About James Arness
James Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the series Gunsmoke. He has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in five decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987) and four more made-for-television Gunsmoke films in the 1990s. In Europe, Arness reached cult status for his role as Zeb Macahan in the Western series How the West Was Won. He was the older brother of actor Peter Graves. Arness–because of his height–was the first man to be ordered off the landing craft to determine the depth of the water; it came up to his waist. Arness entered Beloit College that fall, where he joined the campus choir and became a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.