Especially John Meston, the writer and creator of Gunsmoke along with William Conrad. Strange that the radio version is forgotten by many people today.
I still watch frequently the original Gunsmoke TV Series from 1955 with Matt, Chester, Doc, & Kitty! Gunsmoke is a classic which will live on forever! Thank you...
Chester is my all time favorite GS character. I hated when he left after season 9 but he deserved to be a main role character and that’s exactly what he done.
His way of speaking was so lovely. My favorite movie starred by him is "duel" in 1971. And the fact i love about his life is that he and his wife were faithful in marriage since 1945 until his end of life, 2006 cuz he had passed away and gone to heaven. R.I.P 🙏🙏🙏
My Favorite show growing up! Matt Dylan was my ideal of what a man! No normal human being could not love Dennis Weavers "Chester" what a compelling character! His failings! His victories! So human! And a good human at that! Festus was also wonderful and Ken Curtis was amazingly talented also but The thought of Chester will always bring a smile to my face! May Mr. Weaver rest in piece!
Chester was a sweet, innocent, pure heart in a rough, cynical time and place. He was the one who often needed the protection of Matt, but he was loyal and often brave beyond his natural inclination.
I just started watching Gunsmoke for the first time. And it's like Season 8 going into Season 9 when Chester leaves and Festus comes in. All of which I've never seen. And latest episode was an early Ken Curtis playing a diabolical clean shaven killer with a killer smile. So to see the actual Festus for the first time will be so great. It's from like 1962 but I'm still excited.
I leaned a lot from the tv shows of the fifties and sixties they were very intertaining and held moral lessons. Gunsmoke was one of the best. I rode many a mile fighting bad men in the early sixies riding my imaginary horse armed with my plastic handled six shooters. Sadly I was gunned down many times and died horrible imaginary deaths only to get up the next day and ride sgain. Wonderful memories of an innocent time in my life.
Man the end of that video put a big smile on my face. Most of us know what it's like to get a great job. There's so much satisfaction in knowing that a company wants you. You can see he still smiles thinking about that day.
Gunsmoke was way ahead of it's time. People were murdered in cold blood with no apologies. The subject of rape was addressed. And the actors addressed it all very professionally.
Who are "they"? The Indians were treated like crap by the whites, both on the show and reality. The main characters treated them with some mode of dignity but the "true" history of which you speak cannot show whites being "fair" in any regard and still be historically accurate. @@lenoregorman4688
Great show. Addressed all kinds of issues without actually showing much violence at all. Sure shootings but even those had very little blood or gore. Alot of great storylines, character actors and future stars having guest roles. The big guy was a natural. That backhand is iconic.
".....without showing much violence at all." Are you kidding? Matt averaged about 2 killings per episode before he was forced to tone it down a little in later years. Every episode started out with him gunning somebody down for almost the entire run just in case he didn't do it some time during the show.
I loved “Gunsmoke” throughout my childhood. I always watched it. I seem to recall it was on Saturday night. Chester was such a lovable character, but hearing the story about how it happened, all these years later, is wonderful. Thank you, Mr. Weaver. RIP.
What made the black & white episodes so compelling was the way the harsh, often tragic realities of frontier life were honestly portrayed. GUNSMOKE packed more drama into a half-hour than many TV series did in 90 minutes. I particularly enjoyed the humorous, sarcastic exchanges between Chester and Doc. I vividly recall a hilarious promo in which Matt, Chester and Doc were chatting. Chester told Doc he looked "kind of glassy-eyed ... from watching too much television." I wish somebody would find it and post it on TH-cam. I'd love to see it again.
I liked 'Chester' and he did add something to GUNSMOKE. My Father was US Army buddies of James Arness. I saw Mr. Arness quite loften as a kid. 8 years old. I knew NOTHING of Celebrity etc. Neither did Mr. Arness nor did he care. He was just VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE WORK JOH N WAYNE HELPED HIM GET. This is all I remember. My dad was one of those guys in 1950's always wearing a suit, drinking, smoking Camels w/out Filter, Dancing, Dating LOTS OF WOMEN in Malibu and Santa Monica. He looked a little like Robert Redford. However, that KILLED HIM AT AGE 61. Too much Living. Smoking. Drinking. Etc. I did get ONE oppty. as a Kid age 9 to work on Gunsmoke SET. I was simply 'Blocking' for a scene. (Setting it up with camera for actor. Age 13). Mr. Arness kept asking me if 'Are you Excited Jimmy? You having Fun?) Well, NO. I hated the Desert, Heat, Horse shit, and Wardrobe....lol I was a Surfer in Malibu....I was out of my element. I didn't think of ACTING for a living at age 9. My dad was a drunk so no help at all.....Anyway, I am ON SET and a kid shows up. THE LEAD. AGE 13. I later years laterb found out IT WAS KURT RUSSELL. lol He was there to Play "PACKY KERLIN" 1870 RUNAWAY COWBOY, TEENAGER, Looking for his Mother in DODGE CITY. I studied all the lines in case Kurt didn't show up. HE DID....It was the start of a WONDERFUL CAREER. At a young age. He worked on GUNSMOKE again. I think 3 episodes? And other TV shows. He was a NATURAL...He really was. So comfortable. Thanks for the VIDEO., Lots of memories. CHESTER GOODE AND FESTUS.....GREAT CHARACTERS. Dennis Weaver once SOLD Flowers at the Studios, Paramount? and people thought he had a little chip on his shoulder because he WANTED TO BE A LEAD MAN, He was Bitter and Upset about hving to play PARTS/CHARACTERS Below his sense of professionalism. he just thought he'd a MATT DILLON. Not a Chester. sad.
I couldn't stand the character of Chester. He was a useless bumbling fool who didn't even make good coffee. I liked Dennis Weaver in every other character he portrayed.
@@azsteve48 Yah, I liked Chester, but you're right about him being largely useless most of the time. He rarely carried a gun on him, unless they were out on a mission of some kind, looking for some bad guy.
The old black and white 30 minute Gunsmokes are my favorite, Along with Doc Adams I thought Chester was one of the greatest characters in the programs history.
JayDog. You're right. The 30 minute black/white episodes were well wrriten, acted, and directed. Many future stars got a part on the earlier shows. I think the 60 minute episodes changed the theme from being an adult Western to more of a family show,. And Matt only killed a maximum of two bad guys per show. I love it when Matt would always finish off a triumphant gun fight by saying, "Chester, get some men and clean this up".
@@donneary7104 fun fact; During the 20-year span of CBS’s Gunsmoke series, the number of people that Marshall Dillon killed ranges from 138 men and seven women to 303 people.
The episode where he was trying to build a place for him and his girlfriend who ultimately "done him wrong", and his trying to hold his feelings back at at the end. One of my favorites.
I thank Dennis played his role just as real as Jim ,Amanda, and Milburn played theirs . I loved all their shows then and all their reruns now . Ken Curtis was just as great to . Gunsmoke was and is the best western on tv .
Saw an interview with him where he said he added the limp so as to make him physically inferior to Matt Dillon. He said that made the role very difficult when it came to doing a lot of the physical stuff like running or mounting/dismounting horses, etc. but helped him get the role. In the first episode of the tv version, the first thing Dillon said to him was an insult, if memory serves me correctly.
In The Gallant Hours, a World War II movie about Admiral Halsey, Weaver played a pilot and aide to Admiral Halsey in that movie, but he also used that same folksy accent that he did as Chester in Gunsmoke.
I like all of Gunsmoke, Chester's great but Festus was the one I knew when I was a kid. I never saw the early gunsmokes until this last decade online, My Dad used to talk about Chester a lot. Then of course Mccloud was on in the. 70s!
I had no idea there were black and white episodes till I was grown! Festus and the colored episodes were all I knew , I’m sure glad I found those! I watch them everyday now.
Gunsmoke, complete with the character of Chester Goode, was a long running radio program long before the tv version. The radio Chester was always "comic sidekick"..,
He found the character, is speaking patterns, his logic, his humor and never deviated. Every once in awhile I swear he DID limp on the wrong leg though!
Great series Im watching the old episodes today and really enjoy chester kitty doc and sheriff matt dillion he has a real sense of law and duty with a fair minded approace ..
The radio version (which received much critical acclaim) had been on the air for several years before Dennis Weaver was selected for the later Television series. Parley Baer played Chester Wesley Proudfoot part and was named by William Conrad who also named Doc Adams played on radio by Howard McNear. The original radio part is not mentioned by Dennis Weaver in this interview. Dennis Weaver must have listened to the radio series as it ran alongside the television show from it's inception on April 26, 1952 until its' closing in June 1961. The accent and character Dennis Weaver used was very similar to that Parley Baer played on the radio version. Dennis Weaver may have been influenced by someone from Oklahoma as stated in this interview, but I find it very odd that he makes no mention of his predecessor Parley Baer, whose voice obviously influenced Dennis Weaver as it is so similar yet he makes no mention of it in this interview. It was as if the earlier radio version and both series written primarily by John Meston had never existed.
Parley Baer and Howard McNear became close friends during the radio run. One of them gave the eulogy for the other (Baer for McNear, I believe) when he passed away.
@@normanacree1635 There is a 5 hour documentary on the History of the Gunsmoke Radio Show (which is available from Radio Archives out of Spokane, WA) starring William Conrad, Georgia Ellis, Parley Baer, John Dehner and others who were still alive at the time of the 5 Hour Documentary was made for PBS about 1975. Howard McNear was the only cast member to have passed away, as he died from a series of strokes in 1969. Parley Baer has a long section outlining Howard McNear's funeral as he had been asked by Howard McNears' wife to do the Eulogy. His account is quite touching. The Documentary is well worth listening to by fans of both the radio and television series of Gunsmoke. Parley Baer was probably the longest lived of any cast member as he lived until he was 88 years old. Peggy Webber who starred in just about every radio show during the Golden Age of Radio (well into television) is still alive as of this writing!
He stuck his head back in the room and said "Are you sure you didn't want me to read for Matt Dillon?" That right there was comedy gold. Could you imagine Dennis playing Matt Dillon and James Arness playing Chester? Yea me neither.
I think Dennis Weaver was a great actor but I did not care for the Chester character he portrayed. I think he did a great job as McCloud and I really liked him in that role. He also did great in some movies he was in.
although james arness did have a pin in his right leg from an injury he got while in the army.but can u imagine james arness playing the part of chester hopping and skipping around like that.LOL
The half hour Gunsmoke's were the best! The stories were better and they just flowed right from beginning to end. The hour shows seem to have a bunch of filler in them and the main cast members were not as much of the focus of the show.
No, there is not such episode where you knew that Chester was leaving for good, or at least that is what I have read several places. He left to chase after somebody out East but no detailed explanation was ever given. Common practice on tv. I appreciate shows like M*A*S*H that often mention previous characters.
Nah, the 1/2 hour black and whites with Chester were WAY better. "Festus" was WAY unbelievable and ridiculous. Going to a full hour was tolerable for a short time. Then to color + a full hour + Festus was just awful.
Festus was pretty overbearing a lot of the time but when he wasn't, he was a good character. When 'Tales of Wells Fargo' went to 60 minutes, Dale Robertson complained it would ruin the show. As I stated watching other shows that had done the same thing, I could see his point. Some of the half hour episodes of those shows needed to be two parters but many of the 60 minute shows could have been cut to 30 and held my interest much better.@@tomfinley6620
not chester related but i listen to gunsmoke on old time radio. a few times i heard gene rodenberry was the writer. i have also seen lenard nemoy in westerns. make a living in westerns but sifi is the dream lol
I think that episode was on tonight (9/2/23). White men were murdering families, including children, and made it look like Indians were doing it to cover up their stealing horses. When Dillon figured out it was white men, he and Chester set up an ambush and basically murdered four of them before the other two surrendered.
No relation... I did not care for him as Chester, but liked everything I watched him in after that. As Chester he carried neither the strength nor humor that Festus did. But he was young and gained much more strenght as an actor afterward and perhaps due to his part as Chester. R I P Dennis Weaver.
I felt Chester was terrible back up for Dillon. He was always turning his back on a bad guy, getting hit on the head, locked up or out smarted. There was even an episode where Dillon tells a drunk Chester to lock someone up, which resulted in him being hit on the head and accused of murder! I wouldn’t have allowed someone like him to back me up with anything!
Rick Velocity it was on the radio verison of the show,before the tv version it was said it hurt it in the war being in the army not sure if it was disclosed on the tv show of course if it was would think,it would be in the first season
It was in the Civil War. It was mentioned on the radio show, and I believe once, the Doctor said once that Chester hurt his leg in "the war", which I assume was the U.S Civil War.
The old black and white are the best gunsmokes. One of the all time best shows ever, 20 seasons is no accident
Totally agree. You won't find any western shows like this today.
RIP to all members of the Gunsmoke cast and crew who have gone beyond ! I shall always remember you !!
Including William Conrad, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear and Parley Baer. The original characters of the radio version of Gunsmoke.
Especially John Meston, the writer and creator of Gunsmoke along with William Conrad. Strange that the radio version is forgotten by many people today.
I heard the gunsmoke radio episodes they gave me a different vibe it was so different hearing it and not seen it 😊
It was called the "Theater of the Mind", and indeed it was magically so.@@NiTeMaRe310
I still watch frequently the original Gunsmoke TV Series from 1955 with Matt, Chester, Doc, & Kitty! Gunsmoke is a classic which will live on forever! Thank you...
Chester is my all time favorite GS character. I hated when he left after season 9 but he deserved to be a main role character and that’s exactly what he done.
I have the box set of Gunsmoke. Watch several episodes every day. Great show. Love Chester.
His way of speaking was so lovely. My favorite movie starred by him is "duel" in 1971. And the fact i love about his life is that he and his wife were faithful in marriage since 1945 until his end of life, 2006 cuz he had passed away and gone to heaven. R.I.P 🙏🙏🙏
I bought a bag of coffee that has chicory in it. It was a bit expensive, but I only drink it when I’m watching Chester.
My Favorite show growing up! Matt Dylan was my ideal of what a man! No normal human being could not love Dennis Weavers "Chester" what a compelling character! His failings! His victories! So human! And a good human at that! Festus was also wonderful and Ken Curtis was amazingly talented also but The thought of Chester will always bring a smile to my face! May Mr. Weaver rest in piece!
Well Put!
I watch it every night.....what a cast....good times
Chester was a sweet, innocent, pure heart in a rough, cynical time and place. He was the one who often needed the protection of Matt, but he was loyal and often brave beyond his natural inclination.
loved his role on radio version, exactly as you describe him
I just started watching Gunsmoke for the first time.
And it's like Season 8 going into Season 9 when Chester leaves and Festus comes in. All of which I've never seen.
And latest episode was an early Ken Curtis playing a diabolical clean shaven killer with a killer smile.
So to see the actual Festus for the first time will be so great. It's from like 1962 but I'm still excited.
I leaned a lot from the tv shows of the fifties and sixties they were very intertaining and held moral lessons. Gunsmoke was one of the best. I rode many a mile fighting bad men in the early sixies riding my imaginary horse armed with my plastic handled six shooters. Sadly I was gunned down many times and died horrible imaginary deaths only to get up the next day and ride sgain. Wonderful memories of an innocent time in my life.
Gunsmoke and the big valley were my favorites. Heath and Audra characters are still alive from the big valley.
Man the end of that video put a big smile on my face. Most of us know what it's like to get a great job. There's so much satisfaction in knowing that a company wants you. You can see he still smiles thinking about that day.
Gunsmoke was way ahead of it's time. People were murdered in cold blood with no apologies. The subject of rape was addressed. And the actors addressed it all very professionally.
They were showing exactly how it was in those days.
They treated the Indians with dignity and fair. Of course there were fights, but that was true history.
Who are "they"? The Indians were treated like crap by the whites, both on the show and reality. The main characters treated them with some mode of dignity but the "true" history of which you speak cannot show whites being "fair" in any regard and still be historically accurate. @@lenoregorman4688
Great show. Addressed all kinds of issues without actually showing much violence at all. Sure shootings but even those had very little blood or gore. Alot of great storylines, character actors and future stars having guest roles. The big guy was a natural. That backhand is iconic.
".....without showing much violence at all." Are you kidding? Matt averaged about 2 killings per episode before he was forced to tone it down a little in later years. Every episode started out with him gunning somebody down for almost the entire run just in case he didn't do it some time during the show.
Good show, when I was growing up, we could stay up and watch it on Saturday night after our bath. The theme song brings back a lot nostalgic memories.
I loved “Gunsmoke” throughout my childhood. I always watched it. I seem to recall it was on Saturday night. Chester was such a lovable character, but hearing the story about how it happened, all these years later, is wonderful. Thank you, Mr. Weaver. RIP.
Love Gunsmoke, love Chester, and all actors.
What made the black & white episodes so compelling was the way the harsh, often tragic realities of frontier life were honestly portrayed. GUNSMOKE packed more drama into a half-hour than many TV series did in 90 minutes. I particularly enjoyed the humorous, sarcastic exchanges between Chester and Doc. I vividly recall a hilarious promo in which Matt, Chester and Doc were chatting. Chester told Doc he looked "kind of glassy-eyed ... from watching too much television." I wish somebody would find it and post it on TH-cam. I'd love to see it again.
I liked 'Chester' and he did add something to GUNSMOKE. My Father was US Army buddies of James Arness. I saw Mr. Arness quite loften as a kid. 8 years old. I knew NOTHING of Celebrity etc. Neither did Mr. Arness nor did he care. He was just VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE WORK JOH N WAYNE HELPED HIM GET. This is all I remember. My dad was one of those guys in 1950's always wearing a suit, drinking, smoking Camels w/out Filter, Dancing, Dating LOTS OF WOMEN in Malibu and Santa Monica. He looked a little like Robert Redford. However, that KILLED HIM AT AGE 61. Too much Living. Smoking. Drinking. Etc. I did get ONE oppty. as a Kid age 9 to work on Gunsmoke SET. I was simply 'Blocking' for a scene. (Setting it up with camera for actor. Age 13). Mr. Arness kept asking me if 'Are you Excited Jimmy? You having Fun?) Well, NO. I hated the Desert, Heat, Horse shit, and Wardrobe....lol I was a Surfer in Malibu....I was out of my element. I didn't think of ACTING for a living at age 9. My dad was a drunk so no help at all.....Anyway, I am ON SET and a kid shows up. THE LEAD. AGE 13. I later years laterb found out IT WAS KURT RUSSELL. lol He was there to Play "PACKY KERLIN" 1870 RUNAWAY COWBOY, TEENAGER, Looking for his Mother in DODGE CITY. I studied all the lines in case Kurt didn't show up. HE DID....It was the start of a WONDERFUL CAREER. At a young age. He worked on GUNSMOKE again. I think 3 episodes? And other TV shows. He was a NATURAL...He really was. So comfortable. Thanks for the VIDEO., Lots of memories. CHESTER GOODE AND FESTUS.....GREAT CHARACTERS. Dennis Weaver once SOLD Flowers at the Studios, Paramount? and people thought he had a little chip on his shoulder because he WANTED TO BE A LEAD MAN, He was Bitter and Upset about hving to play PARTS/CHARACTERS Below his sense of professionalism. he just thought he'd a MATT DILLON. Not a Chester. sad.
Great story!! I love Gunsmoke!! Chester's character is so humbling.
Yes, great story! Thank you for sharing... I can't imagine how neat that'd be...
I couldn't stand the character of Chester. He was a useless bumbling fool who didn't even make good coffee. I liked Dennis Weaver in every other character he portrayed.
@@azsteve48 Yah, I liked Chester, but you're right about him being largely useless most of the time. He rarely carried a gun on him, unless they were out on a mission of some kind, looking for some bad guy.
My wife and I watch every night. Great show. Grew up watching it.
The old black and white 30 minute Gunsmokes are my favorite, Along with Doc Adams I thought Chester was one of the greatest characters in the programs history.
JayDog. You're right. The 30 minute black/white episodes were well wrriten, acted, and directed. Many future stars got a part on the earlier shows. I think the 60 minute episodes changed the theme from being an adult Western to more of a family show,. And Matt only killed a maximum of two bad guys per show. I love it when Matt would always finish off a triumphant gun fight by saying, "Chester, get some men and clean this up".
JayDogTitan 1464 ,I agree so much with that comment. Matt just acts so human, more so than the hour long episodes.
@@donneary7104 fun fact; During the 20-year span of CBS’s Gunsmoke series, the number of people that Marshall Dillon killed ranges from 138 men and seven women to 303 people.
I liked Chester and Festus.
@@randallgreen6746 I preferred Chester.
Chester was one of my favorite characters. I loved him, Doc, Kitty and Matt Dillon! They worked off of each other so beautifully! 😍😍😍
Liked the addition of Quint too. Missed Chester a lot.T he shows were not the same high caliber as when Chester was with the show.
I always wondered why Chester never wore a deputy badge like Festus got to he certainly performed the duties
Good ole Chester. I sure do miss Chester and Dennis.
One of The Finest tv westerns ever!
He didn’t create the Chester character but he adapted it to television perfectly. Good actor.
@James Vickers Parley Baer originated the role on radio. You may remember him as the mayor of Mayberry.
Kind of disappointing that Dennis Weaver was in real life a left-wing Liberal whackjob
Dennis was so wonderful as Chester. He even faked the limp and he was so handsome.
Bless your Heart Chester Goode RIP
I'm 55 and just started Gunsmoke for the first time a couple of years ago and that's where I have my tv set on.
Chester was a one-of-a-kind unique character that Dennis portrayed brilliantly!
I like Festus, but Chester is my favorite
Chester was my favorite in Gunsmoke.
Loved Gunsmoke. Chester was great. Liked him
The episode where he was trying to build a place for him and his girlfriend who ultimately "done him wrong", and his trying to hold his feelings back at at the end. One of my favorites.
Thank you - Excellent. Started collecting the series - Chester is always
my favorite.. Couldn't get into Festus..
Hard to beat Chester and Doc arguing
I liked chester but i will always remember him in the dual movie.
I thank Dennis played his role just as real as Jim ,Amanda, and Milburn played theirs . I loved all their shows then and all their reruns now . Ken Curtis was just as great to . Gunsmoke was and is the best western on tv .
it is amazing that his leg and his hip didn't grow like that the way he kept it sticking out.
It's like I know those people ,on Gunsmoke,🙏☮️😁
I absolutely love Gunsmoke
Always loved Gunsmoke and still do
Saw an interview with him where he said he added the limp so as to make him physically inferior to Matt Dillon. He said that made the role very difficult when it came to doing a lot of the physical stuff like running or mounting/dismounting horses, etc. but helped him get the role. In the first episode of the tv version, the first thing Dillon said to him was an insult, if memory serves me correctly.
Love gunsmoke love chester I thought he n doc made the show more comedic infact I love Matt kitty doc I love em all
In The Gallant Hours, a World War II movie about Admiral Halsey, Weaver played a pilot and aide to Admiral Halsey in that movie, but he also used that same folksy accent that he did as Chester in Gunsmoke.
I like all of Gunsmoke, Chester's great but Festus was the one I knew when I was a kid. I never saw the early gunsmokes until this last decade online, My Dad used to talk about Chester a lot. Then of course Mccloud was on in the. 70s!
Depends oh the human viewing.
I had no idea there were black and white episodes till I was grown! Festus and the colored episodes were all I knew , I’m sure glad I found those! I watch them everyday now.
Love Chester.
Gunsmoke, complete with the character of Chester Goode, was a long running radio program long before the tv version. The radio Chester was always "comic sidekick"..,
Became Chester Proudfoot.
He was awesome as Chester 💯💯💯💯🙂
Best show ever.
Been watching westerns with grandpa and father for about 16 years now gunsmoke is definitely one of the best
I love chester I swear I wish all men was like him
He found the character, is speaking patterns, his logic, his humor and never deviated. Every once in awhile I swear he DID limp on the wrong leg though!
One of my favorites ❤
Loved Chester!
Dennis was great as Chester.
Great series Im watching the old episodes today and really enjoy chester kitty doc and sheriff matt dillion he has a real sense of law and duty with a fair minded approace ..
The radio version (which received much critical acclaim) had been on the air for several years before Dennis Weaver was selected for the later Television series. Parley Baer played Chester Wesley Proudfoot part and was named by William Conrad who also named Doc Adams played on radio by Howard McNear. The original radio part is not mentioned by Dennis Weaver in this interview.
Dennis Weaver must have listened to the radio series as it ran alongside the television show from it's inception on April 26, 1952 until its' closing in June 1961.
The accent and character Dennis Weaver used was very similar to that Parley Baer played on the radio version. Dennis Weaver may have been influenced by someone from Oklahoma as stated in this interview, but I find it very odd that he makes no mention of his predecessor Parley Baer, whose voice obviously influenced Dennis Weaver as it is so similar yet he makes no mention of it in this interview. It was as if the earlier radio version and both series written primarily by John Meston had never existed.
Parley Baer and Howard McNear became close friends during the radio run. One of them gave the eulogy for the other (Baer for McNear, I believe) when he passed away.
@@normanacree1635 There is a 5 hour documentary on the History of the Gunsmoke Radio Show (which is available from Radio Archives out of Spokane, WA) starring William Conrad, Georgia Ellis, Parley Baer, John Dehner and others who were still alive at the time of the 5 Hour Documentary was made for PBS about 1975.
Howard McNear was the only cast member to have passed away, as he died from a series of strokes in 1969. Parley Baer has a long section outlining Howard McNear's funeral as he had been asked by Howard McNears' wife to do the Eulogy. His account is quite touching.
The Documentary is well worth listening to by fans of both the radio and television series of Gunsmoke. Parley Baer was probably the longest lived of any cast member as he lived until he was 88 years old.
Peggy Webber who starred in just about every radio show during the Golden Age of Radio (well into television) is still alive as of this writing!
He was my third coudisin never met him met his dad when I was little
Been watching these old shows just about every night during the week. Sure don't make them like they used to.
For real
They don't make them like that anymore that's for sure
A genuinely nice guy.
He stuck his head back in the room and said "Are you sure you didn't want me to read for Matt Dillon?" That right there was comedy gold. Could you imagine Dennis playing Matt Dillon and James Arness playing Chester? Yea me neither.
I don’t necessarily think Arness would have been Chester to Weaver’s Dillon. They probably would have gotten someone shorter than him.
He was on 9 years, then went on to become his own star.
They should have given the role of Chester to Parley Baer, he was fantastic in the role on Radio
The good old days, when newborns were still named Chester.
I think Dennis Weaver was a great actor but I did not care for the Chester character he portrayed. I think he did a great job
as McCloud and I really liked him in that role. He also did great in some movies he was in.
Sempre gostei deste grande ator, deste os tempos de Ben o urso amigo. Parabéns pela postagem. Já me inscrevi e dei o merecido like.
And, a star was born.
Super character!
although james arness did have a pin in his right leg from an injury he got while in the army.but can u imagine james arness playing the part of chester hopping and skipping around like that.LOL
“I was trembling “. Yet he was a fighter pilot in WW2.
Great video! Thanks!
His Chester was very similar to radio Chester
The half hour Gunsmoke's were the best! The stories were better and they just flowed right from beginning to end. The hour shows seem to have a bunch of filler in them and the main cast members were not as much of the focus of the show.
Matt should have made him a deputy marshal . He was a brave loyal friend to Matt and matt put him in harms way all the time.
If he wasn't a deputy, how in the world did he make a living for himself? The show never bothered to explain that part.
Matt paid him out of his own pocket as a helper.
@@normanacree1635
thought I remembering seeing Chester getting on a stage and saying his final goodbyes to Dillon and mis Kitty..... is there such an Episode ?
No, there is not such episode where you knew that Chester was leaving for good, or at least that is what I have read several places. He left to chase after somebody out East but no detailed explanation was ever given. Common practice on tv. I appreciate shows like M*A*S*H that often mention previous characters.
wow, i could almost imagine what that felt like. And the pay was great.
He's was my 4th cousin
Festus was always my favorite. Hands down.
Nah, the 1/2 hour black and whites with Chester were WAY better. "Festus" was WAY unbelievable and ridiculous. Going to a full hour was tolerable for a short time. Then to color + a full hour + Festus was just awful.
@@tomfinley6620 He was believable. You would know that if you had run into all the characters that I have. Life is rich, with characters of all kinds.
Festus was pretty overbearing a lot of the time but when he wasn't, he was a good character. When 'Tales of Wells Fargo' went to 60 minutes, Dale Robertson complained it would ruin the show. As I stated watching other shows that had done the same thing, I could see his point. Some of the half hour episodes of those shows needed to be two parters but many of the 60 minute shows could have been cut to 30 and held my interest much better.@@tomfinley6620
Supposedly he was Garry Marshall's original choice to play Mr. Cunningham in Happy Days, but left the project before shooting the pilot in 1971.
Damn, he would have been way better imo.
🏆 nice.
McCloud !!!! 🤠
Then they asked him to limp and we got Chester...
Saw an interview where he claimed to have come up with the limp.
Mister Dillon, míster Dillon,!!!!! Un gunsmoke,..
Festus: "Matthew!...Matthew!..."
not chester related but i listen to gunsmoke on old time radio. a few times i heard gene rodenberry was the writer. i have also seen lenard nemoy in westerns. make a living in westerns but sifi is the dream lol
at retirement watching westerns u do see how many actors came up in westerns. about all of em.
Sifi is the fantasy.
Really hard to hear/understand.
What year was this interview?
Mr. Dillon!!
My favorite episode is when Matt and Chester were hunting down men and Matt said "I wanna see 6 men dead!"
I think that episode was on tonight (9/2/23). White men were murdering families, including children, and made it look like Indians were doing it to cover up their stealing horses. When Dillon figured out it was white men, he and Chester set up an ambush and basically murdered four of them before the other two surrendered.
@@normanacree1635 Yes! I am rewatching all and just passed that one. Angry Matt is not a good trifle.
Who did Chester hurt his leg
He was a Civil War veteran but you had to assume something happened to him perhaps in the war but the show never gave any details.
Is his leg that way in real life
Watch an episode of McCloud.
No relation... I did not care for him as Chester, but liked everything I watched him in after that. As Chester he carried neither the strength nor humor that Festus did. But he was young and gained much more strenght as an actor afterward and perhaps due to his part as Chester. R I P Dennis Weaver.
I felt Chester was terrible back up for Dillon. He was always turning his back on a bad guy, getting hit on the head, locked up or out smarted. There was even an episode where Dillon tells a drunk Chester to lock someone up, which resulted in him being hit on the head and accused of murder! I wouldn’t have allowed someone like him to back me up with anything!
@@cherylT321 Maybe his type was more realistically what would have been available.
😀👋👋👋
Chester never had a girl friend ! And Matt, both single, and not lookin!!!
Bull , he talks like he invented character. The voice , clumsiness , and silliness is a copy the Chester on the old Gunsmoke radio shows.
I didn't like the Chester part...he was too silly actioning.
Is it known how chester hurt his leg?
Rick Velocity. It was in the civil war he was hurt
Where or how did you learn this about chesters leg?
Rick Velocity it was on the radio verison of the show,before the tv version it was said it hurt it in the war being in the army not sure if it was disclosed on the tv show of course if it was would think,it would be in the first season
It was in the Civil War. It was mentioned on the radio show, and I believe once, the Doctor said once that Chester hurt his leg in "the war", which I assume was the U.S Civil War.
Festus was a much more interesting character than the dingleberry Chester
Dennis weaver was a wonderful actor. I am glad that his roll helped his career. BUT I did not like the Chester character at all!
Chester was a far better Actor then the entire cast of Gunsmoke
Chester was so funny, he cracked me up.