Roger Ewing began his appearing profession in 1964. After a while toiling away in minor visitor roles on exhibits like “Bewitched,” “The Bing Crosby Present,” and “Rawhide” — in addition to showing within the Frank Sinatra WWII film “None However the Courageous” – he landed a significant function in “Gunsmoke” as Matt Dillon’s second-in-command, Thad Greenwood.
As really ardent “Gunsmoke” followers may know, Thad is definitely Ewing’s second function on the present. His first “Gunsmoke” look is within the Season 10 episode “Track for the Dying” as Ben Lukens, but it surely’s not till Season 11 that the actor really begins to make his mark. Within the aptly-titled episode “Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood,” the succesful however considerably inexperienced Thad arrives in Dodge Metropolis as a deputy from Oklahoma, pursuing a harmful gang that has humiliated him on his house turf, and that he blames for his father’s (John Dix) loss of life. Dillon ultimately informs Thad that he has no authority in Dodge, however the younger, freshly rootless man nonetheless decides to stay round. Thad ultimately turns into the Robin to Dillon’s Batman, and he is one of many extra prolific characters in Season 11 and Season 12.
After leaving the present behind, Ewing moved away from the present enterprise solely, pursuing the sphere of images as a substitute. He solely appeared in a handful of tasks after “Gunsmoke” and his final display credit score is the 1972 film “Play as It Lays.”