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Horses of Hollywood: Matt Dillon’s Trusty Steed

By John McGran

There was no CGI or AI when the opening credits of Gunsmoke unspooled for the first time on Sept. 10, 1955. The breathtaking 15-second opening sequence that features U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon racing across the rugged Western terrain atop his gorgeous gelding Marshall was old-school DIY for our larger-than-life hero and his trusty steed.

For the next 20 years and 635 episodes, actor James Arness was saddled with a talented co-star chosen more for its brawn than its brains. It was the early days of television so there was no high-tech horseplay for the 6-foot, 7-inch actor.

Buck was a buckskin Thoroughbred who was calm, gentle and a quick learner.

“Buck was chosen not because of his intellect or his fidelity, but because he is very large and only a very large horse will fit me,” Arness said. “You’ll never catch Buck doing calculus on Gunsmoke. Confidentially, Old Buck is kind of stupid. Can’t even count to four. ”

Arness performed most of his own stunts. Because of chronic hip and leg pain from an injury he suffered while serving in World War II, the actor sought out a smooth-gaited horse to soften the blow to his aching body.

While Buck got plenty of screen time over the years, he would never be called by any name or handled as if he were Matt’s best friend. The production crew was merely trying to keep it real by keeping Matt’s mount a secondary character.

“This horse is never identified by name in the show, simply because in Gunsmoke, as in the real Old West, horses were cheap and a cowboy—or a U.S. marshal—seldom had a favorite,” Arness explained. “He didn’t keep a horse that long. He’d swap his off on a long trip for a fresh horse, or sell him between jobs, knowing he could buy another when he needed it and avoid stable bills.”

Mount-cellaneous

  • While Arness actually rode a number of horses over the years, he was most often associated with the cream-colored beauty known as Buck. Arness took the reins of the half-ton horse for the 1956 flick Gun the Man Down and in most episodes of Gunsmoke.
  • Buck cemented his status as a Hollywood legend by also starring as Ben Cartwright’s mount on the hit series Bonanza AND as the trail boss’s horse on Rawhide.
  • Lorne Greene, who portrayed Ben Cartwright from 1959-1973, adopted Buck in 1975 then donated the horse to a therapeutic riding center where it taught mentally and physically challenged children to ride.
  • Buck trotted off into the sunset in 1992 at age 45—a remarkably long life for a horse.

About John McGran

Veteran author and web content creator John McGran has spent the past 40 years blazing trails in the fields of news, food and sports. The guy who grew up binge-watching black-and-white Westerns like The Rifleman, Gunsmoke and Bonanza has joined the posse of INSP writers to provide a colorful new look at the characters, shows and movies you know and love. 

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