Howard Keel

Biography for Howard Keel

He was the John Wayne, Errol Flynn and Clark Gable of movie musicals. With his barrel-chested swagger and cocky, confident air, not to mention his lusty handsomeness and obvious athleticism, 6'3" brawny baritone Howard Keel had MGM's finest songbirds swooning helplessly for over a decade in what would be the finest musicals cinema ever produced. Born Harold Clifford Keel in Gillespie, IL, in 1919, his childhood was admittedly unhappy, his father being a hard-drinking coal miner and his mother a stern, repressed Methodist homemaker. When Keel was 11 his father died, and the family moved to California. He later earned his living as a car mechanic, then found work during WWII at Douglas Aircraft in Los Angeles. His naturally untrained voice was discovered by the staff of his aircraft company and soon he was performing at various entertainments for the company's clients. He was inspired to sing professionally one day while attending a Hollywood Bowl concert. He quickly advanced through the musical ranks from singing waiter to music festival contest winner to guest recitalist. In 1946 Oscar Hammerstein II "discovered" him during John Raitt's understudy auditions for the role of Billy Bigelow in Broadway's "Carousel." He was cast on sight and the die was cast. Keel managed to understudy Alfred Drake as Curly in "Oklahoma!" as well, and in 1947 took over the rustic lead in the London production, with great success. British audiences took to the charismatic singer and he remained there as a concertist while making his non-singing film debut in the British crime drama The Small Voice (1948) (aka "Hideout"). MGM, which was looking for an answer to Warner Bros.' Gordon MacRae, clamored for him, and he returned to the US. Changing his stage moniker to Howard Keel, he became a star with his first role, as sharpshooter Frank Butler opposite Betty Hutton's Annie Oakley in the popular tunefest Annie Get Your Gun (1950). From then on he would be showcased in many of MGM's biggest and most classic extravaganzas, such as Show Boat (1951), Calamity Jane (1953), Kiss Me Kate (1953) and (his favorite) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) at the top of the list. Kismet (1955) opposite Ann Blyth would be his last, as the passion for movie musicals ran its course. The robust Keel moved effortlessly into rugged (if routine) action fare and appeared in such films as Armored Command (1961), Waco (1966), Red Tomahawk (1967) and The War Wagon (1967), the last one starring John Wayne and featuring Keel as a wisecracking Indian, of all things. In the 1970s he kept his singing voice alive by returning full force to his musical roots. Some of his summer stock and tour productions, which included "Camelot," "South Pacific," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "Man of La Mancha," and "Show Boat," reunited him often with such former MGM leading ladies as Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell. He also worked up a Las Vegas nightclub act with Grayson in the 1970s. Keel became an unexpected TV household name when he replaced Jim Davis as the upstanding family patriarch of the nighttime soap drama "Dallas" (1978) after Davis' untimely death. As Clayton Farlow, Miss Ellie's second husband, he enjoyed a decade of steady work. In later years he continued to appear in concerts. As a result of this renewed fame, he landed his first solo recording contract with "And I Love You So" in 1983. Married three times, he died in 2004 of colon cancer, survived by his third wife, three daughters and one son.

The American actor Howard Keel is known to have played Clayton Farlow in the television series "Dallas". Before triumphing on the small screen, Howard Keel had contributed to the success of cinematographic adaptations of Broadway musicals.

In 1953, he shared with Doris Day the star of the musical "Calamaty Jane" in which he interpreted Wild Bill Hickok. The same year, the actor with Baritone's voice also played the main role in another musical: "Kiss Me Kate" (kisses me darling). He also filmed in "Annie Get Your Gun" (Annie Reine du Cirque) in 1950 and in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (the seven women of Barberousse) in 1954.

Howard Keel was an American actor known for his roles in musicals from the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the films "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Kiss Me, Kate". Born Harold Clifford Keel in 1919 in Kansas, he started his acting career in Hollywood in the 1940s, where he played in westerns films such as "The Frontier Gal" and "Frontier Fury". It was in the 1950s that he began to make himself known for his roles in musicals, especially in "Annie Get Your Gun" with Betty Hutton and "Show Boat" with Kathryn Grayson. He also played in science fiction films such as "The War of the Worlds" and "It Came from Outer Space".

In addition to his career in Hollywood, Keel was also an accomplished singer, often appearing in television concerts and programs. He also recorded several music albums, including "Howard Keel's Greatest Hits" and "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing". Keel was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1954 for his role in the film "Calamity Jane".

Keel died in 2004 at the age of 85, leaving behind a rich career as an actor and singer who helped shape the genre of musicals in Hollywood. His career was praised by many admirers and colleagues, who underlined his powerful voice and his presence on stage.

Photos

Filmography

Trivia

• From 1971-1992 he was the father-in-law of actor Edward James Olmos through Olmos' marriage to Keel's daughter Kaija Keel.
• Worked as a representative for the Douglas Aircraft Corporation in Southern California before embarking on his singing and acting career
• Enjoyed golf
• President of Screen Actors Guild (SAG). [1958-1959]
• Lost the film lead in South Pacific (1958) because he couldn't get out of his MGM contract.
• During the shooting of Annie Get Your Gun (1950), he broke his leg when his horse fell on him. He was laid up for six weeks.
• Portrayed Curly in the original London cast of "Oklahoma", Fred Graham in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953), and Hajj in "Kismet" (1955). Baritone Alfred Drake originated all three roles on Broadway.
• The producers of Kiss Me Kate (1953) signed Kathryn Grayson immediately for the femme lead but actually wanted Laurence Olivier in the Petruchio role with plans to dub his singing voice. Director George Sidney, however, was able to promote Keel enough for him to get the part.
• Originally scheduled to portray Franklin Delano Roosevelt in "Sunrise at Campobello," a case of pneumonia forced him to abandon the role before it got to Broadway. Ralph Bellamy replaced him and won numerous awards, including the Tony. Keel played the role eventually on tour.
• First wife, Rosemary Cooper, was an actress and second wife, Helen Anderson, was a dancer. Third wife & widow, Judy Keel, was a one-time flight attendant.
• In the 1950s, while he was at MGM, a mistake in the publicity department started the rumor that Howard's birth name was Harold Leek. The rumor soon became regarded as fact, though it annoyed Howard very much. His true birth name was Harry Clifford Keel.
• Due to his huge size, many of his petite leading ladies had to stand on boxes to be in the same frame.
• Was the original choice to play the lead in Singin' in the Rain (1952). The part went to Gene Kelly instead.

Quotes

[about filming dinner scenes on "Dallas" (1978)] The continuity girl goes crazy. The poor dear, my gosh! Because you take a bite, you gotta remember when you took the bite, what words, that sort of thing. If you sit down with Patrick Duffy, who plays Bobby, and [Larry Hagman] at a meal like that, it's like sitting down with two of the worst brats in the neighborhood! They pull more shtick at that table. They send the scripts up. It is pandemonium! It's a minor miracle that anything gets done.

[about his heart surgery] One person who has really been an inspiration for me in this is my good friend Barbara Bel Geddes, who underwent coronary bypass surgery herself about three years ago. I've learned some things from Barbara. One thing I learned is that you don't accomplish anything by sitting around the house after something like this - except to get yourself good and bored. I was one of those that encouraged her to come back to the show, and I've never seen Barbara looking happier or more healthy looking than since she returned to "Dallas" (1978). Seeing her return has been a real inspiration. It shows how you can come back from heart surgery.

[about his choice to go ahead with open heart surgery in January, 1986, despite the risk of losing his job on "Dallas" (1978)] There is always another part. But there is only one life!

Any time you get in an area that takes a great deal of skill, you'll find that the tendrils are much more sensitive. People talk about actors being temperamental, but that sort of thing is everywhere.

Once somebody said to me, "How can you stand to work in a tent?" Well, people are people wherever you go, and a performance is a performance. It's your job and it's not fair to let an audience down. I will not relax the standards of what I feel should be done.

If I had my ups and downs, that's tough. If everything in life always went smoothly, it would be a bloody bore. You know, people say, "Wait and go to heaven". Well, if heaven's like they claim it is, I don't want to go. I'd get bored. Besides, I think heaven's right here, in your mind. You make your own heaven and hell, I think. All this nonsense about heaven: "Be good so you can go up there." I say be good because you should be good, because you don't want to hurt people.

You should never envy anyone. One day you might be in that person's position and it might not be so nice.

The only way to enjoy golf is to be a masochist. Go out and beat yourself to death.

I'm not a religious man. As a matter of fact, I think religion is one of the biggest evils in this world. Think of the world's wars, almost all of them have started because of religion. I have my own attitude to this life. Hell, you can't look up at the sky and not think there's some superhuman force at work. But I don't know what it is.

When I found out that I could carry a tune, well, I came to realize that I had a gift, that it was a kind of a blessing. And I think if you're given something special, you ought to try and give that something back. If you don't, it's a sin. No question.

[about his work on "Dallas" (1978)][ I started out a long time ago, and now the younger generation knows who I am. My daughter is a part of that younger generation, and I owe it to her not to act like an old man.

You get your ups and downs but you just don't fall apart. You take another shot at it.

[about his job on "Dallas" (1978)] When I was offered the role of Farlow, I was thrilled. It meant I could be home every night with my family.

Success can be harder to take than failure in a lot of ways. It brings with it a responsibility. You have to learn that all the highs don't last forever. For every high, there's a corresponding low. It's why young kids often go to pieces. When they get so popular they can't go out of their hotel rooms, that's when they turn to drugs. Success can be very dangerous, very heady.

[about retirement] I'm just having too much fun. As long as I can sing well, I'll keep at it. The minute I feel that the voice is getting down, the minute I feel that I can't cut the mustard, I'll quit.

God has been kind. I haven't got any great talent but everyone has a certain amount and it's what you do with it that counts. I was blessed with a voice and I used it.

[on Kathryn Grayson] She's a beautiful woman. A good friend. Fun to be around.

Family

• Spouse : Judy Keel (21 December 1970 - 7 November 2004) (his death) 1 child, Helen Anderson (3 January 1949 - 10 December 1970) (divorced) 3 children, Rosemary Cooper (17 March 1943 - October 1948) (divorced)
• Children with Helen: Kaija Keel (born January 14, 1950), Kirstine Keel (born June 21, 1952) and Gunnar Keel (born June 3, 1955).
• Esther Williams gave his daughter, Kaija Keel, swimming lessons.
• His third wife was 25 years younger than him.
• Daughter with third wife, Judy Keel: Leslie Keel, was born September 1, 1974.
• Grandfather of Mico Olmos and Bodie Olmos.
• Has some Irish heritage. A lot of his distant family reside in Ireland.

Author of the card

• Creation date: 03/04/2008 by abdest