Milburn Stone's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Gunsmoke Dr. Galen '…

Main Movie Roles 1954 - Black Tuesday 1953 - Second Chance 1953 - Invaders from Mars 1953 - Pickup on South Street 1951 - The Racket 1951 - Flying Leathernecks 1951 - Roadblock 1950 - No Man of Her Own 1949 - The Judge 1947 - Buck Privates Come Home 1946 - Little Giant 1946 - Inside Job 1945 - Strange Confession 1944 - Phantom Lady 1942 - Invisible Agent 1939 - Blind Alley 1939 - Made for Each Other 1939 - Nick Carter, Master Detective 1939 - Young Mr. Lincoln 1936 - The Milky Way 1936 - The Princess Comes Across

BIOGRAPHY:

Character actor Milburn Stone, the beloved "Doc Adams" on TV's long-running western classic "Gunsmoke" (1955), was born in Kansas on July 5, 1904. Acting must have been in his blood as the nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone (I) for Milburn left home as a teenager to find work with touring repertory troupes. Emulating his famous uncle Fred, he appeared in vaudeville as part of a song-and-dance team called "Stone and Strain." Following a minor appearance on Broadway in "The Jayhawkers," Milburn moved to Los Angeles in 1935 to try his luck in films. He toiled for years in mostly unbilled parts for 'poverty row' Monogram Pictures, apprenticing in a number of background roles as both benign fellows (clerks, reporters, sailors, detectives) and bad guys (convicts, robbers, henchmen). Out of the blue he would nab a heroic film lead in films as Federal Bullets (1937) or serial thrillers as The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944) and The Master Key (1945), then invariably go right back to unbilled status in his very next role. One memorable featured part (which was also unbilled) was as debater Stephen A. Douglass in John Ford (I)'s Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). In addition he played a regular support role in the "Tommy Tailspin" serials and found himself cast in a few of Ford's pictures. When the role of "Doc Adams" finally landed at his feet in 1955, the exasperated actor was only too appreciative to experience a steady paycheck. He became an "overnight" star and, along with Matt Dillon's James Arness, stayed a citizen of Dodge City throughout its entire 20-year run (500 episodes), although he was temporarily sidelined by a heart attack in 1971 and briefly replaced by another "doc" played by Pat Hingle. The ever-durable Stone missed only seven episodes. After his return, however, his appearances were somewhat curtailed. Milburn won a well-deserved Emmy award in 1968 for his crusty role. Fully retired to his ranch in 1975 after the show's cancellation, he was eventually awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Mary of the Plains College in (of course) Dodge City, Kansas. Married to Jane Garrison, the 75-year-old Milburn died of a heart attack on June 12, 1980 in La Jolla, California. His wife passed away in 2002.


TRIVIA:

• Inducted (as a cast member of _"Gunsmoke" (1955)_ (qv)) into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1981.
• Brother of 'Charles Joseph Stone' (qv).
• In 1961, he sold his residual rights of Gunsmoke to CBS for $100,000.
• Nephew of 'Fred Stone (I)' (qv), cousin of 'Paula Stone (I)' (qv).
• Wife Jane Garrison: b. 23 November 1912, Hutchinson, Kansas, USA; d. 20 October 2002, Rancho Santa Fe, California, USA.