who was marshall dillon's sidekick
Dennis Weaver, 81, Sidekick on 'Gunsmoke,' Dies. Dennis Weaver, whose portrayal of Deputy Chester Goode in the classic television western Gunsmoke made him the favorite sidekick of the early television era, died on Friday at his home in Ridgway, Colo. He was 81. The cause was complications of cancer, said Julian Myers, his publicist.