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:( R.I.P. Dennis Weaver. I remember my parents watching him as McCloud.

My two favorite movies starring him were Duel and Terror on the Beach.

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'Gunsmoke' Actor Dennis Weaver Dies
By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 8 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Dennis Weaver, the slow-witted deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western "Gunsmoke" and the New Mexico deputy solving New York crime in "McCloud," has died. The actor was 81.

Weaver died of complications from cancer Friday at his home in Ridgway, in southwestern Colorado, his publicist Julian Myers said.

Weaver was a struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, "Gunsmoke." By the end of his nine years with "Gunsmoke," he was earning $9,000 a week.

When Weaver first auditioned for the series, he found the character of Chester "inane." He wrote in his 2001 autobiography, "All the World's a Stage," that he said to himself: "With all my Actors Studio training, I'll correct this character by using my own experiences and drawing from myself."

The result was a well-rounded character that appealed to audiences, especially with his drawling, "Mis-ter Dil-lon."

At the end of seven hit seasons, Weaver sought other horizons. He announced his departure, but the failures of pilots for his own series caused him to return to "Gunsmoke" on a limited basis for two more years. The role brought him an Emmy in the 1958-59 season.

In 1966, Weaver starred with a 600-pound black bear in "Gentle Ben," about a family that adopts a bear as a pet. The series was well-received, but after two seasons, CBS decided it needed more adult entertainment and cancelled it.

Next came the character Sam McCloud, which Weaver called "the most satisfying role of my career."

The "McCloud" series, 1970-1977, juxtaposed a no-nonsense lawman from Taos, N.M., onto the crime-ridden streets of New York City. His wild-west tactics, such as riding his horse through Manhattan traffic, drove local policemen crazy, but he always solved the case.

He appeared in several movies, including "Touch of Evil," "Ten Wanted Men," "Gentle Giant," "Seven Angry Men," "Dragnet," "Way ... Way Out" and "The Bridges at Toko-Ri."

Weaver also was an activist for protecting the environment and combating world hunger.

He served as president of Love Is Feeding Everyone (LIFE), which fed 150,000 needy people a week in Los Angeles County. He founded the Institute of Ecolonomics, which sought solutions to economic and environmental problems. He spoke at the United Nations and Congress, as well as to college students and school children about fighting pollution and starvation.

"Earthship" was the most visible of Weaver's crusades. He and his wife Gerry built a solar-powered Colorado home out of recycled tires and cans. The thick walls helped keep the inside temperature even year around.

"When the garbage man comes," Jay Leno once quipped, "how does he know where the garbage begins and the house ends?"

Weaver responded: "If we get into the mindset of saving rather than wasting and utilizing other materials, we can save the Earth."

The tall, slender actor came by his Midwestern twang naturally. He was born June 4, 1924, in Joplin, Mo., where he excelled in high school drama and athletics. After Navy service in World War II, he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma and qualified for the Olympic decathlon.

He studied at the Actors Studio in New York and appeared in "A Streetcar Named Desire" opposite Shelley Winters and toured in "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth.

Universal Studio signed Weaver to a contract in 1952 but found little work for him. He freelanced in features and television until he landed "Gunsmoke."

Weaver appeared in dozens of TV movies, the most notable being the 1971 "Duel." It was a bravura performance for both fledgling director Steven Spielberg and Weaver, who played a driver menaced by a large truck that followed him down a mountain road. The film was released in theaters in 1983, after Spielberg had become director of huge moneymakers.

Weaver's other TV series include "Kentucky Jones," "Emerald Point N.A.S.," "Stone" and "Buck James." From 1973 to 1975, he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Weaver is survived by his wife; sons Rick, Robby and Rusty; and three grandchildren.

So very sad... they say celebrities die in threes... Don Knotts, Darren McGavin and now Dennis Weaver... :(

:rip:

:rip: don, darren, and dennis. whoa, d's. this is so sad. :(

Oh my, there's the third celebrity, they say they always die in "threes"...i love him best in the movie Duel, Steven Spielberg's first movie. God, what a great actor he was. May he RIP.

Wow, this is weird. When Don Knotts died, I asked my sister "Guess who died"? and before she guessed Don, one of her answers was Dennis Weaver!!

I watched McCloud alot as a kid when it was part of the Tuesday night series(it was something like that) and it showed McCloud, Columbo, & MacMillan & Wife.

:rip: Dennis

Rip dENNIS :( :RIP:

Its just awful. I grew up watching him on Gentle Ben and McCloud. He was a great actor and he always seemed like such a nice man. R.I.P. Dennis. :(

very sad, I am a big Gunsmoke fan and because TV Land does not show the seasons when he is on I was not able to see him on till I got the DVD set in January. I got to say I like all Gunsmoke but he brought something to the show that Ken Curtis could not. RIP Mr Weaver.

I just heard about Dennis. RIP, Dennis. :(

He also starred in the 1982 psycho-thriller "Don't Go to Sleep" as the father, Phillip. The forum is in my signature.

very sad, I am a big Gunsmoke fan and because TV Land does not show the seasons when he is on I was not able to see him on till I got the DVD set in January. I got to say I like all Gunsmoke but he brought something to the show that Ken Curtis could not. RIP Mr Weaver.
Yea I liked him on Gunsmoke too. I never saw the episodes of him on Gunsmoke until The Western Channel started airing although I do have the first episode on a VHS tape I bought years ago. They never really reran those episodes in the 70's.

Wow, he was in Gentle Ben??!! Did he play the dad?

Ron Howard's brother Clint played the kid.

This is really sad news. He was awesome in Duel. RIP!! :(

This is really sad news. He was awesome in Duel. RIP!! :(I loved that movie!! :cool:

Another good man gone. Rest In Peace Mr. Weaver.

Wow, he was in Gentle Ben??!! Did he play the dad?

Ron Howard's brother Clint played the kid.

I just read an article where Clint Howard was saying that Dennis introduced Clint's & Ron's parents to each other so if it weren't for Dennis, Clint & Ron wouldn't even be here!!

Wow, he was in Gentle Ben??!! Did he play the dad?

Ron Howard's brother Clint played the kid.
Yep he played the dad.

Awwww. :( I watched McCloud and the Gunsmoke eps they show on Encore Westerns. I liked Chester.

I know celebs seem to die in 3s...but so close together?? Damn.

Did anyone see the 1973 TV-movie "Terror on the Beach" starring Dennis Weaver, Estelle Parsons, and a young Susan Dey? It's about a family on vacation at a remote beach who are terrorized by a group of hippies. I've seen that movie more than a few times and I always loved the fight scene at the end between Weaver and the leader of the thugs. Weaver fought very well with his fists. That said, maybe he could have handled the truck driver in Duel too had it came down to a street fight instead.

I loved that movie!! :cool:
I liked it too.

RIP, Dennis Weaver. :(