Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: William Dennis Weaver , دنیس ویور

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Joplin, Missouri, USA

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 51

TV Involvements: 22


Most Famous Work

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Billy Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most famous roles were as Marshal Matt Dillon's deputy Chester Goode on the western Gunsmoke and as Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on the police drama McCloud. He starred in the 1971 television film Duel, the first film of director Steven Spielberg. He is also remembered for his role as the twitchy motel attendant in Orson Welles's film Touch of Evil (1958). Weaver was born June 4, 1924, in Joplin, Missouri, the son of Walter Leon "Doc" Weaver and his wife Lenna Leora (née Prather). Weaver wanted to be an actor from childhood. He lived in Shreveport, Louisiana, for several years and for a short time in Manteca, California. He studied at Joplin Junior College, then transferred to the University of Oklahoma at Norman, where he studied drama and was a track star, setting records in several events. During World War II, he served as a pilot in the United States Navy, flying Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter aircraft. After the war, he married Gerry Stowell (his childhood sweetheart), with whom he had three children. Under the name Billy D. Weaver, he tried out for the 1948 U.S. Olympic team in the decathlon, finishing sixth behind 17-year-old high school track star Bob Mathias. However, only the top three finishers were selected. Weaver later commented, "I did so poorly [in the Olympic Trials], I decided to ... stay in New York and try acting. Career Weaver's first role on Broadway came as an understudy to Lonny Chapman as Turk Fisher in Come Back, Little Sheba. He eventually took over the role from Chapman in the national touring company. Solidifying his choice to become an actor, Weaver enrolled in the Actors Studio, where he met Shelley Winters. In the beginning of his acting career, he supported his family by doing odd jobs, including selling vacuum cleaners, tricycles, and women's hosiery. In 1952, Shelley Winters helped him get a contract from Universal Studios. He made his film debut that same year in the movie The Redhead from Wyoming. Over the next three years, he played in a series of movies, but still had to work odd jobs to support his family. In 1955 he appeared in an episode of The Lone Ranger "The Tell-Tale Bullet", which is viewable on YouTube. While delivering flowers, he heard he had landed the role of Chester Goode, the limping, loyal assistant of Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) on the new television series Gunsmoke. It was his big break; the show went on to become the highest-rated and longest-running live action series in United States television history (1955 to 1975), an honor now held by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 1970, Weaver landed the title role in the NBC series McCloud, for which he received two Emmy Award nominations. The show, about a modern Western lawman who ends up in New York City, was loosely based on the Clint Eastwood film Coogan's Bluff. Weaver married Gerry Stowell after World War II, and they had three sons: Richard, Robert, and Rustin Weaver. Gerry died April 26, 2016, at 90. Death Weaver died from prostate cancer at his home in Ridgway, Colorado, on February 24, 2006, at age 81. CLR

Most Famous Work

Climax!
Average
3

Climax!

(1954) Steve Maclyn
Dr. Kildare
Average
5

Dr. Kildare

(1961) Wayne Wandemeir
The Twilight Zone
Average
8

The Twilight Zone

(1959) Adam Grant
Magnum, P.I.
Average
7

Magnum, P.I.

(1980) Lacy Fletcher
Combat!
Average
8

Combat!

(1962) Noah
The Name of the Game
Average
7

The Name of the Game

(1968) Walter Grayson
McCloud
Average
7

McCloud

(1970) Sam McCloud
Gunsmoke
Average
7

Gunsmoke

(1955) Chester

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2005 Henry Ritter
2004 Abner (voice)
2000 Buck Stevens
Mart Howe
Sam Balaam
1999 N/A
1998 Grandpa Flint
1997 Sam Jenks
Captain Farnsworth
1996 N/A
1995 Sheriff Pratt
1994 Buffalo Bill Cody
Chance Wayne
1992 Vice President Dale Burden
Reader (voice)
1990 Narrator
N/A
1989 N/A
Sam McCloud
1988 Sheriff Ben Harlen
Self
1987 Dr. Buck James
Jack Duggan
1986 Mr. Wyshner
1985 Wally Johnson
1983 Rear Adm. Thomas Mallory
Eddie Gant
1982 Phillip
1981 Aaron Danner
1980 Lacy Fletcher
Dr. Samuel A. Mudd
Elroy 'Bud' Burkhardt
Det. Sgt. Daniel Stone
1979 Daniel Ellis Stone
Charles Bates
1978 Prof. Benjamin Fuller
Col. Jason Forrest
R.J. Poteet
Gable McQueen
1977 Donald Halston
N/A
1975 Self - Guest
1973 Neil Glynn
Self
N/A
Deke Chambers
1972 Lonnie McAfee
Abraham Lincoln
1971 David Mann
Lt. Joe Hardy
N/A
Lincoln Palmer
Self
1970 Erwin Ward
Self
Sam McCloud
Self
1968 Self
Chip Corbett
Walter Grayson
1967 Tom Wedloe
Tom Wedloe
N/A
1966 George Tucker, the Sundown Kid
Hoffman
N/A
Willard Grange
1964 Kentucky Jones
1962 Noah
Self
Self
1961 Self - Co-Host
Wayne Wandemeir
1960 Andy Lowe
1959 Adam Grant
1958 Mirador Motel Night Manager
1955 Hank
Charles Cavender
Chester
Maj. Carlisle
John Brown Jr.
Sheriff Clyde Gibbons
1954 Steve Maclyn
Capt. R.A. Lohrman
Ranger clerk
1953 Pino
N/A
Menguito
Frank Durling
Julian Contant
Matt Jessup
1952 Jim Clements
Dandy Taylor
1951 N/A
Ben
1948 Self
Year Character Movie/Tv

Directing

Year Role Movie/Tv
1970 Director
1967 Director
1955 Director
Year Role Movie/Tv

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