KEN CURTIS

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/4019-8807.gif..http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/Festus_Haggen.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/sop027.jpg
Sons of the Pioneers

INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Date of birth
2 July 1916
Lamar, Colorado, USA

Date of death
29 April 1991
Fresno, California, USA. (in his sleep of natural causes)

Birth name
Curtis Wain Gates

Height
6' (1.83 m)

Spouse
Torrie Connelly (1966 - ?)
Barbara Ford (31 May 1952 - 23 July 1964) (divorced)

Trivia
Grew up in Las Animas, Colorado where his father, Dan Gates, was sheriff. As was the custom at the time, they lived above the jail and his mother, Nellie (Sneed) Gates, cooked for the prisoners. He once said he patterened "Festus" after a local character known as Cedar Jack, who lived about 40 miles out in the cedar hills and made a living cutting cedar fenceposts for farmers and ranchers. When he came to Las Animas he usually ended up drunk and in jail. This gave Curtis plenty of opportunity to observe him.

Introduced the western standard, "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" to movie audiences.

Before acting career, sang with Tommy Dorsey's band and the Sons of the Pioneers.

Son-in-law of director John Ford.

Inducted (as a cast member of "Gunsmoke" (1955)) into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1981.

Early in his career he sang with Shep Fields' Orchestra.

Although his character, Festus Haggen, was introduced to "Gunsmoke" (1955) in an episode called "Us Haggens," in which he arrived in Dodge City to avenge the death of his twin brother, the fact that Festus had a twin was never again mentioned on the show.

Personal quotes
"I'm really proud of _"Gunsmoke" (1955)_ (av). We put on a good show every week, one that families could all watch together without offending anyone."

Mini Biography
Considering the kind of scruffy, backwoods, uneducated, Deep-South hillbillly types he played, many people would not find it hard to believe that Ken Curtis was born and raised in Las Animas Colorado, the son of a deputy sheriff. What they would find hard to believe is that he began his show business career as a singer in the big-band era, and was a vocalist in the legendary Tommy Dorsey orchestra. He entered films in the late 1940s at the tail end of the singing cowboy phase in a series of low-budget Columbia westerns. When that genre died out he turned to straight dramatic and comedy parts, and became a regular in the films of director John Ford. He ventured into film production in the 1950s with two extremely low-budget monster films, The Killer Shrews (1959) and The Giant Gila Monster (1959), but he is best known for his long-running role as Festus Hagen, the scrofulous, cantankerous deputy in the TV series "Gunsmoke" (1955).
frankfob

Filmography

Actor
1. Conagher (1991) (TV) .... Seaborn Tay, Cattle Rancher
... aka Louis L'Amour's Conagher
2. "In the Heat of the Night"
- December Days (1990) TV Episode .... Tom McCauley
3. Once Upon a Texas Train (1988) (TV) .... Kelly Sutton
... aka Texas Guns
4. "Airwolf"
... aka Lobo del aire (USA: Spanish title)
- Wildfire (1986) TV Episode .... Cecil Carnes Sr.
5. All American Cowboy (1985) (TV)
6. "The Yellow Rose" (1983) TV Series .... Hoyt Coryell
7. Lost (1983)
8. Legend of the Wild (1981)
9. California Gold Rush (1981) (TV) .... Kentucke
10. "How the West Was Won"
- Hillary (1979) TV Episode .... Sheriff Orville Gant
11. "Vega$"
- Death Mountain (1979) TV Episode .... Digger Dennison
12. "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams"
- Once Upon a Starry Night (1978) TV Episode
13. "Black Beauty" (1978/I) (mini) TV Series .... Howard Jakes
14. Once Upon a Starry Night (1978) (TV)
15. Pony Express Rider (1976) .... Jed
16. "Petrocelli"
- The Falling Star (1976) TV Episode
17. "Gunsmoke" .... Festus Haggen (1964-1975)
... aka Gun Law (UK)
... aka Marshal Dillon (USA: rerun title)
- The Fourth Victim (1974) TV Episode .... Festus Haggen
- The Guns of Cibola Blanca: Part 2 (1974) TV Episode .... Festus Haggen
- The Guns of Cibola Blanca: Part 1 (1974) TV Episode .... Festus Haggen
- Disciple (1974) TV Episode .... Festus Haggen
- Trail of Bloodshed (1974) TV Episode .... Festus Haggen
(81 more)
18. Robin Hood (1973) (voice) .... Nutsy
19. Cheyenne Autumn (1964) .... Joe
... aka John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn (USA: complete title)
20. "Death Valley Days"
... aka Call of the West (USA: syndication title)
... aka The Pioneers (USA: syndication title)
... aka Trails West (USA: syndication title)
... aka Western Star Theater (USA: syndication title)
- Graydon's Charge (1964) TV Episode .... Graydon
21. "Ripcord" (1962) TV Series .... Jim Buckley (1962)
22. How the West Was Won (1962) (uncredited) .... Cpl. Ben
23. "Have Gun - Will Travel"
- Pandora's Box (1962) TV Episode .... Laski
- Soledad Crossing (1961) TV Episode .... Tom Strickland
- Love's Young Dream (1960) TV Episode .... Monk
- Naked Gun (1959) TV Episode .... Monk
- The Posse (1959) TV Episode .... Curley
24. Two Rode Together (1961) .... Greeley Clegg
25. "The Aquanauts"
... aka Malibu Run
- The Diana Adventure (1961) TV Episode .... Head Waiter
- The Stakeout Adventure (1961) TV Episode .... Horton
26. "Sea Hunt"
- The Octopus Story (1961) TV Episode .... Dean Austin
27. "The Case of the Dangerous Robin"
- Design for Death (1961) TV Episode
28. "Rawhide"
- Incident of the Lost Idol (1961) TV Episode .... Vic Slade
29. "Wagon Train"
... aka Major Adams, Trail Master
- The Colter Craven Story (1960) TV Episode .... Kyle
- The Horace Best Story (1960) TV Episode .... Pappy Lightfoot
30. "Perry Mason"
- The Case of the Clumsy Clown (1960) TV Episode .... Tim Durant
31. The Alamo (1960) .... Capt. Almeron Dickinson
32. Freckles (1960) .... Wessner
33. My Dog, Buddy (1960) .... Dr. Lusk

34. The Killer Shrews (1959) .... Jerry Farrell
... aka The Attack of the Killer Shrews
35. The Horse Soldiers (1959) .... Cpl. Wilkie
36. The Young Land (1959) .... Lee Hearn
37. Escort West (1958) .... Burch
38. The Last Hurrah (1958) .... Monsignor Killian
39. The Missouri Traveler (1958) .... Fred Mueller
40. Spring Reunion (1957) .... Al
41. The Wings of Eagles (1957) .... John Dale Price
42. 5 Steps to Danger (1957) (uncredited) .... FBI Agent Jim Anderson
43. The Searchers (1956) .... Charlie McCorry
44. Mister Roberts (1955) .... Yeoman 3rd Class Dolan
45. The Long Gray Line (1955) (uncredited) .... Specialty
46. The Quiet Man (1952) (uncredited) .... Dermot Fahy
47. Fighting Coast Guard (1951)
... aka Fighting U.S. Coast Guard
48. Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951) .... Lee Hadley/Don Daredevil
49. Rio Grande (1950) (uncredited) .... Donnelly (regimental singer)
... aka John Ford and Merian C. Cooper's Rio Grande (USA: complete title)
50. Call of the Forest (1949) .... Bob Brand
51. Stallion Canyon (1949) .... Curt Benson
52. Riders of the Pony Express (1949) .... Tom Blake
53. Over the Santa Fe Trail (1947) .... Curt Mason
... aka No Escape (UK)
54. Lone Star Moonlight (1946) .... Curt Norton
... aka Amongst the Thieves (UK)
55. Singing on the Trail (1946) .... Curt Stanton
... aka Lookin' for Someone (UK)
56. Cowboy Blues (1946) .... Curt Durant
... aka Beneath the Starry Skies (UK)
57. That Texas Jamboree (1946) .... Curt Chambers
... aka Medicine Man (UK)
58. Throw a Saddle on a Star (1946) .... Curt Walker
59. Out of the Depths (1945) .... Buck Clayton
60. Song of the Prairie (1945) .... Dan Tyler
... aka Sentiment and Song (UK)
61. Rhythm Round-Up (1945) .... Jimmy Benson
... aka Honest John (UK)

Producer
1. John Wycliffe: The Morning Star (1984) (producer)
2. My Dog, Buddy (1960) (producer)
3. The Giant Gila Monster (1959) (producer)
4. The Killer Shrews (1959) (producer)
... aka The Attack of the Killer Shrews

Miscellaneous Crew
1. Hannah Lee (1953) (singer: title song)
... aka Outlaw Territory (USA: reissue title)
2. The Quiet Man (1952) (singer) (uncredited)

Himself
1. "This Is Your Life"
- Ken Curtis (1972) TV Episode .... Himself
2. The World of Sport Fishing (1972)
3. Screen Snapshots: My Pal, Ringeye (1947) .... Himself

Archive Footage
1. John Wayne's 'The Alamo' (2001) (V) .... Himself
2. Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987) (TV) .... Festus Haggen (flashback sequence)

Watch Ken Curtis Full Movie, Clips and Trailers here:-

Ken's Video Gallery (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193411/videogallery)

Here is one:-
http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTMxNjkwMDI0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzcyMDgxMw@@._ V1._SX200_SY150_BO200,0,0,0_PIimdb-blackband-204-14,TopLeft,180,184_PIimdb-blackband-204-28,BottomLeft,180,-183_PIimdb-goldbutton-big,BottomLeft,352,-185_CR180,184,200,150_ZAFull%20Movie,4,121,19,200, verdenab,8,255,255,255,1_ZAThe%20Killer%20Shrews,4 ,136,19,200,arialbd,7,255,255,255,1_ZAat%20Interne t%20Archive%20%BB,5,1,14,200,verdenab,7,255,255,25 5,1_ZA,164,1,14,40,verdenab,7,255,255,255,1_FMpng_ .png (http://www.imdb.com/video/internet-archive/vi1428816921/)
The Killer Shrews (http://www.imdb.com/video/internet-archive/vi1428816921/)

The Killer Shrews (http://www.archive.org/details/The_Killer_Shrews_1959)

We all know Ken 'Festus' Curtis, as a regular, John Ford/John Wayne Stock Company
character actor.
He appeared in many 7 Movies, and 1 TV film with Duke:-

How the West Was Won (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=1998) (1962) (uncredited) .... Cpl. Ben(not the same scene)
"Wagon Train"- The Colter Craven Story ('http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=21912')(1960) TV Episode .... Kyle(not in the same scenes)
The Alamo (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=3755)(1960) .... Capt. Almeron Dickinson
The Horse Soldiers (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=1692) (1959) .... Cpl. Wilkie
The Wings of Eagles (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=1818) (1957) .... John Dale Price
The Searchers (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=1743) (1956) .... Charlie McCorry
The Quiet Man (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=1825) (1952) (uncredited) .... Dermot Fahy
Rio Grande (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=1920) (1950) (uncredited) .... Donnelly (regimental singer)

Ken, who had a fine baritone voice was a singer, with the Tommy Dorsey band,
and The Sons of the Pioneers, before entering the movie business in the 1940's.
His roles of dumb hillbillies, were totally opposite to his real persona.
I am sure, being the son-in-law, of John Ford, may have come in useful!
However, his comments during the making of The Alamo ,
caused friction between himself and Duke, and ironically, Duke was not to use, him again.

He said at the time,
Duke was great at action... But directing actors, I was not that pleased with him, so all he told you to do, was his mannerisms.
This subject was brought up recently, and here is a link to that discussion:-

Did Duke and Ken Curtis Become Alienated? (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=1677)

Here are some sites for Ken Curtis -

http://www.eviltwin.velvetsofa.com/Curtis/main.html
http://www.eviltwin.velvetsofa.com/Curtis/music.html
http://www.nndb.com/people/052/000091776/
http://www.jwayne.com/costars/Curtis.shtml
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?p...gr&GRid=6691389 (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6691389)

Mrs. C :angel1:

Ken Curtis is a good singer. That's pretty good, Mrs. C I didn't know he did had that kind of talent. Thanks to both you and Keith for sharing all this info.

Cheers B)

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the links, it all helps!

I always did like Ken Curtis and enjoy trying to pick him out in some of his earlier movies when played. I had thought that he was the replacement for Frank Sinatra, and had an orchestra. I don't remember when or where that was but I remember hearing soemthing like that in a Documentary I saw about a year or two ago. I THINK the name of that Doc was: "When Cowboys Were King" or I heard about him in something else? I remember the last thing I saw him in before he passed away was an episode of: "In the Heat of the Night." In that episode, you could tell he was very ill. Anyway, when TCM showed the uncut version of The Alamo, it was nice to hear Ken sing to "his" daughter on her birthday.

for the sake of good reading-----bump

Good reading it is, I have heard the story about Duke waiting for Arness and it makes little sense because at this stage the two men were good friends, we really need more information on this before drawing any conclusions.

:agent:

Since Arness was already doing Gunsmoke, I doubt he dropped out of Alamo because of that. He always managed to schedule around things he wanted to do, so if he had wanted to do The Alamo, he would have. A similair thing happened with Undefeated-he dropped out of that too on short notice. As for Curtis, the comments he made on Duke's direction were on the documentary, which was filmed long after Duke died. I've never seen or heard of any critical comments he made of Duke while Duke was alive. And it wasn't Arness' salary Curtis wanted to top on the Gunsmoke: Return To Dodge TV movie, it was Amanda Blake's salary. He was to have the part that was eventually rewritten for Earl Holliman (so it was a sizable role-bigger than Blake's). I think, like a number of other actors, Curtis was either tied up or otherwise unavailable for further film roles. Of course Duke, a number of times, cut people out for personal reasons (Harry Carey Jr, Ted White, Grant Withers, Paul Fix, etc) so who really knows?

Since Arness was already doing Gunsmoke, I doubt he dropped out of Alamo because of that. He always managed to schedule around things he wanted to do, so if he had wanted to do The Alamo, he would have. A similair thing happened with Undefeated-he dropped out of that too on short notice. As for Curtis, the comments he made on Duke's direction were on the documentary, which was filmed long after Duke died. I've never seen or heard of any critical comments he made of Duke while Duke was alive. And it wasn't Arness' salary Curtis wanted to top on the Gunsmoke: Return To Dodge TV movie, it was Amanda Blake's salary. He was to have the part that was eventually rewritten for Earl Holliman (so it was a sizable role-bigger than Blake's). I think, like a number of other actors, Curtis was either tied up or otherwise unavailable for further film roles. Of course Duke, a number of times, cut people out for personal reasons (Harry Carey Jr, Ted White, Grant Withers, Paul Fix, etc) so who really knows?

The shame of ALL of these stories, is that we'll NEVER get to hear the complete story, as everyone is gone from the scene, as it were...

I too, wondered about the rancor with which Curtis spoke re: Duke, and I thought it was odd, considering everything they were in together, and Duke's unwavering loyalty to Ford through the years.

Maybe (just supposing, mind you) KC's attitude was a reflection on his soured relationship with "the Fords," and by extension - Duke.

Well...I guess we'll never really know, now....

You're SO right. But considering his age and illness at the time of Curtis' filmed interview from The Alamo, even tho he criticized Duke's direction, it didn't mean they were estranged. Plus Ken, after The Alamo had the RipCord TV series, 2 Rode Together, Cheyenne Autumn, the Wagon Train, episode, guest spots of TV shows, How The West Was Won, then Gunsmoke, so he may have been unavailable for any further film work. Off hand I can't think immediately of any roles that "jump out" as fitting Curtis in any of Duke's films at that time.

You're SO right. But considering his age and illness at the time of Curtis' filmed interview from The Alamo, even tho he criticized Duke's direction, it didn't mean they were estranged. Plus Ken, after The Alamo had the RipCord TV series, 2 Rode Together, Cheyenne Autumn, the Wagon Train, episode, guest spots of TV shows, How The West Was Won, then Gunsmoke, so he may have been unavailable for any further film work. Off hand I can't think immediately of any roles that "jump out" as fitting Curtis in any of Duke's films at that time.

To bad this thread was not up and running last may, the only person I know who could answer these questions is A C Lyles who was at Winterset last year. He was a personal friend of both men.

Here's a question, I'd like to ask. Did Duke and Curtis have any kind of friendship anytime? I am not aware from anything I read on Duke that leads me to believe they were ever friends. Just because you do westerns together, doesn't mean that they had to be any kind of friends.

Maybe someone can tell me where they read something from Duke or even Ken Curtis that would lead us to believe this.

Just my thoughts on this.

Cheers :cool: Hondo

I've never seen anything one way or the other on this, but just the fact that Duke gave Curtis a decent role in The Alamo led me to believe they had some type of friendship.

Duke usually liked working with people (on a regular basis) he liked working with. I think with Ken Curtis, it might have more to do with his and Duke's shared relationship with Ford more than anything else (KC was married to Ford's daughter Barbara for many years), BUT, I could be wrong!

That makes sense. Ford WAS at all of the casting meetings that I've read about, so I wouldn't be surprised if he suggested Curtis.

Here's a humorous youTube clip of Ken on Gunsmoke as Festus,

e6FfHhamRFs&feature

I have to say that I always liked Ken Curtis when I saw him in movies with John Wayne, but by far my favorite character is Festus on Gunsmoke. For the first twenty-seven years of my life, I'd never seen a single episode, but I latched on last year, and can now say I've seen (and have compiled) almost every one of the 20 seasons.

It should be said, despite my love of Ken Curtis, that I watched the Killer Shrews, and could not help but giggle through the whole thing.

How about Ken Curtis?
Both of you
The Tennesseean and alamo221
had this conversation here

I think THAT was more a Ken Curtis thing than a JW thing, to be honest. As I said on the other thread, JW was fiercely loyal to John Ford (Curtis' father-in-law for many years), and even though KC appeared in The Alamo without JF's involvement, nearly ALL his time with JW on film was a direct result (it seemed, at least) of his connection to JF.

He was talented and worthy, to be sure, but it's an interesting situation, and given his negative remarks about JW's directing after Duke's death, it begs the question about KC feeling a bit "left out" after he and Barbara divorced in '64.

Also, that was the year Cheyene Autumn came out, which was Ford's last real film...interesting.

I honestly don't know if they were close or not. I don't necessarily find his comments on Duke's direction as sign he didn't like Duke. He just offered his opinion, and it was taken during the context of an interview. I would like to see the entire interview to see the type questions that led up to it.

I understand, and I can see that, but it seemed his comments were overly harsh, and the only negative comments about JW there were (from close cast members), if memory serves.

My point was only that Curtis never made a movie w/JW unless it was directed by JF, with the lone exception of "The Alamo" I've always found that kind of odd, as KC was a fine performer...

Well, even on The Alamo, Ford was deeply involved-tho uncredited. He was at a number of casting sessions, plus he was on set with Duke almost thru the entire shoot (many photos exist attesting to that).

Luckily for Curtis he was heavily involved in TV guesting and such, then having his regular Gunsmoke role (I think in '64).

Yep-we agree on that. I think it's too bad they couldn't have made more movies together - JW and Curtis, that is...

Chester thanks for the You Tube clip of Ken Curtis. The man had talent to portray a character such as Festus. He is the main reason I watch the Gunsmoke reruns. James Arness, Milburn Stone, and Amanda Blake are very good but when Ken is in a scene he steals the show. I love to see when "Festus" and "Doc" interact with each other.

Watch Ken Curtis Full Movie, Clips and Trailers here:-

Ken's Video Gallery (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193411/videogallery)

Here is one:-
http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTMxNjkwMDI0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzcyMDgxMw@@._ V1._SX200_SY150_BO200,0,0,0_PIimdb-blackband-204-14,TopLeft,180,184_PIimdb-blackband-204-28,BottomLeft,180,-183_PIimdb-goldbutton-big,BottomLeft,352,-185_CR180,184,200,150_ZAFull%20Movie,4,121,19,200, verdenab,8,255,255,255,1_ZAThe%20Killer%20Shrews,4 ,136,19,200,arialbd,7,255,255,255,1_ZAat%20Interne t%20Archive%20%BB,5,1,14,200,verdenab,7,255,255,25 5,1_ZA,164,1,14,40,verdenab,7,255,255,255,1_FMpng_ .png (http://www.imdb.com/video/internet-archive/vi1428816921/)
The Killer Shrews (http://www.imdb.com/video/internet-archive/vi1428816921/)

The Killer Shrews (http://www.archive.org/details/The_Killer_Shrews_1959)