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Post by Cherbunny on Feb 27, 2006 11:48:30 GMT -6
'Gunsmoke' actor Dennis Weaver dies
BOB THOMAS Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - 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, his publicist said Monday. The actor was 81.
Weaver died of complications from cancer on Feb. 24 at his home in Ridgway, in southwestern Colorado, publicist Julian Myers said.
A struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, Weaver was earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, "Gunsmoke." He learned that another actor had turned down the same role at $400 a week. Weaver summoned his courage and asked for and got $400. 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.
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 27, 2006 11:53:19 GMT -6
He, Knotts and McGavin were probably all members of a Satanic cult that has ritualistic suicide pacts. All these Hollywood types are nuts, I tell ya.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 27, 2006 11:55:38 GMT -6
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 27, 2006 11:58:05 GMT -6
I see he died last Friday, but the announcement didnt comeout until today... I bet Dick "Buckshot" Cheney had something to do with this.... "Mis-ter Che-ney"
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 27, 2006 12:05:09 GMT -6
IOW, Dennis Weaver actually died in a quail hunting accident? Interesting ...
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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 27, 2006 12:05:25 GMT -6
If I was an old-school TV actor with a first name starting with D, I'd be nervous......Jake
(Hey! Death!! Get off of McCloud!!)
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 27, 2006 12:09:28 GMT -6
If that's true, good thing Don DeFore from 'Hazel' is already Done DeFore.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 27, 2006 12:18:41 GMT -6
Dennis Weaver is probably most famous for McCloud and Gunsmoke, but don't forget two other notable roles: The car driver chased by a menacing truck in "Duel", an early Spielberg TV movie; and the motel manager in Orson Welles' classic noir, "Touch Of Evil".......Jake (and don't dare call it "*A* Touch Of Evil")
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 27, 2006 12:29:24 GMT -6
... and the motel manager in Orson Welles' classic noir, "Touch Of Evil" An excellent but frequently overlooked flick that starred Charleton Heston (made, I *think* in the most memorable year of 1958).
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 27, 2006 12:33:24 GMT -6
Dont remember the forgetable Gentile Ben
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 27, 2006 12:45:01 GMT -6
It's memorable in the sense that it's interesting to see how Clint Howard could be such a cute little kid, but then morph into a space alien as an adult.
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Post by Hazelita on Feb 27, 2006 12:54:03 GMT -6
So it's really true what they say about Hollywood folks dying in groups of three. RIP, Dennis Weaver.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 27, 2006 12:54:44 GMT -6
and a parasitic space alien on his brother's career to boot.
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 27, 2006 13:55:03 GMT -6
He has sucked all of the talen out of Ron.
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Post by edie2u on Feb 27, 2006 23:43:08 GMT -6
I was a VERY young child but I remember Dennis Weaver in a show called Kentucky Jones in which he played a veterinarian. He had a mare that was about foal. It was just before midnight on Dec. 31, so he drove the mare across the time line so the colt would be born in the new year. (All horses age one year on Jan. 1st. So even if they are born at five minutes before midnight the will be a year old at midnight) I loved that show being I was/am an equine fanatic! I thought he was one of the best...Rest in Peace Strange...I can't remember what I had for dinner last night but I remember that episode!
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Post by Harrybutt on Feb 28, 2006 14:33:57 GMT -6
Dennis Weaver was cool
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Post by Harrybutt on Feb 28, 2006 14:40:43 GMT -6
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Post by edie2u on Feb 28, 2006 19:43:11 GMT -6
Thanks HB for the links.
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Post by pixiedust on Feb 28, 2006 20:08:24 GMT -6
Man, they're dropping like flies in Hollywood, glad I'm on the other coast...
Dennis Weaver - loved watching him on TV.
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