James Arness

A notable exception was a brief turn as a big city policeman in the short-lived 1981 series, McClain's Law. His older sister is Family Ties star Justine Bateman. Since Gunsmoke ended, Arness has continued to perform primarily in western-themed movies and television series, including How the West Was Won, and five made-for-television Gunsmoke reunion movies between 1987 and 1994. Recently, he has appeared in Dodgeball as an ESPN 8 commentator and Starsky & Hutch as Vince Vaughn's business partner. He also recently did commentary on the 2004 Republican National Convention for The Majority Report with Arrested Development co-star David Cross. In fact, Wayne recommended Arness for the role of Matt Dillon. First popular in the 1980s as a teen idol (in shows such as Silver Spoons, It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family), his career went into decline for almost a decade before he landed one of the lead roles on the FOX television comedy Arrested Development. He was a close personal friend of John Wayne's and co-starred in a film with him called Big Jim McClain. Jason Bateman (born January 14, 1969 in Rye, New York) is an American actor.

James Arness served in the United States Army during World War II and was severely wounded at the Battle of Anzio. Though primarily identified with Westerns, he also is remembered for appearing in two science fiction films, The Thing from Another World and Them!. He is the brother of Peter Graves. James Arness (originally Aurness) (born May 26, 1923 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an actor best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, a role he played for 20 years, to this day the longest any actor has played the same role on the same show in prime time.