Gunsmoke wasn’t just a TV show — it was a weekly ritual for millions of Americans. And now, fans are saying goodbye to one of the actors who left a lasting mark on Dodge City.
Quickly became a familiar face
Roger Ewing, the tall, soft-spoken actor who portrayed deputy marshal and all-around helper Thad Greenwood during the 1960s, has died at the age of 83.
His family confirmed that Ewing passed away on December 18 at his longtime home in Morro Bay, California, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Standing 6-foot-4, the blonde and rugged Ewing first appeared on Gunsmoke in February 1965 as a character named Ben Lukens, in the episode ”Song for Dying”.
Just months later, viewers were formally introduced to Thad Greenwood, who debuted in the third episode of season 11. At only 23 years old, Ewing quickly became a familiar and comforting presence on the long-running CBS western.
Thad was written as the son of an elderly Oklahoma sheriff, played by Paul Fix, who comes to Dodge City pursuing the men responsible for his father’s fatal heart attack. Though his warrant can’t be enforced in Dodge, events lead to the culprits being killed or captured for cattle theft. That’s when Marshal Matt Dillon, portrayed by James Arness, asks Thad to stay on as a deputy.
Ewing once explained how naturally his character fit into the Gunsmoke family:
“With Thad’s family gone, Matt, Kitty [Amanda Blake], Doc [Milburn Stone] and Festus [Ken Curtis] sort of adopted him,” he once said.
“Anything that needed to be done, you know, an extra hand here, an extra hand there, Thad was always around. He fit in whenever necessary.”
During a brief period when Gunsmoke ratings dipped, Ewing appeared in 50 episodes through September 1967. When the show rebounded, his role was gradually phased out.
Often typecast
Born Roger Lawrence Ewing in Los Angeles on January 12, 1942, Roger had been a Gunsmoke fan long before joining the cast. As a high school senior, he once played Chester — Dennis Weaver’s character — in a variety-show parody of the series.
“I watched [the show] every Saturday night,” he recalled in a 1966 interview.
”But golly, I never thought that seven years later I’d be on the show”.
After a year of college and a stint working as a lifeguard, Ewing turned to acting. His first screen appearance came in the 1964 film Ensign Pulver in an uncredited role — memorably involving a beer bottle and a duck.
Television soon followed, with guest roles on Bewitched, Rawhide, The Bing Crosby Show, and The Baileys of Balboa. He also appeared in Frank Sinatra’s war film None But the Brave.
Ewing later joked that he was often typecast:
“Always being cast as a gangling misfit who looked tall and dumb,” he once said.
When Burt Reynolds exited Gunsmoke, producers were looking for a younger presence and cast Ewing as Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood. At the time, tensions between James Arness and CBS had producers quietly preparing for the possibility of replacing the show’s lead — a move that ultimately proved unnecessary.
Once the dispute was resolved and cancellation was avoided, Thad was written out and replaced by Buck Taylor’s Newly O’Brien, who stayed until the series ended in 1975.
Ewing nearly landed a major film breakthrough when director John Schlesinger reportedly considered him for the role of Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy (1969), though the part ultimately went to Jon Voight. Around that same time, he appeared as a bachelor contestant on The Dating Game — but future Bionic Woman star Lindsay Wagner chose someone else.
After leaving Gunsmoke, Ewing appeared on Death Valley Days, The Mothers-in-Law, and in films including Smith! (1969) with Glenn Ford and Play It as It Lays (1972). He later stepped away from acting altogether, reinventing himself as a photographer and traveling extensively through Europe, Russia, Mexico, and the South Pacific.
In later years, he became active in local politics and even ran for a city council seat in Morro Bay in 2003.
For Gunsmoke fans, Roger Ewing will always be remembered as Thad — the dependable young deputy who didn’t need to be the toughest or the loudest, just someone you could count on. And for those who grew up watching Dodge City every week, his presence remains part of what made the show feel like home.
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