James Arness, tall, quiet Marshal Dillon of TV’s ‘Gunsmoke,’ dies at 88

James Arness, who presided over the frontier town of Dodge City as television’s most enduring western hero, the laconic, fair-minded and incorruptible Marshal Matt Dillon of the two-decade-long series “Gunsmoke,” died June 3 at his home in Los Angeles at 88. The cause of death was not reported.
Mr. Arness, who was a rugged 6-foot-7, stood tall in the dusty streets of Dodge City, Kan., portraying a U.S. marshal whose badge represented more than just the force of law. He was the embodiment of quiet moral authority, a sensitive arbiter of conflict in a rough-and-ready cow town — “Gomorrah of the plains, they call it,” as he said in the show’s first episode. Only when pushed to the limit would Marshal Dillon pull his six-gun from its holster.

James Arness, the 6-foot-6 actor who towered over the television landscape for two decades as righteous Dodge City lawman Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke" died Friday. (June 3)

When “Gunsmoke” premiered in 1955, it was considered a new breed of “adult western,” with well-drawn characters and complex plots that, despite its name, took the show beyond outlaws and gunfights.
“What made us different from other westerns,” Mr. Arness told the Associated Press in 2002, “was the fact that ‘Gunsmoke’ wasn’t just action and a lot of shooting; they were character-study shows.”
Mr. Arness, who was recommended for the role of Matt Dillon by his friend John Wayne, was the center of an ensemble that included Milburn Stone as the gentle, scholarly Doc Adams; Amanda Blake as Kitty Russell — “Miss Kitty” — who ran the Long Branch saloon; and Dennis Weaver as Mr. Arness’s limping deputy sidekick, Chester Goode. After Weaver left the show in 1964, Ken Curtis joined the cast as the memorable comic character, Festus Haggen.
“Gunsmoke” aired on CBS for 20 years, but in Dodge City it was forever 1873. Other westerns came and went, but “Gunsmoke” ranked among the most popular programs year after year. When it was canceled in 1975, it was the last western on TV at the time.
No other scripted shows have run as long except “The Simpsons,” which reached its 20th year in 2009, and “Law & Order,” which left the air last year after 20 seasons. Neither show is within 150 episodes of “Gunsmoke’s” total of 635.
As the show evolved, the opening credits changed from a main-street shootout to a scene of Marshal Dillon galloping his horse across the prairie. His relationship with Miss Kitty developed to the point that they shared a kiss during one episode in 1973. They never married, though, and the social order of Dodge City remained intact.
“Matt Dillon is still the all-time, all-star marshal, pure, square-shouldered square-shooter, yet he never hogs the screen,” New York Daily News culture critic Gerald Nachman wrote in 1973, summing up the appeal of “Gunsmoke” and Mr. Arness’s archetypal central character. “Half the time you hardly know he’s in town, but he casts a tall shadow.”
James King Aurness — he dropped the “u” after arriving in Hollywood — was born May 23, 1923, in Minneapolis. His younger brother was actor Peter Graves, the star of the 1960s series “Mission Impossible” and the comic “Airplane!” films. Graves died last year at 83.

Announcers for NBA Finals know that every comment will be dissected

MIAMI — If the adage is correct that the NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint, then the NBA playoffs are a balancing act, at least for those calling the action.
Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson know the drill. They know that while some might describe their perches for Tuesday night's Game 1 of the NBA Finals as courtside seats, a better description might be hot seats. Nearly everything coming out of their mouths during this series will be dissected by fans.
Say anything negative about the hometown Heat and it means they're rooting for the Dallas Mavericks.
Say anything negative about the Mavericks and it means they're obviously for the Miami Heat.
"It's amazing," said Breen, the play-by-play man for the ABC/ESPN crew. "We'll go into an NBA Finals and just for example, last year, we'll go into Boston and the Celtic fans will say, 'Boy, it's clear you guys are rooting for the Lakers. And then the series will shift to L.A. and the Laker fans will say, 'Boy, it's obvious you guys are rooting for the Celtics.' "
During the Eastern Conference finals, Heat fans were so worked up over TNT's Charles Barkley that he threatened to "come down there" to straighten out one towel-tossing fan.
For the next game, TNT moved its studio from outside the AmericanAirlines Arena to a more secure location inside the building.
Some might claim Barkley asked for it by calling the Heat "a whiny bunch," but network announcers know that at this stage of the post-season, emotions are so high that even innocent comments are over-analyzed. With a bemused look, NBC's Bob Costas said never in his career has a fan approached him with compliments for the remarkable way he was calling a game right down the middle.
Why is it especially an issue during the playoffs? First, most games are broadcast using national announcers as opposed to those hired by the clubs for the regular season.
Second, if an announcer rubs a fan the wrong way during the regular season, that might be the last time the fan hears that announcer for months. During the NBA Finals, it's possible that Breen, Van Gundy or Jackson could irritate a fan for seven consecutive games - if they haven't already done it during three prior rounds.
"When you hear from each city that you're biased, that means you're doing the perfect job," said Mike Tirico, play-by-plan man for this series on ESPN Radio and the voice of Monday Night Football.
Jackson added, "Our job is to tell a story. And basically, if you're playing bad, we're going to talk about that and I think it comes off to a true fan like you're disliking their team."
Make a mistake in the regular season and the worst that often happens is it's replayed on SportsCenter for a day. Not so now.
"In the playoffs, you're really focused on individual plays," Breen said, "so I think overall broadcasts are more critical in the playoffs in terms of what a team is doing, what a certain player is doing, and I think that's part of why sometimes the fans might be a little more sensitive, because also, their emotions are running high."
Announcers agree that the only rooting they do during games is for a good game.
"We put so much into a broadcast, my goal is the ball is in the air, the clock says zero, and wherever it comes down determines the outcome of the game," Tirico said.
So before Heat fans or Mavs fans accuse him otherwise, Tirico figured he might as well set the record straight.
"I couldn't care less who wins," he said.