‘Gunsmoke’ boasted an impressive cast including James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, Dennis Weaver, and others, but the one with the highest net worth may surprise you.
Gunsmoke remains one of the most popular television shows of all time. The cast was undeniably infectious, as longtime viewers heavily identified with at least one character they called their favorite. One would imagine that the cast made quite the fortune starring on such a wildly successful television show, especially those who starred on it for its entire 20-season run. The Gunsmoke star with the highest net worth actually didn’t stick around for so long.
‘Gunsmoke’ is one of the biggest television shows of all time
Gunsmoke started as a popular radio show before it transformed into its television adaptation. Original fans were initially upset that they didn’t port the voice actors over for the show, but they ultimately warmed up to the cast that came along. They were highly compatible and determined to present the best show possible.
The adult Western television show ranked at the top of the ratings charts for four years running between 1957 and 1961. Gunsmoke wasn’t ever able to recover to quite the same spot, but it was still a favorite show of many audiences across the country. It even initially survived CBS trying to cancel the show, but then it later succumbed to exactly that in 1975 after its 20th season. However, the cast and crew were blindsided, without any advanced knowledge that there wouldn’t be another season.
The ‘Gunsmoke’ actor with the highest net worth was Dennis Weaver
The main recurring cast on the Western television show included James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, Dennis Weaver, Burt Reynolds, Ken Curtis, and Buck Taylor. However, they all had varying times that they lasted on the show. Additionally, only Arness, Blake, Stone, and Weaver were included in the original cast starting with season 1.
It turned out that Weaver had the highest net worth at the time of his death in 2006 out of the Gunsmoke cast. According to his Celebrity Net Worth, he was valued at $16 million, even though he left the show for good to explore his creativity with other roles away from Chester Goode after season 9.
The second-highest Gunsmoke net worth was the leading man of the show – Arness, who played Matt Dillon for all 20 seasons. Arness’ Celebrity Net Worth claimed that he had a net worth of $8 million at the time of his death in 2011. He even returned to the show for five made-for-TV movies that pushed the show’s legacy further.
The next slot is actually a tie between Curtis, who played Festus Haggen, and Taylor, who played Newly O’Brian. Curtis’ Celebrity Net Worth and Taylor’s Celebrity Net Worth both wrote that their net worths were $5 million at the time of Curtis’ death in 1991 and Taylor’s current analytics.
