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Ken Curtis
Acting

Ken Curtis
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1916-07-02,Lamar, Colorado, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American actor and singer best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the Western television series Gunsmoke. Early years Born on July 2, 1916 as the youngest of three boys in Lamar in Prowers County in southeastern Colorado, Curtis lived his first 10 years on a ranch on Muddy Creek in eastern Bent County. In 1926, the family moved to Las Animas, the county seat of Bent County, so that his father, Dan Sullivan Gates, could run for sheriff. The campaign was successful, and Gates served from 1926 to 1931 as Bent County sheriff. Curtis was the quarterback of his Bent County High School football team and played clarinet in the school band. He graduated in 1935. During World War II, Curtis served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. He attended Colorado College to study medicine, but left after a short time to pursue his musical career. Film Columbia Pictures signed Curtis to a contract in 1945. He starred in a series of musical Westerns with the Hoosier Hot Shots, playing singing cowboy romantic leads. By virtue of his second marriage, Curtis was a son-in-law of film director John Ford. Curtis teamed with Ford and John Wayne in Rio Grande. He was a singer in the movie's fictional band, The Regimental Singers, who actually consisted of the Sons of the Pioneers; Curtis is not listed as a member of the principal cast. Possibly, he played a bit part, but Curtis is best remembered as Charlie McCorry in The Searchers, and for his appearances in The Quiet Man, The Wings of Eagles, The Horse Soldiers, The Alamo, and How the West Was Won. Curtis also joined Ford, along with Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon, in the comedy Navy classic Mister Roberts. He was featured in all three of the only films produced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney's C. V. Whitney Pictures: The Searchers (1956); The Missouri Traveler (1958) with Brandon deWilde and Lee Marvin; and The Young Land (1959) with Patrick Wayne and Dennis Hopper. In 5 Steps to Danger (1957 film), he is uncredited as FBI Agent Jim Anderson. Curtis remains best known for his role as Festus Haggen, the scruffy, cantankerous, and illiterate deputy in Gunsmoke. He first appeared in 1962 and joined the regular Gunsmoke cast in 1964, replacing Chester Goode, played by Dennis Weaver. While Marshal Matt Dillon had a total of five deputies over two decades, Festus held the role the longest (11 years), in 304 episodes. Festus was patterned after "Cedar Jack" (Frederick Munden), a man from Curtis' Las Animas childhood. Cedar Jack, who lived 15 miles south of town, made a living cutting cedar fence posts. Curtis observed many times that Jack came to Las Animas, where he would often end up drunk and in Curtis' father's jail. Festus' character was known, in part, for the nasally, twangy, rural accent which Curtis developed for the role, but which did not reflect Curtis' actual voice. Curtis married Torrie Connelly in 1966. They were married until his death in 1991 and he had two step-children. Death Curtis died on April 28, 1991, in his sleep in Fresno, California, after suffering a heart attack. He was 74. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Colorado flatlands. CLR From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Filmography

7.682

The Searchers
1956-05-16

7.1

The Alamo
1960-10-23

7.312

Robin Hood
1973-11-08

Cheyenne Autumn

6.7

Cheyenne Autumn
1964-10-15

6.7

Conagher
1991-07-01

The Killer Shrews

4.4

The Killer Shrews
1959-06-25

The Long Gray Line

7

The Long Gray Line
1955-01-04

7.045

Mister Roberts
1955-07-10

The Wings of Eagles

6.3

The Wings of Eagles
1957-01-31

Once Upon a Starry Night

10

Once Upon a Starry Night
1978-12-19

The Horse Soldiers

6.92

The Horse Soldiers
1959-06-11

How the West Was Won

7

How the West Was Won
1962-11-02

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion

0

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979-06-05

The Last Hurrah

7.2

The Last Hurrah
1958-12-31

Legend of the Wild

6

Legend of the Wild
1981-11-01

Once Upon a Texas Train

5.2

Once Upon a Texas Train
1988-10-12

Call of the Forest

6

Call of the Forest
1949-11-18

Song of the Prairie

7

Song of the Prairie
1945-09-27

6.2

Spring Reunion
1957-03-01

5.3

Freckles
1960-10-19

The Missouri Traveler

6.5

The Missouri Traveler
1958-01-21

The Growler Story

6

The Growler Story
1957-01-01

Two Rode Together

6.4

Two Rode Together
1961-05-24

6.8

The Young Land
1959-05-01

That Texas Jamboree

8

That Texas Jamboree
1946-05-16

Pony Express Rider

6

Pony Express Rider
1976-11-01

Rhythm Round-Up

8

Rhythm Round-Up
1945-09-06

Singing on the Trail

7

Singing on the Trail
1946-09-01

Throw a Saddle on a Star

7

Throw a Saddle on a Star
1946-03-14

7.3

The Quiet Man
1952-07-21

6.8

Rio Grande
1950-11-15

Woman on the Run

6

Woman on the Run
1959-05-15

Out of the Depths

7

Out of the Depths
1945-12-27

Don Daredevil Rides Again

8

Don Daredevil Rides Again
1951-04-10

Lone Star Moonlight

10

Lone Star Moonlight
1946-12-12

10

Cowboy Blues
1946-07-18

Over the Santa Fe Trail

0

Over the Santa Fe Trail
1947-02-13

Riders of the Pony Express

7.5

Riders of the Pony Express
1949-05-13

Stallion Canyon

8

Stallion Canyon
1949-06-15

6.2

Escort West
1959-01-23

California Gold Rush

7

California Gold Rush
1981-07-30

5.1

Lost
1983-10-22

Fighting Coast Guard

6.7

Fighting Coast Guard
1951-05-31

5 Steps to Danger

6.6

5 Steps to Danger
1956-11-05

John Wayne's 'The Alamo'

8.3

John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
1992-06-06

9

My Dog, Buddy
1960-08-01

Ein Abend für Freddy Quinn

0

Ein Abend für Freddy Quinn
1986-08-23

7.6

Airwolf
1984-01-22

6.7

Gunsmoke
1955-09-10

How the West Was Won

7

How the West Was Won
1977-02-06

6.7

Sea Hunt
1958-01-04

6.7

Ripcord
1961-09-28

7.3

Rawhide
1959-01-09

7

Vega$
1978-09-20

The Yellow Rose

7.6

The Yellow Rose
1983-10-02

Have Gun, Will Travel

7.3

Have Gun, Will Travel
1957-09-14

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour

6.8

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
1969-01-22

7.2

Petrocelli
1974-09-11

6.6

Wagon Train
1957-09-18

How the West Was Won

7

How the West Was Won
1977-02-06

Musik ist Trumpf

6

Musik ist Trumpf
1975-01-02

6.6

Wagon Train
1957-09-18

Have Gun, Will Travel

7.3

Have Gun, Will Travel
1957-09-14

7

Black Beauty
1978-01-31

7.7

Perry Mason
1957-09-21

10

Battleground
2004-01-01

Have Gun, Will Travel

7.3

Have Gun, Will Travel
1957-09-14

Have Gun, Will Travel

7.3

Have Gun, Will Travel
1957-09-14

Have Gun, Will Travel

7.3

Have Gun, Will Travel
1957-09-14

7

Grizzly Adams
1977-02-09