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Matt Dillon (James Arness) and Miss Kitty (Amanda Blake) will now be walking the streets of heaven together. Arness, the 6-foot-6 actor who played the part of Dodge City lawman Matt Dillon in “Gunsmoke,” died Friday. He was 88. The actor died in his sleep at his home in Brentwood, Calif.
His website posted a letter from the actor on Friday that he wrote with the intention that it be posted posthumously: “I had a wonderful life and was blessed with some many loving people and great friends,” he said. “I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the many years of being a fan of Gunsmoke, The Thing, How the West Was Won and all the other fun projects I was lucky enough to have been allowed to be a part of. I had the privilege of working with so many great actors over the years.” Arness suffered personal tragedy in his life with the passing of his daughter and former wife, both died of drug overdoses. Arness, a quiet, intensely private man who preferred the outdoor life to Hollywood’s party scene, rarely gave interviews and refused to discuss the tragedies. Co-star Amanda Blake once said: “I’ve worked with him for 16 years, but I don’t really know him.” The actor was 32 when friend John Wayne declined the lead role in “Gunsmoke” and recommended Arness instead. ” “Gunsmoke” went on to become the longest-running dramatic series in network history until NBC’s “Law & Order” tied in 2010. Born James Aurness in Minneapolis (he dropped the “u” for show business reasons), he had a brother Peter who changed his last name to Graves and went on to star in the TV series “Mission Impossible.” Peter passed away on March 14, 2010 at the age of 83. His longtime co-stars were Blake as saloon keeper Miss Kitty, Milburn Stone as Doc Adams and Dennis Weaver as the deputy, Chester Goode.
