James Arness Shot 15-Foot Hoops With Crumpled ‘Gunsmoke’ Scripts After Using His Photographic Memory to Memorize Them
Gunsmoke actor James Arness earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues over the course of his career. Co-star Milburn Stone didn’t initially like him whatsoever, but the U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon actor ultimately won him over with his undeniable charm. Newly O’Brien actor Buck Taylor once recalled how Arness had a photographic memory and played hoops with the crumpled-up scripts after memorizing them.
‘Gunsmoke’ actor James Arness initially intimidated Buck Taylor
According to James Arness: An Autobiography, the lead Gunsmoke actor was one of the most recognizable figures in America at the time. As a result, any new performers joining the show often had a sprinkle of nervousness when it came to meeting the man. Taylor first starred on the show in season 13 and remained there until CBS canceled the show in 1975 after the 20th season.
The actor admitted that he grew up watching Arness on Gunsmoke, so it was “unbelievable” that he would get the chance to star in it. However, Taylor was initially intimidated by Arness’ sheer size at a staggering 6’7″ tall. Nevertheless, he found the leading man to be “a real hero of a man” and said that he was “in awe of the guy.”
James Arness memorized ‘Gunsmoke’ scripts before crumpling them up and shooting 15-foot hoops
Taylor once revealed in the same book that Gunsmoke‘s leading man, Arness, had a photographic memory that shocked him. He said that he didn’t think he actually read the scripts, but he would look at the pages “one by one,” which only took him about a minute to complete. After gaining an understanding of the given episode’s plot, he would simply respond, “Yeah, OK” before crumpling the pages up and getting to work.
Arness took the Gunsmoke script pages and aimed to throw them into a trashcan 15 feet away. Taylor continued that his co-star would “score a basket, then turn around and the director would say, ‘OK let’s shoot it.'”
Nobody on the set thought the actor would remember his lines after taking such a brief look at the pages. Nevertheless, other actors would be the ones to botch lines and ruin the scene, not Arness. He could recite the lines as they were written.
Buck Taylor explained how he thought his co-star memorized the lines
Taylor wrote in James Arness: An Autobiography about how he thought the star memorized lines so quickly. He wasn’t entirely confident in the answer, but he attributed it to the length of time that Arness played Matt. He had a strong understanding of how the character would react to situations and what he would say in response to the other characters.
Arness would occasionally reject portions of the script and admit that Matt would never say that, changing how he performed it. Meanwhile, Taylor felt that he needed to memorize the scene to follow whatever his co-star would suggest at the moment. As a result, he learned an abundance of knowledge that Taylor was able to take into other facets of his career.
