This is not a good week for actors in their 80s. Right after this weekend's news of the losst Don Knotts and Darren McGavin, USA Today is reporting that Dennis Weaver has died. He was 81.
Weaver died of cancer at his Colorado home on Friday. He was TV's crime-solving cowboy on shows such as "Gunsmoke" and "McCloud." He also took a family turn in the short-lived, but memorable, "Gentle Ben." He also starred in a slew of big-screen films, including "Touch of Evil" and "Seven Angry Men."
Of course, my favorite role was as aging gunslinger Buck McCoy in a 2002 episode of "The Simpsons."
But Weaver wasn't just a cowboy; he was also very active in environmental and world hunger issues. He is survived by his wife, three sons and three grandchildren. -- Rachel Cericola