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Dennis Weaver 1924 - 2006

Dennis Weaver of Ridgway, Ouray County, CO was born on June 4, 1924, and died at age 81 years old on February 24, 2006.

Dennis Weaver

Ridgway, Ouray County, CO 81432

June 4, 1924

February 24, 2006

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Dennis Weaver Dennis Weaver (1924 - 2006)

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Dennis Weaver's History: 1924 - 2006

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06/4

1924

Birthday

June 4, 1924

Birthdate

Unknown

Birthplace

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Nationality & Locations

Occupation Actor Years active 1952–2005 Spouse(s) Gerry Stowell (m. 1945) Children 3 18th President of the Screen Actors Guild In office 1973–1975 Preceded by John Gavin Succeeded by Kathleen Nolan William Dennis Weaver[1] (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until not long before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most famous roles were as Marshal Matt Dillon's trusty partner Chester Goode/Proudfoot on the CBS western Gunsmoke and as Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud. He starred in the 1971 television film Duel, the first film of director Steven Spielberg. He is also remembered for his role as the twitchy motel attendant in Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil (1958).
Military Service

During World War II he served as a pilot in the United States Navy, flying Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft.
Professional Career

Actor. GUNSMOKE. Dennis Weaver From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Dennis Weaver Dennis Weaver 1960.JPG Weaver in 1960 Born June 4, 1924 Joplin, Missouri, U.S. Died February 24, 2006 (aged 81) Ridgway, Colorado, U.S. Early life Weaver was born June 4, 1924, in Joplin, Missouri, the son of Walter Leon Weaver and his wife Lenna Leora Prather. His father was of English, Irish, Scottish, Cherokee, and Osage ancestry. Weaver wanted to be an actor from childhood. He lived in Shreveport, Louisiana, for several years and for a short time in Manteca, California. He studied at Joplin Junior College, now Missouri Southern State University, then transferred to the University of Oklahoma at Norman, where he studied drama and was a track star, setting records in several events. [2] After the war, he married Gerry Stowell (his childhood sweetheart), with whom he had three children. Under the name Billy D. Weaver, he tried out for the 1948 U.S. Olympic team in the decathlon,[3] finishing sixth behind 17-year-old high school track star Bob Mathias. However, only the top three finishers were selected.[4] Weaver later commented, "I did so poorly [in the Olympic Trials], I decided to ... stay in New York and try acting." Dennis Weaver as David Mann, in Duel. In 1970 Weaver landed the title role in the NBC series McCloud, for which he received two Emmy Award nominations. In 1974, he was nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series (McCloud) and in 1975, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. The show, about a modern western lawman who ends up in New York City, was loosely based on the Clint Eastwood film Coogan's Bluff. His frequent use of the affirming Southernism, "There you go," became a catchphrase for the show. During the series, in 1971, Weaver also appeared in Duel, a television movie directed by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg selected Weaver based on the intensity of his earlier performance in Touch of Evil.[9] Weaver was also a recording artist, with most of his tracks being spoken-word recordings with musical accompaniment.[10] He released several singles and albums between 1959 and 1984, most notable of which was his eponymous Im'press Records LP in 1972, the cover of which featured a portrait of Weaver in character as McCloud; it was the first of seven albums he would record.[11] From 1973 to 1975, Weaver was president of the Screen Actors Guild. Later series during the 1980s (both of which lasted only one season) were Stone in which Weaver played a Joseph Wambaugh-esque police sergeant turned crime novelist and Buck James in which he played a Texas-based surgeon and rancher. (Buck James was loosely based on real-life Texas doctor James "Red" Duke.) He portrayed a Navy rear admiral for 22 episodes of a 1983–1984 series, Emerald Point N.A.S.. In 1977 he portrayed a husband who physically abused his wife (portrayed by Sally Struthers) in the made-for-TV movie Intimate Strangers, one of the first network features to depict domestic violence. In 1978, Weaver played the trail boss R. J. Poteet in the television mini-series Centennial, in the installment titled "The Longhorns." Weaver also appeared in many acclaimed television films, including 'Amber Waves'(1980) with Kurt Russell. Also in 1980, he portrayed Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned for involvement in the Lincoln assassination, in The Ordeal Of Doctor Mudd and starred with his real-life son Robby Weaver in the short-lived NBC police series Stone.[12] 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.[13] 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 Hall of Great Western Performers with the Bronze Wrangler Award at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In the 1980s and 1990s, Weaver as McCloud was used to promote a rock show in New York City. He also hosted segments for the Encore Westerns premium cable network in the late 1990s and 2000s. Weaver's last work was done on an ABC Family cable television show called Wildfire, where he played Henry Ritter, the father of Jean Ritter and the co-owner of Raintree Ranch. His role on the show was cut short due to his death. Personal life Weaver in 2000 Weaver married Gerry Stowell after World War II and they had three sons: Richard, Robert, and Rustin Weaver. Dennis Weaver was a vegetarian since 1958[14] and student of yoga and meditation since the 1960s and a devoted follower of Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian guru who established the Self-Realization Fellowship in the United States. Gerry died April 26, 2016, at 90.[15] Weaver's own home in Ridgway, Colorado, exemplified his commitment to preserving the environment. In the late 1980s, he commissioned architect Michael Reynolds to design and build his new residence, which incorporated into its construction various recycled materials, such as old automobile tires and discarded cans, and featured passive solar power and other eco-technologies. Weaver called his home "Earthship," the same name given to the design concept pioneered by Reynolds and advanced by him as part of what was then a growing interest in "sustainable architecture" by environmentalists. Weaver and his family lived at Earthship for over fourteen years, until 2004.[16] In July 2003, Weaver lost a daughter-in-law, Lynne Ann Weaver, wife of son Robby Weaver, in Santa Monica, California, when a car driven at high speed plowed through shoppers at the Santa Monica Farmers Market. She was one of ten people killed in the incident.[17] Weaver was a lifelong active Democrat.[18] Activism Weaver was an environmentalist, who promoted the use of alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and wind power, through The Institute of Ecolonomics, a non-profit environmental organization he established in 1993 in Berthoud, Colorado. "Ecolonomics" is a term formed by combining the words ecology and economics.[19][20] He was also involved with John Denver's WindStar Foundation, and he founded an organization called L.I.F.E. (Love is Feeding Everyone), which provided food for 150,000 needy people a week in Los Angeles.[19] Weaver was also active in liberal political causes. He used his celebrity status as a fundraiser and organizer for George McGovern's campaign for president in 1972.[21] In 2004, he led a fleet of alternative fuel vehicles across the United States in order to raise awareness about America's dependence on oil.[19] Weaver was consistently involved with the annual Genesis Awards, which honor those in the news and entertainment media who bring attention to the plight and suffering of animals. Established by The Ark Trust, the award has been presented by the Humane Society of the United States since 2002.[22] 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[23] Death Weaver died of complications from prostate cancer in Ridgway, Colorado, on February 24, 2006.[24]
Personal Life & Family

Career Weaver's first role on Broadway came as an understudy to Lonny 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,[5] where he met Shelley Winters. In the beginning of his acting career, he supported his family by doing odd jobs, including selling vacuum cleaners, tricycles, and women's hosiery. In 1952, Shelley Winters helped him get 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 in a series of movies, but still had to work odd jobs to support his family. It was while delivering flowers that he heard he had landed the role of Chester Goode, the limping, loyal assistant of Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) on the new television series Gunsmoke. It was his big break; the show would go on to become the highest-rated and longest-running live action series in United States television history (1955 to 1975). He received an Emmy Award in 1959 for Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series. Weaver as Chester, Milburn Stone as Doc, and Amanda Blake as Kitty in Gunsmoke, 1960 According to the Archive of American Television interview with Weaver, the producer had him in mind for Chester, but could not locate him, and was delighted when he showed up to audition. Never having heard the radio show, Weaver gave Chester's "inane" dialog his best Method delivery. Disappointed in his delivery, however, the producer asked for something humorous, and Weaver nailed it. The stiff leg came about when the producer pointed out that sidekicks almost always have some failing or weakness that makes them less-capable than the star. Weaver decided that a stiff leg would be just the right thing.[6] In 1957, Weaver appeared as Commander B.D. Clagett in a single episode of the television series The Silent Service titled "Two Davids and Goliath" (S01 E14). Having become famous as Chester, he was next cast in an offbeat supporting role in the 1958 Orson Welles film Touch of Evil,[7] in which he played a face-twisting, body-contorting eccentric employee of a remote motel who nervously repeated, "I'm the night man." In 1960, he appeared in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled "Insomnia," in which his character suffers from sleeplessness due to the tragic death of his wife. He also co-starred in a 1961 episode of The Twilight Zone titled "Shadow Play". In that episode Weaver's character is trapped inside his own revolving nightmare, repeatedly being tried, sentenced, and then executed in the electric chair.[8] Later, from 1964 to 1965, he portrayed a friendly veterinary physician in NBC's comedy-drama Kentucky Jones. He had a significant role in the 1966 western Duel at Diablo, with James Garner and Sidney Poitier. His next substantial role was as Tom Wedloe on the CBS family series Gentle Ben, with co-star Clint Howard, from 1967 to 1969.
02/24

2006

Death

February 24, 2006

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

Unknown
Death location

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Obituary

Dennis Weaver, 81, Sidekick on 'Gunsmoke,' Dies By Felicia R. Lee Feb. 28, 2006 He was 81. Dennis Weaver, whose portrayal of Deputy Chester Goode in the classic television western "Gunsmoke" made him the favorite sidekick of the early television era, died on Friday at his home in Ridgway, Colo. The cause was complications of cancer, said Julian Myers, his publicist. The lanky Mr. Weaver became famous for his limping deputy with a drawl, the buddy of Marshal Matt Dillon, a portrayal for which he won an Emmy in 1959. But he starred in nine television series. From 1955 to 1964, he was on "Gunsmoke," the longest-running prime-time drama series on television. He also starred in "Gentle Ben," from 1967 to 1969, playing Tom Wedloe, an Everglades ranger who adopts a black bear as a pet. He went from nerd to sex symbol in "McCloud," playing Sam McCloud, a New Mexico deputy marshal on loan to the New York City police, who sometimes rode his horse through the city streets. "McCloud," which was broadcast from 1970 to 1977, earned him two Emmy nominations. Mr. Weaver also had leading roles in 40 motion pictures, including Orson Welles's 1958 film "Touch of Evil," and the 1971 classic "Duel," directed by a young Steven Spielberg, made for television but released theatrically in Europe. In it, he played the prey of a murderous truck, with an unseen driver. After growing up on a Missouri farm, Mr. Weaver served as a Naval Air Corps pilot, and he graduated with a degree in fine arts in theater from the University of Oklahoma. In 1948, he was a decathlon finalist in the United States Olympic trials. He was in his 20s when he made his Broadway debut in "Come Back, Little Sheba," which led to his signing a contract with Universal Studios and going to Hollywood. He did not hit it big in Hollywood, and during his struggle to make a living as an actor, his jobs included selling pantyhose and delivering flowers. After playing a series of character actors, often in Westerns, he landed the role of Chester Goode in "Gunsmoke." Mr. Weaver's long career ranged beyond acting. He released several country music albums and had a one-man show in which he played 19 different Shakespearean characters. At one time he had a comedy/variety stage show with his wife, Gerry, and son Rusty. He directed several episodes of various television shows, wrote poetry, and in 2001, his autobiography, "All the World's a Stage," was published. In 1982, with his wife and some friends, he founded an organization called Love Is Feeding Everyone, which fed more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles each week. In 1993, he and his wife founded a nonprofit group called the Institute of Ecolonomics -- a word Mr. Weaver coined from combining ecology and economics -- to find solutions to environmental problems. In 2003 the institute created a "Drive to Survive" campaign in which Mr. Weaver led a fleet of alterative-fuel vehicles on a cross-country tour to Washington to raise awareness about reducing the country's dependence on oil. Since 1990, Mr. Weaver and his wife had lived in an Earthship: an almost 10,000-square-foot, solar-powered home in Ridgway constructed from about 3,000 recycled tires and 300,000 tin and aluminum cans. From 1973 to 1975, Mr. Weaver was president of the Screen Actors Guild. In 1986 he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For the last nine years, he had been the host of Starz Entertainment's "Westerns" channel. His last role was as Henry Ritter, a grandfather in "Wildfire," a dramatic series on the ABC Family Channel. Besides his wife, Gerry, and son Rusty, Mr. Weaver is survived by his sons Rick and Rob, and three grandchildren.

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Dennis Weaver lived 8 years longer than the average family member when died at the age of 81.

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