Following the death of James Arness, Fox News put up a then-and-now slideshow of major stars of the long-running Gunsmoke. And they left out Festus. Seriously? Festus was one of the most famous, iconic characters on the show, second only to Miss Kitty and Marshall Dillon himself. Ken Curtis was a tremendous, entertaining character actor. Show a little respect, Fox!
I couldn't agree more, Cloudbuster. Festus was a character on a par with Doc and Miss Kitty. He was especially appealing to us kids, but he was not just a children's character. On the contrary, I remember my parents speaking very highly of Festus.
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly did Festus stand for? My colleague points out that Festus, in his capacity as Deputy Sheriff, got things done in his own, rather original way. Certainly Festus was a productive employee, despite his disabity. We subtly got a message about equal oppotunity from not only his responsible attitude toward his work, but also the respect with which Marshall Dillon treated him.