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Buck Taylor didn't mind standing in his castmates' shadows on Gunsmoke
He may not have been the lead, but Taylor was happy!
Time and again, we learn that our favorite television stars were shackled to their most famous roles. The more iconic a character is, the more likely the actor is to be tied in forever. While it's a great opportunity and might pay well, this phenomenon can also halt or even destroy a career.
We're constantly reading stories about how difficult it is for sitcom stars to be perceived more seriously. The Brady kids all suffered a similar fate when trying to break out of their big TV roles. Each was trapped in adolescence in reruns, so how could an audience see them any other way?
Luckily, this isn't a fate that befalls everybody on TV. Some supporting characters might have the chance to surprise viewers in another series. That's what Buck Taylor was hoping for back in 1970. At the time, Taylor was Newly O'Brien on Gunsmoke. In an interview with The Columbia Record, Taylor spoke about how he was ok not being the lead in TV's longest-running Western.
"I'm not over-exposed, which is fine with me. That gives me a chance at another good series later. I'll do 14 shows at least, and might do all, as I have a contract for 26 weeks. We worked from late March to early June, and then we'll go from September to Christmas."
However, while O'Brien was able to stay fresh in audiences' minds, he did feel he missed out on one piece of the cowboy lifestyle.
""I only drew my gun one time last season. I haven't shot anyone. It's tough at times because you had real violence in the West then."
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My wife, who used to work at the Fort Worth Stock Show, saw him during her 25-year tenure, as Buck exhibited every year. They became acquainted. It was actually news to her that he was an actor!
Really a very nice man, quite modest and very affable.