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James Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the CBS 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.
Birth Name
James King Aurness
Born
Saturday, 26 May 1923
Died
Friday, 03 June 2011
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| For the Love of Spock | Matt Dillon / Matt Dillon (archive footage) | 2016 |
| The Sixties | Marshal Matt Dillon - Gunsmoke | 2013 |
| TV's Western Heroes | Matt Dillon | 2013 |
| Pioneers of Television | Marshal Matt Dillon from Gunsmoke / Self | 2008 |
| Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That | Tiny McGilligan | 2005 |
| Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us | Robert Graham in 'Them' | 2005 |
| War Stories with Oliver North | Self | 2001 |
| Television: The First Fifty Years | Self - Interviewee | 1999 |
| Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice | Matt Dillon | 1994 |
| Gunsmoke: The Long Ride | Matt Dillon | 1993 |
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| For the Love of Spock | Matt Dillon / Matt Dillon (archive footage) | 2016 |
| The Sixties | Marshal Matt Dillon - Gunsmoke | 2013 |
| TV's Western Heroes | Matt Dillon | 2013 |
| Pioneers of Television | Marshal Matt Dillon from Gunsmoke / Self | 2008 |
| Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That | Tiny McGilligan | 2005 |
| Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us | Robert Graham in 'Them' | 2005 |
| War Stories with Oliver North | Self | 2001 |
| Television: The First Fifty Years | Self - Interviewee | 1999 |
| Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice | Matt Dillon | 1994 |
| Gunsmoke: The Long Ride | Matt Dillon | 1993 |
| Gunsmoke: To the Last Man | Matt Dillon | 1992 |
| Gunsmoke: The Last Apache | Matt Dillon | 1990 |
| Red River | Thomas Dunson | 1988 |
| Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge | Matt Dillon | 1987 |
| The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory | Jim Bowie | 1987 |
| Bloopermania | (archive footage) | 1987 |
| McClain's Law | Det. Jim McClain | 1981 |
| The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979 |
| CBS: On the Air | Self | 1978 |
| How the West Was Won | Zeb Macahan / Zeb | 1976 |
| Hollywood and the Stars | The Thing | 1963 |
| Alias Jesse James | Marshal Matt Dillon | 1959 |
| Gun the Man Down | Rem Anderson / Remington 'Rem' Anderson | 1956 |
| The First Traveling Saleslady | Joel Kingdom | 1956 |
| Flame of the Islands | Kelly Rand | 1955 |
| Gunsmoke | Matt Dillon / Marshal Matt Dillon / Matt | 1955 |
| The Johnny Carson Show | Self | 1953 |
| Wide Wide World | Self | 1955 |
| The Sea Chase | Schlieter | 1955 |
| Many Rivers to Cross | Esau Hamilton | 1955 |
| Her Twelve Men | Ralph Munsey | 1954 |
| Them! | Robert Graham / FBI Agent Robert Graham | 1954 |
| Hondo | Lennie | 1953 |
| The Veils of Bagdad | Targut | 1953 |
| Island in the Sky | Mac McMullen | 1953 |
| The Lone Hand | Gus Varden | 1953 |
| Horizons West | Tiny McGilligan | 1952 |
| Hellgate | George Redfield | 1952 |
| Big Jim McLain | Mal Baxter | 1952 |
| The Girl in White | Matt | 1952 |
| Carbine Williams | Leon Williams | 1952 |
| The Red Skelton Hour | Self | 1951 |
| The People Against O'Hara | John Fordman 'Johnny' O'Hara / Johnny O'Hara | 1951 |
| Iron Man | Alex Mallick / Alex Mallick (as Jim Arness) | 1951 |
| Cavalry Scout | Barth | 1951 |
| The Thing from Another World | 'The Thing' | 1951 |
| Double Crossbones | Bullock | 1951 |
| Belle Le Grand | Belle Admirer Mine Guard at Fire | 1951 |
| Two Lost Worlds | Kirk Hamilton | 1951 |
| Wyoming Mail | Russell | 1950 |
| Lux Video Theatre | Chuck Scott | 1950 |
| Sierra | Little Sam | 1950 |
| In a Lonely Place | Young Detective | 1950 |
| Wagon Master | Floyd Clegg | 1950 |
| Stars in My Crown | Rolfe Isbell | 1950 |
| Battleground | Garby | 1949 |
| The Lone Ranger | Deputy Bud Titus | 1949 |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | Self | 1948 |
| The Man from Texas | Gang Member | 1948 |
| Roses Are Red | Ray (as James Aurness) / Ray | 1947 |
| The Farmer's Daughter | Peter / Peter Holstrom (as James Aurness) | 1947 |
| Front Row Center | Hemp Brown | 1945 |
Producer Filmography
| Title | Year |
|---|
| Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice | 1994 |
| Gunsmoke: The Long Ride | 1993 |
| Gunsmoke | 1955 |
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 1959 | Emmy | Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series | Nominated |
| 1958 | Emmy | Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series | Nominated |
| 1957 | Emmy | Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series | Nominated |
