Ken Curtis

About

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.
He was also a member of the veteran vocal group Sons of the Pioneers, with whom he made live appearances and recordings from 1949 to 1953; from 1955 to 1957 he sang with the Pioneers on recordings only.

Curtis was born on July 2, 1916, as the youngest of three boys in Lamar in Prowers County in southeastern Colorado. He 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.

Curtis was a singer before moving into…