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Battleground
2004 · TV Show
as Captain Howard W. Gilmore (archive footage)
Ken Curtis
1916-07-02
•
Lamar, Colorado, USA
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
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John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
1992 · Movie
as Self
Conagher
1991 · Movie
as Seaborn Tay, Cattle Rancher
Once Upon a Texas Train
1988 · Movie
as Kelly Sutton
Airwolf
1984 · TV Show
as Cecil Carnes Sr.
Lost
1983 · Movie
as Wyatt Cosgrove
The Yellow Rose
1983 · TV Show
as Hoyt Coryell
Legend of the Wild
1981 · Movie
California Gold Rush
1981 · Movie
as Kentuck
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979 · Movie
as Self
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Once Upon a Starry Night
1978 · Movie
as Uncle Ned
Vega$
1978 · TV Show
Black Beauty
1978 · TV Show
as Howard Jakes
How the West Was Won
1977 · TV Show
as Orville Gant
Grizzly Adams
1977 · TV Show
as Uncle Ned
Pony Express Rider
1976 · Movie
as Jed Richardson
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Musik ist Trumpf
1975 · TV Show
as Self
Petrocelli
1974 · TV Show
Robin Hood
1973 · Movie
as Nutsy - A Vulture (voice)
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
1969 · TV Show
as Self
Cheyenne Autumn
1964 · Movie
as Joe
How the West Was Won
1962 · Movie
as Corporal Ben (uncredited)
Two Rode Together
1961 · Movie
as Greeley Clegg
Ripcord
1961 · TV Show
as Jim Buckley
The Alamo
1960 · Movie
as Capt. Almeron Dickinson
Freckles
1960 · Movie
as Wessner
My Dog, Buddy
1960 · Movie
as Dr. Lusk
The Killer Shrews
1959 · Movie
as Jerry Farrell
The Horse Soldiers
1959 · Movie
as Cpl. Wilkie
The Young Land
1959 · Movie
as Lee Hearn
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Woman on the Run
1959 · Movie
Escort West
1959 · Movie
as Trooper Burch
Rawhide
1959 · TV Show
as Vic Slade
The Last Hurrah
1958 · Movie
as Monsignor Killian
The Missouri Traveler
1958 · Movie
as Fred Mueller
Sea Hunt
1958 · TV Show
The Wings of Eagles
1957 · Movie
as John Dale Price
Spring Reunion
1957 · Movie
as Al
The Growler Story
1957 · Movie
as Captain Howard W. Gilmore
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957 · TV Show
as Monk, Skinner Monk, Curley, Tom Strickland
Wagon Train
1957 · TV Show
as Kyle Cleatus, Pappy Lightfoot
Perry Mason
1957 · TV Show
as Tim Durant
The Searchers
1956 · Movie
as Charlie McCorry
5 Steps to Danger
1956 · Movie
as FBI Agent Jim Anderson (uncredited)
The Long Gray Line
1955 · Movie
as Specialty (uncredited)
Mister Roberts
1955 · Movie
as Dolan
Gunsmoke
1955 · TV Show
as Festus
The Quiet Man
1952 · Movie
as Dermot Fahy (uncredited)
Don Daredevil Rides Again
1951 · Movie
as Lee Hadley / Don Daredevil
Fighting Coast Guard
1951 · Movie
as Ken - Member Sons of the Pioneers
Rio Grande
1950 · Movie
as Donnelly - Regimental Singer (uncredited)
Call of the Forest
1949 · Movie
as Bob Brand
Riders of the Pony Express
1949 · Movie
as Tom Blake
Stallion Canyon
1949 · Movie
as Curt Benson
Over the Santa Fe Trail
1947 · Movie
as Curt Mason
That Texas Jamboree
1946 · Movie
as Curt Chambers
Singing on the Trail
1946 · Movie
as Curt Stanton
Throw a Saddle on a Star
1946 · Movie
as Curt Walker
Lone Star Moonlight
1946 · Movie
as Curt Norton
Cowboy Blues
1946 · Movie
as Curt Durant
Song of the Prairie
1945 · Movie
as Dan Tyler
Rhythm Round-Up
1945 · Movie
as Jimmy Benson
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Out of the Depths
1945 · Movie
as Buck Clayton
