Gunsmoke – western TV show – Page Fourteen

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In 1962, Burt Reynolds was added to the show’s lineup, as the “halfbreed” blacksmith Quint Asper and elipsed the span during characters Chester Goode and Festus Haggen. Three of the actors, who played Dodge deputies, Ken Curtis, Roger Ewing and Buck Taylor, had previous guest roles. Curtis, a big band and western singer (Tommy Dorsey Band, Shep Fields Band, Sons of the Pioneers), had 5 previous guest roles including one in 1963 as a shady ladies’ man named Kyle (“Lover Boy”, season 9, show 2 Episode #307). Curtis first appeared in the 1959 episode “Jayhawkers” (season 4, episode 21 Episode#138), where he played Phil Jacks, a Texas cowboy with Jack Elam as his boss during a cattle drive from Texas. The second was another 1959 episode entitled “Change of Heart” (season 4, episode 32 Episode #149). Where he played Brisco, which also starred James Drury as Jerry Cass. The 3rd appearance is the 1960 episode “The Ex-Urbanites” (season 5, episode 30 Episode #186), where he plays Jesse with Robert Wilke as Pitt. He also had a small role as an Indian named Scout in the episode “Speak Me Fair” (season 5, episode 34 Episode #190) in 1960. Curtis, was reared in Las Animas, Colorado, and for a time a son-in-law of director John Ford. In 1963, Weaver left the series to pursue a broader acting career in TV series and films. In 1964 Curtis was signed as a regular to play the stubbornly illiterate hillbilly Festus Haggen. The character, heretofore a comic feature, came to town in a 1962 episode titled “Us Haggens”, to avenge the death of his twin brother Fergus and decided to stay in Dodge when the deed was done. Initially on the fringes of Dodge society, Festus was slowly phased-in as a reliable sidekick and part-time deputy to Matt Dillon when Reynolds left in 1965. In the episode “Alias Festus Haggen” he is mistaken for a robber and killer whom he has to expose to free himself (both parts played by Curtis). In a comic relief episode (“Mad Dog”), another case of mistaken identity forces Festus to fight three sons of a man killed by his cousin. As a side note, there is only one episode that has all 3 Actors in it playing their respective roles. It is the 1964 episode entitled “Prairie Wolfer” (season 9, episode 16 Episode #321), with Dennis Weaver as Chester, Burt Reynolds as Quint, and Ken Curtis as Festus.