'50s Icon Dennis Weaver & Wife Geraldine Were Proof True Love Can Survive Hollywood Pressures

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While Hollywood loves to tell stories that end with "they lived happily ever after," the reality is that the industry is well known for its tumultuous relationships. Actors tend to fall in love quickly but go through drawn out divorces, making it seem like ever-lasting love is as real as the movies that fill theaters every year. But there are some very true Hollywood love stories that rival the greatest romances ever put on celluloid, like the legendary TV cowboy Dennis Weaver and his wife, Geraldine "Gerry" Stowell Weaver, who were happily married for more than six decades.

Like something out of a Frank Capra movie, Dennis and Gerry met at a sock hop while at Joplin Junior College. It was Gerry who made the first move, making one of her friends dance with her so she could move closer to Weaver, who described the first time he saw his wife in his memoir, "All the World's a Stage," "Bobby gave Gerry a powerful whirl and her skirt twirled up, exposing the neatest pair of legs I'd ever seen. I got a glimpse of those red tights, and it was all over!" After three close calls as a Navy pilot during World War II, Weaver returned home, and the two wed in 1945. Gerry bought the rings because he was broke and it would be half a decade before Dennis' acting career even began, let alone took off. 

For Dennis Weaver, acting was the fallback job after he failed to make the US Olympic decathlon team. After performing off-Broadway, he made his TV debut in 1951, and, in 1955, was cast as Chester B. Goode in "Gunsmoke," playing the character for nearly 300 episodes. And while there are plenty of examples of male celebs who run off with younger girlfriends, Dennis was devoted to Gerry, and she to him. In his autobiography, he lavished praise on his wife, writing, " there were times I stumbled along the way, searching for my own growth; but you were always there with your unshakeable love and support, for which I am eternally grateful."

Together, Dennis and Gerry Weaver had three sons and built a lasting legacy outside of Hollywood. Dedicated environmentalists, the couple built Sunridge Earthship, a home made out of recycled materials, in Ridgway, Colorado. The two also worked to help those in need, creating L.I.F.E (Love Is Feeding Everyone), a program to help feed the hungry in Los Angeles. They also put on a benefit concert in 1985 that included, among other celebrities, "General Hospital" hunk and rock star Rick Springfield. Dennis passed away in 2006, with Gerry following him a decade later. Explaining how their love was able to last, Weaver wrote in his memoir, "Gerry and I developed an understanding of each other, a feeling of compassion and patience that has run quite and deep ... and for goodness sake, express your love in thought, word, and action. Let your partner and the world know that you are the lover of all lovers."