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Milburn Stone found life more ''precious'' after being in Gunsmoke
A health scare gave Milburn Stone a new outlook on life!
Milburn Stone played the character of Doc Adams on Gunsmoke for a total of 20 seasons. Doc was more than just a typical small-town doctor—he had many layers, a sense of humor, and a deep sense of humanity, which made him more than just your average side character.
Despite appearing in all 20 seasons of the iconic series, it wasn’t without its share of blood, sweat, and tears—sometimes quite literally.
According to a 1972 interview with The Lima News, Stone underwent open-heart surgery after having a heart attack in 1971 and missed seven episodes of Gunsmoke. His health scare gave him a new outlook on life.
"For me, the sun shines brighter than it ever did," Stone said. "I don't know how noticeable it is, but my attitude's changed. I wake up in the morning and I thank God that I have another day. Do the same thing before going to bed at night."
Stone said that after his heart attack, he had an unshakeable feeling that life was "precious," a new way of thinking for him. He was at peace with where he was in life, and almost losing it showed him just how short it could be.
"I think I'm aware of a lot of things now that I wasn't aware of before," Stone said. "I've had a short fuse all of my life. Now I think I'm more tolerant."
According to the interview, Stone was surprised by how many people wrote to him with well wishes. He knew people liked his character, but he didn’t know they liked him just as much. More than 8,000 pieces of mail flooded in during his recovery, and he answered every single one.
With a world of Gunsmoke fans happy to see him recovering well, no one was as happy as his co-star, James Arness.
"First day back on the set, Jim Arness spots me and I swear he displayed more emotion than I've ever seen from the big guy," Stone said. "He just gathered me in a big, old hug and he kept saying, 'Damn, it's good to have you back.' A very warm feeling, I'll tell you."
While most people wouldn’t be in a rush to return to work after a health scare like his, Stone found himself missing his Gunsmoke castmates.
During his absence from the series, his place was temporarily filled by Pat Hingle. Stone was proud of Hingle’s portrayal and, according to the article, phoned him right away to praise his performance.
"From that point of view, I realized what I'd always known, that Gunsmoke can survive the loss of any of us, except James Arness, of course," Stone said. "And come to think of it, Amanda Blake, too. You've got to have the Marshal and he's got to have his girl."
Despite Stone's clarity, the rest of the country who loved his character probably wouldn’t have agreed that the series cast was easily replaced. No one could ever be Doc the way Stone was, and it took a trip to the doctor to prove it.
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