Gunsmoke Tv Series Wiki (2024)

FAQs

Why did Festus quit Gunsmoke? ›

Gunsmoke made Ken Curtis' Festus Haggen a series regular to replace Dennis Weaver's beloved Chester Goode after he left to pursue other acting opportunities. However, Curtis refused to return for the first made-for-tv Gunsmoke movie after its 20-season run because of a couple of serious disagreements with a producer.

In an interview with the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Weaver confessed that he had decided to leave the series because he felt that the character had run its course. Specifically, he said, "After almost ten years, I want to walk without a limp."

The actor was 32 when friend John Wayne declined the lead role in "Gunsmoke" and recommended Arness instead. Afraid of being typecast, Arness initially rejected it. "Go ahead and take it, Jim," Wayne urged him.

He goes after Kitty as if he's God's gift to women, telling her he knows a lady when he sees one, and she's a lady. (Kitty knows what sort of a "lady" she is, and isn't fooled.) When she won't put out, he beats (and presumably rapes) her.

' ” Arness, who remained close to Weaver after he left the series, praised him as a “really fine actor.” “We really liked each other a whole lot,” Arness said.

Nineteen years of encouraging the good works of Marshal Matt Dillon on the TV show ”Gunsmoke,” and never even a kiss from the hero. Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty, grew tired of commuting from her Phoenix home to Hollywood and quit the show in 1974.

Death. Arness died from natural causes at the age of 88 years at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles on June 3, 2011.

Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973 and in its revival from 1988 to 1990. His elder brother was actor James Arness.

Is that real raw chicken that Manning is eating in the saloon towards the end of the show? I'm guessing it could be because in '69 people didn't have the awareness of the dangers of salmonella poisoning as they do today.

How does Gunsmoke end? ›

Things all turn out for the best in the end. Festus helps save the Pugh family's welfare, Av Marie and Toby get married and plan to leave for California, and Dibble even gets up from under his tree, but the rest of the Gunsmoke leads have nothing to do at all.

When Matt arrives back in Dodge, Ms Kitty agrees to keep the baby until a suitable home is found. And it is not long until Matt finds the widow Baines that had always wanted a baby but was unable after having a still-birth many years ago.

Unfortunately, this was the case for Burt Reynolds after a brief stint on the classic Western series, Gunsmoke. That's right, after playing the part of Quint Asper across three years and over 50 episodes, Reynolds put his days on the small screen to an end and left the series to pursue a career on the big screen!

The cast of Gunsmoke grew so close to one another that at times, they seemed more family than friends. However, two actors on set, Milburn Stone and James Arness, unfortunately, got off on the wrong foot when they first met.

First of 6 episodes where Pat Hingle played Dr. John Chapman as a replacement for Doc Adams when Milburn Stone left the series for heart bypass surgery.

But the changing of the guard really happened in the Season 9 episode titled "The Prairie Wolfer," where Chester and Festus actually appear together. In fact, this particular episode had appearances from Matt, Kitty, Doc, Chester, Festus, Sam and Quint.