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Naked Photos of Ken Curtis are available at MaleStars.com. They currently feature over 65,000 Nude Pics, Biographies, Video Clips, Articles, and Movie Reviews of famous stars.

 

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Actresses who appeared with Ken Curtis on screen:

Natalie Wood
Katherine Ross
Katharine Ross
Angie Dickinson
Debbie Reynolds
Maureen McCormick
James Cagney
Sandra Dee
Agnes Moorehead
Shirley Jones
Carolyn Jones
Carol Baker
Vera Miles
Carroll Baker
June Lockhart
Lana Wood


Ken Curtis
Birthday: July 2, 1916

Birth Place: Lamar, Colorado, USA
Height: 0' 0"

Below is a complete filmography (list of movies he's appeared in) for Ken Curtis. If you have any corrections or additions, please email us at corrections@actorsofhollywood.com. We'd also be interested in any trivia or other information you have.

 

Biography

Considering the kind of scruffy, backwoods, uneducated, Deep-South hillbilly 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 the town 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 period in a series of low-budget westerns for Columbia Pictures. When that genre died out he turned to straight dramatic and comedy parts, and became a regular in the films of director John Ford (who was his father-in-law). 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 long-running TV series "Gunsmoke" (1955).

Movie Credits
Conagher (1991)
[ Sam Elliott ][ Barry Corbin ][ James Gammon ]
Once Upon a Texas Train (1988)
[ Richard Widmark ][ Jack Elam ][ Chuck Connors ][ Harry Carey Jr. ]
All American Cowboy (1985)
[ Chuck Connors ]
Lost (1983)
[ Jack Elam ]
Legend of the Wild (1981)
California Gold Rush (1981)
[ Robert Hays ]
Once Upon a Starry Night (1978)
Pony Express Rider (1976)
[ Slim Pickens ][ Jack Elam ]
In Performance of Duty (1974)
[ James Arness ]
The Fourth Victim (1974)
[ James Arness ]
The Wiving (1974)
[ Harry Morgan ]
Thirty a Month and Found (1974)
Robin Hood (1973)
[ Peter Ustinov ][ John Fiedler ]
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
[ James Stewart ][ Ricardo Montalban ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Richard Widmark ]
How the West Was Won (1962)
[ John Wayne ][ James Stewart ][ Gregory Peck ][ Henry Fonda ][ Harry Dean Stanton ]
Soledad Crossing (1961)
Two Rode Together (1961)
[ James Stewart ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Richard Widmark ][ Harry Carey Jr. ]
The Stakeout Adventure (1961)
Love's Young Dream (1960)
The Horace Best Story (1960)
The Alamo (1960)
[ John Wayne ][ Richard Widmark ]
Freckles (1960)
My Dog, Buddy (1960)
Naked Gun (1959)
The Posse (1959)
The Killer Shrews (1959)
[ James Best ]
The Horse Soldiers (1959)
[ John Wayne ][ William Holden ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Strother Martin ]
The Young Land (1959)
[ Dennis Hopper ][ Dan O'Herlihy ]
Escort West (1958)
[ Slim Pickens ][ Victor Mature ][ Harry Carey Jr. ]
The Last Hurrah (1958)
[ Spencer Tracy ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Jeffrey Hunter ]
The Missouri Traveler (1958)
[ Lee Marvin ]
Spring Reunion (1957)
[ Dana Andrews ]
The Wings of Eagles (1957)
[ John Wayne ][ Maureen O'Hara ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Ward Bond ]
5 Steps to Danger (1957)
[ Sterling Hayden ][ Werner Klemperer ]
The Searchers (1956)
[ John Wayne ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Jeffrey Hunter ][ Ward Bond ]
Mister Roberts (1955)
[ Jack Lemmon ][ Henry Fonda ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Ward Bond ]
The Long Gray Line (1955)
[ Maureen O'Hara ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Peter Graves ][ Tyrone Power ]
The Quiet Man (1952)
[ John Wayne ][ Maureen O'Hara ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Ward Bond ]
Fighting Coast Guard (1951)
Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951)
Rio Grande (1950)
[ John Wayne ][ Maureen O'Hara ][ Jack Lord ][ John Ford ][ Ben Johnson ]
Call of the Forest (1949)
Stallion Canyon (1949)
Riders of the Pony Express (1949)
Over the Santa Fe Trail (1947)
Cowboy Blues (1946)
That Texas Jamboree (1946)
Throw a Saddle on a Star (1946)
Lone Star Moonlight (1946)
Singing on the Trail (1946)
Out of the Depths (1945)
Song of the Prairie (1945)
Rhythm Round-Up (1945)

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.

Naked Photos of Ken Curtis are available at MaleStars.com. They currently feature over 65,000 Nude Pics, Biographies, Video Clips, Articles, and Movie Reviews of famous stars.

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