James Arness

James Arness (actor), born on May 26, 1923 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. James Arness’s age 88 years (at death) & Zodiac Sign Gemini, nationality American (by birth) & Race/Ethnicity is Mixed (German and Norwegian). Let’s check, How Tall is James Arness?

James Arness Bio

James Arness Height

6 Feet 7.5 Inches (201.93 cm)

Height & Weight
Height (in Feet-Inches)	6 Feet 7.5 Inches
Height (in Centimeters)	201.93 cm
Weight (in Kilograms)	91 kg
Weight (in Pounds)	200.62 lbs

James Arness Body Measurements

James Arness’s full body measurements are 45 inches (114.3 cm) – 15.5 inches (39.37 cm) – 34 inches (86.36 cm).

Body Measurements
Measurements	45-34-15.5 inches/ 114.3-86.36-39.37 cm
Chest Size	45 inches (114.3 cm)
Biceps Size	15.5 inches (39.37 cm)
Waist Size (Male)	34 inches (86.36 cm)

Bio And Wiki

James Arness is one of the most famous and trending Actor in whole world. James Arness was born on May 26, 1923 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. He was born as James King Aurness, but best known as James Arness.

Family, Childhood, and Education

His father name is Rolf Cirkler Aurness is a businessman and mother name is Ruth Duesler a journalist. The family name had been Aurness, but when Rolf’s father, Peter Aurness, emigrated from Norway in 1887, he changed it to Arness.

He grew up with his sibling, his younger brother, Peter Graves who is also an actor. Peter was famous for his portrayal of Jim Phelps in the CBS TV series mission: Impossible.

He attended John Burroughs Grade School, Washburn High School, and West High School in Minneapolis. During this time, Arness worked as a courier for a jewelry wholesaler, loading and unloading railway boxcars at the Burlington freight yards in Minneapolis, and logging in Pierce, Idaho. Despite “being a poor student and skipping many classes”, he graduated from high school in June 1942.

Career

He entered the army and trained at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, before shipping out for North Africa. After landing at Casablanca, Arness joined the 3rd Infantry Division in time for the invasion of Anzio. Ten days after the invasion, Arness was severely wounded in the leg and foot by German machine-gun fire. His wounds, which plagued him the rest of his life, resulted in his medical discharge from the army. While recuperating in a Clinton, Iowa hospital, he was visited by his younger brother Peter (later to gain fame as actor Peter Graves), who suggested he take a radio course at the University of Minnesota. James did so, and a teacher recommended him for a job as an announcer at a Minneapolis radio station. Though seemingly headed for success in radio, he followed a boyhood friend’s suggestion and went with the friend to Hollywood in hopes of getting work as film extras. He studied at the Bliss-Hayden Theatre School under actor Harry Hayden, and while appearing in a play there was spotted by agent Leon Lance. Lance got the actor a role as Loretta Young’s brother in The Farmer’s Daughter (1947). The director of that film, H.C. Potter, recommended that he drop the “u” from his last name and soon thereafter the actor was officially known as James Arness. Little work followed this break, and Arness became something of a beach bum, living on the shore at San Onofre and spending his days surfing. He began taking his acting career more seriously when he began to receive fan mail following the release of the Young picture. He appeared in a production of “Candida” at the Pasadena Community Playhouse, and married his leading lady, Virginia Chapman. She pressed him to study acting and to work harder in pursuit of a career, but Arness has been consistent in ascribing his success to luck. He began to get small roles with frequency, often, due to his size, villainous characters. Most notable among these was that of the space alien in The Thing from Another World (1951). While playing a Greek warrior in a play, Arness was spotted by agent Charles K. Feldman, who represented John Wayne. Feldman introduced Arness to Wayne, who put the self-described 6′ 6″ actor under personal contract. Arness played several roles over the next few years for and with Wayne, whom he considered a mentor. In 1955, Wayne recommended Arness for the lead role of Matt Dillon in the TV series Gunsmoke (1955). (Contrary to urban legend, Wayne himself was never offered the role.) Arness at first declined, thinking a TV series could derail his growing film career, but Wayne argued for the show, and Arness accepted. His portrayal of stalwart marshal Dillon became an iconic figure in American television and the series, on the air for twenty seasons, is, as of 2008, the longest-running dramatic series in U.S. television history. Arness became world-famous and years later reprised the character in a series of TV movies. After the surprising cancellation of “Gunsmoke” in 1975, Arness jumped immediately into another successful (though much shorter-lived) Western project, a TV-movie-miniseries-series combination known as “How The West Was Won.” A brief modern police drama, McClain’s Law (1981), followed, and Arness played his mentor John Wayne’s role in Red River (1988), a remake of the Wayne classic. Following the aforementioned “Gunsmoke” TV movies (the last in 1994, when Arness was 71), Arness basically retired. His marriage to Virginia Chapman ended in divorce in 1960. They had three children together, one of whom, Jenny Lee, died a suicide in 1975. Arness subsequently married Janet Surtrees in 1978.

Awards And Nominations

For his contributions to the television industry, Arness has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1751 Vine Street. In 1981, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Arness was inducted into the Santa Clarita Walk of Western Stars in 2006, and gave a related TV interview.

On the 50th anniversary of television in 1989 in the United States, People magazine chose the top 25 television stars of all time. Arness was number 6.

In 1996, TV Guide ranked him number 20 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.

Arness was nominated for the following Emmy Awards:

1957: Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series
1958: Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series
1959: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series

Wife And Children

He got married to Virginia Chapman in 1948. They also adopted her son Craig (1946-December 14, 2004). And they also had a son, Rolf who was born February 18, 1952. Likely, they were also blessed with and a daughter, Jenny Lee Arness who was born on May 23, 1950. But she died of a drug overdose in 1975.
But the couple gets divorced in 1963, and Arness was granted legal custody of the children. His former wife Virginia also died of a drug overdose in 1977. Then on December 16, 1978, Arness married Janet Surtess. She survived him. He also has six grandchiledren and one great-grandchild.

Death

He Graves died of natural causes on March 14, 2010, in Pacific Palisades, California; according to a spokeperson, the actor collapsed in his driveway after having breakfast with his family. His daughter attempted to revive him through CPR, but was unsuccessful. Graves was survived by Joan Endress, to whom he was married for many years. They had three daughters together, as well as several grandchildren.

James Arness Net Worth And Salary

As of 2020, the estimated James Arness’s net worth is $142 million. By doing acting he gathered a good amount of Net Worth.

Social Media Profile

James Arness does’t seem to be active on different social platforms.

Trivia: James Arness Facts

* His younger brother, Peter Graves, was also an actor.
* He spent time as a courier for a jewelry wholesaler while attending high school.
* He was a close friend of actor John Wayne.
* He married first wife Virginia Chapman in 1948. The couple divorced in 1960. He had two sons and daughter.

He ranked in the list of most popular American actor.

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