Being tall must have some drawbacks, but if you’re in the cast of Gunsmoke, they’re few and far between.
In James Arness’s book, James Arness: An Autobiography, Arness said that his height was certainly not a benefit as a child. “[As a child] I suddenly started growing like a weed,” he wrote. “Up to that time I had been tall, but in the same realm as my peers. Then I began to shoot up, and in one year I was four inches taller than anyone else in my class. By the time I finished junior high, I was 6’7″. I took a lot of razzing from other students asking me how the weather was up there and other such remarks, poking fun at me.”
Luckily, Arness had a pretty incredible mother who helped him see that his height could be seen as an advantage.
“Kids are cruel and I resented their teasing,” he wrote. “Seeing how this bothered me, my mother wrote me a poem, ‘To a Young Giant,’ assuring me that one day my height would be a sign of distinction and that I would do great things. I treasure that poem still.”
Arness’s mother was right, and Arness’s height placed him in prominence as an actor after he won the role of Marshal Matt Dillon. However, once he had reached stardom, Arness was able to open the door for his fellow tall men. One of those tall men happened to be Glenn Strange, who played bartender Sam Noonan due to some intervention by Matt Dillon himself.
In an article with the Associated Press, it was revealed that Strange began his tenure on Gunsmoke after he met Arness for the first time. Arness asked, “When are you going to do Gunsmoke? I like to work with big guys.”
Strange’s height would later serve him well as he later portrayed Frankenstein’s monster in multiple Universal films.
So here’s to all you tall guys out there. May your dreams stay as high as your height!