Wikipedia

Ken Curtis

For other people with the same name, seeKenneth Curtis.

Ken Curtis(bornCurtis Wain Gates;[1]July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991)[2]was an American actor and singer best known for his role as Festus Haggen on thewesterntelevision seriesGunsmoke.

Ken Curtis
Curtis asFestus Haggen1964
Born
Curtis Wain Gates

(1916-07-02)July 2, 1916
Lamar, Colorado,U.S.
DiedApril 28, 1991(1991-04-28)(aged 74)
Fresno,California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active1941–1991
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Spouses
Lorraine Page
​
​
(m.1943, divorced)​
Barbara Ford
​
​
(m.1952;div.1964)​
Torrie Ahern Connelly
​
​
(m.1966)​
Children2
The oldBent Countyjail inLas Animasin southeasternColorado,where Ken Curtis lived as a boy

Early years

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Born the youngest of three boys inLamarinProwers Countyin southeastern Colorado, Curtis lived his first ten years on a ranch on Muddy Creek in easternBent County.In 1926, the family moved toLas Animas,thecounty seatof Bent County, so that his father, Dan Sullivan Gates, could run forsheriff.The campaign was successful, and Gates served from 1926 to 1931 as Bent County sheriff.[3]

Curtis was thequarterbackof hisBent County High Schoolfootballteam and played clarinet in the school band. He graduated in 1935. DuringWorld War II,Curtis served in theU.S. Armyfrom 1943 to 1945.[4]

He attendedColorado Collegeto study medicine, but left after a short time to pursue his musical career.[5]

Career

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Music

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Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen andJames ArnessasMatt Dillon,1968

Curtis was a singer before moving into acting, and combined both careers once he entered films.[6]Curtis was with theTommy Dorseyband in 1941, and succeededFrank Sinatraas vocalist untilDick Haymescontractually replaced Sinatra in 1942. Curtis may have served simply as insurance against Sinatra's likely defection, and it was Dorsey who suggested that Gates change his name to Ken Curtis. Curtis then joinedShep Fieldsand His New Music, an all-reeds band that dispensed with a brass section.[citation needed]

Curtis met his first wife, Lorraine Page, who was also under contract at Universal Studios, and they were married in 1943. For much of 1948, Curtis was a featured singer and host of the long-running country music radio programWWVA Jamboree.[citation needed]

Ken Curtis joined theSons of the Pioneersas a lead singer from 1949 to 1953 and again from 1955 to 1957. His big hits with the group included "Room Full of Roses" and "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky".[citation needed]

Film

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Columbia Picturessigned Curtis to a contract in 1945. He starred in a series of musical Westerns[7]with theHoosier Hot Shots,playingsinging cowboyromantic leads.

By virtue of his second marriage, Curtis was a son-in-law of film directorJohn Ford.Curtis teamed with Ford andJohn WayneinRio Grande.He was a singer in the movie's fictional bandThe Regimental Singersthat actually consisted of theSons of the Pioneers;Curtis is not listed as a member of the principal cast. It is possible that he played a bit part, but Curtis is best remembered as Charlie McCorry inThe Searchers,and for his appearances inThe Quiet Man,The Wings of Eagles,The Horse Soldiers,The Alamo,andHow the West Was Won.Curtis also joined Ford, along withHenry Fonda,James Cagney,William Powell,andJack Lemmon,in the comedyNavyclassicMister Roberts.He was featured in all three of the only films produced byCornelius Vanderbilt Whitney's C. V. Whitney Pictures:The Searchers(1956);The Missouri Traveler(1958) withBrandon deWildeandLee Marvin;andThe Young Land(1959) withPatrick WayneandDennis Hopper.In5 Steps to Danger(1957 film), he is uncredited as FBI Agent Jim Anderson. Curtis also produced two extremely low-budget monster films in 1959,The Killer ShrewsandThe Giant Gila Monster.

Curtis guest-starred five times on the Western television seriesHave Gun – Will TravelwithRichard Boone.In 1959, he appeared as cowhand Phil Jakes on theGunsmokeseason four episode, "Jayhawkers". He also guest-starred as circus performer Tim Durant on an episode ofPerry Mason,"The Case of the Clumsy Clown", which originally aired on November 5, 1960. Later, he appeared inRipcord,a first-runsyndicatedaction/adventure series about a company of its namesake providingskydivingservices, along with its leading starLarry Pennell.This series ran from 1961 to 1963 with 76 half-hour episodes in total. Curtis played the role of James (Jim) Buckley and Pennell was his young disciple Theodore (Ted) McKeever. This television show helped generate interest in sportparachuting.

In 1964, Curtis appeared as muleskinner Graydon in the episode "Graydon's Charge" of the syndicatedWesterntelevision series,Death Valley Days,also guest-starringDenver PyleandCathy Lewis.

Gunsmoke

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Milburn Stone,Ken Curtis,Amanda Blake,andJames Arness

Curtis remains best known for his role as Festus Haggen, the scruffy, cantankerous, and illiterate deputy inGunsmoke.He joined the regularGunsmokecast in 1964, replacing Chester Goode, played byDennis Weaver.WhileMarshal Matt Dillonhad 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 cuttingcedarfence 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.[citation needed]

Besides engaging in the usual personal appearances most television stars undertake to promote their program, Curtis also traveled around the country performing at Western-themed stage shows at fairs, rodeos, and other venues whenGunsmokewas not in production, and even for some years after the show was cancelled. Curtis also campaigned for Ronald Reagan in 1976, during the future President's attempt to secure the Republican nomination from incumbent Gerald Ford.[citation needed]

In two episodes ofGunsmoke,Carroll O'Connorwas a guest-star; years later, Curtis guest-starred as a retired police detective on O'Connor'sNBCprogramIn the Heat of the Night.He voiced Nutsy the vulture in Disney's 1973 animated filmRobin Hood.A decade later, he returned to television in the short-lived Western seriesThe Yellow Rose,in which he performed most of his scenes withNoah Beery, Jr.

Last years

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In 1981, Curtis was inducted into theWestern Performers Hall of Fameat theNational Cowboy & Western Heritage MuseuminOklahoma City,Oklahoma.[citation needed]

Curtis' last acting role was as the aging cattle rancher "Seaborn Tay" in the television productionConagher(1991), by western authorLouis L'Amour.Sam Elliottstarred in the lead role, and Curtis'Gunsmokeco-starBuck Taylor(Newly O'Brien) played a bad man in the same film. Buck Taylor's father,Dub Taylor,had a minor role in it.

Curtis married Torrie Connelly in 1966. They were married until his death in 1991 and he had two step-children.[5][8]

A statue of Ken Curtis as Festus can be found at 430 Pollasky Avenue inClovis, California,inFresno Countyin front of the Educational Employees Credit Union. In his later years, Curtis resided in Clovis.[9]

Curtis was aRepublicanand supportedBarry Goldwaterin the1964 United States presidential election.[10]

Death

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Curtis died on April 28, 1991, in his sleep of a heart attack inFresno, California.[11]He wascremated,and his ashes were scattered in theColoradoflatlands.[citation needed]

Selected filmography

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Television

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Matheson, Sue (December 15, 2019).The John Ford Encyclopedia.Rowman & Littlefield. pp.61–62.ISBN978-1-5381-0382-1.RetrievedFebruary 10,2021.
  2. ^McCall, Michael; Rumble, John; Kingsbury, Paul (December 16, 2004).The Encyclopedia of Country Music.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-984044-1.RetrievedFebruary 10,2021.
  3. ^"Bentsheriff.com".bentsheriff.com.RetrievedNovember 16,2021.
  4. ^"Gunsmoke: GunsmokeNet.com".gunsmokenet.com.RetrievedSeptember 3,2016.
  5. ^abAp (May 1, 1991)."Ken Curtis, actor, 74, Festus on 'Gunsmoke'".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedSeptember 3,2016.
  6. ^"Gunsmoke: GunsmokeNet.com".gunsmokenet.com.RetrievedSeptember 3,2016.
  7. ^"Ken Curtis appeared in a number of cheesy movies,"GunsmokeNet.com
  8. ^"Death: Torrie Ahern Connelly Curtis".Deseret News.November 13, 1997. Archived fromthe originalon September 11, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 3,2016.
  9. ^"Ken Curtis statue,"GunsmokeNet.com
  10. ^Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013).When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521199186– via Google Books.
  11. ^Ken Curtis Obituary,Los Angeles Times,GunsmokeNet.com
  12. ^McEveety, Vincent (February 13, 1990),December Days(Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller), Carroll O'Connor, Howard E. Rollins Jr, Alan Autry, Anne-Marie Johnson, Fred Silverman Company, Juanita Bartlett Production, MGM Television,retrievedAugust 31,2020
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