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Hooked on Gunsmoke

I too have been watching the old westerns and agree that Gunsmoke is one of the best. I too remember back when Dennis Weaver was Chester...also have seen a few episodes that Burt Reynolds was in...would have never thought of him in a western.
 
GAnderson said:
I too have been watching the old westerns and agree that Gunsmoke is one of the best. I too remember back when Dennis Weaver was Chester...also have seen a few episodes that Burt Reynolds was in...would have never thought of him in a western.
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We all have opinions about characters played in tv shows. Mine was that Chester Good was just too dumb to be real. He kind of got under my skin a bit with his inability to see the obvious. Now Festus was "dumb" but he was "dumb like a fox" and funny to boot! That, in my opinion, is what made his character on Gunsmoke..
 
Here is a bit of trivia for you. James Arness' first big acting role was as the monster in the original version of the movie "The Thing".

It's funny, but I was discussing Gunsmoke with a buddy just the other day. He ask if Matt ever married Miss Kitty in the show. I was quick to respond, "OH NO, cowboys never married saloon girls unless they were drunk!...LOL
 
ShootDots said:
We all have opinions about characters played in tv shows. Mine was that Chester Good was just too dumb to be real. He kind of got under my skin a bit with his inability to see the obvious. Now Festus was "dumb" but he was "dumb like a fox" and funny to boot! That, in my opinion, is what made his character on Gunsmoke..
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Not to mention he can sing very well too. Man, this thread brought back some memories for me. Gunsmoke was one of my dads favorites and we spent many an afternoon enjoying an episode or two together.
 
hogpatrol said:
A lot of those early western actors were WW2 veterans. James Arness was one. This is from Wikipedia.

Although Arness wanted to be a naval fighter pilot, he was concerned his poor eyesight would bar him. However, his 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) frame ended his chances because the limit for aviators was set at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m). He was drafted into the US Army and reported to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in March 1943.[3] As a rifleman, he landed on Anzio Beachhead on January 22, 1944, with the 2nd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. Arness - due to his height - was the first man to be ordered off his landing craft to determine the depth of the water; it came up to his waist.[3] He was severely wounded in his right leg during the Battle of Anzio,[5][6] and medically evacuated from Italy to the U.S., where he was sent to the 91st General Hospital in Clinton, Iowa. His brother, Peter, (later known as actor Peter Graves), came to see him when he was back in the U.S., beginning his long recuperation, assuring him to not worry about his injuries, that there would likely be work for him in the field of radio. After undergoing several surgeries, he was honorably discharged from the Army on January 29, 1945.[7] However, his wounds continued to trouble him throughout the remainder of his life. In his latter years he suffered with chronic leg pain that often became acute, and was sometimes initiated when he was mounted on horses during his performances on Gunsmoke.[8][6] His military decorations included the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze battle stars, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.[8][9]
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Interesting re leg pain. I remember my Grandfather mentioning that Arness hated the riding scenes......i do not remember if he gave the reason. Maybe it wasn't given in the Coronet or Readers' Digest article where he prob read the info.
I did not know that until now...thanks.
 
The show sometimes compared to Gunsmoke because of longevity is Bonanza. To me Gunsmoke is superior.

I saw an interview with actor Ricardo Montalban who guest starred on both series. He said on Bonanza, they'd film a scene with the attitude of "good enough" and move on. On the other hand, with Gunsmoke, they'd rehearse, make changes, and do retakes if they didn't feel it was right

I think that's one of the reasons Gunsmoke still holds up today
 
I always come in here at lunch to learn something or try to figure out a reloading problem and sat here reading this whole thread thoroughly entertained.
 
Ken Curtis was a good singer and sang with the Sons of the Pioneers I believe. Gunsmoke and many other TV series were good and always had good plots. One of my favorites was the Virginian with James Drury. He died just a few months ago. Cheyenne with Clint Walker and he died perhaps last year. Those shows were the stepping stone for many of the greats in Hollywood. Lawman was pretty good and had some good plots. John Russell was pretty good.
Many of the actors of the time died from lung cancer because so many of them smoked. Doug McClure, John Russell and many more.
We too like to watch the old westerns. It's a great relief from todays politically correct mess that passes for entertainment.
 
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