‘Gunsmoke’ Fan ‘Disappointed’ That Ken Curtis’ Festus Haggen Fought to Preserve Slavery During the Civil War
Gunsmoke introduced a few new characters beyond the original cast over the course of its 20-year run that started in 1955. They had varying levels of involvement, occasionally intended to fill the void left by other actors. Festus Haggen is a Gunsmoke fan favorite, but one fan mentioned their “disappointment” when they discovered that the character’s background included fighting for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
‘Gunsmoke’ used Festus Haggen as a Chester Goode replacement
Dennis Weaver’s Chester Goode was one of the top fan-favorite characters on Gunsmoke. He was a part of the original principal cast, but Weaver left the show after season 9 to pursue other creative opportunities. This left lead character U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) without a loyal partner, who also was needed for Milburn Stone’s Doc Adams to have someone to converse with.
Ken Curtis was brought onto Gunsmoke to play Festus starting in season 8. However, the decision-makers saw an opportunity for the character to essentially replace what Chester brought to the show. Festus stayed on the Western series for the remainder of its run through the end of season 20 in 1975.
‘Gunsmoke’ fan ‘disappointed’ by Festus Haggen serving in the Confederate Army
According to a Gunsmoke fan on Reddit, Festus actually served to fight in the Confederate Army during the Civil War to preserve slavery. This background information was revealed on a record named Gunsmoke’s Festus Haggen Calls Out Ken Curtis. It’s one of two records that the actor sang as his character to expand on his backstory.
The Redditor expressed that they felt “disappointed” and “disheartened” to learn this information about the character that they had a “great fondness” for. They explained that Festus was a “backwoods wolf hunter,” so it wasn’t necessarily a shock. However, they wished that the writer drew him with a little bit more compassion because they didn’t think he was the type to ever “judge a man by anything other than his character.”
The original poster admitted that Gunsmoke tends to have better politics than most Western television shows. However, they’re “bummed” that Festus would fight to enforce slavery, making it difficult to still like the character.
Other fans are divided
The responses from other Gunsmoke fans regarding Festus varied. One Redditor responded that it aligned with such a character in the South during that time period. Additionally, they pointed out that writers only made Curtis’ character more compassionate when he replaced Chester’s role on the show. His earlier episodes portrayed him as a “conniving, unlikable jerk.”
Nevertheless, the original poster explained that they expected more from the Gunsmoke writers when it came to Festus. They believed that it was out of character for him to involve himself in such a conflict. However, another comment expressed that Matt also admitted to serving in the Union cavalry over the show’s run. Additionally, many other television shows at that time, including Rawhide, had characters with similar pasts.
