RIDGWAY, Colo.—The town of Ridgway has opened a 60-acre park dedicated to the late actor and resident Dennis Weaver on 60 acres of land his wife donated.
The centerpiece of the park is a 2,800-pound bronze eagle with a 21-foot wingspan, the Denver Post reported.
“The eagle is a sign of power. He was a very quiet, strong, powerful person,” said Gerry Weaver, widow of the actor-environmentalist.
The park, dedicated Saturday. also features a flyfishing area along with scenic biking and hiking trails.
He was best known in the mountain town for his home, called “Earthship,” made up of recycled tires and cans.”
Weaver first became famous as Chester, the limping sidekick of Sheriff Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke, which first aired in 1955 and in one year made TV’s top ten list. Some called it television’s first adult western.
Weaver was on the show for nine years.
He was taken more seriously in later television and film roles during a six-decade career, including the lead in Steven Spielberg’s 1971 “Duel.” He also played a canny New Mexico deputy solving New York City crime in “McCloud.” He died last year at the age of 81.
Weaver moved to Ridgway, halfway between Montrose and Telluride and 185 miles southwest of Denver, in 1988, building a home on 175 acres along the Uncompahgre River, and campaigning for clean energy cars before global warming became a big issue.
“They lived their life for others and the environment,” said friend Julian Myers.
Dennis Weaver’s humble beginnings instilled a love of the environment in him, Gerry Weaver added. Mayor Pro Tem John Clark said many residents came to know and admire the star.
“Those of us over 40 remember him from his ‘McCloud’ TV show and his older movies,” he said. “He cared about the land and the area he chose to settle. It’s really appropriate that this park is here.”
“His favorite word was passion. If you don’t have passion, what do you got?” said Gerry Weaver.
He served as president of Love Is Feeding Everyone, which fed 150,000 needy people a week in Los Angeles County. The Institute of Ecolonomics, which he founded, sought solutions to economic and environmental problems.
He spoke at the United Nations and Congress, as well as to college students and school children about fighting pollution and starvation.
Born in Joplin, Mo., of Cherokee ancestry, he later said he had always wanted to be an actor. He studied drama at the University of Oklahoma, where he was also a track star, after serving as a Navy pilot during World War II.
