THE

Afew years ago, Amanda Blake, who plays Kitty in Gunsmoke, made a

wise remark: “Everyone knows what amovie star is and how he acts, but noone quite knows yet what a televisionstar is or how he should act. IncludingJim Arness.”

Jim Arness, the pre-eminent televi-sion star, has learned how a starshould act. It is doubtful, however,that other actors will follow his lead.The way Jim plays a television staris simply to go his own way, doing thequiet things he likes best. If there arepeople who resent this, Jim does notcare. He has an aversion to personalpublicity that verges on the violent.

Not long ago he had a photographerordered from the Gunsmoke set. “Iwas not covering Jim and he knew it,”the photographer said. “I was there toshoot special effects for the burning ofDodge City.

“During the rest period I was perch-ed on a stepladder, looming above thecrowd like a mushroom. Jim sat thereglowering at me, and the next thing Iknew, I was ordered off the set.

“It didn’t bother me. I went to thenext-door set and shot the fire from awindow.”

GRETA GARBOofDODGE CITYLike the publicity-shyactress, Jim Arnessi s h a p p i e s t

when he’s left alone

BY ROBERT DE ROOS

Jim Arness will grant no interviews.Not to the lady from the West Over-coat (Neb.) Clarion-Call or the As-phodel (Me.) Republican. Nor to TVGUIDE, which in this case means me.

Jim demands final approval of anycopy which deals with him personally.And since no self-respecting editorwill let a television actor edit, Jim’sdemand effectively ends the discussion.

It may be treason to say it, but Jimis absolutely right. At this stage ofGunsmoke (now in its 12th year),there is very little that he can do--off camera--to help the show along. Ifhe acceded to half the demands madeon him he would, literally, not have aminute to himself or for his children.He once told a CBS publicist, “I’ll giveyou $20,000 a year if you can guaran-tee I get no publicity.” There is nodoubt he meant it.

Jim’s feelings are well-known tohis associates. I called Peter Graves,Jim’s brother and a star of last season’sCourt-Martial. “TV GU I D E,” he said.“Oh, boy.” He enlarged: “I wouldn’ttalk to anybody without Jim’s approv-al. If Jim says OK, I’ll be glad to talk.”

Robert Emme, Jim’s business mana-ger and liaison man with continued

TV GUIDE DECEMBER 10, 1966 19

James Arness/continued

the world, said, “Jim won’t talk to youand neither will I.”

I was in the middle of an interviewwith Milburn Stone, Gunsmoke’s DOC,when the producer called. “Jim is veryupset about this interview,” he said.The call upset Stone and the inter-view ended.

licity man said.It is true that most millionaires are

inaccessible, but there is more to theJim Arness story than that.

“Jim’s acting more like a millionairethan an actor these days,” a CBS pub-

It is also true that Jim is a shy andsensitive man. And his aversion topublicity is not a new thing; it did notgrow with his bank account.

Long ago Jim told me he was veryuneasy with the press. “There is thisconstant thing of people coming atyou,” he said. “Fans, publicity men,writers, photographers. They usually

But acting was thrust upon JimArness. He was just a tall, blond, con-fused kid when he was inveigled intoa part in a little theater. He lacks thebasic temperamental and emotionalstructure of the true actor.

An actor is just like any other per-son-only more so. It is a matter ofdegree. Everyone is vain; actors aresuperbly vain. Everyone wants toplease; actors yearn and strive toplease. Everyone likes praise; actors

wind up saying the same thing overand over. I’m sick of stories aboutbeing real tall.”

He has always been a loner, uncom-fortable in a crowd, suspicious of flat-tery.

His very unactorlike conduct is per-haps explained by the fact that JimArness is not basically an actor, al-though he performs for a living.

On-the-job training

The Hollywood consensus is thatArness lucked in. “Jim was just anextra working in Westerns when hegot the call to Gunsmoke,” I haveheard many times, although the state-ment is not wholly accurate. But Jimhas had the advantage of 11 years’ on-the-job training and it may be ad-mitted that today he acts.

actors do,”

need praise as much as they need food.

says Norman Macdonnell,former producer of Gunsmoke. “Therenever has been an admiring throng

“Actors are children,” says Milburn

around Jim. He’d much rather go tohis dressing room and lie down or talk

Stone. “They have to be told they are

to one of the guys. There is no ex-hibitionistic thing about Jim, All he

good and needed.”

wants is to do the show and get away.”As much as possible, Gunsmoke’s

shooting schedule is tailored to Arness.

A real human being

“We always tried to keep Jim out ofthe show Mondays and Fridays so hecould go skiing or go to the islandswhere the big waves were breaking,”

Hollywood’s highest compliment is:

Macdonnell says.

“So-and-So is a real human being.”

“Then he’d come inand work his tail off Tuesday, Wed-nesday and Thursday. Jim told me,

Jim Arness is a real human being.

‘If we can’t schedule it this way, let’sforget the whole thing. I’m going to

Never more so than when he says,

have some time with my children.Period.’ ”

“Let me alone.”

(Arness and his wife, Vir-ginia, were divorced some years ago.)

“Jim has never held court as many

“I spent the first two years on Gun-smoke despising Jim’s lack of profes-sionalism,” says Milburn Stone. “NowI say his acting has reached classicalproportions.”

So Jim does his work and disap-pears. He is never seen in Hollywood.Not long ago he was seen with ayoung lady. “It was an event,” saysMacdonnell. “It was all over town the

20 TV GUIDE DECEMBER 10, 1966

next morning that Jim had had adate.”

In television’s short life a regularpattern has developed for TV actors.First, they are nobody. Second, theyget a series and become somebody.Third, they complain about their im-possibly hard life. Fourth, they letit be known that television is a de-.meaning medium, that their series isbeneath their talents and that theyhear a higher call to play Hamlet.

Mastered his art

Once again, Jim Arness is not typi-cal. He is one of the best-known menon TV. He has mastered his art. Hehas been around longer than almostanyone else. He does not complainabout working too hard. He does notyammer that television is demeaning.He does not want to play King Lear.

“Jim’s attitude is this,” a friend says,“ ‘I am an actor. I play Matt Dillon. Iplay Matt Dillon to the very best ofmy ability.’ Jim always has had ameat-and-potatoes attitude towardthe business and attached no greatglamor to it. He has great simplicityon the screen and great simplicity asa man.”

One key to Jim is what he doeswhen he is not at work. In his freetime he skin dives. He sails. He is anexcellent surfer. He is a fine rifle shot.He is a good and ardent skier. l

It is significant that all of these areone-man, noncompetitive sports. “Itwould be hard to visualize Jim playingmixed doubles in tennis,” a friendsays.

Jim’s main memories of childhoodare of days when he tramped thewoods, days when he skimmedacross frozen Lake Harriet in an iceboat. “I was always restless as hell,”Jim once told me. “On days when thewind was blowing, I’d almost go crazysitting in school.”

In California Jim found fame andfortune. But even more important he

found the Pacific Ocean. Again andagain, Jim returns to the sea.

Back in the days when he spoke tome, Jim said: “It all happened sofast-becoming an actor and all-thatI was stewing in my own juices. ThenI discovered the beach. The oceanfascinated me. The first time I tried tosurf a big wave, I almost drownedand it frightened me. I was deter-mined to overcome my fear of the sea.

“The year I spent on the beachwas not because I wanted to be abeach bum but because it was a timefor discovery.

“I still have this feeling about theocean. The greatest spiritual cleans-ing I can imagine is to dive into a bigsurf. It is purifying: getting into theclean salt water, away from affecta-tion, away from the mixed-up world,coming to grips with the elements-the sun and the air and the sea.”

He loved poetry

The only part of school that reachedJim was courses in literature. “I usedto love poetry,” he said. “I lovedShakespeare, Keats, Shelley, Byron.”

I asked him what his favorite wasnow, and Jim sat down and wrote outan Emily Dickinson poem for me frommemory. Here is part of it:

Growth of man like growth of natureGravitates within-Atmosphere and sun confirm itBut it stirs alone . . .

Each its difficult idealMust acheive - itself- Through the solitary prowessOf a silent life . . .

There is one other thing. In his11 and a half years with GunsmokeJim has endeared himself to the castand crew of the show. “The test is theguys he works with,” says MilburnStone. “Jim is loved-not just liked.”

Also he is real tall.

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