James Arness, a real-life World War II hero who came home to create television's ultimate lawman in Marshal Matt Dillon, died today at his Brentwood, Calif., home. He was 88.

'Gunsmoke' actor James Arness once talked about the transition from television to film and what his biggest concerns were with it.

By the end of his career, Arness, who was 88 when he died at his home in Brentwood, Calif., seemed almost indistinguishable from Matt Dillon in the audience’s mind.

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. He was 88.

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. He was 88.

James Arness, the 6-foot-7-inch actor who towered over the TV landscape for two decades as righteous Dodge City lawman Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, died yesterday.

Television actor James Arness died Friday of natural causes at his home in Brentwood, Calif., a family spokeswoman said. He was 88.

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. He was 88.

James Arness, the rangy thesp best known for his 20-year run as "Gunsmoke's" Marshal Matt Dillon, died Friday of natural causes at his home in Brentwood. He was 88.

LOS ANGELES — James Arness, the towering actor who played rugged lawman Matt Dillon in long-running US television series “Gunsmoke,” died Friday at the age of 88.

By the end of his career, Arness, who was 88 when he died at his home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, seemed almost indistinguishable from Matt Dillon in the audience's mind.