I didn't have much of an opportunity to see Joplin native Dennis Weaver in the role that made him famous, Deputy Chester Goode on the classic western series Gunsmoke.
I remember him more for "Gentle Ben," which I didn't like, and "McCloud," which I did. He was one of those actors who always made the job appear to be a lot easier than it is, since he comes off so natural. The Joplin Globe ran a bulletin a little while ago announcing Weaver's death at age 81. Mr. Weaver always maintained his Joplin connections, right down to wearing a Missouri Southern jacket on his series "Stone." "Stone" wasn't a hit, but Mr. Weaver always was in this area.
It seems the old rule of threes has played out once more since Mr. Weaver's death follows by only a couple of days the deaths of fellow TV legends Darren McGavin and Don Knotts.
Reading over the AP account reminded me that Mr. Weaver was far more of an accomplished actor than those who only saw him in his TV series would believe. He excelled in Steven Spielberg's debut movie, a horror movie made for television, but later released to theaters called "Duel."
I can also remember Mr. Weaver's chilling performance opposite Sally Struthers a few years back when he played a wife-abuser. He also made several movies, including notably Orson Welles' 1958 classic "Touch of Evil."
As I wrote over the weekend, it is sad when the faces and names of your youth begin to disappear, but fortunately the work of Mr. Weaver, as that of Mr. McGavin and Mr. Knotts, will continue to entertain future generations.
7 comments:
Globe's got it, even The Chart's got it, nothing on the Daily's site. Are you there Hacker? It's me, God.
Ponder this...According to IMDB, Darrin McGavin appeared in several 'Gunsmoke' episodes with Dennis Weaver...and McGavin & Don Knotts were both in the movie, "No Deposit, No Return"..and McGavin and Knotts both played bumbling deputies.
I love the internet and have no life...
Correction...Weaver and Knotts both played the bumbling deputies (in Gunsmoke and The Andy Griffith Show respectively.)
globe rat aka Ed Simpson,
The Daily had a complete home-grown story up by 5 p.m. The Globe had two sentences hand-delivered by AP.
It doesn't matter who had it first locally because CNN had it before anyone. I went to the Globe's site wanting something original. I didn't get it. The Daily delivered.
The question remains, what the hell is ecolonomics and does anyone care?
I have to agree about the Daily's coverage. I don't really read a lot of local news, but I've started going to the Daily. When I heard about the death of Mr. Weaver, I instinctively went to the JoplinDaily.com. When I saw nothing, I went to the globe, who merely had a couple of sentences from the AP story.
Within an hour, the Daily had an impressively long story, following the life and film career of Weaver. It was an impressive feat in such a short amount of time. In the newspaper business, it's not just about who "broke" the story first. Who cares. The Daily had a considerabily long story up quickly, which was much more than the Globe or even The Chart had in their "real-time" news.
Way to go, JoplinDaily!
My mom went to high school with "Billy" Weaver, as he was known then.
I remember growing up, one of the stories Dennis Weaver would tell was about being so poor, he ate mustard sandwiches. I asked my mom if that was true, if folks really did just eat mustard sandwiches, and she said "Yes, and probably awfully glad to have both mustard AND bread."
Weaver was a heck of an actor and a spokesman for the environment. But more than that, he was a humble, down-to-earth person who never put on airs nor looked down his nose at people. I've had the opportunity to meet and talk with him several times, and was always impressed by his humble manner.
Dennis, Godspeed.
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