Gunsmoke is one of the longest-running scripted series in television history. So it’s no understatement to call it one of the most beloved TV series of all time. The show was a television institution like few others. In fact, only a handful of other shows – including reigning champ, The Simpsons – have lasted longer. But are any of the principal cast of Gunsmoke still alive?
‘Gunsmoke’ aired on CBS from 1955 to 1975
Some fans might not realize it, but Gunsmoke actually began as a radio series in 1951. In that version, actor William Conrad played the lead role of Marshal Matt Dillon. But it didn’t take long for Gunsmoke to transition into the burgeoning TV business. The TV show – with James Arness as Dillon – started in 1955 on CBS and ran for a full 20 years, switching from black and white to color midway through its run. It even spawned a pair of reunion TV movies in 1987 and 1990.
In addition to Arness, Gunsmoke starred Milburn Stone as Galen “Doc” Adams and Amanda Blake as Kathleen “Kitty” Russell for nearly its entire run. Dennis Weaver vacated his role as Chester B. Goode in 1964. And Ken Curtis joined the show as Festus Haggen the same year, staying until the series concluded. Countless other stars – including Glenn Strange and Burt Reynolds – joined the show later on, though neither stayed until Gunsmoke wrapped.
Only 2 main cast members are still alive in 2023
Of course, nearly 50 years have passed since Gunsmoke concluded. So most of the main cast has died some time since the show’s ending. In fact, there are only main cast members who are still alive.
Buck Taylor played gunsmith and deputy marshal Newly O’Brien from 1967 until 1975. Born in 1938, the actor is currently in his 80s and is remarkably still working in Hollywood.
In recent years, Taylor even returned to the Western genre. In 2018, he joined the cast of the Paramount+ series Yellowstone as Emmett Walsh. That show stars Kevin Costner as John Dutton III, owner/operator of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Taylor appeared in eight episodes of Yellowstone from 2018 to 2022, when he left the show.
Roger Ewing’s time on Gunsmoke was brief, but he was credited as part of the main cast. He played Thad Greenwood and was originally intended to replace Arness if contract negotiations went south. When Ewing left Gunsmoke after season 12, he was replaced by Taylor.
Ewing retired from acting in 1972 after appearing in the film Play It as It Lays. He turned 81 years old in 2023.
What happened to the main cast of ‘Gunsmoke’?
While Taylor and Ewing might still be with us, the rest of his Gunsmoke co-stars have seemingly moved on to that great cattle ranch in the sky. Arness died at age 88 in 2011 due to natural causes. Stone was age 75 when he died in 1980 of a heart attack. Blake was only 60 when she died in 1989.
While her death was initially reported to have been caused by liver failure brought on by viral hepatitis, it was later reported by The New York Times and other media outlets that she had died of AIDS. Weaver and Curtis, meanwhile, died in 2006 and 1991 of prostate cancer and a heart attack, respectively.
Burt Reynolds starred in the Gunsmoke main cast for three years. He died from a heart attack at age 82 in 2018.
Ken Curtis, known to Gunsmoke audiences as Festus Haggen, died in 1991. The actor was 74 years old when he died following a heart attack.
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