James Arness would become known by millions as Marshal Matt Dillon on the long running, Gunsmoke. Long before he had any aspiration to become an actor he had to survive WWll. In particular he fought at Anzio.
There was an irony in his tv show in that the character Chester, played by Dennis Weaver, had a limp. In real life he had no limp as it was just a part of the character that Dennis created, and while James played a healthy lawman in reality it was he who had the real limp and hid it.
During his time in Anzio German machine gun fire ripped through his leg destroying a good part of his bone. He spent a year in hospital while doctors put his leg together. It wasn’t a complete success and he would be troubled by pain for the rest of his life and he would walk with a limp.
While working on the show any scene that showed him walking for any length of time would be shot early in the morning before he was unable to walk without a strong limp as this developed throughout the day. As the years progressed on the show this didn’t really work as his health deteriorated and it is obvious that he is limping.
He had been awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
Well done and I learned some fascinating things.
I had the pleasure to meet Mr. Weaver in person. I’m over 6 feet and he was taller than me . Based on this picture, Mr. Arness must have been huge.
Yes, he played the terifying ‘Thing from another planet’ in the original movie.
So many great actors/actresses of the past that paid their dues and actually earned the accolades they later received and still do.
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