James Arness Net Worth is $8 Million (at death)
It has been reported that around the time of his death in 2011 James Arness net worth stood at $2 million. This does not seem a lot in comparison to the fortunes of actors like Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt, but we must remember that James started his career in the 1940s and back then the salaries of actors, including the most famous ones, were much smaller than they are today. Although $2 million dollars in his bank account may suggest otherwise, he was one of the greatest television actors of the 20th century. Hence, we believe it is worth to take a look back into the past century and overview his career.
Quick facts
| Net Worth: | $8 Million |
|---|---|
| Age: | 88 years old |
| Height: | 6 ft 7 in (2.007 m) |
| Date of birth: | May 26, 1923 |
| Date of death: | Jun 3, 2011 |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
| Occupation: | Actor, Soldier, Television Producer |
| Last Updated: | 2023 |
Few people know that the actor in consideration was born as James King Aurness (notice the family name) and dropped “u” only as he started pursuing career as an actor. Apparently he believed that the slightly modified version of his family name sounds much better and is easier to remember. In his autobiography James admitted that he was never a good student and used to skip classes for no good reason. Luckily, he was really good on stage (otherwise James Arness net worth would never have reached $2 million) But the would-be millionaire did not start pursuing career on stage right after leaving high school. As many men of his generation, first he joined the US army to serve as a rifleman with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. Due to the injuries he experienced while serving his duty James had to undergo numerous surgeries and suffered severe leg pain throughout the rest of his life. But despite this misfortune, he was too brave and determined to give up the dream to be an actor.
Arness started his career as a movie actor in the late 1940s. During the first year of his career (which was 1947) he has featured on three movies: The Farmer’s Daughter, Man from Texas, Roses are Red. Latter on in his career the star has appeared on numerous films, including Two Lost Worlds, Stars In My Crown, The People Against O’Hara, Big Jim McLain, The Lone Hand, Her Twelve Men, Many Rivers to Cross and Many Rivers to Cross. Each of these films has contributed to the growth of the overall James Arness net worth. But what actually boosted his fortune to millions of dollars and turned him into American hero was the radio and television Western drama series Smokegun. As long ago as in 1961 a journalist has asked James whether he thinks it is a good idea to produce the seventh season of Smokegun. To this the actor replied: “Maybe there isn’t much more I can do with the role after all this time. But so what? The dough’s still coming in, and I could keep on playing Matt Dillon forever”. And in fact the audience did not get bored of the show for many more years to come!
James Arness should have been more I loved that actor. R. I. P