James Arness is actually one of eight men who will probably be inducted into the inaugural class of the Kansas Hall of Fame. The induction normally takes place June 17 at the Great Overland Station Museum in Topeka. Arness stands within the ranks together with President Dwight D. Eisenhower; Vice President Charles Curtis; U.S. Sen. and presidential nominee Bob Dole; Gen. Richard Meyers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Pizza Hut founders Dan and Frank Carney; and aviatrix Amelia Earhart. Dodge City local resident Charlie Meade, special deputy U.S. Marshal and retired deputy marshal, will represent Arness at the Hall of Fame gala banquet.
Meade initially met Arness in 1959, when Walnut Street was modified to Gunsmoke Street. “James Arness, Amanda Blake and Doc came out and hung our signs for us,” he mentioned Friday. “I happened to – I was considerably different at that stage in my life than I am today. I was pretty timid, and I didn’t go up and get in the middle of it, but I did get to see him and visit with him for a few minutes.”
All through the a long time, Meade got to be aware of Arness much better and communicate with him much more through his work with Dodge City. Meade is frequently seen downtown having a pistol at his hip along with a bandolier of bullets like a belt. He appears like a classic marshal and provides tours downtown, full along with stories with regards to Arness.
“Every day that I do walking tours down there, I have great stories that I tell about him,” Meade stated. In one particular story, “Gunsmoke” actors Buck Taylor or Morgan Woodward said to Meade that when Arness as well as the crew had been filming, people had been simply attracted to him.
“And one of the stories – I think Buck Taylor told me this story – that when they were studying their scripts getting ready to shoot a ‘Gunsmoke’ show, why, they would wait until just that morning before they were ready to shoot,” Meade mentioned. “But anyway, they would hand James Arness his script. And in 30 minutes, he had it. He had a telegraphic memory. All he had to do was turn the page, and he had it. And they’d been studying for two weeks!”
Besides from stories, Meade mentioned Arness will always have a distinctive place in history. “The ‘Gunsmoke’ show was so great and so good. It had a great story to it every time. There was hardly any profanity. There was people who did get killed, sure,” he explained. “And there was nothing obscene about it. It would be in any of our television stuff that we have today – would really have to struggle to make a show that would compare to it, in my opinion.”
“Gunsmoke” is the longest-running show in television history, having a an overall number of 635 episodes. Meade stated “Gunsmoke” fans would mourn the loss of Arness.
“It’s a sad day, and we would just remember him forever,” Meade stated.
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