Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver | |
---|---|
Born | William Dennis Weaver June 4, 1924 Joplin, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | February 24, 2006 Ridgway, Colorado, U.S. | (aged 81)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1950–2006 |
Spouse |
Gerry Stowell (m. 1945) |
Children | 3 |
18th President of the Screen Actors Guild | |
In office 1973–1975 | |
Preceded by | John Gavin |
Succeeded by | Kathleen Nolan |
William Dennis Weaver[1] (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most famous roles were as Marshal Matt Dillon's trusty partner Chester Goode/Proudfoot on the western Gunsmoke and as Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on the police drama McCloud. He starred in the 1971 television film Duel, the first film of director Steven Spielberg. He is also remembered for his role as the twitchy motel attendant in Orson Welles's film Touch of Evil (1958).
Early life
Weaver was born June 4, 1924, in
Career
Weaver's first role on Broadway came as an understudy to Lonny Chapman as Turk Fisher in Come Back, Little Sheba. He eventually took over the role from Chapman in the national touring company. Solidifying his choice to become an actor, Weaver enrolled in the Actors Studio,[5] where he met Shelley Winters. In the beginning of his acting career, he supported his family by doing odd jobs, including selling vacuum cleaners, tricycles, and women's hosiery.
In 1952,
According to the
In 1957, Weaver appeared as Commander B.D. Clagett in a single episode of the television series The Silent Service titled "Two Davids and Goliath". Having become famous as Chester, he was next cast in an offbeat supporting role in the 1958
In 1970, Weaver landed the title role in the NBC series McCloud, for which he received two Emmy Award nominations. In 1974, he was nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series (McCloud) and in 1975, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. The show, about a modern Western lawman who ends up in New York City, was loosely based on the Clint Eastwood film Coogan's Bluff. His frequent use of the affirming Southernism, "There you go," became a catchphrase for the show. During the series, in 1971, Weaver also appeared in Duel, a television movie directed by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg selected Weaver based on the intensity of his earlier performance in Touch of Evil.[10]
Weaver was also a recording artist, with most of his tracks being spoken-word recordings with musical accompaniment. He released several singles and albums between 1959 and 1984, most notable of which was his eponymous Im'press Records LP in 1972, the cover of which featured a portrait of Weaver in character as McCloud; it was the first of seven albums he recorded.[citation needed]
From 1973 to 1975, Weaver was president of the Screen Actors Guild.
His later series during the 1980s (both of which lasted only one season) were Stone in which Weaver played a Joseph Wambaugh-esque police sergeant turned crime novelist and Buck James in which he played a Texas-based surgeon and rancher. (Buck James was loosely based on real-life Texas doctor James "Red" Duke.) He portrayed a Navy rear admiral for 22 episodes of a 1983–1984 series, Emerald Point N.A.S.
In 1977, he portrayed a husband who physically abuses his wife (portrayed by Sally Struthers) in the made-for-TV movie Intimate Strangers, one of the first network features to depict domestic violence. In 1978, Weaver played the trail boss R. J. Poteet in the television miniseries Centennial, in the installment titled "The Longhorns". Weaver also appeared in many acclaimed television films, including Amber Waves (1980) with Kurt Russell. Also in 1980, he portrayed Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned for involvement in the Lincoln assassination, in The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd and starred with his real-life son Robby Weaver in the short-lived NBC police series Stone.[11] In 1983, he played a real estate agent addicted to cocaine in Cocaine: One Man's Seduction. Weaver received probably the best reviews of his career when he starred in the 1987 film Bluffing It, in which he played a man who is illiterate. In February 2002, he appeared on the animated series The Simpsons (episode DABF07, "The Lastest Gun in the West") as the voice of aging Hollywood cowboy legend Buck McCoy.[12]
For his contribution to the television industry, Dennis Weaver was given a star on the
In the 1980s and 1990s, Weaver as
Weaver's last work was done on an
Personal life
Weaver was reported to have been a vegetarian from 1958 for ethical reasons; however, he did occasionally eat fish.[13][14]
Weaver married Gerry Stowell after World War II, and they had three sons: Richard, Robert, and Rustin Weaver.[15] Gerry died April 26, 2016, at 90.[citation needed]
Weaver's home in
In July 2003, Weaver lost a daughter-in-law, Lynne Ann Weaver, wife of son Robby Weaver, in Santa Monica, California, when a car driven at high speed plowed through shoppers at the Santa Monica Farmers Market. She was one of 10 people killed in the incident.[17]
Weaver was a lifelong active Democrat.[18]
Activism
Weaver was an environmentalist, who promoted the use of alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and wind power, through the Institute of Ecolonomics, a nonprofit environmental organization he established in 1993 in
Weaver was also active in liberal political causes. He used his celebrity status
In 2004, he led a fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles across the United States to raise awareness about America's dependence on oil.[19]
Weaver was consistently involved with the annual Genesis Awards, which honor those in the news and entertainment media who bring attention to the plight and suffering of animals. Established by the Ark Trust, the award has been presented by the Humane Society of the United States since 2002.[22]
There will come a time ... when civilized people will look back in horror on our generation and the ones that preceded it – the idea that we should eat other living things running around on four legs, that we should raise them just for the purpose of killing them! The people of the future will say "meat-eaters!" in disgust and regard us in the same way we regard cannibals and cannibalism — Dennis Weaver[23]
Death
Weaver died of complications from prostate cancer at his home in Ridgway, Colorado, on February 24, 2006, at age 81.[15]
Filmography
- 1952: Horizons West – Dandy Taylor
- 1952: The Raiders – Dick Logan (uncredited)
- 1953: The Redhead from Wyoming – Matt Jessup
- 1953: The Lawless Breed – Jim Clements
- 1953: The Mississippi Gambler – Julian Conant (uncredited)
- 1953: It Happens Every Thursday – Al – Chamber of Commerce President (uncredited)
- 1953: Law and Order – Frank Durling
- 1953: Column South – Menguito
- 1953: The Man from the Alamo – Reb (uncredited)
- 1953: The Golden Blade – Rabble Rouser (uncredited)
- 1953: The Nebraskan – Captain De Witt (uncredited)
- 1953: War Arrow – Pino
- 1954: Pasties on a Cat – Leering audience member (uncredited)
- 1954: Dangerous Mission – Ranger Clerk
- 1954: Dragnet – Police Capt. R.A. Lohrman
- 1954: The Bridges at Toko-Ri – Air Intelligence Officer (uncredited)
- 1955: Ten Wanted Men – Sheriff Clyde Gibbons
- 1955–1964: Gunsmoke – Chester / Chester Goode
- 1955: Seven Angry Men – John Brown Jr.
- 1955: Chief Crazy Horse – Maj. Carlisle
- 1955: Storm Fear – Hank
- 1956: Navy Wife
- 1958: Touch of Evil – Mirador Motel Night Manager
- 1959: Have Gun – Will Travel – Monk
- 1960: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season 5 Episode 30: "Insomnia") – Charles Cavender
- 1960: The Gallant Hours – Lt. Cmdr. Andy Lowe
- 1961: Sing for Me, Canary Boy – Blake Puddingstock
- 1961: The Twilight Zone – Adam Grant
- 1964–1965: Kentucky Jones – Kenneth Yarborough "Kentucky" Jones
- 1965: Combat! – Noah
- 1966: Duel at Diablo – Willard Grange
- 1966: Way...Way Out – Hoffman
- 1967: Gentle Giant – Tom Wedloe
- 1967–1969: Gentle Ben (TV) – Tom Wedloe
- 1968: Mission Batangas – Chip Corbett
- 1970: That Girl – Lewis Franks
- 1970–1977: McCloud – Sam McCloud
- 1970: A Man Called Sledge – Erwin Ward
- 1971: What's the Matter with Helen? – Linc Palmer
- 1971: Duel – David Mann
- 1972: Mothership Tycoon – Captain Buck Finnster
- 1972: Horsetrailer Tycoon – Captain Buck Finnster
- 1972: The Great Man's Whiskers – Abraham Lincoln
- 1972: Rolling Man (TV) – Lonnie McAfee
- 1973: House Arrest – Sergeant Chester McFeeley
- 1973: Terror on the Beach – Neil Glynn
- 1977: Intimate Strangers – Donald Halston
- 1977: Cry for Justice
- 1978: Centennial (TV) – R.J. Poteet
- 1978: Pearl – Col. Jason Forrest
- 1978: Ishi: The Last of His Tribe – Prof. Benjamin Fuller
- 1979: Surgery Train – Dr. Lance Goiter
- 1980: Amber Waves – Bud Burkhardt
- 1980: The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd – Samuel Mudd
- 1982: Don't Go to Sleep – Phillip
- 1982: Splattercakes for Mama – Smokey Joe Burgess
- 1983: Cocaine: One Man's Seduction – Eddie Gant
- 1983–1984: Emerald Point N.A.S. – Rear Adm. Thomas Mallory
- 1985: Magnum, P.I. – Lacy Fletcher – Present Day
- 1987–1988: Buck James – Doctor Buck James
- 1988: Disaster at Silo 7 – Sheriff Ben Harlen
- 1989: The Return of Sam McCloud – Sam McCloud
- 1995: Two Bits & Pepper – Sheriff Pratt
- 1996: Voyeur II – Sheriff John Parker
- 1997: Telluride: Time Crosses Over – Cameo appearance
- 1998: Escape from Wildcat Canyon – Grandpa Flint
- 2000: Submerged – Buck Stevens
- 2000: The Virginian – Sam Balaam
- 2001: Elephant Rage – Elephant (voice only)
- 2001: The Beast – Walter McFadden
- 2001: Family Law – Judge Richard Lloyd
- 2002: The Simpsons – Buck McCoy (voice)
- 2003: Touched by an Angel – Emmett Rivers
- 2004: Home on the Range – Abner (voice)
- 2005: Wildfire – Henry
Theatre
References
- ^ "Dennis Weaver". The Independent. London. March 1, 2006. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018.
- ^ Kovalchik, Kara (11 November 2009). "6 Famous Veterans from TV". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
- ^ a b "Dennis Weaver, Olympic hopeful". www.gunsmokenet.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-27.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
- ^ Colman, Henry (24 September 2002). "Dennis Weaver – Archive Interview". Archive of American Television. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
- ^ "Touch of Evil". www.gunsmokenet.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-27.
- ^ Prejean, Jordan (2014). "Shadow Play", Archived 2017-09-30 at the Wayback Machine The Twilight Zone, season 2, episode 26; originally broadcast May 5, 1961; a detailed review and commentary about episode, The Twilight Zone Vortex. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0063065253.
- ^ From the director's commentary on Duel: Special Edition DVD, 2005.
- ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)"Buck McCoy," GunsmokeNet.com - ISBN 0-394-73633-8.
- ^ "In Defense of Vegetarianism: Seven Years". nytimes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Dennis Weaver, 81; Star of 'Gunsmoke,' 'McCloud' Also Was Environmental Activist". Los Angeles Times. 28 February 2006. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ Ryon, Ruth (2004). "Dennis Weaver selling Colorado 'Earthship' home," SFGate Archived 2017-04-01 at the Wayback Machine (San Francisco, California). Republished real-estate news item from the Los Angeles Times, June 20, 2004, Los Angeles, California. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
- ^ "Infant Dies From Injuries Suffered in Farmers Market Crash". Fox News. 2003-07-17. Archived from the original on 2016-11-26. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
- ^ Mathews, Jay (28 May 1983). "Democrats Hope to Get $6 Million in Telethon". Archived from the original on 25 August 2017 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ a b c "A TV hero for real-life change: Dennis Weaver, actor, 1924–2006" in The Sydney Morning Herald, March 29, 2006, p. 29
- ^ "Institute of Ecolonomics". Archived from the original on 2010-01-22.
- ^ McGovern, George S., Grassroots: The Autobiography of George McGovern, Random House, 1977, pp. 173, 247
- ^ "Winners of the 2016 Genesis Awards," Archived 2017-04-01 at the Wayback Machine Human Society of the United States, Washington, DC. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ISBN 9780394736334.
- ^ a b "Dennis Weaver".
External links
- Dennis Weaver at IMDb
- Dennis Weaver at the Internet Broadway Database
- Dennis Weaver discography at Discogs
- Archive of American Television 2½ hour career-wide interview with Dennis Weaver
- Dodge City 50th Anniversary from Dodge City, Kansas
- Dodge City 50th Anniversary local newspaper report [1]
- Animal Planet Genesis Awards, commentary on going Vegetarian in 1958
- Lee, Felicia R. (February 28, 2006). "Dennis Weaver, 81, Sidekick on 'Gunsmoke,' Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- "Dennis Weaver, 81; Star of ' Gunsmoke,' 'McCloud' Also Was Environmental Activist". Los Angeles Times. February 28, 2006. (information on his ancestry)