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.

Dennis Weaver never anticipated that the series would be as successful and long running as it was— and as he neared the end of his time on Gunsmoke, he was entirely out of creative directions in which to take his character, and he began to feel the physical repercussions of walking with a limp for so long.

Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty, grew tired of commuting from her Phoenix home to Hollywood and quit the show in 1974. –that`s a nasty thing for me to say, but it`s true,” she said, grinning. Blake went on to live through her own personal drama.

A: Matt Dillon (James Arness) and Kitty (Amanda Blake) never married during the series 1955-75 run, although close watchers of the show were convinced they had connected at some time. But in a 1973 episode, Matt had a brief affair with another woman, Mike Yardner (Michael Learned), while he had amnesia.

' ” 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.

Reynolds left Gunsmoke to pursue a career in movies, which ultimately led him to become an iconic movie star.

The Gunsmoke cast was just as close off-screen as they were on, to the point that when one of them got into an argument, the others immediately took their side, forming a united front.

After Gunsmoke, Blake went into semi-retirement at her home in Phoenix and took on few film or television projects. She instead devoted more time to her animals.

Between 1963 and 1967, the ratings for Gunsmoke had declined to the point where the show fell outside the Top 30 in the Nielsen ratings. The decision to cancel Gunsmoke was initiated by a younger core of CBS executives, who felt that Gunsmoke was outdated and should be replaced with a more contemporary show.

Daughter Jenny died of an apparently deliberate drug overdose in 1975. His former wife Virginia died of an accidental drug overdose in 1977.

Did James Arness' daughter ever appear on Gunsmoke? ›

Jenny Lee Arness, who appears in this episode as "Amy", is the real-life daughter of James Arness.

“They said they had to keep Matt independent.” While Gunsmoke's writers were not about to marry off Matt and Kitty, they acknowledged that strains would develop, as would temptations. In season five's Kitty's Outlaw, Ainslie Pryor is a bad man from Kitty's past who tests her loyalty to Matt.

Greenland, Stone explained that when he first began working with Arness, he was annoyed by him. Stone, best known for his role as Doc Adams, recalled, "I felt he did not belong in the business at all." He remembered one specific instance in which he snapped at the actor.

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.

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.

The Gunsmoke cast was just as close off-screen as they were on, to the point that when one of them got into an argument, the others immediately took their side, forming a united front.