James Arness said that this unexpected sport was his favorite

The Gunsmoke actor shared his passion with his family.

CBS Television Distribution

Many Western greats were also stars of the Gridiron. Maybe it's the body type that lends itself to success in both settings. John Wayne and Wagon Train's Ward Bond both played football for USC. Dan "Hoss Cartwright" Blocker played for Hardin–Simmons University years before he appeared on Bonanza. Lee Majors even went as far as getting an offer to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals. Chuck Connors differed from his peers, playing in both the MLB and the NBA.

While James Arness' frame would have made him successful in many sports, the spirit of competition may have eluded him. Instead, Arness' heart belonged to the water.

In his 2001 autobiography, Arness discussed sharing one of his favorite pastimes with his children.

"All through the 1960s I took the kids to the beach, where I taught them swimming and my favorite sport, surfing. At the time we lived in Pacific Palisades, and since we were at the beach much of the time I built another house at San Clemente, about a ten-minute ride to San Onofre. The same group that I'd surfed with there had since gotten married and were there with their families, and it was like an ongoing reunion."

While it may not have been the major leagues, surfing brought James Arness peace and fulfillment he might not have otherwise had during the production of Gunsmoke

"We surfed until we dropped," he wrote.

"[We] enjoyed warm and humourous chats around a crackling fire, marveled at the beautiful sunsets, and enjoyed unbelievable barbecues. Every time I go to a barbecue these days, I'm still reminded of those marvelous years."

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12 Comments

Runeshaper 20 days ago
That's very cool. Sounds like Arness found another love, outside of family and acting (-:
AgingDisgracefully 20 days ago
Good. I was a-feared it would be Golf.
A sport currently existing for go-along/get-along, FOMO, career-advancers.
Or so I've been led to understand.
Blcakandwhitetvfan 21 days ago
Imagine going to the beach and seeing Matt Dillon surfing! I read that one time he shared his surfing expertise with some teenagers who had no clue who he was.
KawiVulc 21 days ago
at 6' 5" or thereabouts he must have had phenomenal balance to stay on his feet on a surfboard, especially when you consider his wounding in WWII!
tootsieg 21 days ago
Nice article. Who knew James Arness was a surfer?🏄‍♂️
frances3agape tootsieg 20 days ago
Yes, one of the most interesting/unusual trivia tidbits ever from MeTV!
frances3agape 21 days ago
Never would have guessed Arness was so into surfting!
Interesting tidbit about him. And sounds like he was a great father
Everybody's goin' Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke USA...
Oh, golly, my face is hurting from grinning/laughing
When read the article late yesterday, my brain was too tired & imagination could not create a visual.
But your musical reference clicked something inside & now I have audio AND visual of Arness surfing
Thanks, A-D, You made my day!
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