Kanab in Kane County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Ken Curtis

Utah's Little Hollywood

— Kanab Utah “Walk of Fame” —

Ken Curtis Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2016

1. Ken Curtis Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Long before Ken Curtis (standing center), reached belated stardom as "Festus", in the T.V. series "Gunsmoke", he had a very productive career.

Ken, had a beautiful voice, and was a member of the classic "Son's of the Pioneers", singing group. He was a star of a series of musical westerns, including "Rhythm Roundup", "Song of the Prairie", and "Riders of the Pony Express". Ken filmed "Stallion Canyon", right here in Kanab. During his "Gunsmoke" years Ken was often in Kanab filming location scenes for the show.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. In addition, it is included in the Utah - Kanab "Walk of Fame" series list.

Location. 37° 2.882′ N, 112° 31.726′ W. Marker is in Kanab, Utah, in Kane County. Marker is at the intersection of West Center Street (U.S. 89) and South Main Street, on the right when traveling east on West Center Street. Marker is located along the sidewalk on the south side of the street, just west of the intersection. Touch for map.

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Marker is at or near this postal address: 19 West Center Street, Kanab UT 84741, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Linda Darnell (here, next to this marker); Sidney Poitier (here, next to this marker); Ted Markland (here, next to this marker); Bob Hoy (here, next to this marker); Don Collier (here, next to this marker); Daniel Boone (a few steps from this marker); Robert Taylor (a few steps from this marker); Peggie Castle (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kanab.

Also see . . .
1. Ken Curtis. Ken Curtis, born Curtis Wain Gates, (1916–1991), was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series Gunsmoke. (Submitted on March 8, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Ken Curtis (Internet Movie Database). Considering the kind of scruffy, backwoods, uneducated, Deep-South hillbilly types he played, many people would be surprised to hear that Ken Curtis wasn't actually born in the south but in the small town of Las Animas, Colorado, the son of the town sheriff. They would probably be even more surprised to learn that he began his show business career as a singer in the big-band era, and was a vocalist

Marker detail: The Sons of the Pioneers image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: The Sons of the Pioneers

in the legendary Tommy Dorsey orchestra. He entered films in the late 1940s at the tail-end of the singing-cowboy period in a series of low-budget Westerns for Columbia Pictures. When that genre died out, Curtis turned to straight dramatic and comedy parts and became a regular in the films of director John Ford (who was his father-in-law). (Submitted on March 8, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Ken Curtis Marker (<i>wide view; left/eastmost of the three-marker set at this location</i>) image. Click for full size.

3. Ken Curtis Marker (wide view; left/eastmost of the three-marker set at this location)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 10, 2019. It was originally submitted on March 7, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 797 times since then and 202 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 7, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3. submitted on March 8, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.