smile.  My voice failed me.  I wanted to yell hello to my hero, but I couldn't. 

My God was he tall.  Taller than any building in the world, I thought.  And there was that badge on his chest, just like the one my folks got me at Woolworth's.

Arness walked past us a few times.  Minutes dragged on and it was close to an hour, and I hadn't said a word to him.  My mom finally said either say hello next time he comes by, or we're going home.

He was talking on the phone and something was not pleasing him, as his voice grew louder.  He hung up the phone with a slam and was walking away from me.  My mom nudged me, reminding me it was now or never.

Matt Dillon was walking away from me into the shadows of Dodge City.  I jumped off my seat and followed a few steps behind him.  "Hello, Matt!" I meekly said.

He turned around and looked down at me.  "Hello, pal!" he replied and put his hand out.  My hand disappeared in his.  All I could do was smile.  My hero shook my hand.  He said hello to me!

And with that Matt Dillon strode down the street of Dodge.

I never forgot what that brief moment meant to me, and I still don't. 

A few years ago, Arness was signing his autobiography at the Autry Museum and I had a chance to speak to him.  I told him the story, trying my best to hold back the tears, how my hero took time to say hello, and how much that moment meant to me.  He was visably touched and smiled, shaking my hand saying, "It was my pleasure."

They don't make heroes like that anymore.  Sad.

Godspeed, Jim.  And thank you for being my hero.
 

[GunClick Rick]

Darn nice story pard!! Who was your dad?What part?







i never watched the show,NOT MUCH~~

[Dog River Dan]

Very sad day indeed. He will be missed but remembered forever.

[GunClick Rick]

[Forty Rod]

Just happened to watch him last night in Island In The Sky. 

I'll miss him.

[GunClick Rick]

 Artwork done by my friend Ivan Jesse,he's gone also,he was agreat artist!

[Trailrider]

This is gonna sound weird, but between my Mom, who was a couple of months shy of 99 years, passing on May 17th, and now Marshall Dillon, and my own 69th birthday coming up next month, I'm starting to feel old...  On top of that, TCM showed an old Roy Rogers movie featuring him, Dale, Gabby Hayes and Trigger from before I was born!

Did I ever meet James Arness?  Of course! Just the way most folks did. Every week when he faced down Arvo Ojala in Dodge City! I, too, remember him appearing in Hondo and Island In The Sky, with the Duke!

I had to replace the battery in one of my clocks this morning...it had stopped.  Too bad we can't stop time for just a little while, so we can enjoy things without using up any of it.  But, of course, it don't work that way.

Ride easy, Matt!

[joec]

My brother and I meet him at a rodeo in Miami Florida as small kids. I guess I was about 10 at the time. Him, Chester, Doc and Miss Kitty made an appearance at the rodeo which my grandfather worked as part of their security detail. My grandfather was with the Sheriff's department so we got to go behind the scenes to meet them. All of them treated us really nice including the autographed pictures they gave us. Actually got to spend about 15 minutes with them all before they went out before the crowd. All I can say he will always be Matt Dillon to me though I do remember listening to William Conrad when he was the voice of Matt Dillon on the radio, just the guy that played Cannon on TV couldn't of pulled it off as well.

[Hill Beachy]

He was a class act all the way.

I think that I had posted this story on the site several years ago, but will repeat the tale if y'all don't mind.  A few years back, I was one of a group waiting for a meeting to begin in the Command Conference Room of the 3rd Infantry Division, as we made preparations to deploy to Iraq.  Hanging on the wall and surrounded by us onlookers was a recently-arrived color pencil sketch of Matt Dillon.  It was apparently a self-portrait that he had done, wishing the soldiers of the Division good luck in the upcoming deployment, and was signed by James Arness aka Marshall Matt Dillon.  All very nice.

But it was what appeared below that signature which had us all amazed.  As near as I can recall, it read something like this:

(signed)
James Arness
Private First Class, 3rd Infantry Division, combat wounded at Anzio

He had a lot of fans among our little group of soldiers, and I can tell you that his gift and well-wishes were very much appreciated.

By the time we returned from Iraq, the headquarters building was being cleared out and the Engineers were building a new one, which was not yet ready for move-in.  All the wall hangings had been removed, presumably for safekeeping.  Have often wondered where that portrait is now.  I hope that yet another generation of Marne Soldiers will have the opportunity to look and learn about this giant of a man who had once walked in their midst. 

Rock of the Marne, PFC Aurness, and rest in peace!

[Drayton Calhoun]

Truly a sad day. And his brother just passed not too long ago. James Arness and Peter Graves gone so close together. Truly the end of an era.

[w.b. masterson]

Gunclick,
The post of Curtis song about the faraway hills is the theme from Shane.  You probably knew that, but others may not have recognized it.  This is the first time I've heard the lyrics of the song.  Nice!

[GunClick Rick]

I'm a big Ken Curtis fan also,he lived about 30 miles north and they have a statue of him at a bank in Old Town Clovis.You will hardly ever see Kens name associated with Gunsmoke,some type of leagle rights battle years ago the studios never got over.Of course we all watched Gunsmoke to see all the good charactors...

[Drayton Calhoun]

I always kinda preferred Festus over Chester.

[Crow Choker]

     Ah yes, Gunsmoke-Dodge City-Marshall Matt Dillon. I started watchin Gunsmoke from the 1st show to the last and enjoyed every one. I can remember in the 50's and the early 60's when I was still a youngin' waitin for Gunsmoke to come on every Saturday night. My sisters and brother and I had to have our baths taken early, sit (and suffer we thought at the time) through an hour of Lawrence Welk, then when it was on, watch "Have Gun-Willl Travel" with Richard Boone(another good ol' show and actor). Then out came Matt Dillion, walking with his back to ya in the show down with 'the bad guy'(who was really the shows gun coach, Arvo Ojala-see summer issue of Guns of Old West). The show is a classic, thanks for all the dvd's available to rewatch em. The show was filled with excellant supporting actors and actresses, all were written to keep you on the edge of your chair.
      James Aurness as said was a class act, person, actor, and more can be said. Hollywood puts out few to many of people like James Aurness or shows such as Gunsmoke. If written in todays method, it more than likely would not be worth watching. Besides my parents and others I had around me while growing up, people like James Aurness, Roy Rogers, Clayton Moore, Gene Autry, and others who represented justice and the right way to live and act around others were a big infuence on me. They without a doubt helped influence my 21 years as a Police Officer in being fair, but tough. In being compassinate and courteous. In having courage when needed, but remaining humble and not high minded. Thank you James, Marshall Dillion. You'll be missed and not forgotten.