[Eleutheria5]

Can't get enough of Gunsmmoke.

[Billthedrill]

Piece of genius casting, that. BTT

[prisoner6]

Ken Curtis was fantastic! Replaced D Weaver IIRC. But Curtis was already huge. Singer...was supposed to replace Sinatra at one point, accomplished actor, well respected. One of the best castings ever!

[W.Lee]

“Aw... I aint’ gonna shoot off his whole ear...jus’ the little hangy down part.”

[PeterPrinciple]

didn’t know he sang:

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Ken+Curtis+&view=detail&mid=44994B1F65120862CDEF44994B1F65120862CDEF&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR&qpvt=Ken+Curtis+

[virgil283]

Good Eleutheria5....Ken Curtis was on “Gunsmoke” before the ‘Festus’ character, once as a smooth talking lady killer and you would not have recognized him. And he was on ‘Have Gun Will Travel’ ( episode - The Naked Gun-) as Monk an unwashed trapper....best western TV ever...

[GeronL]

He should have been introduced earlier if you ask me but they changed his character a bit too much later if you ask me, he started acting like an old man.

[VerySadAmerican]

I thought the headline was Matt Damon Meets Festus.

In the opening scene the bad guy outdraws Matt but apparently missed.

[wku man]

Dang! I read the headline too quickly, and thought it said Matt DAMON meets Festus. I was ready to watch a good ol' country a** whuppin' commence.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[Tijeras_Slim]

I thought this was about Putin and Obama.

[memyselfandi59]

I didn’t realize Festus didn’t join the cast till Season 8. So was Chester (Dennis Weaver) the side kick up until that time?

I read a Wikipedia entry that said they had considered Denver Pyle for the part of Dillon...he was a good bad guy in this episode, can’t have imagined him as Dillon.

[fone]

Can't get enough of Gunsmmoke

Ditto. Thanks for the link to this. Great stuff.

I've wondered from time to time if anyone has ever tallied how many times Matt Dillon was shot in the left arm or shoulder....

=^)

[Loud Mime]

Curtis was on a show that inspired me (as a kid) to eventually take up skydiving.

RIPCORD

[greene66]

Also in this episode was Elizabeth MacCrea as April, who repeated her role, becoming Festus’ girl, in the first few re-appearances of Festus, before Curtis really became an all-out regular. MacCrea usually played floozie-types, until a few years later, when she turned pleasantly sweet, playing “Gomer Pyle’s” girlfriend, Lou Ann. I met her once, and she was much more like Lou Ann than April!

[Ray54]

It’s a real pearl button bangle billy.

[urtax$@work]

I listen you http://www.yesterdayusa.com/ and
they have the Radio Gunsmoke which gave birth to the
TV version later.

Regulars

William Conrad as Matt Dillon
Parley Baer as Chester Wesley Proudfoot
Howard McNear as Doc Adams
Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell

I think Curtis playing Festus (TV) looked to Baer’s earlier portrayal of Chester (Radio) to concoct his accent.
Listening to the Radio version and Parley’s
voice reminds me of the TV Festus.

William Conrad is almost Matt to me, because i’ve listened
so long to the radio show. His character of Matt was
one mean SOB for the first year of the radio show.

BTW , Wife took our daughter thru Dodge City recently.
They have a fake “Dodge City”now. She told me that
Urban Renewal efforts tore down the Old Dodge back
in the 1970s.