Weaver had come up with the idea for Chester’s stiff leg at the start of Gunsmoke as an explanation for why the character ...

Dennis Weaver played the loyal deputy Chester Goode from 1955 to 1964. Born in 1924 in Missouri, Weaver was married to his childhood sweetheart, Geraldine Stowell, with whom he had three children.

Weaver was a struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, "Gunsmoke." ...

Weaver starred in such classic TV shows as “Gunsmoke” and “McCloud." (Hart Van Denburg/CPR News) The late actor Dennis Weaver was known to play cowboys and deputy marshals.

Dennis Weaver has died at 81. The Gunsmoke actor died in Colorado after complications with cancer, and is survived by his wife and three children.

Weaver's final "Gunsmoke" appearance was towards the end of the ninth season in the episode "Bently." What's strange, however, was that the character didn't receive any semblance of a goodbye arc ...