Dick Curtis - Western Bad Guy

Dick Curtis started his Hollywood film career in the early 1930s (as Richard Curtis). Among his early roles was that of a sailor in KING KONG (RKO, 1933). He was still working in films and early TV when he passed away in 1952. Most of his western work was at Columbia Pictures, where he was a frequent adversary to Wild Bill Elliott and Charles Starrett.

As the serial and western faded away, Curtis went to work in early TV shows and can be spotted in THE RANGE RIDER, GENE AUTRY SHOW, WILD BILL HICKOK and THE LONE RANGER.

There were two Red Ryder TV pilots filmed in the 1950s, one starring Jim Bannon and the other with Allan 'Rocky' Lane. Neither were picked up and turned into an ongoing series. The first pilot with Jim Bannon was made circa 1951. Bannon appears to be wearing the same outfit that he wore in the Eagle-Lion quartet of films --- a single gun, chaps, and that super-sized, big brimmed white hat. Olive Carey, the wife of Harry Carey (Senior) plays the Duchess, and other members of the cast include Lyle Talbot and Dick Curtis as the baddies, along with Monte Blue, Earle Hodgins and Kenneth MacDonald. There's lots of stock footage --- for example, during the introduction at the beginning of the show, you can easily spot Tex Ritter (on White Flash) and Dave O'Brien from their PRC Texas Rangers films, as both lead a band of men that gallop into town. At the end, Bannon leans on a hitchin' rail and gives a sales pitch to prospective sponsors of the show. The director was Thomas A. Carr, who did a lot of work at Republic Pictures. This had to have been made around 1951 as Curtis passed away in early January, 1952.

Curtis also appeared in many chapterplays, and some good examples of his serial roles are:

However, I can never forget all his appearances being beat up in the Three Stooges comedy shorts, where Curtis seemed to have a flair for comedy and slapstick. A good example is saloon owner Curtis vs. Moe, Larry and Curly in YES, WE HAVE NO BONANZA (Columbia, 1939) and Curtis' right hand man was another familiar face in B westerns, Lynton Brent.

In the late 1940s, Curtis (and Hopalong Cassidy sidekick Russell Hayden, Roy Rogers and some of the Sons of the Pioneers singin' group) helped develop the Pioneertown movie film location site (in California). Curtis was the first president of the Pioneertown Corporation.

Les Adams has Dick Curtis in about 220 sound era films --- that number includes 96 westerns, 16 chapterplays and 34 shorts. Curtis did some occasional work at Republic Pictures, and his film credits at that studio number about 20 oaters and serials.

There is a record for 'Dick Curtis' on the California Death Records database, and it shows his birth date, death date and birth location as 5/11/1902, 1/3/1952 and Kentucky. His father's last name was Dye and his mother's maiden name was Faulkner.

Above, Wild Bill Elliott and Dick Curtis (without his moustache) locked in one of their death struggles during their many brawls in westerns at Columbia Pictures.

From L-to-R are young Dickie Jones, Frank Hagney, Kermit Maynard, Dick Curtis, and an unidentified player trying to restrain Curtis. Budd Buster is laying on the floor. From WILD HORSE ROUND-UP (Ambassador-Conn, 1936), one of the series of mid 1930s mountie and western yarns that starred Ken Maynard's brother Kermit.

Above from L-to-R are Kermit Maynard, Dick Curtis, Frank McCarroll and Roger Williams in a lobby card from VALLEY OF TERROR (Ambassador/Conn, 1937).

(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above, Charles Starrett is about to get a pitchfork from Dick Curtis in a scene from WEST OF CHEYENNE (Columbia, 1938).

(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above from L-to-R are Dick Curtis, the moustached Wild Bill Elliott, sidekick Frank Mitchell (standing), Tex Ritter and an unidentified player in a scene from VENGEANCE OF THE WEST (Columbia, 1942), the weakest of the eight Elliott-Ritter adventures. In this one, Elliott played Joaquin Murietta and escapes at the end thanks to Ranger Tex.

Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Dick Curtis: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0193318/