talker says on 5/Jan/12
he didnt look much taller than Rock Hudson in 1952 "Horizons west".But 6'6" is possible,i doubt 6'7".He was really huge in that movie,lost weight afterwards.

Kent says on 6/Dec/11
I don't know how tall he was, but he had such a large stature that the horses he rode in Gunsmoke looked small and strained with him on top. They almost looked like ponies.

VC says on 19/Nov/11
Clearly, he is indeed over 6'6" because he seemed taller than Buddy Baer whom was 6'6 1/2" in a classic Gunsmoke episode. Clint Walker said Jim was an inch taller than he is. Clint is a huge man, weighing over 250 & standing at 6'5". Jim was also taller than big Denny Miller, 6'4" in another Gunsmoke episode. Jim had a list of tall guest stars in Gunsmoke, many were over 6'4". However, I can't recall which Gunsmoke episode because I saw a giant stood next to Jim & he was several inches taller than he was & Jim looked up at him. R.I.P Jim.

LAN Jiao says on 22/Oct/11
No he look 6-5 or lesshe now. 6'6.5 peak and 6'8 cowboy boots.

george555 says on 31/Aug/11
i could picture him being about 6'6 nowadays

Magickster says on 25/Aug/11
At his height, does it really matter whether he was 6'6 or 6'7? Let's just call him f@cken huge and be done with it...

Shaun says on 24/Jul/11
Looked this height next to John Wayne.

Mr. Kaplan says on 14/Jul/11
John Wayne told him something about not wanting guys like him and Gregory Peck towered over by him and to stick to television. 6'7", I buy.

Snausages says on 21/Jun/11
James Arness grew up in Minneapolis. When World War II broke out, he wanted to become a navy pilot, but his enormous height disqualified him. Instead he joined the Army, and received a Purple Heart after suffering serious injuries to his right leg during the 1944 invasion at Anzio, Italy. His injuries left him hospitalized for almost a year

Snausages says on 21/Jun/11
Got a big chunk of his leg blown off in WWII. He walked with a limp and a bit of a slouch because of it for the rest of his life. That could not have helped his height. I can see him being 6'7 when he was young before that took full effect and then 6'6 later on.

Shadow2 says on 10/Jun/11
You were a war hero in real life, and portrayed a 6'7" hero on our TV screens. R.I.P. Jim.

Mark says on 6/Jun/11
Every account I've read, including his own, and also based on comparison heights with other actors (including Chuck Connors, who had to wear lifts to appear taller than him, since he played a bully /go to ourchuckconnors.com), confirms for me that Arness was 6'7 peak.

adam 2 says on 4/Jun/11
6-7 he was. R.I.P.

Viper says on 3/Jun/11
LOL, he wasnt 6-7. 6-6 MAX

Jake T. says on 3/Jun/11
He was billed 6'7 most of the time when he was young but in some interviews he always said 6'6. I think in these last few years he could be 6'5.5. James passed away at age 88 R.I.P. James.

Mr. Kaplan says on 3/Jun/11
6'7".

jake says on 26/May/11
Seemed to mostly claim 6 ft 6 in. I'd say 6 ft 6.5 in (199 cm) peak.

Shadow2 says on 30/Jan/11
The irony of 1951's "The Thing from another world" is that there was another actor in the cast, John Dierkes, playing a scientist, who was 6'6", very close to Jim's height. Obviously Jim and Dierkes towered over the rest of the cast, led by 5'11" Kenneth Tobey. Dierkes appeared in "Gunsmoke" a few times, but had lost a bit of height by the 1970's, with Jim as Marshall Dillon in 1971 easily taller by at least two inches.

Anonymous says on 29/Jan/11
Wasn't James Arness cast as the creature in the original "The Thing (from another world)" back in 1949 or something like that? A film superior to many younger sci-fi films if you haven't seen it... anyway he obviously wasn't chosen because he was slightly taller, but rather because he was MUCH taller than the rest.

Anonymous says on 13/Jan/11
Michael Conrad was definitely at least 6'5 1/2. probably more like 6'6 or 6'6 1/2. Theres an All in The Family episode called "Mike and Gloria's Wedding" (2 parts) with Conrad in both. Next to 6'1 1/2 -6'2 Rob Reiner There is at least 4 inches in height difference. Next to 5'10 Carrol O'Connor you can see a solid 8 inches. Its the same with James Cromwell(who also guest stars in All in the Family) who is also 6'6ish. Both men are same height.

Shadow2 says on 2/Jan/11
Fear not Sepeteus, I have it on good authority that the "well known information site" is steadily improving its height listings. Hopefully Michael will soon be at 6'6" where he belongs, fixed with a few other errors highlighted on this website. We have to be patient for a while longer. In the meantime Rob needs to give actors like Michael their own page, because of the interest in them being as tall as Jim, Chuck Connors, Clint Walker, and Fess Parker.

PatB says on 28/Dec/10
All testimony about heights based on cowboy movies is very suspect. Cowboy boots on men are like high heels on women - they can add or subtract three inches or more.

That being said James Arness is indeed big. He's in that class of men who are clearly taller than I am - and I'm 6'5". He's really too tall. Cars don't fit very well at his height. Coach airline seats are a nightmare and Hollywood roles are scarce. Luckily Arness had his own show so they hired actors to surround him who could literally stand up to him. Had he been a supporting player he might have gotten work on Clint Walker's "Cheyene" or maybe Chuck Connor's "The Rifleman" but otherwise he would have been too big as a villian for the show's stars.

Shadow2 says on 13/Nov/10
In 1965 Jim was joined in "Gunsmoke" for two seasons by a young actor named Roger Ewing playing Matt Dillon's occasional assistant (not precisely a deputy), "Thad Greenwood". Thad was described in the script as 6'4", but it soon became very obvious that Ewing was almost as tall as Jim. I remember seeing Ewing in a scene with 6'3" Wayne Rogers and Ewing was three inches taller. Jim and Ewing looked like father and son in some episodes!