Ken Curtis (I) (1916–1991)

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Considering the kind of scruffy, backwoods, uneducated, Deep-South hillbilly types he played, many people would be surprised to hear that Ken Curtis wasn't actually born in the south but in the small town of Las Animas, Colorado, the son of the town sheriff. They would probably be even more surprised to learn that he began his show business career ... See full bio »

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Gunsmoke
No Tomorrow (S17, Ep16)
Thu, Mar 04 12:00 PM PST on TVLAND (044)
Gunsmoke
The Goldtakers (S12, Ep2)
Thu, Mar 04 1:00 PM PST on KAZA (020)
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Known For

Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke Festus / Festus Haggen / Brisco / Frank Eaton / Jesse / Kyle / Phil Jacks / Scout
(1959-1975)
The Searchers
The Searchers Charlie McCorry
(1956)
Robin Hood
Robin Hood Nutsy - A Vulture
(1973)
The Horse Soldiers
The Horse Soldiers Cpl. Wilkie
(1959)
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Filmography

Hide Hide Show Show Actor (65 credits)
 1991 Conagher (TV Movie)
Seaborn Tay, Cattle Rancher
 1990 In the Heat of the Night (TV Series)
Tom McCauley
- December Days (1990) ... Tom McCauley
 1988 Once Upon a Texas Train (TV Movie)
Kelly Sutton
 1986 Airwolf (TV Series)
Cecil Carnes Sr.
- Wildfire (1986) ... Cecil Carnes Sr.
 1985 The All American Cowboy (TV Movie)
 1983-1984 The Yellow Rose (TV Series)
Hoyt Coryell
- The Far Side of Fear (1984) ... Hoyt Coryell
- Villa's Gold (1984) ... Hoyt Coryell
- Beyond Vengeance (1984) ... Hoyt Coryell
- Chains of Fear (1984) ... Hoyt Coryell
- Debt of Honor (1984) ... Hoyt Coryell
Show all 22 episodes
 1983 Lost
Wyatt Cosgrove
 1981 California Gold Rush (TV Movie)
Kentuck
 1979 How the West Was Won (TV Series)
Orville Gant
- Hillary (1979) ... Orville Gant
 1979 Vega$ (TV Series)
Digger Dennison
- Death Mountain (1979) ... Digger Dennison
 1978 Once Upon a Starry Night (TV Movie)
Uncle Ned
 1978 The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (TV Series)
Uncle Ned
- Once Upon a Starry Night (1978) ... Uncle Ned
 1978 Black Beauty (TV Mini-Series)
Howard Jakes
 1976 Pony Express Rider
Jed Richardson
 1976 Petrocelli (TV Series)
Harry Underwood
- The Falling Star (1976) ... Harry Underwood
 1959-1975 Gunsmoke (TV Series)
Festus / Festus Haggen / Frank Eaton / ...
- The Sharecroppers (1975) ... Festus
- Manolo (1975) ... Festus
- The Busters (1975) ... Festus
- I Have Promises to Keep (1975) ... Festus
- Hard Labor (1975) ... Festus (credit only)
Show all 306 episodes
 1973 Robin Hood
Nutsy - A Vulture (voice)
 1964 Cheyenne Autumn
Joe
 1964 Death Valley Days (TV Series)
Skinner Graydon
- Graydon's Charge (1964) ... Skinner Graydon
 1961-1963 Ripcord (TV Series)
Jim Buckley / Ken Buckley
- Man on a Mountain (1963) ... Jim Buckley
- Wrong Way Down (1963) ... Jim Buckley
- Where Do Elephants Go to Die? (1963) ... Jim Buckley
- The Well (1963) ... Jim Buckley
- The Trouble with Denny Collins (1963) ... Jim Buckley
Show all 75 episodes
 1962 How the West Was Won
Cpl. Ben (uncredited)
 1959-1962 Have Gun - Will Travel (TV Series)
Lucky Laski / Tom Strickland / Monk - Pelt Scavenger / ...
- Pandora's Box (1962) ... Lucky Laski
- Soledad Crossing (1961) ... Tom Strickland
- Love's Young Dream (1960) ... Monk - Pelt Scavenger
- The Naked Gun (1959) ... Skinner Monk
- The Posse (1959) ... Curley - Posse Member
 1961 The Aquanauts (TV Series)
Head Waiter / Horton
- The Diana Adventure (1961) ... Head Waiter
- The Stakeout Adventure (1961) ... Horton
 1961 Two Rode Together
Greeley Clegg
 1961 Sea Hunt (TV Series)
Dean
- The Octopus Story (1961) ... Dean
 1961 Rawhide (TV Series)
Vic Slade
- Incident of the Lost Idol (1961) ... Vic Slade
 1960 Wagon Train (TV Series)
Kyle Cleatus / Pappy Lightfoot
- The Colter Craven Story (1960) ... Kyle Cleatus
- The Horace Best Story (1960) ... Pappy Lightfoot
 1960 Perry Mason (TV Series)
Tim Durant
- The Case of the Clumsy Clown (1960) ... Tim Durant
 1960 The Alamo
Capt. Almeron Dickinson
 1960 Freckles
Wessner
 1960 My Dog, Buddy
Dr. Lusk
 1959 The Killer Shrews
Jerry Farrell
 1959 The Horse Soldiers
Cpl. Wilkie
 1959 The Young Land
Lee Hearn
 1959 Escort West
Trooper Burch
 1958 The Last Hurrah
Monsignor Killian
 1958 The Missouri Traveler
Fred Mueller
 1957 The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (TV Series)
Major Hendericks
- Warpath (1957) ... Major Hendericks (uncredited)
 1957 Spring Reunion
Al
 1957 The Wings of Eagles
John Dale Price
 1956 5 Steps to Danger
FBI Agent Jim Anderson (uncredited)
 1956 The Searchers
Charlie McCorry
 1955 Mister Roberts
Dolan
 1955 The Long Gray Line
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
 1952 The Quiet Man
Dermot Fahy (uncredited)
 1951 Fighting Coast Guard
Ken - Member Sons of the Pioneers
 1951 Don Daredevil Rides Again
Lee Hadley
 1950 Rio Grande
Donnelly - Regimental Singer (uncredited)
 1950 Everybody's Dancin'
Ken - Member Sons of the Pioneers (as Sons of the Pioneers)
 1949 Call of the Forest
Bob Brand
 1949 Stallion Canyon
Curt Benson
 1949 Riders of the Pony Express
Tom Blake - posing as Tom Bledsoe
 1947 Over the Santa Fe Trail
Curt Mason
 1946 Lone Star Moonlight
Curt Norton
 1946 Singing on the Trail
Curt Stanton
 1946 Cowboy Blues
Curt Durant
 1946 That Texas Jamboree
Curt Chambers
 1946 Throw a Saddle on a Star
Curt Walker
 1945 Out of the Depths
Buck Clayton
 1945 Song of the Prairie
Dan Tyler
 1945 Rhythm Round-Up
Jimmy Benson
 1941 Shep Fields and His New Music with Ken Curtis (Short)
Ken Curtis - Band Singer
Show Show Soundtrack (17 credits)
Show Show Producer (3 credits)
Show Show Thanks (1 credit)
Show Show Self (11 credits)
Show Show Archive footage (12 credits)

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Personal Details

Other Works:

Curtis was a featured singer and host of the long-running country music radio program WWVA Jamboree. See more »

Publicity Listings:

1 Biographical Movie | See more »

Alternate Names:

Sons of the Pioneers

Height:

5' 11" (1.8 m)
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Did You Know?

Personal Quote:

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

Trivia:

Grew up in Las Animas, CO, 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 patterned "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 fence posts for farmers and ranchers. When he ... See more »

Trademark:

His beard. See more »

Star Sign:

Cancer
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