Milburn Stone

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Hugh Milburn Stone July 5 1904 June 12 1980 was an American actor best known for his role as Doc Dr Galen Adams on the CBS Western series Gunsmoke Stone was born in Burrton Kansas to Herbert Stone and the former Laura Belfield There he graduated from Burrton High School where he was active in the drama club played basketball and sang in a barbershop quartet His brother Joe was a writer who was the author of scripts for three episodes of Gunsmoke In 1919 Stone debuted on stage in a Kansas tent show He ventured into vaudeville in the late 1920s and in 1930 he was half of the Stone and Strain songanddance act His Broadway credits include Around the Corner 1936 and Jayhawker 1934 In the 1930s Stone came to Los Angeles California to launch his own screen career He was featured in the Tailspin Tommy adventure serial for Monogram Pictures In 1940 he appeared with Marjorie Reynolds Tristram Coffin and I Stanford Jolley in the comedy espionage film Chasing Trouble That same year he costarred with Roy Rogers in the film Colorado in the role of Rogers brothergonewrong Stone appeared uncredited in the 1939 film Blackwells Island Stone played Dr Blake in the 1943 film Gung Ho and a liberalminded warden in Monogram Pictures Prison Mutiny in 1943 Signed by Universal Pictures in 1943 in the film Captive Wild Woman 1943 Jungle Woman 1943 Sherlock Holmes Faces Death Captain Pat Vickery 1944 he became a familiar face in its features and serials In 1955 one of CBS Radios hit series the Western Gunsmoke was adapted for television and recast with experienced screen actors Howard McNear the radio Doc Adams was replaced by Stone who gave the role a harder edge consistent with his screen portrayals He stayed with Gunsmoke through its entire television run with the exception of 7 episodes in 1971 when Stone required heart surgery and Pat Hingle replaced him as Dr Chapman Stone appeared in 604 episodes through 1975 often shown sparring in a friendly manner with costars Dennis Weaver and Ken Curtis who played respectively Chester Goode and Festus Haggen In June 1980 Stone died of a heart attack in La Jolla He was survived by his second wife the former Jane Garrison a native of Hutchinson Kansas who died in 2002 Stone had a surviving daughter Shirley Stone Gleason born circa 1926 of Costa Mesa California from his first marriage of 12 years to Ellen Morrison formerly of Delphos Kansas who died in 1937 He was buried at the El Camino Memorial Park in Sorrento Valley San Diego In 1968 Stone received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama for his work on Gunsmoke For his contribution to the television industry Milburn Stone has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard In 1981 Stone was inducted posthumously into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City After his death he left a legacy for the performing arts in Cecil County in northeastern Maryland by way of the Milburn Stone Theatre in North East Maryland