''Gunsmoke'' introduced Taylor on a weekly basis to millions of viewers. Dub Taylor also guest-starred numerous times on the series. Before Taylor was cast as handsome young gunsmith "Newly," he had appeared in an earlier segment of the series as an outlaw. As Newly, however, he was clearly one of the "good guys" in the same tradition as James Arness as Matt Dillon. The Newly character superseded that of Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood, played by Roger Ewing. Taylor got along so well with the ''Gunsmoke'' cast that he named his second and third sons Matthew Taylor and Cooper Glenn Taylor for James Arness' Matt Dilloon role and Glenn Strange (1899–1973), the character actor who played the bartender, Sam, and remained on the program until [[cancer]] claimed his life. Strange never knew of the honor, for Cooper Taylor was not born until 1975. | ''Gunsmoke'' introduced Taylor on a weekly basis to millions of viewers. Dub Taylor also guest-starred numerous times on the series. Before Taylor was cast as handsome young gunsmith "Newly," he had appeared in an earlier segment of the series as an outlaw. As Newly, however, he was clearly one of the "good guys" in the same tradition as James Arness as Matt Dillon. The Newly character superseded that of Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood, played by Roger Ewing. Taylor got along so well with the ''Gunsmoke'' cast that he named his second and third sons Matthew Taylor and Cooper Glenn Taylor for James Arness' Matt Dilloon role and Glenn Strange (1899–1973), the character actor who played the bartender, Sam, and remained on the program until [[cancer]] claimed his life. Strange never knew of the honor, for Cooper Taylor was not born until 1975. |