Milburn Stone Thought ‘Gunsmoke’ Was ‘Dead’ After Dennis Weaver Left the Show
Actor Milburn Stone thought Gunsmoke was officially “dead” when co-star Dennis Weaver left the television show. He was overjoyed to earn the part of Doc Adams and it took some time for him to warm up to his co-stars, including Weaver, James Arness, and Amanda Blake. But, once he did, they became a family of their own. Stone didn’t think there was any way forward for Gunsmoke when one of them wasn’t going to continue on.
Dennis Weaver left ‘Gunsmoke’ after 9 seasons
Along with Stone and the rest of the lead cast, Weaver was one of the original Gunsmoke cast members. He played Chester Goode starting in the first season, which made some significant changes since the radio adaptation of the character. First of all, they changed his surname from Proudfoot to Goode. Additionally, Weaver had to implement a limp into the role to give the impression that he’s supposedly less capable than U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon.
Nevertheless, Weaver brought a legendary performance to Matt’s loyal assistant that would make him famous. He had the opportunity to star in Gunsmoke for nine seasons, but he ultimately saw a path forward that didn’t include the Western television show. Rather, he wanted the chance to flex his creative muscles in other roles, including NBC’s McCloud and Steven Spielberg’s Duel.
Milburn Stone thought ‘Gunsmoke’ would be ‘dead’ after Dennis Weaver quit
In an interview with Kansas History, Stone explained that he thought Gunsmoke was over when Weaver left the show. Doc and Chester regularly bounced off one another, which gave his character nobody to bounce off of. Additionally, Matt no longer had a loyal assistant standing by his side, leaving a void in the show.
“I was amazed at Chester; he was one of the purest characters I’ve ever seen in my life,” Stone said. “Was he pure! I thought when Dennis Weaver [who played Chester] left the show, we were dead. Instead of one Emmy, I felt Dennis should have had five because there wasn’t a better performance anyplace.”
However, Gunsmoke would find a valuable addition with Ken Curtis, who starred as Festus Haggen. He would become the new loyal assistant, who Stone also held great respect for. They had a friendship that ran deeper than between the characters.
“And Ken Curtis [who played Festus] was exactly the same way,” Stone said. “The relationship that I loved most of all was the Doc-Festus relationship. It was a Hope-Crosby or Jack Benny-Fred Allen kind of relationship. If two guys really love each other, the only way they can make love is to insult each other–make fun of your best friend’s ears, or whatever.”
Stone continued: “We didn’t know what the hell we were going to do to replace Chester. It left a hell of a voice. And it was a particular void on my part, because it left Doc without a playmate. I felt Doc used to get up with one big purpose in mind, aside from his professional duties, and that was to ruin Chester’s day. But the thing about Chester was that I had to be careful, because I could hurt his feelings. Chester was a little dog that came to town, and Matt made the mistake of feeding him. People would resent my hurting his feelings, little lame Chester.”
The show ran for 20 seasons
Stone would continue to star as Doc on Gunsmoke all the way through the remainder of the series without Weaver. He will always remain one of the core members of the group, but his exit didn’t mark the end of the show. It would run for a staggering 20 seasons, setting records for decades as the longest-running primetime, live-action television series.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit broke the record with its 21st season premiere in 2019. Meanwhile, The Simpsons surpassed it for the most scripted episodes in 2018.
