6691389_123137760420.jpgKEN CURTIS
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:-
Here is one:-
The Killer Shrews
[extendedmedia]
[/extendedmedia]