Dennis Weaver, a rawboned actor whose Hollywood career was bookended by his real-life roles as a champion athlete and committed environmentalist, called Colorado home for the past 16 years.
He lived in an environmental show home dubbed Earthship in Ridgway, and it was there that he died Friday from cancer complications, said his publicist, Julian Myers. He was 81.
Weaver, best known for his roles in the TV series “Gunsmoke” and “McCloud,” built the unusual home in the Western Slope town in 1990 with his wife, Gerry. His most visible environmental project, the 8,500-square-foot house featured an array of active and passive solar technology, water recovery and other recycling techniques.
Weaver’s initial fame came from his role as the laconic Chester Goode, deputy to James Arness’ Marshall Matt Dillon on “Gunsmoke,” the hit CBS show that began a 20-year run in 1955. Weaver supposedly gave the character a limp so he would be noticed next to the imposing 6-foot-7 Arness.
Burt Reynolds, who appeared in early “Gunsmoke” episodes, said Monday that Weaver was “a wonderful man and a fine actor, and we will all miss him.”
Weaver earned an Emmy for the role in 1959 but left after seven seasons. He returned to the program on a limited basis after other projects did not work out, leaving for good in 1964.
He donned a cowboy hat again in “McCloud,” on NBC from 1970 to 1977. As a deputy marshal from Taos he solved crimes on the streets of New York employing his quintessentially Western tactics, including charging through city streets on horseback. He once called it “the most satisfying role of my career.”
“Gentle Ben,” a late-’60s CBS series about a family that adopts a bear, lasted two seasons. Most recently, Weaver had a recurring role in the ABC Family show “Wildfire.” He also hosted the Encore Westerns channel for Englewood-based Starz Entertainment Group.
Weaver had roles in numerous films, including “Touch of Evil,” the noir classic directed by Orson Welles. He also appeared, virtually alone, as a terrorized motorist chased by an unseen truck driver in “Duel,” which launched a young director named Steven Spielberg. The 1971 made-for-TV movie later received a theatrical release.
Weaver seemed to take his greatest satisfaction not on the screen but in his role as an environmental and hunger activist. He co-founded Love Is Feeding Everyone, a program to feed the hungry in Los Angeles. He also founded the Institute of Ecolonomics, which sought solutions to economic and environmental problems, and spoke to groups as diverse as United Nations diplomats and schoolchildren about fighting pollution.
The actor’s commitment to these public causes was anchored in his personal life.
While building his Ridgway house in 1990, Weaver told The Denver Post it was “not a house that you have to take care of. Rather, it will take care of you.”
The walls of the 16-room home with a stunning mountain view employed 3,000 tires packed with earth and nearly 200,000 cans. In the past two decades, numerous other Colorado homes have employed similar building techniques.
Weaver was born in Joplin, Mo. He served as a Navy pilot in World War II and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he was a track and field star. He placed sixth in the decathlon in the 1948 U.S. Olympic Trials, in which future gold-medalist Bob Mathias placed first; Weaver won the 1,500-meter race in the competition.
His acting career started in New York, where he had roles on Broadway and enrolled in the Actor’s Studio. After help from Shelley Winters got him a contract with Universal Studios, he moved to Los Angeles but had little work before landing the role of Chester in “Gunsmoke.”
Weaver is survived by his wife; sons Rick, Robby and Rusty; and three grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Edward P. Smith can be reached at 303-820-1767 or esmith@denverpost.com.
