Biographies Of James Arness (children, writing, great, buy)
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Unable to locate any, which is not really surprising, given how private he was. Are you aware of any?
Yes, he did an autobio but I'm not interested in them.
Biographies?
I'd be mildly surprised if there was sufficient interest in Arness to result in even one biography. After all, the entertainment world teems with figures who left a greater cultural mark than Arness and/or lived a more interesting life, about whom no one has bothered to write a biography.
But multiple bios? I'd be positively astonished if somewhere out there was a biographer who decided that what the world needs is a second Arness biography.
I'd be mildly surprised if there was sufficient interest in Arness to result in even one biography. After all, the entertainment world teems with figures who left a greater cultural mark than Arness and/or lived a more interesting life, about whom no one has bothered to write a biography.
Yeah man, only cultural heroes like Jim Morrison and the other hordes of drug addicts and/or alcoholics deserve bios.
Yeah man, only cultural heroes like Jim Morrison and the other hordes of drug addicts and/or alcoholics deserve bios.
That's not true, but a life like Jim Morrison's makes for much more interesting reading than a life that's straight, sober, and responsible. The second is a better, more fulfilling life, possibly, but it makes for a pretty boring story.
Most cultural heroes don't have colorful lives. It's the cultural outlaws that make for interesting reading.
And that's probably why Jim Arness doesn't have a biography printed about him. He was a reliable Western actor, but was one of dozens of them during the heyday of the TV westerns. You probably won't find a biography on the dozens of actors just like him who starred in TV westerns.
That's not true, but a life like Jim Morrison's makes for much more interesting reading than a life that's straight, sober, and responsible. The second is a better, more fulfilling life, possibly, but it makes for a pretty boring story.
Most cultural heroes don't have colorful lives. It's the cultural outlaws that make for interesting reading.
And that's probably why Jim Arness doesn't have a biography printed about him. He was a reliable Western actor, but was one of dozens of them during the heyday of the TV westerns. You probably won't find a biography on the dozens of actors just like him who starred in TV westerns.
Well, The bios I've read about e.g., Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, David Jannsen, and the combo bio of Andy Griffin/Don Knotts were pretty boring too. Furthermore, I don't see any cultural impact from those guys. And I was scanning the Hamilton catalog of bios from the entertainment industry, included is one describing the life of a stunt man. Meh.
I'm also unsure what the beef is with TV western guys.
I've had a curiosity about Arness based on blurbs, both in print and on the web. For instance, after serving in WWII, he supposedly was a surfing bum, living in his car by the beach. Sounds like something that fans of Morrison would appreciate.
Some accounts portrayed him as a cold individual, prompting wife #1 to attempt suicide. He was allegedly aloof with Peter Graves, his brother. He lost two children.
On the set of Gunsmoke, which he reportedly hated because the pain from his war injuries was exacerbated when riding a horse and because of the need to dye his blond hair black before every episode, he would get a case of the giggles because he thought that the whole shoot-em-up scene was ridiculous.
Even though it made him rich.
Sorry to all the hip folks out there but I'd appreciate it if someone had fleshed out all these things on this boring individual.
Well, The bios I've read about e.g., Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, David Jannsen, and the combo bio of Andy Griffin/Don Knotts were pretty boring too. Furthermore, I don't see any cultural impact from those guys. And I was scanning the Hamilton catalog of bios from the entertainment industry, included is one describing the life of a stunt man. Meh.
I'm also unsure what the beef is with TV western guys.
I've had a curiosity about Arness based on blurbs, both in print and on the web. For instance, after serving in WWII, he supposedly was a surfing bum, living in his car by the beach. Sounds like something that fans of Morrison would appreciate.
Some accounts portrayed him as a cold individual, prompting wife #1 to attempt suicide. He was allegedly aloof with Peter Graves, his brother. He lost two children.
On the set of Gunsmoke, which he reportedly hated because the pain from his war injuries was exacerbated when riding a horse and because of the need to dye his blond hair black before every episode, he would get a case of the giggles because he thought that the whole shoot-em-up scene was ridiculous.
Even though it made him rich.
Sorry to all the hip folks out there but I'd appreciate it if someone had fleshed out all these things on this boring individual.
I have no beef at all with Westerns. I've always loved 'em and always will.
Sounds to me like you already know a lot about Mr. Arness, so here's a suggestion: Write a biography on him yourself. You can string a good sentence together.
It's possible that a bio hasn't been printed because printing is an expensive and risky business these days. Publishers are much more gun-shy than they once were, and they are going for the fast draw that can be a best-seller for a month or so, even if the book is crap.
But if you can keep a steady hand on the reins, maybe you can generate enough interest in a bio to convince a publisher to hire a writer to do the book if you aren't up to it yourself.
If you do, who knows? Since I'm a fan of Gunsmoke, I might just buy a copy.
I'm far too old to be hip these days, and when I was young enough to be hip, I never was very hip anyway.
So, believe it or not, I'm on your side, even though I sure don't want to take on the task of writing the biography.
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