James Arness is best remembered for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on the long-running television series Gunsmoke. Arness also enjoyed a variety of outdoor sports.
James Arness as Matt Dillon in “Gunsmoke” (photo IMDB)
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, James Arness first made it big in Hollywood on the big screen, starring in such films as The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), Battleground (1949), Wagon Master (1950), The Thing from Another World (1951), Big Jim McLain (1952), Island in the Sky (1953), Hondo (1953), Them! (1954), Many Rivers to Cross (1955), and The Sea Chase (1955). His greatest success came when he starred in Gunsmoke, which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1975.
Arness loved water sports, and surfing was his favorite. He built a home on the Pacific Coast in San Clemente, California, so he could consistently surf at San Onofre with a close-knit group of friends. He especially liked the ocean’s non-competitive freedom over competing in surfing competitions.
In his 2001 autobiography, James Arness, An Autobiography, he wrote: “All through the 1960s I took the kids to the beach, where I taught them swimming and my favorite sport, surfing.”
James and Rolf Arnett (photo courtesy SurfRearch)
Surfing brought Arness peace and tranquility that he might not have had during the production of Gunsmoke. Arness’ son also carried down the surfing gene. His son, Rolf, won the 1970 World Surfing Championship.
Arness was also an avid sailor, and he was appointed to sail the famous 58-foot catamaran Seasmoke in long-distance ocean races. Arness’ objective for the Seasmoke was to make it the fastest boat on the water to win prestigious downwind ocean races. The design was a behemoth. It turned out to be a high-performance multihull.
Arness competed in the 1968 Multihull Transpac. The race was lengthy, totaling 2,500 miles, from the Los Angeles Harbor to Honolulu, Hawaii. As captain of the Seasmoke, Arness finished in first place and took line honors for Best Elapsed Time. Arness arrived at the Diamond Head buoy a day and a half ahead of the rest of the fleet. He even set a new enduring race record: 10 days and 9 hours.
The Seasmoke (photo courtesy Pacific Boats and Yachts)
Because he won the Multihull Transpac in best elapsed time, the Alice Purcell Trophy honors his name in the historic Newport-to-Ensenada International Yacht Race.
Arness was also an avid skier, and he took winter ski trips with his family to Mammoth Mountain in California and Sun Valley, Idaho. He was known for his early-morning routine on the slopes.
Fishing was another Arness favorite, something he embraced from childhood on. It began when his father took him on family trips to Ox Lake in Minnesota. Hunting followed soon. He grew up hunting near the Mississippi River with his brother, actor Peter Graves.
What a life he lived! James Arness died in 2011 at the age of 88.
