Actor James Arness reportedly passed away in his sleep Friday at his residence in Brentwood, Calif. He was 88 years old. “It just breaks your heart. I knew we’d lose him one of these days,” Singer stated Friday in a telephone interview from her family home in Colorado. Singer mentioned she cried when a close friend called her to tell the news.
“He just had his 88th birthday, but I just didn’t really expect this,” she stated. “I felt sad. I lost a cowboy hero. But I also lost a dear friend.” Singer connected with Arness in 2005, shortly just before the 50th-anniversary celebration of “Gunsmoke” in Dodge City. She kept in contact with the actor by way of letters, telephone calls and personal visits to his house in California.
“The first time I met him was when we did the medallion and got his handprints,” she expressed. Arness’ medallion and also handprints rest at Second Avenue and Gunsmoke Street by Fidelity State Bank. Jim Johnson, right from Dodge City’s Trail of Fame, appeared to be also in California when Arness dipped his hands in cement to memorialize his part as Dillon.
“We were out there for two days visiting with them,” Johnson mentioned Friday right after hearing the news of Arness’ death. “We had a wonderful time. They are the most down-to-earth, genuine people you ever met – just very gracious and extremely friendly, unlike so many Hollywood stars.” Singer likewise experienced fond memories of that home visit.
“It was just really fun to be there when he put his hands in the cement. He had such a good time doing that,” she explained. “We spent a good portion of the day there. He’s just a joyful person to be with.” Johnson together with Singer visited Arness shortly in advance of the 50th anniversary of “Gunsmoke.” But Arness could not make it to Dodge for that special event.
“So they sent his wife, Janet, and his stepson, Jim Surtees. Both of them came to the 2005 celebration of the 50th anniversary, and both of them gave some really moving talks at the symposium that were pretty incredible,” Johnson stated. “His stepson, Jim, first got to know him – you know he became Jim’s stepfather while Jim was at an early age. And the story Jim told was something along the lines of, ‘I didn’t have a father. All I wanted was a father. Instead I got Matt Dillon.'”
Johnson stated Surtees was clearly emotional and shaky when he expressed himself during the event. “He was really emotional about it,” Johnson stated. “It meant that much to him.” Even while Johnson stated he knew Arness would die sooner or later due to his age and physical state, the actor’s death still caught him off guard.
“It’s hard to talk about him in the past tense,” Johnson mentioned. “You know, you have to be kind of expecting it. He suffered from a wound he received on Anzio Beach in WWII. I don’t know if that’s contributing to it. It all happened too soon.”
R.I.P. James Arness.
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