When I started working up plans to launch Boomerocity, one of the things that I did was make a long list of people who I wanted to interview.  I then began researching how to contact those people.  There are still a lot of people on that list that I haven’t interviewed yet but I’m slowly but surely pursuing them.

One person that I finally got around to trying to contact last week was James Arness.  The last time I had queued up to contact him, news broke of the death of his brother, actor Peter Graves.  I decided to wait until a more opportune time to request an interview. 

That time was last week.  I was stunned – chilled to the bone, actually - to learn this weekend that Mr. Arness passed away in his sleep on Friday morning.

Instead of interview questions, I was left to reflect on the career of James Arness – especially his record setting years on the set of Gunsmoke.  That show was on the air for a record 20 years.  It was a clean, wholesome show that provided great entertainment and endeared the likes of Festus (played by the late actor, Ken Curtis), Doc (played by the late Milburn Stone), Miss Kitty (played by the late Amanda Blake), Chester (played by the late Dennis Weaver) and many others to the hearts and homes of most Americans at that time.

The good guys always won and the bad guys always had to face justice.  The good guys never had flawed characters and the ethics and morals were above reproach.  I dare say that, if Gunsmoke was produced today, our beloved Marshal Dillon would bend the rules and face crises of morality.  Miss Kitty would have the unspoken desire to bed the good Marshal, Doc would be dealing opium out the back of his office and Festus would turn out to be a serial rapist.

And the show would be cancelled after only one season.

The innocent days of Gunsmoke are long gone and, now, so are the last of the main actors of that great show.  I know that “the good ol’ days” also had their share of crime and corruption and that, in “real life”, the good guys didn’t really always win. Still, I often find myself asking why TV – and society - has to be as degenerate as it has become. Why does it seems that they always have to try to appeal to humankind’s baser instincts?  After much musing, the answer that comes to mind (to quote Marshal Dillon): I never could find an answer to that one.

Rest in peace, Mr. Arness.  You were a great man and will be more greatly missed.