Ken Curtis

演员, 制片人

1916年7月2日 — 1991年4月28日 (74 years)
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

Plex 上的电影与电视节目

  • 杀人鼩
    杀人鼩1959
  • 毒蜥蜴
    毒蜥蜴1959
  • The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
    The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp6 seasons
  • 死亡谷的日子
    死亡谷的日子18 seasons
  • Once Upon a Texas Train
    Once Upon a Texas Train1988
  • The Young Land
    The Young Land1959
  • The Missouri Traveler
    The Missouri Traveler1958
  • Pony Express Rider
    Pony Express Rider1976
  • Call of the Forest
    Call of the Forest1949

知名作品

  • 搜索者
    搜索者1956
  • 杀人鼩
    杀人鼩1959
  • Gunsmoke
    Gunsmoke20 seasons
  • 毒蜥蜴
    毒蜥蜴1959
  • 魔鬼骑兵团
    魔鬼骑兵团1959
  • 罗伯茨先生
    罗伯茨先生1955
  • 锦绣山河烈士血
    锦绣山河烈士血1960
  • 碧血溅长空
    碧血溅长空1957
  • 爱在原野上
    爱在原野上1991
  • Once Upon a Texas Train
    Once Upon a Texas Train1988

影視作品

2013
1992
Legends of the West · as Actor In 'cheyenne Autumn'
1991
Conagher · as Seaborn Tay, Cattle Rancher
1988
In the Heat of the Night · as Tom Mccauley
1988
Once Upon a Texas Train · as Kelly Sutton在 Plex
1987
Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge · as Festus Haggen (flashback Sequence)
1984
Airwolf · as Cecil Carnes Sr.
1983
Lost · as Wyatt Cosgrove
1983
The Yellow Rose · as Hoyt Coryell
1982
Henry Fonda: The Man and His Movies · as Actor In 'mr. Roberts'
1982
Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter · as Actor - 'mr. Roberts'
1981
1978
Once Upon a Starry Night · as Uncle Ned
1978
1978
Black Beauty (1978) · as Howard Jakes
1977
1976
Pony Express Rider · as Jed Richardson在 Plex
1976
How the West Was Won · as Orville Gant
1974
1973
Robin Hood · as Nutsy - A Vulture (voice)
1971
The American West of John Ford · as Actor 'rio Grande'
1964
Cheyenne Autumn · as Joe
1962
How the West Was Won · as Corporal Ben (uncredited)
1961
Ripcord · as Jim Buckley
1961
Two Rode Together · as Greeley Clegg
1960
The Alamo · as Capt. Almeron Dickinson
1960
Freckles · as Wessner
1960
1960
The Aquanauts · as Head Waiter
1960
My Dog, Buddy · as Dr. Lusk
1959
The Horse Soldiers · as Cpl. Wilkie
1959
The Killer Shrews · as Jerry Farrell在 Plex
1959
1959
The Young Land · as Lee Hearn在 Plex
1959
Escort West · as Trooper Burch
1959
Rawhide · as Vic Slade
1958
The Last Hurrah · as Monsignor Killian
1958
The Missouri Traveler · as Fred Mueller在 Plex
1958
1957
Perry Mason · as Tim Durant
1957
Wagon Train · as Pappy Lightfoot
1957
1957
The Wings of Eagles · as John Dale Price
1956
1956
5 Steps to Danger · as Fbi Agent Jim Anderson (uncredited)
1956
The Searchers · as Charlie Mccorry
1955
Gunsmoke · as Festus
1955
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp · as Major Hendericks在 Plex
1955
Mister Roberts · as Dolan
1955
The Long Gray Line · as Specialty (uncredited)
1952
The Quiet Man · as Dermot Fahy (uncredited)
1952
Death Valley Days · as Skinner Graydon在 Plex
1951
Fighting Coast Guard · as Ken - Member Sons Of The Pioneers
1951
Don Daredevil Rides Again · as Lee Hadley / Don Daredevil
1950
Rio Grande · as Donnelly - Regimental Singer (uncredited)
1949
Call of the Forest · as Bob Brand在 Plex
1946
That Texas Jamboree · as Curt Chambers

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