Dennis Weaver

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

William Dennis Weaver (Joplin, Missouri, 4 de juny de 1924 - Ridgway, Colorado, 24 de febrer de 2006) va ser un actor nord-americà i president de la Screen Actors Guild, conegut pel seu treball a la televisió, com per exemple "McCloud", i pel·lícules des de principis dels anys 50 fins just abans de la seva mort el 2006.

William Dennis Weaver (* 4. Juni 1924 in Joplin, Missouri; † 24. Februar 2006 in Ridgway, Colorado) war ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler. Seine Bühnenkarriere begann er mit der Hilfe von Shelley Winters, die ihm 1952 eine Rolle in Kehr zurück, kleine Sheba verschaffte. Zwischen 1955 und 1966 verkörperte er in der Westernserie Rauchende Colts die Figur Chester, für die er mit einem Emmy Award ausgezeichnet wurde. Diese Episoden wurden bis auf wenige Ausnahmen in Deutschland nicht ausgestrahlt. Zu seinen bekanntesten Filmauftritten gehören unter anderem jene als einfältiger Nachtportier in Orson Welles' Im Zeichen des Bösen sowie als Sidekick von James Garner in Der Einsame aus dem Westen. In Steven Spielbergs Filmdebüt Duell (1971) spielte er die Hauptrolle, einen einsamen Autofahrer, der sich von einem Truck verfolgt sieht. In Deutschland erlangte er außerdem durch die Krimiserie Ein Sheriff in New York (1970 bis 1977) große Beliebtheit.

威廉·丹尼斯·韦弗（William Dennis Weaver，1924 年 6 月 4 日 - 2006 年 2 月 24 日）是一位美国演员，以其在电视方面的工作而闻名，包括在 Gunsmoke 中的角色，在 NBC 警匪剧 McCloud 和 1971 年的电视电影《决斗》中饰演山姆·麦克劳德元帅。

威廉·丹尼斯·韋弗（William Dennis Weaver，1924 年 6 月 4 日 - 2006 年 2 月 24 日）是一位美國演員，以其在電視方面的工作而聞名，包括在 Gunsmoke 中的角色，在 NBC 警匪劇 McCloud 和 1971 年的電視電影《決鬥》中飾演山姆·麥克勞德元帥。