It seems like a lot of ’50s era genre actors have been passing away lately, and now one of the biggest has gone, James Arness. Mr. Arness is mostly known to the public at large for playing Matt Dillon on the extremely long-running Western series Gunsmoke.
To sci-fi fans, however, he is remembered both as the titular monster in Howard Hawks’ The Thing from Another World (1951), and as heroic FBI agent Robert Graham in my all time favorite monster movie, Them! Although Arness’ acting in that film is rather stolid compared to that of co-stars Edmund Gwenn and James Whitmore, Mr. Arness assayed his role with marked professionalism. Both films were already scheduled to be played this month on TCM, as part of their month-long Thursday night slates of old monster movies. Them! will kick off a night of big bug movies next Thursday, The Thing will play on the 30th.
Mr. Arness’ death follows fairly closely on the heels of his brother, Peter Graves, another TV icon and also an actor much associated with ’50s sci-fi, although much schlockier stuff than his sibling starred in.
In real life Mr. Arness was a WWII veteran who received a Purple Heart after being wounded in the leg at Anzio. What a different world it was then.
Mr. Arness was 88 at the time of his passing.
