Stacy Keach Sr.

Stacy Keach Sr.
Born Walter Stacy Keach
(1914-05-29)May 29, 1914
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died February 13, 2003(2003-02-13) (aged 88)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Occupation Actor
Years active 1942–1997
Spouse(s)
Mary Cain Peckham (m. 1937)
Children Stacy Keach Jr.
James Keach

Walter Stacy Keach Sr. (May 29, 1914 – February 13, 2003) was an American actor whose screen career spanned six decades.

Biography

Keach was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was of English descent. His career ranged from 1942 to 1997, with more than seventy movie and television appearances. He and his wife, the former Mary Cain Peckham, were members of the Peninsula Players summer theater program during the 1930s.[1]

Keach appeared in a 1955 episode of The Lone Ranger. Keach also appeared as Sheriff Ben Mason in the 1957 episode "Last Chance" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western television series, Colt .45.[2] That same year, he was cast as Jed Hammer in the episode "Trail's End" of the ABC/WB western series, Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins. Keach was cast in 1957 and 1958 in five episodes of the NBC western series, The Californians as Bill Coleman.

Keach is probably best known for his role as Carlson in the NBC sitcom, Get Smart. Carlson, a CONTROL scientist, was the inventor of such gadgets as an umbrella rifle (with a high-speed camera in the handle) and edible buttons -- a parody of Q, who holds a similar position in the James Bond movies. By the time Keach took the role, however, he was the head of an industrial film company (a position he had held since 1948). Keach eventually gave up the role of Carlson when one too many clients were unable to reach him, and he had to respond, "I've been working in the CONTROL labs."[3]

In 1964 he appeared on Perry Mason in the role of Lt. Gibson in "The Case of the Frightened Fisherman" and in 1965 he again appeared on Perry Mason in the role of the trial court judge in "The Case of the Cheating Chancellor." In 1961, he appeared as Dr. Walter in the very first episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show.[4]

Keach's lookalike son, Stacy Keach Jr., enjoys an acting career with far greater name recognition than his father's. The younger Keach is perhaps best known for starring in the title role of the Mike Hammer television series in the 1980s and 1990s. Another son, James Keach, an actor, director, and producer, was married to the actress Jane Seymour.

Keach died of congestive heart failure at the age of eighty-eight in Burbank, California[5] and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).[6]

References

  1. ↑ Peninsula Players 65th Anniversary Program, 1999
  2. ↑ "Colt .45". ctva.biz. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  3. ↑ McCrochan, Donna, "The Life and Times of Maxwell Smart", St. Martin's Press, New York, 1988; p. 76
  4. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443762/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2
  5. ↑ Stacy Keach Sr., 88; Actor Appeared in Hundreds of TV Shows, Commercials
  6. ↑ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 24801-24808). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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