He broke into film in 1952, after a brief stage career in New York and some time spent at The Actor’s Studio, through his friendship with fellow actor Shelly Winters. Three years later he got his first signature role as Chester Goode in the incredibly popular Gunsmoke. Weaver’s Goode proved to be one of the more popular characters on the show, but he left Gunsmoke in 1964 to star in his own series “Kentucky Jones”. “Kentucky Jones” didn’t last long and Weaver moved on to continue acting in both movies and television.
After a few years of guest starring on others’ shows and doing movies, Weaver landed a second series of his own. He starred from 1970 to 1977 in the television drama “McCloud”. “McCloud” left him plenty of time to continue off and on in movies as it was a limited production series, only filming 45 episodes in eight years. During this time, one of the movies Weaver starred in was a made for television movie titled “Duel”. “Duel” was Steven Spielberg’s first film.
Following “McCloud”, Weaver went back to his guest starring roles and occasional movies as well, this time throwing in a couple of mini-series roles too. He would appear regularly in three more series, though shortlived. From 1983-1984 he was Rear Admiral Thomas Mallory in “Emerald Point N.A.S.”, in 1987 he was given a starring role in the series “Buck James” that lasted just one season, and then from 1994-1995 he was Buffalo Bill Cody in “Lonesome Dove: The Series”. Weaver died in 2006 at the age of 81 but kept acting right up to near the end, getting credits in such varied shows as “The Simpsons” and “Touched By An Angel”, along with a number television movies.
Some of the notable television shows featuring Dennis Weaver:
Dragnet
The Lone Ranger
Gunsmoke
Kentucky Jones
Dr. Kildare
Combat!
Gentle Ben
Judd For The Defense
The Name of the Game
That Girl
The Virginian
The Flip Wilson Show
McCloud
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
Police Story
Emerald Point, N.A.S.
Magnum P.I.
Buck James
Lonesome Dove: The Series
The Beast
Family Law
The Simpsons
Touched By An Angel
Wildfire
Dennis Weaver made his mark on the acting industry with his performance as the popular Chester Goode in “Gunsmoke”, but he left his mark by being an incredibly talented and versatile actor.