James Arness (May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011)
Arness was best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the television series Gunsmoke. Arness has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in five separate decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987) and four more made-for-television Gunsmoke films in the 1990s. In Europe, Arness reached cult status for his role as Zeb Macahan in the western series How the West Was Won. He was the older brother of actor Peter Graves. After Gunsmoke ended, Arness performed in Western-themed movies and television series, including How the West Was Won, and in five made-for-television Gunsmoke movies between 1987 and 1994. An exception was as a big-city police officer in a short-lived 1981-1982 series, McClain's Law, co-starring with Marshall Colt. Arness died of natural causes at age 88 at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles on June 3, 2011. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.