Burt Reynolds at age 26 as Quint Asper during his three year co-starring gig on the long-running western series Gunsmoke (CBS, 1955-1975). The character of Quint was described as half-Comanche/half-white, an ancestral heritage which Reynolds himself somewhat closely shared (Burt was a mix of UK-Dutch-Italian and Cherokee). Reynolds appeared on the show in fifty episodes from 1962 to 1965 and was cast after Dennis Weaver decided to leave the series to pursue other opportunities. Burt stated at the time that he would stay on Gunsmoke "until it ends. I think it's a terrible mistake for an actor to leave a series in the middle of it." However, as Weaver experienced, when Burt became more popular with viewers the producers decided to reduce his screen time so he wouldn't overshadow the show's star James Arness (who stayed with the show for its entire twenty year run). Burt loved working on Gunsmoke, but when he was used less and less, he too decided to leave to pursue other opportunities, going on to become the top box office star of the late-1970s and early-1980s. He later recalled: "Gunsmoke was the happiest period of my life. I hated to leave that show but I felt I had served my apprenticeship and there wasn't room for two leading men." Burt later named his only child, a son he adopted while married to Loni Anderson in 1988, "Quinton" ("Quint" for short) after the character he played on the series.
