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LOS ANGELES: James Arness, the towering actor who played rugged lawman Matt Dillon in long-running US television series “Gunsmoke,” died Friday at the age of 88, his family said.
One of US television's most enduring stars during the show's 20-year run from 1955-75, he returned in a number of “Gunsmoke” TV movies in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Like John Wayne on the silver screen, the two meter (6 foot 7 inch) tall actor was an imposing presence on the small screen, and was nominated for Emmy awards three times during the series' early years.
The show won praise for bringing psychologically complex characters into the TV format. “Matt is very human and has all the failings and drives common to anyone who is trying to do a difficult job the best he knows how,” Arness said.
Born in Minnesota, Arness was chosen when producers were looking for an actor to play Dodge City Marshal Dillon on television, after “Gunsmoke” had been a hit radio show for years.
He was already a well-known film actor, including in the sci-fi classics “The Thing From Another World” in 1951 and “Them!” in 1954, and was initially reluctant to give up his fledgling movie career.
But Wayne urged him to take the role, and provided an on-camera introduction in which he praised the new TV Western series for being honest, adult and realistic.
“I knew there was only one man to play in it, James Arness,” Wayne told viewers. “He's a young fella and may be new to some of you. But I've worked with him, and I predict he'll be a big star.” Arness died on natural causes in his home in Los Angeles, said family spokesperson Ginny Fazer.
