Showrunner John Wells has contradicted O'Donnell's claims, but one thing they agree on is this: They couldn't keep doing the show without Spencer. If you were a fan of the hit TV series GUNSMOKE, you may be curious to learn how did Sam the bartender die. There's a good chance you don't know the guy, but Phil Leeds was a fascinating dude. Before turning to acting, Glenn Strange was a musician. He is best remembered for playing Frankensteins monster in three Universal films during the 1940s and for his role as Sam Noonan, the popular bartender on CBS s Gunsmoke television series. He is also known for playing the role of a bank teller in the show. TV Deaths That Happened Because The Actor Really Died, According to executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell. Despite very small differences in opinion, the cast had remained friendly during the shows run. Not long after Delgado's passing, third Doctor Jon Pertwee left the program. He held his notable bartending role for 12 years before passing away from lung cancer on September 20, 1973. To make up for the lost role, an actor . (AP) _ Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty in the long-running Gunsmoke television series, died of AIDS-related complications, not cancer as previously reported, her doctor said Monday. Glenn would play extra or bit roles for a number of years B Western and serials. After Monteith's passing, Finn Hudson was memorialized in the Season 5 episode "The Quarterback," which paid tribute to the character without ever spelling out the circumstances surrounding his death. Sam McKay played the bartender in the 1960s, a role he held for six years. By nature a gentle, sym pathetic man, he usually played the bad guy or a monster in some 500 television shows. 21 (AP) Glenn Strange, who portrayed Dr. Frankenstein's monster in films and Sam Noonan, the big, leathery bartender in the tele vision series "Gunsmoke" for 11 years,. Glenn Strange was born in Weed, New Mexico, on August 16, 1899.