Sad news today. After my lighhearted post about Glenn "Sam the Bartender" Strange yesterday, I just saw the news that James Arness passed away today of natural causes. He was 88 years old.
This is just a year after his brother, Peter Graves left us. Graves was 83.
Those two were giants in Hollywood, in more ways than one. The brothers were both over 6 feet tall. They brought me a lot of pleasure over the years, with quality acting in everything they touched.
They were not Bit Actors in any way, and they will be missed.
Star that he was, Jim did start out as a bit actor in "The Farmer's Daughter" and "Stars in My Crown". Of course at his height he was not one to fade into the background. Once seen, never forgotten.
ReplyDeleteHe received good billing for his "bit" as Garvey in "Battleground". With Jim's passing, does that leave only Jerome Courtland from that fabled cast?
I guess most actors start out as Bit Actors, they have to learn somewhere. I haven't seen Battleground, but it looks like a winner, with Van Johnson in the lead.
ReplyDeleteIn "Gunsmoke," the only regular left standing (or rather, working) is Buck Taylor (b. 1938) who played Newly starting in 1967. He has 174 episodes listed on IMDb, but they aren't very accurate for TV shows.
If you want to check out "Battleground" and you get TCM, they are showing it this Thursday (June 9) at 6PM, followed by Jim in "Them!" for Creature Feature night.
ReplyDeleteI may just set that on my DVR. Thanks!
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