THE HAT SQUAD: DENNIS WEAVER

Dennis Weaver has passed away at the age of 81 at his home in Colorado, a home made of recycled aluminum that reflected his concerns for Spaceship Earth.

From 'Gunsmoke' to 'McCloud', with stops along the way in 'Centennial', 'The Lone Ranger', and 'Lonesome Dove: The Series', Dennis Weaver was the essence of Toobworld's Westerner. Long, lonesome, lanky, a man of few words but choice, he achieved his greatest fame as Deputy Marshall Sam McCloud, the Taos, New Mexico lawman who was on special assignment in New York City.

But even his other great milestone, as the beleaguered motorist in Steven Spielberg's early triumph "Duel", could be seen as a man of the West, facing off against his adversary in a stickshift showdown.

He first came to true Toobworld prominence in the greatest TV Western of them all, 'Gunsmoke'. He played Marshall Dillon's sidekick, the lame, drawling Chester Goode. And even though he left the show at the height of its fame in a move worthy of McLean Stevenson or Shelley Long, he was able to overcome the stigma to go on to forge a long and successful career in both TV series and TV movies.

One of my favorites among these was as RJ Poteet, the man who led the cattle drive to 'Centennial'. Not only was that a great series, but one of the best adaptations I've ever seen of a novel. (At 26 hours, I consider that to be a true TV series and not a mini-series. 'Emily's Reasons Why Not' is a mini-series!),

Weaver was married to his wife, the former Gerry Stowell, since 1945. Sixty years married to the same woman (I just heard her say on 1010 WINS that they were together sixty-three years.), and still in the thick of it in Hollywood... that in itself shows that he was an uncommon man.

TV SERIES
"Wildfire" (2005) TV Series .... Henry Ritter (2005)
"Buck James" (1987) TV Series .... Doctor Buck James
"Emerald Point N.A.S." (1983) TV Series .... Rear Adm. Thomas Mallory
"Stone" (1980) TV Series .... Detective Sergeant Daniel Stone
"McCloud" (1970-1977) .... Sam McCloud
"Gentle Ben" (1967) TV Series .... Tom Wedloe
"Kentucky Jones" (1964) TV Series .... Kentucky Jones
"Gunsmoke" (1955-1964) .... Chester Goode (1955-1964)

TV RECURRING ROLES
"Lonesome Dove: The Series"
- Down Come Rain: Part 2 (1994) TV Episode .... Buffalo Bill Cody
- O Western Wind: Part 1 (1994) TV Episode .... Buffalo Bill Cody
- When Wilt Thou Blow: Part 3 (1994) TV Episode .... Buffalo Bill Cody
- Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (????) TV Episode .... Buffalo Bill Cody
- Last Stand (????) TV Episode .... Buffalo Bill Cody

TV MINI-SERIES
"Pearl" (1978) (mini) TV Series .... Col. Jason Forrest
"Centennial" (1978) (mini) TV Series .... R.J. Poteet

TV MOVIES
High Noon (2000) (TV) .... Mart Howe
The Virginian (2000) (TV) .... Sam Balaam
Stolen Women, Captured Hearts (1997) (TV) .... Captain Farnsworth
Seduction in a Small Town (1997) (TV) .... Sam Jenks
Greyhounds (1994) (TV) .... Chance Wayne
Mastergate (1992) (TV) .... Dale Burden
Disaster at Silo 7 (1988) (TV) .... Sheriff Ben Harlen
Bluffing It (1987) (TV) .... Jack Duggan
A Winner Never Quits (1986) (TV) .... Mr. Wyshner
Cocaine: One Man's Seduction (1983) (TV) .... Eddie Gant
Don't Go to Sleep (1982) (TV) .... Phillip
The Day the Loving Stopped (1981) (TV) .... Aaron Danner
Amber Waves (1980) (TV) .... Elroy 'Bud' Burkhardt
The Islander (1978) (TV) .... Gable McQueen
Intimate Strangers (1977) (TV) .... Donald Halston
Cry for Justice (1977)
Terror on the Beach (1973) (TV) .... Neil Glynn
Female Artillery (1973) (TV) .... Deke Chambers
Rolling Man (1972) (TV) .... Lonnie McAfee
Duel (1971/I) (TV) .... David Mann
The Forgotten Man (1971) (TV) .... Lieutenant Joe Hardy

TV PILOTS
Stone (1979) (TV) .... Daniel Ellis Stone
McCloud: Who Killed Miss U.S.A.? (1970) (TV) .... Sam McCloud
Gentle Giant (1967) .... Tom Wedloe

TV SEQUELS
The Return of Sam McCloud (1989) (TV) .... Sam McCloud

TV SPECIALS
Headin' Home for the Holidays (1986) (TV)
Swing Out, Sweet Land (1970) (TV) .... Tom Lincoln
The John Denver Special (1976) (TV)

TV RELATED MOVIES
Dragnet (1954) .... Captain R.A. Lohrman

THE TOONIVERSE
"The Simpsons"
- The Lastest Gun in the West (2002) TV Episode (voice) .... Buck McCoy
"Captain Planet and the Planeteers" (1990) TV Series (voice) .... Dusty, Josh

TV NARRATION
Subdivide and Conquer: A Modern Western (1999) (TV) .... Narrator

TELE-HISTORY
"The Great Battles of the Civil War" (1994) (mini) TV Series (voice) .... R. E Lee
Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story (1985) (TV) .... Wally Johnson
The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980) (TV) .... Dr. Samuel A. Mudd
The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979) (TV) .... Charles Bates
Ishi: The Last of His Tribe (1978) (TV) .... Professor Benjamin Fuller
The Great Man's Whiskers (1972) (TV) .... Abraham Lincoln

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"Touched by an Angel"
- The Good Earth (2003) TV Episode .... Emmett Rivers
"Family Law"
- Sex, Lies, and Internet (2001) TV Episode .... Judge Richard Lloyd
"The Beast"
- Travinia: Part 2 (2001) TV Episode .... Walter McFadden
- Travinia: Part 1 (2001) TV Episode .... Walter McFadden
"Magnum, P.I."
- Let Me Hear the Music (1985) TV Episode .... Lacy Fletcher-present Day
"The Virginian"
- Train of Darkness (1970) TV Episode .... Jed 'Judge Harker' Haines
"The Name of the Game"
- Give Till It Hurts (1969) TV Episode .... Walter Grayson
"Judd for the Defense"
- The View from the Ivory Tower (1969) TV Episode .... Professor Robert Beardsley
"Gallegher Goes West"
- Showdown with the Sundown Kid (1966) TV Episode .... George Tucker, the Sundown Kid
- The Crusading Reporter (1966) TV Episode .... George Tucker, the Sundown Kid
"Combat!"
- The Farmer (1965) TV Episode .... Noah
"Dr. Kildare"
- A Reverence for Life (1965) TV Episode .... Wayne Wandemeir
"The Twilight Zone"
- Shadow Play (1961) TV Episode .... Adam Grant
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents"
- Insomnia (1960) TV Episode .... Charles Cavender
"Playhouse 90"
- The Dungeon (1958) TV Episode .... Karl Ohringer
"Climax!"
- Burst of Fire (1958) TV Episode .... Steve Maclyn
"The Lone Ranger"
- The Tell-Tale Bullet (1955) TV Episode .... Jeb Sullivan
"Dragnet"
- The Big Screen (1955) TV Episode .... Dave Rotbart
- The Big Bible (1954) TV Episode .... Sergeant Jay Allen
- The Big Present (1954) TV Episode .... Lieutenant Dick Whitley
- The Big Bar (1954) TV Episode .... Russ Camp
- The Big Plant (1954) TV Episode .... Officer Boone
"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"
- Underground (1955) TV Episode .... Ben

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES
CBS at 75 (2003) (TV) .... Himself
"The Big Show"
- Episode #1.8 (1980) TV Episode .... Host
"The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries"
- The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom (1977) TV Episode .... Dennis Weaver
"What's My Line?"
- Episode dated 22 April 1962 (1962) TV Episode .... Guest Panelist
"Toast of the Town"
- Episode #12.23 (1959) TV Episode .... Himself
"This Is Your Life"
- Dennis Weaver (1957) TV Episode .... Himself

[Thanks to the IMDb.com]

Usually I end the "Hat Squads" with my usual "BCnU....", but Mr. Weaver himself provided the perfect sign-off.

There yuh go......
Tele-Toby