{"id":32124,"date":"2026-01-13T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=32124"},"modified":"2026-01-13T13:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:45:00","slug":"gunsmoke-star-dead-at-83","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=32124","title":{"rendered":"Gunsmoke star dead at 83"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"42\" data-end=\"467\">For millions of Americans, <strong data-start=\"69\" data-end=\"110\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Gunsmoke<\/span><\/span><\/strong> wasn\u2019t just a television program \u2014 it was a weekly ritual. Fans are now mourning the loss of <strong data-start=\"204\" data-end=\"245\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Roger Ewing<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, the actor whose quiet steadiness as deputy marshal Thad Greenwood helped make Dodge City feel like home. Ewing died on December 18 at age 83 at his home in <strong data-start=\"403\" data-end=\"444\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Morro Bay<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, his family confirmed.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"469\" data-end=\"960\">Standing 6-foot-4 with an easygoing presence, Ewing first appeared on <em data-start=\"539\" data-end=\"549\">Gunsmoke<\/em> in 1965 before returning as Thad Greenwood in season 11. Thad was written as the son of an Oklahoma sheriff and, after events brought him to Dodge City, <strong data-start=\"703\" data-end=\"744\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">James Arness<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u2019s Marshal Matt Dillon invited him to stay on as a deputy. Ewing later said the role fit naturally: with his character\u2019s family gone, the town\u2019s regulars became his own, and Thad was always there to help when needed.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"962\" data-end=\"1429\">Ewing appeared in roughly 50 episodes through 1967, during a brief ratings dip. When the show rebounded, his role was gradually phased out and later replaced by Buck Taylor\u2019s Newly O\u2019Brien. Born Roger Lawrence Ewing in Los Angeles in 1942, he had been a fan of the series long before joining it. His early career included guest spots on <em data-start=\"1299\" data-end=\"1310\">Bewitched<\/em>, <em data-start=\"1312\" data-end=\"1321\">Rawhide<\/em>, and appearances in films such as <em data-start=\"1356\" data-end=\"1376\">None But the Brave<\/em> alongside <strong data-start=\"1387\" data-end=\"1428\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Frank Sinatra<\/span><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1431\" data-end=\"1783\">After <em data-start=\"1437\" data-end=\"1447\">Gunsmoke<\/em>, Ewing continued acting in television and film and was even considered for a lead in <strong data-start=\"1533\" data-end=\"1574\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Midnight Cowboy<\/span><\/span><\/strong> before the role went to <strong data-start=\"1599\" data-end=\"1640\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Jon Voight<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. He eventually stepped away from acting, reinventing himself as a photographer, traveling widely, and later becoming active in local politics.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1785\" data-end=\"1998\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">For <em data-start=\"1789\" data-end=\"1799\">Gunsmoke<\/em> fans, Roger Ewing will always be Thad \u2014 dependable, unflashy, and reassuring. For those who spent their Saturday nights in Dodge City, his presence remains part of what made the town feel like home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For millions of Americans, Gunsmoke wasn\u2019t just a television program \u2014 it was a weekly ritual. Fans are now mourning the loss of Roger Ewing, the actor&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gunsmoke star dead at 83 -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=32124\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gunsmoke star dead at 83 -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For millions of Americans, Gunsmoke wasn\u2019t just a television program \u2014 it was a weekly ritual. 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