James Arness by Arness James & Wise James E. Jr

Author:Arness, James & Wise, James E., Jr. [Arness, James]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: McFarland Publishing
Published: 2001-09-09T16:00:00+00:00

Public appearance in Tampa, Florida, 1958. I did many shows like this during the early years of Gunsmoke, traveling all over the country visiting fairs, rodeos, circuses, military bases and prisons. (Arness Collection.)

I had to do three shows over a weekend, for a fee of $5,000. Well, things kind of bombed. First off my comedy gig fell flat, and I knew immediately that the audience didn’t want to hear Matt Dillon do comedy. Then the rodeo, which was really an amateur affair, didn’t draw much enthusiasm from the crowd. After each performance, though, I was mobbed by fans, which said a lot for the popularity of Gunsmoke.

After the affair was over, the priest invited us back to the rectory. There he told me that their monetary goals had fallen far short. Would I consider not taking a fee for my performances? God would bless me, and the sisters of the school would offer up their prayers in my behalf. I agreed, much to the chagrin of the agency rep. He just sat there shaking his head. But soon his mood was to improve, if not his financial situation: We had a few hours before the plane took off, so the priest asked if we’d like to go down to a local night club and see a terrific entertainer who did a fast-draw routine. We agreed, and lo and behold, the star of the show was Sammy Davis, Jr. Sammy was told I was in the audience before he went on, and when he made his appearance, he said, “We have a great guy with us tonight that you all know and love. He’s got a great western on television, Gunsmoke. We’ve got Matt Dillon here!”

He invited me up to the stage, where he continued his complimentary remarks and then said we’d take a quick break while he changed costumes. Within minutes we were back on stage, Sammy dressed in black as a frontier gunfighter. He went into his fast-draw act and was really fast-firing off a few blank cartridges, much to the delight of the audience. I stood with him during his dazzling display, and told him he was indeed the fastest gunman alive.

We had a great time joking around, and the crowd loved it. He asked about appearing on Gunsmoke at some future date and I, of course, said anytime. Sammy wasn’t at his theatrical peak yet, but he was an incredible performer who would soon become a major, multi-talented star.

During the first three years of Gunsmoke, I did many appearances around the country. The show was so popular that often I didn’t need to be directly connected to an event. Just showing up was enough to draw huge crowds of fans. Dennis Weaver appeared with me during some of the promotions, and he often drew a bigger audience response than I did, since his character was so beloved. By this time I was making 10 to 15 thousand dollars a weekend; the money just flowed in.

However, there were times when we’d get scammed by someone who ran off with a show’s receipts before we got paid.

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