'Gunsmoke' actor James Arness had a very simple detail that transformed him from an actor into U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon.

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.

The John Wayne of TV Westerns has died. James Arness, the immortal "Matt Dillion" of Gunsmoke fame and the towering creature in the original "The Thing" has ...

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.