Dennis Weaver

William Dennis Weaver (June 4 1924 – February 24 2006) was an American television actor, best known for his roles as sidekick "Chester Goode" from 1955 to 1964 on TV's first "adult Western" Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, which ran from 1970 to 1977, and as the protagonist in Steven Spielberg's feature-length directorial debut, the made-for-TV movie Duel.

Early life

Weaver was born in Joplin, Missouri to Walter Weaver and Lena Prather of Irish, Scottish, English, Cherokee and Osage ancestry. He wished to be an actor from boyhood, attending the University of Oklahoma, where he studied drama and also was a track star, setting records in several events. He served as pilot in the United States Navy during the Second World War. In 1945, he married Gerry Stowell, with whom he had three children. In 1948, he tried out for the U.S. Olympic team to compete in the decathlon. After he failed to make the team, his college friend Lonny Chapman convinced him to come to New York City to break into acting.

His first role on Broadway came as understudy to Chapman as Turk Fisher in Come Back, Little Sheba. He eventually took over the role from Chapman in the national touring company. Solidifying his choice to become an actor, Weaver enrolled in The Actors Studio, where he met Shelley Winters. During this time--the start of his acting career--he supported his family by doing a number of odd jobs, including selling vacuum cleaners, tricycles and women's hosiery.

Career

In 1952, Winters aided him in getting a contract from Universal Studios. He made his film debut that same year in the movie The Redhead from Wyoming. Over the next three years, he played roles in a series of movies, but still had to work odd jobs to support his family. It was while delivering flowers for one of these jobs that he heard he had landed his biggest break — the role of "Chester" on the new television series Gunsmoke — the highest-rated and longest-running series in TV history (1955 to 1975). He received an Emmy Award in 1959 for Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series.

Having become famous as Chester, he was cast in an offbeat supporting role in the 1958 Orson Welles film Touch of Evil, in which he nervously repeated, "I'm the night watchman."

From 1967 to 1969, he appeared on the television show Gentle Ben as Tom Wedloe, which was about a gentle black bear, which gave the show its title.

He began appearing on the series McCloud in 1970, for which he received two Emmy Award nominations: in 1974, he was nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series and in 1975, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. His frequent use of the affirming Southernism, "There you go", became a catchphrase for the show.

From 1973 to 1975, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild.

In 1978, he played the trail boss R.J. Poteet in the television miniseries Centennial on the episode titled "The Longhorns". Dennis Weaver also appeared in many acclaimed television films. In 1980, he played Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned for involvement in the Lincoln assassination, in The Ordeal Of Doctor Mudd. In 1983, he played a real estate agent addicted to cocaine in Cocaine: One Man's Seduction. Weaver received probably the best reviews of his career when he starred in the 1987 film Bluffing It, in which he played a man who is illiterate.

In February 2002, he appeared on the animated series The Simpsons (episode DABF07, "The Lastest Gun in the West") as the voice of aging Hollywood cowboy legend Buck McCoy.

For his contribution to the television industry, Dennis Weaver was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6822 Hollywood Blvd, and on the Dodge City (KS) Trail of Fame. In 1981, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Dennis Weaver's most recent work was done on an ABC Family cable television show called Wildfire. He played Henry the father of Jean Ritter and the co-owner of Raintree Ranch, on the show. He was only on the show for season 1 before he died of cancer.

Private life

Weaver had been a vegetarian (since 1958) and student of yoga and meditation since the 1960s. He was also renowned as an environmentalist, promoting eating lower on the food chain, alternate fuels such as hydrogen and wind power through an educational organization he founded, The Institute of Ecolonomics. He was also involved with John Denver's WindStar Foundation. The "Earth Ship", the personal home he built in Ridgway, Colorado during the late 1980s, incorporated recycled materials in its construction and featured advanced eco-technologies for the time.

Weaver was consistently involved with the annual Genesis Awards, which were created by The Ark Trust to honor those in the media who bring attention to the plight and suffering of animals.

"There will come a time...when civilized people will look back in horror on our generation and the ones that preceded it: the idea that we should eat other living things running around on four legs, that we should raise them just for the purpose of killing them! The people of the future will say "meat-eaters!" in disgust and regard us in the same way we regard cannibals and cannibalism" -Dennis Weaver

Weaver died of complications arising from cancer at the age of 81, on February 24th, 2006.

External links

Official website
Archive of American Television 2-1/2 hour career-wide interview with Dennis Weaver on Google Video
Gunsmoke 50th Anniversary 2005 from Dodge City, Kansas
Dennis and Gerry Weaver Marriage Profile
Animal Planet Genesis Awards, commentary on going Vegetarian in 1958
(information on his ancestry)
Dennis Weaver Obituary

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Dennis Weaver

Early life

Career

Private life

External links