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Ken Curtis' beard was almost as famous as his Gunsmoke character
That scruffy beard was more of a career move than a curse.
Some actors just aren’t cut out to be leading men. After all, not everyone is blessed with chiseled features, square jaws, and rugged good looks.
Everybody’s path is different, but for Ken Curtis, it all started with a little fun on the set of John Ford’s 1956 film The Searchers. Curtis’ career was already well underway, and he had even married the famous director’s daughter years earlier.
But it was on the set of The Searchers that the seeds of Festus Haggen were planted, thanks to some playful banter with co-star Jeffrey Hunter.
"One day Hunter and I got to kidding," Curtis said in a 1964 interview with the Akron Beacon Journal. "I started talking in my dry land dialect," referring to the regional accent of his hometown of Lamar, Colorado.
John Ford overheard him and asked Curtis to use the voice in the movie. The result? What was supposed to be a romantic scene with Vera Miles was transformed into comedy.
For some actors, that might have been a setback. For Curtis, it turned out to be the break that helped shape his career.
In 1964, Dennis Weaver left Gunsmoke, and Curtis joined the cast as Festus Haggen, filling the void left by Chester.
"Sometimes I think I got the role because I’ve got the mangiest beard in Hollywood," Curtis said. "At first, I felt grubby. Now I’m used to it. I don’t even think about it when I’m out in public — not until I notice people staring at me."
Curtis, as it turned out, was perfectly happy being the comic relief rather than chasing leading-man roles.
"There’s too much sameness to a leading man," Curtis said. "I can have fun with Festus Haggen, but playing Jim Buckley on Ripcord got to be a drag."
Turns out, not looking like a leading man wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
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