Milburn Stone

Character actor Milburn Stone, best known for his role as "Doc Adams" on the long-running television western *Gunsmoke* (1955), was born in Kansas on July 5, 1904. He was the nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone, and like his uncle, he pursued a career in performance. As a teenager, Milburn left home to join touring repertory troupes and later appeared in vaudeville as part of a song-and-dance team called "Stone and Strain." He made a minor Broadway appearance in *The Jayhawkers* before moving to Los Angeles in 1935 to pursue film work. Over the years, he appeared in mostly unbilled roles for Monogram Pictures and other studios, playing a variety of background characters—both good and bad—in films such as *Ladies Crave Excitement* (1935), *The Fighting Marines* (1935), *The Princess Comes Across* (1936), *Banjo on My Knee* (1936), and *They Gave Him a Gun* (1937). Occasionally, he landed small lead roles, such as in the crime drama *Federal Bullets* (1937) and *The Judge* (1949), or serial thrillers like *The Great Alaskan Mystery* (1944) and *The Master Key* (1945), before returning to supporting or background parts. One notable, though unbilled, role was as Stephen A. Douglass in John Ford's *Young Mr. Lincoln* (1939). He also played a recurring role as co-pilot "Skeeter Milligan" in the "Tommy Tailspin" series of aviation films, including *Mystery Plane* (1939), *Sky Patrol* (1939), and *Danger Flight* (1939). Other more visible supporting parts appeared in films such as *Colorado* (1940), *Captive Wild Woman* (1943), *The Frozen Ghost* (1945), *Roadblock* (1951), *Black Tuesday* (1954), *Smoke Signal* (1955), and in a couple of John Ford's later films, *Simone Bär* and *The Long Gray Line* (1955). When Milburn was cast as "Doc Adams" in *Gunsmoke* in 1955, he was grateful for the steady work and became an "overnight" star, earning an Emmy Award for "supporting actor" alongside Matt Dillon's James Arness. He remained a fixture in the role for the entire 20-year run of the series, appearing in 500 episodes. In 1971, Stone was temporarily sidelined by a heart attack and briefly replaced by Pat Hingle for seven episodes, but he returned to the role on a more limited basis. After retiring to his ranch in 1975 following the show's cancellation, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City, Kansas. Milburn Stone died of a heart attack on June 12, 1980, in La Jolla, California, at the age of 75. His wife, Jane Garrison, passed away in 2002.