James Arness

James Arness (May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the CBS television series "Gunsmoke". Arness has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in five separate decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in "Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge" (1987) and four more made-for-television Gunsmoke films in the 1990s. He was the older brother of actor Peter Graves.