Ken Curtis had a unique, long-running role on Gunsmoke, where he played Festus for over 300 episodes. Curtis was sprinting towards success while on the series, but he was also running from something else: A bath.
The only thing clean about Festus was his conscience, but we aren’t sure even then.
“He’s pretty wild,” Curtis said in a 1963 interview with Fort Lauderdale News. “You might say he’s a mangy character.”
Although Festus might not have been the most clean cowboy around, he was a fan-favorite deputy who joined the show after he took over for Roger Ewing (Thad Greenwood). Curtis said that despite being dirty, Festus had one solid quality about him: Honesty.
“He’s unpredictable,” Curtis said. “But he’s a man of his word – if he shakes hands on it.”
With the sweat-stained beard and worn-out clothing down to his spurs, Curtis often took his Gunsmoke character on the road to promote the show and meet fans.
He said he always wore his usual Festus get-up, including a dirty old cowboy hat, faded blue shirt and well-worn jeans.
“The wardrobe people supply me with the clothes,” Curtis said in a 1971 interview with El Paso Herald-Post. “But the vests are the hardest to find. The hat is a replica of the one I wear on Gunsmoke. The original one is so fragile I have to be careful not to poke a hole in it.”
According to the interview, Curtis would take a pair of dull scissors with him on the road to trim his beard when he couldn’t stand wearing it anymore. He said: “I think the reason I got the part of Festus in the first place is because I have the mangiest beard West of the Mississippi.”
Curtis kept his Festus beard intact and at the same length for both the TV series and while on the road performing at rodeos. And, of course, fans could recognize him… or smell him coming from a mile away.
“I don’t mind people stopping me, though,” Curtis said. “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m delighted to get to talk to people.”
According to the article, Curtis had the type of personality where many already considered him as an old friend, even if they’d never met before. Curtis said he escaped the “Hollywood syndrome,” which takes hometown heroes and “pumps them full of big ego.”
However, we think it was Festus who kept him humbled.
The success of Gunsmoke came as a surprise to many people. The series has good morals, a leading man who doesn’t get the girl and the language was so clean it probably could have been repeated at school.
“The great warmth that exists between the actors carries over to the screen,” Curtis said. “I think people today want to know there are loyal friends who will stand by you no matter what, like the ones on Gunsmoke.”
“I don’t have any Shakespearean ambitions,” Curtis said. “As long as they’ll have me, I’ll stay on with Gunsmoke. I’ll be happy to do Festus until I retire.”