On this day in 1904, one of America’s favorite doctors in the person of Hugh Milburn Stone, was born in Burrton, Kansas.
A long-time character actor, Stone is best known for his character of Doc Adams on the television series Gunsmoke. He was cast in the role of the 
feisty frontier doctor when the series moved from radio to television. (Right, Doc and Festus) He appeared in more than 600 episodes, staying with the show until it was canceled in 1975.
Born in Burrton, Kansas, Stone arrived in California in 1930 by way of vaudeville, part of the song and dance team of Stone and Strain. And like his fellow Gunsmoke cast member, Ken “Festus” Curtis, he spent some time as a big band crooner, singing with the Harry James Orchestra.
He’d been inspired by his uncle, Fred Stone (left). Famous in his day, Fred Stone, was a singer, vaudeville and Broadway star, virtuoso circus performer, and movie leading man. The pull to enter show business must have been strong, since Milburn had turned down an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy.
It’s unclear if Uncle Fred helped his nephew’s career. Young Stone spent his first years appearing in a number of uncredited roles for “poverty row” studio, Monogram Pictures. It was in 1940 that he got a major role in the spy comedy, Chasing Trouble, and co-starred in the Roy Rogers hit, Colorado, playing Roy’s cowboy brother gone bad.
While toiling in the vineyards playing nondescript movie parts, Stone’s wife, Ellen Morrison died of an apparent heart attack. The couple had an 11-year-old daughter, Sharon. Stone himself underwent bypass surgery in 1971. Ever resilient, he missed only seven episodes of Gunsmoke but his appearances in the series were somewhat limited following the surgery.
Two years after his wife’s death, Stone married Jane Garrison (right). Garrison was a long-time employee of Ralph Edwards Productions, principally associated with “This Is Your Life.” The marriage faltered a year later, when the couple divorced but then remarried in 1941.
It wasn’t until 1968 that Stone received a well-deserved Emmy for Best Supporting Actor. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category. In addition, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Saint Mary’s of the Plains College in the real Dodge City.
Stone and his wife retired to their California ranch after Gunsmoke ended. The actor died five years later, June 12, 1980 in La Jolla, California, at the age of 76. Jane Garrison Stone died in 2002.
Stone was posthumously inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1981.
A life-long Republican, Stone was a close friend of Ronald Reagan’s, but he didn’t live to see Reagan inaugurated. When Stone’s home state of Kansas commissioned nativ- son artist Gary Hawk to paint a portrait of Stone as Doc Adams, President Reagan invited Hawk to the White House where the painting was presented to the 40th president.
Boot Hill Museum, Front Street, Dodge City, Kansas, includes serious history of America’s most famous cow town as well as references to its 
most famous TV recreation. The museum’s Long Branch features its own “Miss Kitty” and reenactments of gun fights during summer months. The Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame is also on site, honoring 2006 inductee Milburn Stone. The last available admission information listed the entrance fee at $9. Open summer daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 8:00 to 8:00; winter from Labor Day to Memorial Day, Monday through Saturday, 9:00 to 5:00 and Sundays 1:00 to 5:00. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. For more information go to boothill.org or call 620) 227-8188. © Text Only – 2017 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain.