Actor Buck Taylor joined the Gunsmoke cast in the later era of the Western television show’s run. However, he realized that stars James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, and Ken Curtis often frustrated many other actors. They were heavy hitters that made it difficult for any new actor to adjust to the flow of the well-oiled machine that was the show. Nevertheless, Taylor knew exactly how to operate among the Gunsmoke cast.
‘Gunsmoke’ actor Buck Taylor played Newly O’Brien starting in season 13
Taylor first appeared as Newly O’Brien on Gunsmoke in season 13. However, it would become a long-term role that ran until season 20 in 1975. Newly came to Dodge City as a gunsmith, but he would ultimately become a deputy marshal. He would return for 1987’s TV movie Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, where he was the city’s marshal
According to a 1973 TV Guide interview, Taylor was meant to appeal to a different Gunsmoke viewer. The producers wanted a “young man who learns from his elders.” Even though the actor was 35 years old at the time, he still appealed to the youth.
Buck Taylor didn’t compete with James Arness and the other ‘Gunsmoke’ heavy-hitters
TV Guide noted that many actors became frustrated working with big stars, such as Arness, Blake, Stone, and Curtis. However, Taylor didn’t allow the scene-stealers on Gunsmoke to get under his skin or undermine his performance. Rather, he took a different approach that allowed him to fit right in with the rest of the cast.
“I don’t try to compete with ’em,” Taylor said. “Actually, they help me. Milburn is sorta my acting coach–I go to him whenever I have problems. I think I’ve got one o’ the better jobs in Hollywood. If I never did anything but Gunsmoke, I’d be happy. I don’t work very hard, I’m not overexposed, and I’m not typed. The money is good. I’ve got nothin’ against makin’ money. It’s afforded me the things I want to do.”
He stayed with the show until CBS canceled it, but it wouldn’t mark the end of his career working in Western storytelling. He also starred in Cowboys & Aliens and got a recurring role in Yellowstone.
He used that money to live life with his family
Taylor wasn’t kidding that the Gunsmoke money afforded him the life that he wanted. One of the things he wanted most was to purchase a ranch in Montana, where he lived with his wife and, at the time, their three children. Taylor found family time to be important, so he spent as much time with them as possible.
He rode a horse around, rather than a car. Additionally, he didn’t own a phone there and the nearest town only had 600 people living there. Taylor came to Hollywood for work, but he wanted to live permanently on the ranch to raise his children alongside his wife and former actor, Judy Nugent.