Virginia Chapman, a three-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee, was his first wife, whom he married in 1948. Craig Aurness, the son he adopted after they married, was born in 1946 and died on December 14, 2004.
Their marriage, however, did not continue forever, and they divorced in 1963. Jenny Lee Arness (born May 23, 1950) and their son Rolf Aurness were both born to them (b. February 18, 1952). Following the divorce, the actor gave his ex-wife legal custody of the children. Jenny, on the other hand, sadly committed suicide on May 12, 1975, in Malibu, California, by overdosing on a lethal drug. At the time, she was almost 26 years old. Virginia, Jenny’s mother, died of a heroin overdose in 1977, two years after Jenny died. James Arness was in a six-year relationship with Thordis Brandt.
For More Bio: David Efron, Jill Stefani, Ozzie James Greenfield, Prowda
