ACTOR KEN CURTIS, 74 - The Washington Post

FRESNO, CALIF. -- Ken Curtis, 74, a singer and actor who starred as Marshal Matt Dillon's deputy and sidekick on the long-running television western "Gunsmoke," died April 28 at his home here. The cause of death was not reported.

He played Dodge City, Kan., deputy Festus Haggen from 1964 to 1975, on what was perhaps the most popular western series ever aired. It ran on CBS-TV for 20 years before finally leaving in 1975, and had been on radio before that. "Gunsmoke" was probably the first TV western aimed primarily at adults rather than children.

Mr. Curtis had replaced actor Dennis Weaver, who had played deputy Chester Goode from 1955 to 1964. In contrast to his toweringly tall, supernaturally strong and ruggedly handsome boss, James Arness, who played Marshal Dillon, Mr. Curtis was drawling, dirty and dishevelled. But the squinting gaze and memorably dilapidated hat obviously grew on viewers and helped make him a popular member of the cast.

After "Gunsmoke" left the air, Mr. Curtis and Milburn Stone, who had portrayed Galen "Doc" Adams, during the show's entire run, formed a song-and-dance act and performed at western events and rodeos.

In addition to his television roles, Mr. Curtis had worked with John Wayne and director John Ford in some of Hollywood's classic films, including "The Searchers" and "The Quiet Man."

Mr. Curtis, was born Curtis Gates in Lamar, Colo. He was the son of a sheriff and worked on a jail farm as a boy. He went to Hollywood to join NBC radio as a staff singer. He was heard by songwriter Johnny Mercer and singer Jo Stafford who recommended him to other musicians.

He made his Hollywood debut in 1938 as a singer with swing bands. He joined Tommy Dorsey's band after Frank Sinatra left to become a solo artist. He then went on to Shep Field's Orchestra. Some of his songs included "Love Sends a Little Gift of Roses," "This Is Worth Fighting For" and "Breathless."

After serving in the Army during World War II, Mr. Curtis resumed a singing career on Johnny Mercer's radio show and recorded the popular "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Columbia Pictures heard the song and signed him as a singing cowboy. He then joined the group Sons of the Pioneers, of which celebrity Roy Rogers was a member.

After director John Ford hired the Pioneers for the western film, "Wagon Master," Mr. Curtis began getting dozens of movie and TV roles. His other film credits included "The Alamo," "How the West Was Won," "Mr. Roberts" and "Cheyenne Autumn."

On television, Mr. Curtis had starred on "Ripcord" in the early 1960s, and in the short-lived western soap opera "The Yellow Rose" in the 1983-1984 season. He also had a role in "Once Upon a Texas Train," a TV movie, in 1988. Over the years, he had appeared on the series "Rawhide," "Perry Mason" and "Have Gun, Will Travel."

Survivors include his wife and two children.

FREDERIC H. GLADE JR.

Johns Hopkins Official

Frederic H. Glade, 74, retired director of the division of administration and business at Johns Hopkins University, died April 23 at Montgomery General Hospital after a heart attack. He lived at Leisure World in Silver Spring.

Mr. Glade was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He graduated from New York University where he also received a master's degree in economic theory and marketing and a doctorate in economics. He served with the Army in the Pacific during World War II.

He served on the faculty at NYU from 1941 until moving to the Washington area in 1967 when he became assistant dean for administration and director of the master's degree program in business administration at American University.

In 1969, Mr. Glade joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins and served there until retiring in 1979. In retirement, he had served for two years as a visiting professor at the C.W. Post Center of Long Island University. He also had been a consultant to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and other organizations.

He was a past president of the board of directors of Leisure World, a member of the Kiwanis Club there and an usher and lay reader at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Olney.

His first wife, the former Margaret Mulligan, died in 1970. Survivors include his wife, Margaret Kephart Glade of Leisure World; two children by his first marriage, Margaret Glade Monroe of Mesa, Ariz., and Frederic H. Glade III of Kona, Hawaii; two stepsons, John T. Jenkins of Ridgewood, N.J., and Thomas K. Jenkins of Delaplane, Va.; six grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

ELLEN D. COOLEY

Ellen Devereux Cooley, 89, a former teacher and longtime area resident who had done volunteer work for cultural and conservation groups, died April 30 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. She had a heart ailment.

She had served as a trustee of the Potomac School and the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase. A 1923 graduate of Vassar College, she had been active in the Vassar Club of Washington's annual book sales for the last 39 years.

Mrs. Cooley, who lived in Washington, was a native of Kentucky. She taught for more than a decade in Louisville, Paris, New York City and Westchester County, N.Y., before moving here in 1941.

Her hobbies included bird-watching, gardening, knitting and sewing.

Survivors include her husband, James, of Washington; two sons, James C. III, of Vienna, and Alford W., of McLean; two daughters, Margaret D. Cooley of West Cornwall, Conn., and Susan D. Cooley of Barton, Vt.; two sisters, Margaret Moody of Carmel, Calif., and Elizabeth Seiler of Delray Beach, Fla.; and six grandchildren.

GARTH E. WALL

Army, AIDS Project Employee

Garth E. Wall, 41, a personnel specialist with the Army here from 1977 to 1984, died of AIDS April 28 at his home in San Francisco.

Mr. Wall was volunteer coordinator for Project Inform, an organization that disseminates AIDS treatment information. He was with the Army for 13 years, the last three years in the San Francisco field office as deputy chief of staff for personnel.

He was a native of Tacoma, Wash., and a graduate of the University of Seattle and received a doctorate in industrial psychology from the University of Nebraska.

Mr. Wall was a founding volunteer of the Names Project, the AIDS memorial quilt, and acted as a spokesman for the organization.

Survivors include his companion, Danny Sauro of San Francisco; his parents, Raymond and Mildred Wall, and a sister, Margaret Abels, all of Tacoma; and a brother, Brian Wall of Portland, Ore.

FLORENCE HODEL

IMF Attorney

Florence Hodel, 83, retired assistant to the general counsel of the International Monetary Fund, died of a heart attack April 27 at the Prince George's Hospital Center. She lived in Mitchellville, Md.

Miss Hodel lived in Washington from 1939 until her retirement in 1970 and in Royal Oak, Md., until 1988.

Miss Hodel, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., was a graduate of Wellesley College and the Cornell University law school. She practiced law in New York City before moving here to join the staff of the general counsel of the Treasury Department.

During the war, she was assistant director of the War Refugee Board, then returned to Treasury as special assistant to the general counsel. She joined the IMF in 1946, shortly after it was established, as assistant secretary.

Miss Hodel was a member of the Washington Wellesley Club, the Woman's National Democratic Club, the Talbot County Historical Society, Cornell Law Association and the National Lawyers Club of Washington. She also had been a member of the Academy of the Arts in Easton, Md., the Talbot County League of Women Voters and the Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md.

Survivors include two sisters, Ethel Hodel of Mitchellville and Amy Hodel Weber of Haddonfield, N.J.

ZOLA BRONSON

NSF Grants Administrator

Zola Bronson, 83, a retired grants administrator with the National Science Foundation who had lived here since 1951, died April 23 at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington in Rockville. He had a heart ailment.

He began his government career in New York in 1946 with the Veterans Administration, where he was a planning officer. He transferred to the Census Bureau in New York in 1949 and was chief of the budget division there before coming to Washington. He served as the bureau's deputy budget director before leaving in 1957 and spending a year at the old Budget Bureau. He then worked at the NSF from 1958 until retiring in 1974.

Mr. Bronson, who lived in Bethesda, was a native of New York City. He was a graduate of the City College of New York and the Brooklyn College pharmacy school. He earned a master's degree in public welfare administration at the University of Chicago and a doctorate in sociology at New York University. He served with the Army in Europe during World War II, attaining the rank of major.

Survivors include his wife, Florence, of Bethesda; a son, Matthew, of Gaithersburg; two daughters, Gail Bronson of New York City and Jacquelyn Levine of Potomac; a brother, Alan, of New York City; a sister, Sadie Lapidus of Hallandale, Fla.; and three grandchildren.

EDNA 'ANDE' SMITH

Edna Burrows "Ande" Smith, 85, a former area educator and Washington native who lived here until moving to Arizona in 1978, died of cardiac arrest April 20 at a nursing home in Mesa, Ariz. She lived in Mesa.

She had taught kindergarten at Janey Elementary School in Washington from 1924 to 1930. In the late 1950s and in the 1960s, she was affiliated with the Primary Day School in Bethesda where she taught kindergarten, was extention services director and promoted its phonovisual teaching program in schools across the country. Phonovisual is a system of teaching phonics.

She was a member of the International Reading Association, the International Board of the Girl Scouts and DACOR (Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired).

Mrs. Smith attended George Washington University before her 1928 marriage to A. Cyril Crilley, a Foreign Service officer. He died in 1951. In 1962, she married author and educator Mortimer B. Smith, who died in 1981.

Survivors include a son, Anthony, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; a daughter, Joan Urban of Mesa; three brothers, William J. Burrows of Washington, Edmund S. Burrows of Bethesda and Malcolm A. Burrows of Murdock, Fla.; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

GLEN P. REMINGTON

Paper Company Salesman

Glen P. Remington, 56, a retired sales employee of the Mudge Paper Co. in Landover, died April 25 at a hospital in Charles Town, W.Va., after surgery for cancer.

A resident of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., since 1976, Mr. Remington retired last year after nine years with Mudge. A 31-year veteran of the paper business, he previously worked here for the Ris Paper Co. and Nationwide Paper Co.

Mr. Remington moved to Alexandria from Malvern, Pa., in 1963, and later lived in Annapolis. He was a native of Philadelphia and an Army veteran.

Survivors include his wife, Nancy T. Remington, a son, Mark C. Remington II, and a daughter, Elizabeth L. Remington, all of Harpers Ferry; and two brothers, Wayne H. Remington of Macon, Ga., and Mark C. Remington of Miami Springs, Fla.

PRUDENCE S. HOBSON

Arlington Volunteer

Prudence S. Hobson, 74, who was active as a volunteer in Arlington, died April 28 at the Powhatan Nursing Center in Falls Church after a heart attack. She had Alzheimer's disease.

A resident of this area since 1942, she had a home in Arlington, where she was active in Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Women, the Oakwood Home Demonstration Club, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and Parent-Teacher associations.

Mrs. Hobson was born in Cushman, Ark., and attended Draughon Business College in Little Rock, Ark. She was administrative secretary to the Arkansas director of public welfare before moving here.

She was a sales coordinator at the Seven Corners store of the Woodward & Lothrop Co. in the late 1960s.

Her husband, Jesse T. Hobson, died in 1986. Survivors include two sons, Thomas Hobson of Centreville, Va., and Joseph Hobson of Washington; two daughters, Sarah Hobson of Arlington and Thelma Muire of Tallahassee, Fla.; three sisters, Hester Kubat of Arlington, Lorene Houston of Heber Springs, Ark., and Wanda Smith of Little Rock; a brother, Nulen Smith of Little Rock; and five grandchildren.

JEAN H. GORDON

Jean Hesen Gordon, 66, a former nurse who was a member of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Takoma Park, died April 28 at her home in Hyattsville. She had cancer.

She worked at Providence Hospital in the early 1960s and was a private duty nurse in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She also was a volunteer nurse with the American Red Cross.

Mrs. Gordon, who was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., came to the Washington area at an early age. A registered nurse, she was a graduate of St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind. She was a Holy Cross nun from 1942 to 1952.

Her husband, Michael Donald Gordon, died in 1974. Survivors include four sons, Douglas W. Gordon of Elkton, Va., Gerard D. Gordon of Laurel and John A. and Michael J. Gordon, both of Hyattsville; a daughter, Lucia Gordon Kelly of Hyattsville; a sister, M. Lucia Hesen of Ventura, Calif.; and four grandchildren.

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