I think the chances are good that I know more about JA than anyone who posts here, and definitely more about Gunsmoke. My main 'official' reference, though I haven't consulted it in years, is Gunsmoke: A Complete History by Suzanne and Gabor Barabas, casually known as "Big Red" by serious fans. Its 600+ pages relates the biography of each cast member and many guest stars, and the episode guide gives the plot and cast of each episode. I am part of a couple of fan groups that share fan fictions, thoughts, quizzes, et al. I have written about 15 or more stories, including a 5-part novelette coupling the GS cast in Dodge City with the Anderson family from Virginia in Shenandoah as they move west and pass through. My interest in GS has given my brother and sister-n-law an annual Christmas present theme, and I have posters, mouse pads, a tie, cassette tapes, a U.S. Marshal's badge, an album by Ken Curtis ["Festus Haggin"] and more such stuff.
Anyway, someone said James Arness "seemed to have good moral qualities and high ideals." Well, that's probably debatable; although as an aging actor with tragedies in his family, he may have become more like that ideal as time passed. But as a young adult he was a drifter, though his voice and tall, handsome appearance got him a few radio and theater jobs, and even after he went to California (he was from Minnesota) he worked blue collar jobs between his few acting parts and was more interested in surfing and hanging around the beaches. It's well known it was John Wayne, with whom he had worked on 3 movies, that suggested the part of Matt Dillon for him after Wayne declined it, admitting in various ways that he didn't like actors taller than he was, and he didn't want to get perpetually paired with him, as seemed to be happening.
The part of Matt had virtually been offered to Denver Pyle before Arness was the last man to audition, and then John Meston and company couldn't deny that Pyle looked excellent, but Arness was near perfection for what they wanted. Still, Arness didn't really take the role seriously at first, nor acting in general. Milburn Stone, the veteran actor who played Doc Adams, was the direct opposite, who took acting very seriously, and lectured Arness on continually being late and then 'just fooling around' when he did get on the set. While he never gave up his liking for jokes-- one of his favorite being to pass gas in the middle of a serious scene-- he gradually came to respect his role and his fellow performers more, as no one could argue with the success of a show that stays at the top for a decade. At the same time, he became increasingly uncomfortable with public interest and the media, and since the early 60's he has seldom granted interviews or appeared at public functions.
However, I do have a copy of a special appearance he did make about 2003, when our group from delphi.com met him, Buck Taylor ["Newly O'Brian"], Laurie Prange [The "Wild Child"] and writer Jim Burns. He gave autographs, and his manager conducted a Q&A session in which he and the others answered questions and told about their experiences with the series. I haven't read his most recent, and obviously last, blog, but I have read elsewhere that he requested it be published posthumously.
