James King Arness (May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke for 20 years. His brother was actor Peter Graves. Arness has the distinction of having played the role of Marshal Matt Dillon in five separate decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987) and four more made-for-TV Gunsmoke movies in the 1990s. In Europe Arness reached cult status for his role as Zeb Macahan in the western series How the West Was Won.
James Arness was in two Sci-Fi Classics – The original THING as the monster, and as the FBI man in THEM.
Arness has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1751 Vine Street. In 1981
James Arness Cause of Death
James Arness died of natural causes at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles, California on June 3, 2011. James Arness was 88 years old a the time of his death
Gunsmoke “The Killer”, James Arness is Sheriff Dillon