what happened to chester on gunsmoke

Dennis Weaver, the actor who played Chester on Gunsmoke, decided to leave the show after nine seasons to pursue other opportunities. His last episode, titled "Bently," saw Chester leave Dodge City, Kan. to find a murderer following a suspicious deathbed confession. According to a 2002 interview with Weaver, he felt that he had exhausted all creative possibilities with the character and wanted to do something else. After Weavers departure, Burt Reynolds replaced him as Quint Asper. Ken Curtis' Festus Haggen was also made a series regular to replace Dennis Weaver's beloved Chester Goode. In a 2019 interview, Weaver explained that he regretted giving Chester a limp, which was a physical attribute that would be nearly impossible to convey over airwaves.