Brian Keith
1921--1997
Well-known fixture of American stage, television, and screen, Brian Keith was born Robert Alba Keith on November 14, 1921 in Bayonne, New Jersey. His parents were vaudevillians Robert Keith and Helena Shipman. Brian had an early exposure to stage life, which included an appearance, at age three, in a silent film called Pied Piper Malone.
At age nineteen, in the summer of 1941, he joined the Marine Corps, serving throughout the duration of World War II, with two years in combat as a tail gunner. He was honorably discharged in 1945 and subsequently awarded an Air Medal for service in the Solomon Islands Campaign. He earned other honors including an Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and rifle and pistol badges.
After his discharge from the military, Mr. Keith took on the family trade, settling in New York as a stage actor. He appeared in many Broadway productions, including Mr. Roberts and The Moon is Blue. He also appeared in innumerable programs in the pioneering medium of television, credited as Robert Keith Jr.
In 1953 he was cast with Charlton Heston and Jack Palance in the Paramount picture, Arrowhead. From then on, he managed parallel movie and television careers that spanned five decades. His most memorable movie roles included Teddy Roosevelt in The Wind and the Lion and Mitch Evers in The Parent Trap. But, he played a myriad of parts, from Western second leads, to the beleaguered family man in With Six You Get Eggroll.
In television he was equally versatile, from his early days in such playhouse productions as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, through nine series of his own, including The Westerner and Hardcastle and McCormick. It was his role as Uncle Bill, in Family Affair (1966-71), that was perhaps his most famous. He garnered three Emmy nominations for Best Actor during the run of that series.
Brian Keith was a man of courage and honor, a hard-working professional, and, to his many fans, a beloved entertainer with a long and diverse career. We remember him fondly.
