The net worth of Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis, a singer and actor who starred as Marshal Matt Dillon’s sidekick on the long-running television western “Gunsmoke,” has died at age 74.
Ken Curtis may be remembered as Festus, but his career included everything from a run with a Country Music Hall of Fame act to roles in John Wayne movies.
The net worth of Ken Curtis is estimated net worth is around $6 million.
The main source of his income was his acting and other business ventures.
His Profile
Real Name | Curtis Wain Gates |
Alias | Ken Curtis |
Birth Date | July 2, 1916 |
Age | 74 |
Died | April 28, 1991 |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | White |
Height | 6ft |
Occupation | Actor, Singer |
Active Years | 1941–1991 |
Spouse | Lorraine Page(m. 1943, divorced) Barbara Ford(m. 1952; div. 1964) Torrie Ahern Connelly(m. 1966 |
Children | 2 |
Net Worth | $6 million |
biography
Ken Wain Gates was born on 2 July 1916, in Lamar, Colorado USA, and was an actor and singer, probably best known for being a part of the long-running western television series entitled “Gunsmoke” in which he played Festus Haggen. He was active in the industry from 1941 up to his death in 1991. All of his efforts helped put his net worth where it is today.
Ken attended Bent County High School, where players with the school’s football team as their quarterbacks. He also played the clarinet in the school band. After matriculating in 1935, he attended Colorado College aiming at a career in medicine but left to instead pursue a career in music. In 1943, he served in the US Army for two years during World War II.
his death
Ken Curtis died in his sleep of a heart attack in Fresno, California on April 28, 1991. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered on the plains of Colorado.
career
Early in his career, Curtis joined several bands, playing with the Tommy Dorsey Band and later Shep Fields and His New Music. In 1945, he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures to star in various musical Westerns, playing the romantic lead in most of his films. He was also the host of the radio program entitled “WWVA Jamboree”. He joined the vocal group called “Sons of the Pioneers” as their lead singer from 1949 to 1952; one of their most popular songs was “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky”.
Ken then teamed up with director John Ford for various projects, which included “The Quiet Man”, “The Horse Soldiers”, “The Alamo” and Mister Roberts”. He was also a part of the three Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney produced films “The Searchers”, “The Missouri Traveler” and “The Young Land”. He also did production work, creating two low-budget films.
Aside from these, he made guest appearances in several Western television series including “Have Gun Will Travel”, plus a guest appearance in “Perry Mason”, and then “Gunsmoke” before eventually joining the show in the role of Festus. He became the longest-serving deputy on the show, appearing for 11 years and a total of 304 episodes of the show. After his run with the series, he lent his voice to the animated film ‘Robin Hood”, and appeared in the short-lived “The Yellow Rose”. In 1981, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. One of his last roles was the television production “Conagher”, in which he played an aging cattle rancher. (Wikipedia)
personal life
It is known that Ken married Lorraine Page in 1943 and the two met while he was under contract with Universal Studios. The marriage eventually ended and his second marriage was to Barbara Ford who is the daughter of director John Ford. They were married in 1952 and divorced in 1964. In 1966, he married Torrie Ahern Connelly and their marriage lasted until his death on 28 April 1991- he passed away in his sleep from a heart attack, at his home in Fresno, California. He had two children from his marriage.
The net worth of ken curtis
The net worth of Ken Curtis was around $6 million. He was one of the wealthiest actors in Hollywood at that time. He was also part of many TV commercials and thus, he generated a considerable amount of money from different brands.
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