Things You Didn't Know Buck Taylor

It turns out Newly was pretty versatile.

Buck TaylorPhoto byCreative Commons: divasss

During his stint as Newly O’Brien in the classic TV series Gunsmoke he was sort of Dodge City’s Renaissance man. He came to Dodge as a gunsmith, studied medicine, and was a lawman. He had some rough patches as a lawman.

It seems that whenever Matt Dillion would leave town and leave Newly and/or Festus in charge things inevitably went sideways. It’s no wonder Matt so seldom took a day off.

Of course, there is so much more to Buck Taylor than his work on Gunsmoke. He has a number of other acting credits, many in westerns. He’s also an outstanding artist. So, like Newly, Buck is sort of a Renaissance man himself. With that background, here are some things you might not have known about Buck Taylor.

1: Buck is the son of prolific character actor Dub Taylor.

And it was Dub who gave Buck his nickname. Buck’s actual name is Walter Clarence Taylor III. Buck sounds so much more westerny.

2: Buck’s nickname was the result of his size at birth.

When he was born Buck weighed in at nine pounds which prompted his father Dub to say he “looked like a big buck.” And if you have seen Dub act, that sounds like exactly something he would say.

3: Taylor was a talented gymnast and even tried out for the 1960 Olympic team but failed to make the squad.

But he was able to transition to other things because he was flexible.

4: Buck appeared on “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” twice.

The episode I remember Buck is where he played a character called Dancer Smith. Not surprisingly, his character as a dancer. It would be so much easier if all shows named their characters that way. You could have Dancer Smith, Victim Jones, Perpetrator Harris, etc.

5: Taylor loved working on the set of Gunsmoke. He even named his second son Matthew out of his regard for James Arness and his third son after Glenn Strange who was Sam the bartender.

There is no record of Buck having a daughter named Miss Kitty.

6: He really was close to James Arness, even reading Arness’ eulogy.

Of course, Newly had to read it since Festus was illiterate.

7: Of Gunsmoke Taylor said this: “Some special friends that would do anything for each other.”

Like Friends meets the Old West.

8: Buck maintained a vigorous workout routine into his 80s but stopped running when he turned 60.

Buck stopped running to preserve his knees and hips. I stopped running long before I was 60. Obviously, I care more about my knees and hips than Buck cares about his.

9: Buck has been selling his western-themed paintings since 1993.

But you can’t buy them for a buck.

10: Buck met his current wife, Goldie at a quarter horse show in 1995.

And that brings a couple of things to mind. Doesn’t the term “current wife” denote somewhat of an unstable situation. I really don’t think I would do well to introduce Nona as my “current wife.” And about that quarter horse thing. Are those the horses by stores that I used to put a quarter in to ride? I’m being told no on that last thing.