He starred in a series of musical Westerns[7] with the Hoosier Hot Shots, playing singing cowboy romantic leads.

It is possible that he played a bit part, but Curtis is best remembered as Charlie McCorry in The Searchers, and for his appearances in The Quiet Man, The Wings of Eagles, The Horse Soldiers, The Alamo, and How the West Was Won.

Curtis also joined Ford, along with Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon, in the comedy Navy classic Mister Roberts.

He also guest-starred as circus performer Tim Durant on an episode of Perry Mason, "The Case of the Clumsy Clown", which originally aired on November 5, 1960.

Later, he appeared in Ripcord, a first-run syndicated action/adventure series about a company of its namesake providing skydiving services, along with its leading star Larry Pennell.

While Marshal Matt Dillon had a total of five deputies over two decades, Festus held the role the longest (11 years), in 304 episodes.

Curtis also campaigned for Ronald Reagan in 1976, during the future President's attempt to secure the Republican nomination from incumbent Gerald Ford.

A decade later, he returned to television in the short-lived Western series The Yellow Rose, in which he performed most of his scenes with Noah Beery, Jr.

[citation needed] Curtis' last acting role was as the aging cattle rancher "Seaborn Tay" in the television production Conagher (1991), by western author Louis L'Amour.

Sam Elliott starred in the lead role, and Curtis' Gunsmoke co-star Buck Taylor (Newly O'Brien) played a bad man in the same film.

[5][8] A statue of Ken Curtis as Festus can be found at 430 Pollasky Avenue in Clovis, California, in Fresno County in front of the Educational Employees Credit Union.