Actor Dennis Weaver Dead At 81

Star Of 'McCloud' And 'Gunsmoke' Was Ardent Environmentalist

(CBS/AP)  Dennis Weaver, an actor with a Midwestern twang who played stiff-legged Chester the deputy on "Gunsmoke" and the cowboy cop hero in "McCloud," has died. He was 81.

Weaver died Friday from complications of cancer at his home in Ridgway, in southwestern Colorado, his publicist, Julian Myers, announced Monday.

"He was a wonderful man and a fine actor, and we will all miss him," said Burt Reynolds, who appeared with Weaver in "Gunsmoke" in the early 1960s.

Weaver and actor James Arness were close friends since their 1955 screen test for "Gunsmoke."

"It is a very sad time and a big loss for me personally," Arness said. "He provided comic relief but was also a real person doing things that were very important to the show."

Weaver's 50-year career included stage plays and movies. But his real success was on television, where in addition to his cowboy roles he shared the screen with a 600-pound black bear on "Gentle Ben" and faced down a murderous big-rig in the early Steven Spielberg movie "Duel."

Weaver starred last year in ABC Family's "Wildfire" as the eccentric owner of a thoroughbred racing ranch.

"His performance never ceased to dazzle us," the cable channel said in a prepared statement. "He was an American legend not only for his contribution to the acting community but for his extensive and inspirational environmental work."

The tall, rangy actor was born June 4, 1924, in Joplin, Mo., where he excelled in high-school drama and athletics. After Navy service in World War II, he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma and nearly qualified for the Olympic decathlon.

Clint Howard, brother of director Ron Howard, said Weaver introduced his parents, Jean Speegle and Rance Howard, in 1947, when all three attended the university drama program.

"Because of Dennis, Ron and I exist ... Dennis was a great guy," said Clint Howard, who acted alongside Weaver in the 1967 film "Gentle Giant."

Weaver later studied at the Actors Studio in New York and appeared in "A Streetcar Named Desire" opposite Shelley Winters and toured in "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth.

Universal Studios signed Weaver to a contract in 1952 but found little work for him. Three years later, he was doing freelance features and TV spots and earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered the "Gunsmoke" role for $300 a week.

Nine years later, he was earning a then-princely $9,000 a week.

Weaver wasn't immediately taken with Deputy Chester Goode, his character in "Gunsmoke," he wrote in his 2001 autobiography, "All the World's a Stage."

Weaver considered the role "inane" but told himself "I'll correct this character" using his training and personal experience.

His odd gait and his drawling "Mis-ter Dil-lon" gave him a memorable on-screen presence - even in the shadow of the 6-foot-7 Arness, who played Marshal Dillon.

Weaver won an Emmy for his role in the 1958-59 season.