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Tuesday, February 28
DENNIS WEAVER
1924-2006
Dennis Weaver, who scored hugely as Matt Dillon's deputy who walked with a limp and went on to a television career of more than 50 years, died Friday of cancer at his home in Ridgway, Co. He was 81.
Weaver was better known to the post-1970 generation as Marshal Sam McCloud, the lead of NBC's revolving urban western McCloud, and as a man chased incessantly by the driver of an 18-wheeler in Steven Spielberg's debut film "Duel," a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week.
Yet, to classic TV fans, Weaver will forever reign as Chester Goode, the gimpy-legged and drawling-voiced deputy to James Arness's Dillon for the first nine years of Gunsmoke. Goode, much as was the case with Festus Haggen (Ken Curtis) after him, was used for comic relief but could handle himself with a rifle when needed.
Arness, interviewed by Bob Thomas of The Associated Press Monday, remained close friends with Weaver. "It is a very sad time and a big loss for me personally," Arness, 82, told Thomas. "He provided comic relief but was also a real person doing things that were very important to the show."
Weaver also possessed a sizable game show resume during his career, which spanned six decades.
Born in Joplin, Mo., June 4, 1924, Weaver was a contender for the Olympic decathlon in the late forties but failed to make the U.S. team. He studied acting at the University of Oklahoma after a stint in the Navy during World War II. Weaver introduced Rance and Jean Howard, parents of child stars Ron and Clint Howard. In the sixties, Weaver would star with Clint Howard in the film "Gentle Giant" and the CBS Sunday night series Gentle Ben.
After doing a series of bit roles in films, Weaver was cast by Jack Webb in a series of roles on his original version of Dragnet, debuting in 1954 as one of many police captains who supervised Sgt. Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith. Weaver also had guest shots on CBS's Schlitz Playhouse of Stars.
He was between jobs in 1955 when Gunsmoke called. When the western shot to number one in the Nielsens for four consecutive years, Weaver arguably became the most popular supporting dramatic actor on television. In 1957, Ralph Edwards surprised him as the central figure on NBC's This Is Your Life. Two years later, he won his only Emmy as Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series. The 6-foot-4 Weaver paled in stature next to the 6-7 Arness.
Concerned about typecasting, Weaver continued to explore other venues but could not vault to a starring role immediately as the sixties beckoned. Most of his serious money came from playing state fair dates with Milburn Stone and Amanda Blake. He did a pilot for a Monday night CBS variety series, TV Tonight, which did not sell in 1963, so he returned to Gunsmoke for a ninth season.
Finally, NBC signed him for a Saturday night half-hour family drama in 1964-65, Kentucky Jones. The series, about a rancher and his adopted Asian son (Ricky Der), featured the supporting talents of Harry Morgan but only lasted a single season opposite Gilligan's Island and The Lawrence Welk Show. A midseason time shift to a half-hour earlier was even worse as Kentucky was buried against the last half of The Jackie Gleason Show.
Looking for a replacement for the failing It's About Time as a Sunday night lead-in to The Ed Sullivan Show, CBS picked up Gentle Ben as a series after the strong box-office appeal of "Gentle Giant." Weaver was cast in the lead opposite actress Beth Brickell as parents of Clint Howard. Yet, the show was focused on the child and his adventures with a bear in Florida. After two years, CBS gave up on the show when it failed to compete successfully against NBC's Walt Disney anthology.
A year later, Weaver finally struck paydirt. The character of Sam McCloud was introduced in an NBC TV-movie, "McCloud: Who Killed Miss USA?" The role, that of a New Mexico lawman who rode the streets of New York City on horseback while wearing a sheepskin coat, became Weaver's favorite and longest-running as a lead.
While never a weekly series, NBC picked up McCloud originally for the 1970-71 season as one of its Wednesday night one-hour Four-in-One rotating dramas from Universal. Weaver's hour and Rod Serling's Night Gallery were the only two of the four which survived. McCloud eventually joined the rotating elements of NBC's two-hour Sunday Mystery Movie, which also included Columbo and McMillan and Wife. The series ran until 1977. In 1989, Weaver did a one-shot TV-movie update, "The Return of Sam McCloud."
A talented country-and-western singer, Weaver enjoyed moonlighting on variety series from the 1950s through the '70s, including guest shots with Ed Sullivan, Dean Martin, Johnny Cash, Johnny Carson and Mike Douglas. In the '80s and '90s, he sang periodically on Hee Haw.
After McCloud rode off into the Big Apple sunset, Weaver continued to appear in frequent TV movies but his attempts at three additional series, including Emerald Point N.A.S., Stone and Buck James, were unsuccessful. In 2005, he was still acting in the ABC Family cable series Wildfire.
Weaver served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and took up environmental causes. The house in which he lived with his wife Gerry in Colorado was solar-powered and built from recycled tires and cans.
On the game show circuit, Weaver's first foray---April 22, 1962 on What's My Line?---may have been his most memorable. Most Gunsmoke viewers had never heard Weaver's natural Midwestern accent. However, when stuck on a line of interrogation for a contestant, Weaver lapsed into his Chester drawl and said, "I need some help, Mister Dil-lon." The audience roared.
Among Weaver's other game show appearances: Password (1962), You Don't Say! (1964, to promote Kentucky Jones), The Hollywood Squares (first in 1971), Family Feud (for a TV western stars vs. country music stars week in 1985), All-Star Blitz (1985), Win, Lose or Draw (1989), To Tell the Truth (1991), Weakest Link (a classic NBC stars edition, 2002) and Hollywood Squares (Feb. 23-27, 2004, for TV Crimefighters Week).
Weaver is survived by his wife; three sons, Rick, Robby and Rusty; and three grandchildren.
GSN TO HONOR WEAVER, McGAVIN, KNOTTS
WITH TRIBUTES BEGINNING FRIDAY NIGHT
GSN will pay tribute to three television legends, including Dennis Weaver, who have passed away in the last week with a series of their game show appearances.
Friday night/Saturday morning in the usual Black and White Overnight slot, GSN will salute The Andy Griffith Show five-time Emmy winner Don Knotts, who died Friday at the age of 81; and veteran actor Darren McGavin, who died Saturday at 83.
The Knotts episode at 3 a.m. (ET/PT) will be from his 1973 celebrity guest shot on I've Got a Secret with Steve Allen as host. Knotts, who was a regular on Allen's 1957-60 Sunday night variety hour on NBC, offers a secret that he is sitting on Allen's lap. A 1958 episode of Secret with Knotts as a guest will not be shown because of extensive Winston cigarettes signage on the set. GSN no longer licenses the original Hollywood Squares episodes on which Knotts appeared in the '70s.
At 3:30 a.m. Friday night/Saturday morning, McGavin---whose signature roles were as Kolchak: the Night Stalker and Mike Hammer---challenges Carol Burnett in a 1962 episode of Password with Allen Ludden as host.
Weaver's tribute airs March 6-10 at 5 p.m. (ET/PT) as GSN repeats the Family Feud week of TV western stars vs. country music singers. Among those joining Weaver: his Gunsmoke co-star Amanda Blake, Dale Robertson (Tales of Wells Fargo and The Iron Horse), Pat Buttram (The Gene Autry Show and later Mr. Haney of Green Acres) and Doug McClure (The Virginian, The Men from Shiloh, Barbary Coast).
Deal or No Deal Returns Monday Night
Deal Goes to $3 Million, GSN Salutes The Oscars
Meredith, Trebek Nominated for Daytime
Emmys
Philippines Hit with
Biggest Game Show Tragedy in History
Wheel Plans Soap Week, Davies Signs with Sony
Welcome Cover Story All in the Game Players of the Week Classic Moment Bonus Round
The Winners
FAQ
Part 2 Transition Games Across the Ocean
Ralph Edwards Tribute
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