Actor James Arness, who starred as Matt Dillon in the legendary CBS TV show Gunsmoke, has died of natural causes at age 88. Arness was a WWII veteran who was wounded in action. After the war he tried several diverse careers before drifting into acting. He made numerous feature films and played the titular role in Howard Hawks' classic 1950 sci-fi film The Thing. He befriended John Wayne and co-starred with him in several feature films before starring in Gunsmoke beginning in 1955. With his muscular physique and tall frame, Arness became an immediate heartthrob. The show was an instant hit and ran for twenty years. When CBS threatened to cancel it, a grass roots protest campaign on behalf of fans succeeded in convincing the network to renew the show. Arness returned to TV in the 1970s in How the West Was Won and in the 1980s cop show McLain's Law. Arness survived his brother, actor Peter Graves, who also soared to fame on a CBS series, the long-running Misson:Impossible. For more click here