Dennis Weaver

The Limping Man Who Fooled Hollywood

Dennis Weaver didn't want to be the typical handsome supporting actor from Missouri. During auditions for Gunsmoke, he decided his character, Chester Goode, should walk with a pronounced limp to stand out next to the imposing James Arness. That physical choice earned him an Emmy in 1959.

But he almost regretted the joke.

Weaver had to keep that limping gait for nine years and 290 episodes. Spanish audiences knew him as the loyal deputy to Sheriff Matt Dillon. And although the role brought him worldwide fame, the actor felt television was devouring him alive.

In 1964, he decided to leave the most-watched series in the United States to pursue leading roles. Many thought it was career suicide. But Weaver wanted more than to be the shadow of a black-and-white cowboy.

The Red-Hot Nightmare

A young director named Steven Spielberg called him in 1971 for a TV movie with a ridiculous budget. The script for Duel was simple. A man travels alone through the desert, and a tanker truck begins stalking him for no apparent reason.

Weaver shot nearly all the driving scenes on the highways of California. The shoot lasted just thirteen days. The psychological tension of his performance turned a cheap TV movie into a cult classic that unexpectedly became a hit in European theaters.

That red Plymouth Valiant fleeing a rusty Peterbilt defined Weaver's career outside the Western saloons.

Then came McCloud. From 1970 to 1977, he played a marshal from New Mexico assigned to the New York City detective unit. The image of Weaver riding a horse down Fifth Avenue perfectly sums up his career.

The contrast worked.

The series stayed on the air for seven seasons and earned him several Golden Globe nominations. Weaver used his position to serve as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1973 to 1975. During his term, he focused on improving residual rights for actors as cable television exploded.

Mud, Tires and Activism

Away from the spotlight, his obsession was the environment, long before it became a public relations trend. In 1989 he built a house in Ridgway, Colorado, using 3,000 old tires and aluminum cans. The structure was called an Earthship.

The actor founded the L.I.F.E. organization to fight hunger and promoted the use of alternative fuels. In 2003, he lent his voice to the animated series The Wild Thornberrys Movie and took part in smaller projects such as Wildfire in 2005.

Weaver died on February 24, 2006 at his Colorado home from complications of cancer. He was 81 years old.

His ashes were scattered on his eco-friendly property.

The final budget for Duel was 450,000 dollars.