Dennis Weaver, Gunsmoke sidekick and detective in McCloud, diesLOS ANGELES (AP) — Dennis Weaver, the slow-witted deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western Gunsmoke and the New Mexico deputy solving New York crime in McCloud, has died. The actor was 81.
Weaver died of complications from cancer Friday at his home in Ridgway, in southwestern Colorado, his publicist Julian Myers said.
Weaver was a struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, Gunsmoke. By the end of his nine years with Gunsmoke, he was earning $9,000 a week.
When Weaver first auditioned for the series, he found the character of Chester “inane.” He wrote in his 2001 autobiography, All the World’s a Stage, that he said to himself: “With all my Actors Studio training, I’ll correct this character by using my own experiences and drawing from myself.”
The result was a well-rounded character that appealed to audiences, especially with his drawling, “Mis-ter Dil-lon.”
At the end of seven hit seasons, Weaver sought other horizons. He announced his departure, but the failures of pilots for his own series caused him to return to Gunsmoke on a limited basis for two more years. The role brought him an Emmy in the 1958-59 season.
― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 27 February 2006 17:49 (twenty years ago)
The last 4 months, the TV icons are droppin' like flies.
He even played a proto-Don Knotts in Touch of Evil!
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 27 February 2006 17:51 (twenty years ago)
My daddy would have found this death shocking and sad. He was a big fan of "Gunsmoke" and of old '50s westerns, and Weaver was in quite a few of those (I know
The Nebraskan and
War Arrow were especially noteworthy). R.I.P.
― See Me, Repeat Me (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 03:56 (twenty years ago)
The NY Times obit's got all the eco-political stuff... kind of astounding. I would've liked to see the one-man Shakespeare show:
After growing up on a Missouri farm, Mr. Weaver served as a Naval Air Corps pilot, and he graduated with a degree in fine arts in theater from the University of Oklahoma. In 1948, he was a decathlon finalist in the United States Olympic trials.
He was in his 20's when he made his Broadway debut in "Come Back, Little Sheba," which led to his signing a contract with Universal Studios and going to Hollywood. He did not hit it big in Hollywood, and during his struggle to make a living as an actor his jobs included selling pantyhose and delivering flowers. After playing a series of character actors, often in westerns, he landed the role of Chester Goode in "Gunsmoke."
Mr. Weaver's long career ranged beyond acting. He released several country music albums and had a one-man show in which he played 19 different Shakespearean characters. At one time he had a comedy/variety stage show with his wife, Gerry, and son Rusty. He directed several episodes of various television shows, wrote poetry, and in 2001 his autobiography, "All the World's a Stage," was published.
In 1982, with his wife and some friends, he founded an organization called Love Is Feeding Everyone, which fed more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles each week. In 1993, he and his wife founded a nonprofit group called the Institute of Ecolonomics — a word Mr. Weaver coined from combining ecology and economics — to find solutions to environmental problems. In 2003 the institute created a "Drive to Survive" campaign in which Mr. Weaver led a fleet of alterative-fuel vehicles on a cross-country tour to Washington to raise awareness about reducing the country's dependence on oil.
Since 1990, Mr. Weaver and his wife had lived in an earthship: an almost 10,000-square-foot, solar-powered home in Ridgway constructed from about 3,000 recycled tires and 300,000 tin and aluminum cans.
From 1973 to 1975, Mr. Weaver was president of the Screen Actors Guild. In 1986 he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For the last nine years he had been the host of Starz Entertainment's "Westerns" channel. His last role was as Henry Ritter, a grandfather in "Wildfire," a dramatic series on the ABC Family Channel.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 17:10 (twenty years ago)