Sam Edwards

SAM EDWARDS

There are many places in Gunsmoke to learn Sam Edward's voice,
but the first scene of the Fort Laramie episode 'Stage Coach Stop'
juxtaposes his voice with that of Vic Perrin's—
Edwards plays trooper Harrison, Perrin is Sergeant Gorce.
Perrin's voice is usually compared or likened
to his friend Harry Bartell's, and a similarity in speech pattern
may give that general impression; but when it comes to timbre,
it was really more akin to Sam Edwards'.
Between Perrin's and Edwards' voices,
the difference is that Edward's sounds lighter, thinner,
more nasal, more elastic, and sometimes shriller.
For that reason, Edwards' voice was perfect
for punk villains or younger men (which hits a true note in terms of history,
because contrary to the standard image given us by movies & television,
the cowboys of the real West were teenagers).

Vocally, Sam Edwards definitely had an age niche—
for example, his playing adult bartender Sam in 'Fiery Arrest'
and adolescent Dave in 'Dave's Lesson,'
can at best be called interesting experiments.

For getting a good look at Sam Edwards,
he was sublimely perfect in the tv Gunsmoke episode 'Gunsmuggler,'
as the rider that Matt, Chester, and Tobeel meet on the prairie.
But for a more glorious and lengthier screen appearance,
the best place is the John Wayne movie Operation Pacific (1951).
Not only does Sam Edwards get a lot of lines and screen time,
but he has his very own scene with Wayne.

Around this period when Gunsmoke started its radio run,
Sam Edwards was cast in four other war movies besides Operation Pacific:
Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Flying Leathernecks (1951, also with Wayne),
The McConnell Story (1955), and Between Heaven and Hell (1956).
Clearly, war pictures made better use of his youthfulness than westerns.

Beyond his voice and its effects, Sam Edwards himself
was no more a teenager than Richard Beals was a boy.
Just as Beals was almost 25, Edwards was a month short of 37
when Gunsmoke began.
He was born on a 26th, the same as John Wayne,
the same as James Arness, the same as Gunsmoke.

July 21, 2006