There’s nothing quite as compelling as real life. The best writers all dial into their environment to draw inspiration. Even the greatest imaginations can’t compete with truth. After all, as the saying goes: “Real life is stranger than fiction.”
Chances are, your favorite author has pulled lines right out of peoples’ mouths. Rhythms and patterns of speech ground dialogue in reality, and every writer worth their salt has an ear for them. So even when a story takes on the fantastical, a clever scribe can make you believe by having their characters speak realistically.
While Gunsmoke had some of the most talented writers working in television, the show was still rooted in realism. So even when the plots were action-packed Western tales, the characters and their dialogue were never unbelievable. Sometimes, this meant allowing the actors to embody their roles by bringing their life experiences onto the set.
Ken Curtis, who played Festus Haggen, had some of the old West on him when he took the job on Gunsmoke. He’d spent years playing cowboys onscreen, alongside the likes of John Wayne. His bronco-busting bonafides were cemented with the Sons of the Pioneers, a Western vocal group where Curtis was a singing cowboy.
But even before his show business career, Curis was saddled up for success. He grew up in a small ranching community in Colorado. In a 1967 interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Curtis credited his childhood in Las Animas with making Festus real.
“I garnered many expressions from my family and uncle for Festus,” said Curtis.
“Like my uncle, he used to say, ‘Ken, you little old scrudder you.'”
Curtis’ father was elected sheriff in their Colorado town, and while he was a kid, Ken was the Las Animas’ youngest jailer. That early understanding of Western living made Festus a more believable character during Gunsmoke’s run on television.