How Dennis Weaver Secured His Spot On Iconic Western Gunsmoke

The old adage "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again" is precisely how "Gunsmoke" star Dennis Weaver turned a blown audition into nearly a decade of steady work on the beloved landmark Western drama. But how exactly did the late actor secure the role of Chester Goode at a time when he was desperately lacking star power?

When "Gunsmoke" premiered on CBS in the fall of 1955, Weaver had already appeared on a couple of TV shows and quite a few movies. Even so, he had struggled to gain a foothold in Hollywood. In fact, around the time "Gunsmoke" was assembling its cast, Weaver had taken a job delivering flowers for his aunt just to pay the bills. But what he lacked in name recognition, he made up for in industry connections, stick-to-itiveness, and a little bit of luck.

As Weaver recalled in his 2001 autobiography (via MeTV), he had a chance encounter with an old friend who tipped him off that CBS was casting for a new Western series. He was initially unsure as he didn't have an agent at the time, but the potential pay was too good to pass up. Plus, Weaver had recently worked with the show's developer, Charles Marquis Warren, which gave the actor an in.

Per Rewind Magazine, the first time Weaver read for the role of Chester Goode, he delivered his lines as a strait-laced, no-nonsense cowboy ... which didn't really land with the casting directors. So, he gave it a second try with a more comedic lean, and the rest is history.

When "Gunsmoke" hit the airwaves in 1955, the show's main cast consisted of James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, and Dennis Weaver. Today, the Western stands as one of the longest-running scripted primetime series in history.  After two decades of "Gunsmoke," TV's favorite cowboys officially went their separate ways. By that point, Weaver was already long gone –  departing the show in 1964, during Season 9.

Speaking to The Hartford Courant (via MeTV) that year, Weaver confessed that while the TV Western had launched his career, he felt he had simply done all he could do with the character of Chester Goode. He further revealed that he had actually quit "Gunsmoke" on two separate occasions before it finally stuck. "In both instances, I returned to 'Gunsmoke' because financially that was the best thing to do. But this time I'm severing the umbilical cord for good," he said at the time.

In interviews, Weaver also explained that he was ready to leave Chester's signature limp behind, as it was starting to negatively impact his other acting prospects, not to mention his personal life. "[Y]ou ever try and build a campfire with a stiff leg? Or worst of all, you ever try to put your boot on without bending your knee? I had to take yoga lessons to do some of that stuff," he told the St. Louis Post Dispatch (via INSP).