Milburn Stone (July 5 1904 - June 12 1980) was an Emmy Award winning American television actor, who was the nephew of Broadway comedian, Fred Stone and the son of a shopkeeper, and who was best known for his role as "Doc" (Doctor Galen Adams) on the Western television series Gunsmoke.
Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas . He began his screen career in the late 1930s, and was featured in Monogram Pictures' series of "Tailspin Tommy" adventures. Stone was signed by Universal Pictures in 1943 and became a familiar face in its features and serials. One of his movie roles was a radio columnist in the Gloria Jean-Kirby Grant musical I'll Remember April. He made such an impression in this film that Universal gave him a starring role (and a similar characterization) in the 1945 serial The Master Key.
One of CBS Radio's hit series, the western Gunsmoke, was adapted for television in 1955 and recast with experienced screen actors. Howard McNear, radio's "Doc Adams," was replaced by Milburn Stone, who gave the role a harder edge consistent with his screen portrayals. He stayed with Gunsmoke through its entire run.
A painting of the Doc Adams character was commissioned from Gary Hawk, a painter from Milburn Stone's home state of Kansas. When then-President Ronald Reagan, a friend of Milburn Stone, heard about the painting, Gary Hawk was invited to the Oval Office where the artwork was presented to the President.
He won an Emmy Award in 1968 for Best Supporting Actor.
For his contribution to the television industry, Milburn Stone has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. He died of a heart attack in La Jolla, California. In 1981, he was inducted posthumously into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Character actor Milburn Stone, the beloved "Doc Adams" on TV's long-running western classic "Gunsmoke" (1955), was born in Kansas on July 5, 1904. Acting must have been in his blood as the nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone (I) for Milburn left home as a teenager to find work with touring repertory troupes. Emulating his famous uncle Fred, he appeared in vaudeville as part of a song-and-dance team called "Stone and Strain." Following a minor appearance on Broadway in "The Jayhawkers," Milburn moved to Los Angeles in 1935 to try his luck in films. He toiled for years in mostly unbilled parts for 'poverty row' Monogram Pictures, apprenticing in a number of background roles as both benign fellows (clerks, reporters, sailors, detectives) and bad guys (convicts, robbers, henchmen). Out of the blue he would nab a heroic film lead in films as Federal Bullets (1937) or serial thrillers as Great Alaskan Mystery, The (1944) and Master Key, The (1945), then invariably go right back to unbilled status in his very next role. One memorable featured part (which was also unbilled) was as debater Stephen A. Douglass in John Ford (I)'s Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). In addition he played a regular support role in the "Tommy Tailspin" serials and found himself cast in a few of Ford's pictures. When the role of "Doc Adams" finally landed at his feet in 1955, the exasperated actor was only too appreciative to experience a steady paycheck. He became an "overnight" star and, along with Matt Dillon's James Arness, stayed a citizen of Dodge City throughout its entire 20-year run (500 episodes), although he was temporarily sidelined by a heart attack in 1971 and briefly replaced by another "doc" played by Pat Hingle. The ever-durable Stone missed only seven episodes. After his return, however, his appearances were somewhat curtailed. Milburn won a well-deserved Emmy award in 1968 for his crusty role. Fully retired to his ranch in 1975 after the show's cancellation, he was eventually awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Mary of the Plains College in (of course) Dodge City, Kansas. Married to Jane Garrison, the 75-year-old Milburn died of a heart attack on June 12, 1980 in La Jolla, California. His wife passed away in 2002.
