One of my favorite actors and singers was none other than Ken Curtis. Ya'll know him best as Festus on television's “Gunsmoke” series on CBS where he appeared in just over 300 episodes. His professional career actually began as a big band singer shortly before World War II. Today, I'd like to get ya'll better acquainted with this fine gentleman whose real name was Curtis Gates.
Born to Dan and Nellie (Sneed) Gates not far from Lamar, Colorado, Curtis was born on July 2, 1916. He was the youngest of three boys born to Dan and Nellie. Carl was born in 1909 and Chester in 1912. The entire family was musical. Dan played fiddle and Nellie the pump organ. Curtis played clarinet in school.
Growing up in Bent County, Colorado, in Las Animas, Dan was the county sheriff while Nellie was the cook who prepared meals for the prisoners. The family lived on the second floor directly above the jail. This small two-story structure still stands today. Luanna and I along with our Sons of the Pioneers fiddler Paul Elliott visited this site in late 2018.
It is worth noting that Nellie had family connections in the Ozarks, just south of here, in Carroll County, Arkansas. Her family, the Sneeds had come to the area and settled near Osage, Arkansas, not far from Carrollton. This would have been Curtis' great grandparents, Sebron Graham Sneed (1828-72) and Easter Delina (Morris) Sneed (1831-1902). Those of you who really know me and my family know that I have Morris family connections through my Granny Evelyn, whose mother was Gracie Morris. So, are we connected here? I will have to go down that rabbit hole and research that at a later time! Anyway, Sebron and Easter Sneed still have descendants in Carroll County, Arkansas, today, and Ken Curtis made frequent visits to the area in the years after the Gunsmoke series had ended.
When Curtis graduated high school, he attended college in Colorado Springs to study medicine. During this time he took a big interest in theater productions and musicals. Finding a desire to go into professional singing, Curtis quit college in 1938 and headed to Los Angeles. It was there that he later became a vocalist at NBC in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, where he replaced Frank Sinatra! This was in 1941, and at this time his name was changed to Ken Curtis. Dorsey came up with that suggestion. Ken was just a temporary fill-in for Sinatra; he then joined the Shep Fields Band when Sinatra returned to Dorsey.
Ken's career went on hold in 1943 when he joined the U.S. Army, serving in Italy during World War II. He was awarded a Bronze Star and was discharged in 1945. Going back to performing and radio work, it was on a broadcast with Jo Stafford where he sang "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," and everyone was extremely impressed. This led to Columbia Pictures to sign Ken to a series of Singing Cowboy musicals, much in the style of what Roy Rogers was doing.
Ken reported to Columbia and began work on his first feature, "Rhythm Round-Up," which made its debut in theaters on September 7, 1945. This was a big budget release and had an all-star line-up of talent. The leading lady was Cheryl Walker, and also included Big Boy Williams, Raymond Hatton (come on now, some of you here remember Raymond Hatton), with musical duties being handled by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, the Hoosier Hotshots, plus Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers. The film was very successful, and twenty days later, Ken's second Columbia feature, "Song of the Prairie," was released.
Six more Columbia releases came from 1946 into the early part of 1947, and because Gene Autry was back from the Air Force and had been signed by Columbia, they didn't see the need for two Singing Cowboys. So, Ken was dropped and would only star in three more Singing Cowboy films, all produced under lesser known film companies.
During 1947-48, Ken returned to radio, doing transcription work, where he did a fine series for Teleways Productions, and these fifteen-minute broadcasts were heard frequently on radio stations nationwide for quite a few years.
Ken would star in three more films as a solo Singing Cowboy. His film "Riders of the Pony Express" was released by Kayson Productions May 13, 1949, literally two weeks after Ken and his friend Shug Fisher would sign member contracts joining the legendary Sons of the Pioneers singing group. "Stallion Canyon" came out in June 1949, and his final release, "Call of the Forest" appeared in theaters November 18, 1949.
Ken and Shug had been guests on a Sons of the Pioneers tour of Texas in the spring of 1949. Stay tuned, and next week I'll pick up right here and take this forward into the 1950s. Ken's contributions to the Sons of the Pioneers
were great, as he was very loyal to the group.
Check out one of Ken's films if you have a chance. I suggest going to YouTube and watching "Riders of the Pony Express" (1949).
See you down the trail!