Chester Goode, played by Dennis Weaver, had a stiff-legged limp on the show “Gunsmoke.” This limp was not due to a specific event within the storyline but was a character choice made by the actor.
Dennis Weaver, who portrayed Chester Goode on the long-running Western series “Gunsmoke,” decided to give his character a distinctive limp. This decision was made early in the development of the show, and the limp became one of Chester’s defining physical characteristics. However, the cause of Chester’s limp is never fully explained within the series’ narrative.
Weaver reportedly created the limp for his character to make him more interesting and to give him a sense of depth and history. The choice was purely a creative one, as there was no backstory written into the script regarding an injury or accident that would have led to Chester’s limp. Throughout the series, Chester’s limp is consistent, and it became one of the most recognizable aspects of Weaver’s performance, helping to set his character apart from others in the series.
Despite the lack of an in-universe explanation, the limp helped to endear Chester to the audience and contributed to the show’s success. “Gunsmoke” ran for 20 seasons, from 1955 to 1975, and remains one of the most beloved Westerns in television history.